You might not need to turn on the fog lights every time you drive at night. But when you have to go through a thick fog bank, gray curtain of rain, or heavy snowfall, you’ll feel thankful to have these powerful vehicle lights.
Fog lights provide much-needed illumination when road visibility drops to short distances. They let you see what’s right in front of you and show your vehicle’s location to pedestrians and other drivers going the other way. Since they’re indispensable to your safety while driving in low-visibility conditions, you want fog lights that shine bright without blinding other people and run reliably.
Your choice of fog lights mainly depends on their light source. The light bulb produces all-important illumination and accounts for a significant portion of the fog light’s initial cost. You want a fog light that produces enough light for your needs without exceeding your budget.
Fog lights that use halogen light bulbs are the most common type available. They improve on other incandescent-type lights by adding inert halogen gas inside the bulb, making the tungsten filament last longer.
Despite their age, halogen fog lights remain a popular choice for use on vehicles. They deliver sufficient illumination for most low-visibility conditions at an affordable cost. Furthermore, their large stockpiles ensure that you can usually find the exact same fog light or a similar, compatible product when you need a replacement.
Our Top Picks For Halogen Fog Lights
High-intensity discharge (HID) light bulbs work by producing an electric arc between two electrodes in a bulb filled with xenon gas. When the current passes through xenon, it excites the gas, causing the latter to emit heat and light. Its use of xenon leads to this type’s other name: xenon light bulbs.
Whether you call them HID fog lights or xenon fog lights, these products deliver high-end performance, albeit at a significant cost. HID/xenon fog lights are very bright and often feature stylish aesthetics. However, they run hot, usually cost a lot, and use up considerable power.
Our Top Picks For HID/Xenon Fog Lights
A light-emitting diode (LED) generates light by running an electric current through the semiconductor material that makes up the diode. The electrons in the current recombine with electron holes in the diode, producing light with little heat.
LED fog lights are popular choices for drivers who want to enhance their vehicle’s low-visibility lighting. They shine brighter than halogen fog lights, consume less power than HID fog lights, run cooler, and last longer than the other two types. They are also affordable options in terms of price tags and operating costs.
However, LED lights might not be considered street-legal in your city or state. Check the laws in your area to see if you can use LED fog lights on your vehicle without getting pulled over and issued a ticket.
Our Top Picks For LED Fog Lights
Fog lights aren’t exclusive to your vehicle’s front. Some fog lights are found on the back. The rear fog lights perform the same role in a different direction.
While you might not think you need rear fog lights, there are certain scenarios where you might benefit from having them on your car. It’s better to have an option than to have nothing to fall back on.
It’s also important to remember that each side of the vehicle has a fog light. If one of them fails, the illumination on that side gets affected.
When you think of fog lights, you usually think of the front-mounted ones. They cast their light beams ahead of your vehicle, and while they cannot penetrate fog, they can illuminate the swathe of road in front of you.
Our Top Picks For Front Fog Lights
Rear fog lights differ from their front-mounted counterparts in several ways. The obvious distinction is their location–they’re found at the vehicle’s rear. Next, rear fog lights are red and shine brightly. Their main role is to reveal your vehicle’s position to other drivers in low-visibility conditions.
Our Top Picks For Rear Fog Lights
If you’re not satisfied with the factory-issue fog lights on your vehicle, consider replacing them as soon as possible. There are many options at your fingertips, assuring you of finding a product with the right combination of performance, cost, and location to meet your unique needs.
Any information provided on this Website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace consultation with a professional mechanic. The accuracy and timeliness of the information may change from the time of publication.