Want to change Driving lights to fog lamps

[troy101]

Just got a 2002 Avalanche a few weeks ago.

I have a question regarding a mod. I'm happy with the high/low beams for highway use and while the driving lights are a nice feature I'd prefer fog lamps at this time of year. Is it possible to change bulbs or put a cover over the driving lights (not the daytime running lights) to convert them?

Troy

 

[EarthQuake]

Can you clarify your question a little.
You've got DRL's. You've got Fog's (manual turn on).
You've got Headlights (auto or manual) and you've got Hi-beams (manual).
So are you wanting to run the fog lights without having the headlights OR the DRL's? In otherwords, having the fogs as the only lights on.

Trying to understand.

 

[biohazard1.2]

R U looking for a "yellow/amber" bulb for your fog lights?

I would like one too, in halogen.

Plasmaglow dude....what do you recommend?

 

[ygmn]

Just got a 2002 Avalanche a few weeks ago.

I have a question regarding a mod. I'm happy with the high/low beams for highway use and while the driving lights are a nice feature I'd prefer fog lamps at this time of year. Is it possible to change bulbs or put a cover over the driving lights (not the daytime running lights) to convert them?

Troy

HUH?

The foglights are low and the round part of the lense of the light built into front bumper cladding.....

The Daytime Running Lights (DRL) are next to it....most here change them to AMBER...

So you have foglights as standard equipment...

NOW if you have added auxilary lighting then it would depend on model of lamp if they can be converted...

HTH

 

[troy101]

What you call fog lights I'd call driving lights because they're clear (the manual on/off ones).

I'd like them to actually be amber to cut through the mist/snow but they'd need to be pretty bright bulbs if I swapped them to amber.

I'm just trying to change the colour of them as I've seen on board how to get them to stay on.

 

[ygmn]

Fog lights are named fog due to beram pattern which is short and wide and low to cut under fog so you can see road.,...

AMBER and or clear.....I have yet to see or hear of anyone changing the bulb to amber color but some have gone blue.....

If you change the DRL to amber you may be surprized how much amber light they put out.....

HTH

 

[gthomas]

sjudson posted the following last fall:

"After going to to the meet in N.Ga this weekend there seemed to be alot of questions on replacement bulbs and upgrades.I have used this site for years and they always have the right product plus a good training on lighting.---autooptiks.com----AutoOptiks Inc./NB Enterprises,P.O.Box 3241 Frederrick MD 21701----Orders only 1-888-528-8658---Tech Line 301-846-9968---Fax 301-695-0079"

Through autooptiks I ordered replacements for low, high and fog bulbs. I ordered their 885Gs for the fog lights, which are supposed to be Astra Dichroic Ion-Gold, 2700K, 50W. 1104 lumens. These were the "yellowest" bulbs they offered. On their order form, I noted that these were for an Avalanche. When my order arrived, I had received the 100w and 80w high and low beams that I had wanted, but received the 38w 893 bulbs for the fogs instead of the 885s. I'm guessing that they knew there was a chance of melting the fog light housing with the 50w bulbs so they sent the 38w bulbs instead.

On the truck, these bulbs don't look greatly different than the 3200K bulbs I ordered for the headlights. However, they definitely do cast a yellow hued light, although not as yellow as the fog lights of old. I'm happy with them.

I have also installed some KC titanium blue driving lights, which when "armed" come on with the high beams. While usually they do significantly light up the road better than the high beams alone, there are times in the fog when the 3200K highbeams are best without the bluer driving lights adding to the reflection off of the fog.

 

[Tree_Hugger]

A lot of fog lights are sold with amber/yellow bulbs, or an amber/yellow lens. This is a truly bad idea.
The theory behind yellow for fog lights is that yellow light is is diffracted (scattered) 20% less than white light, by fog. And this is true. So you should be able to see 20% better (or further) in fog with yellow light than with white light, right?
Wrong! :

What the above theory does not take into account is that your eyes are 40% less sensitive to yellow light than white light.
So at best, in thick fog when the light is being scattered, you can see 20% worse with yellow lights (+20% -40%) than with white.
On a clear night you just see 40% less.

Good fog lights have a wide, flat-topped beam pattern and white light.

 

[NYCBlueZ71]

Statistics aside if you want to change the 893 Fog Lights it will make a significant improvement in your night vision.

The fog lamp lense design on the avalanche is a very wide and tall beam.

I am currently running the Plasmaglow Blue 893 Bulbs on my truck.

My buddy uses the Plasmaglow Yellow 893 Bulbs, so I guess it is a matter of preference.

On a side note, we also have the Platinum Bulbs which are a ultra-white, more similar to a PIAA Extreme or Silverstar.

check them out here: http://www.carmodsusa.com
-Rob

 

[troy101]

Tkanks NYCBlueZ71!

 

[Skidd-au]

Statistics aside if you want to change the 893 Fog Lights it will make a significant improvement in your night vision.

The fog lamp lense design on the avalanche is a very wide and tall beam.

Rob,

Do you folks do the 50w fogs? Your web site doesn't mention the globe wattages for the fogs.

Skidd

 

[docopharm]

Rob,

Do you folks do the 50w fogs? Your web site doesn't mention the globe wattages for the fogs.

Skidd

ditto that question, As I understand it the 893's are the 37.5 watt ones and the 885's are 50w (I think - too many numbers - I get confused ). Anyway, am getting ready to buy some 50w ones and would prefer to buy them from a club member so if you have these, pls let us know

 

[NYCBlueZ71]

Most bulbs are available in high output and standard wattage.

Drop me a email at rob@carmodsusa.com.

I can get whatever bulb color in standard or high wattage as you would like.

-Rob

 

[biohazard1.2]

Rob,

Dropped you a PM...and a lil' Karma.

thanks!

Brad

 

[biohazard1.2]

A lot of fog lights are sold with amber/yellow bulbs, or an amber/yellow lens. This is a truly bad idea.
The theory behind yellow for fog lights is that yellow light is is diffracted (scattered) 20% less than white light, by fog. And this is true. So you should be able to see 20% better (or further) in fog with yellow light than with white light, right?
Wrong! :

What the above theory does not take into account is that your eyes are 40% less sensitive to yellow light than white light.
So at best, in thick fog when the light is being scattered, you can see 20% worse with yellow lights (+20% -40%) than with white.
On a clear night you just see 40% less.

Good fog lights have a wide, flat-topped beam pattern and white light.

THANKS FOR THE EXCELLENT INFO! here is some Karma!

 

[gthomas]

A lot of fog lights are sold with amber/yellow bulbs, or an amber/yellow lens. This is a truly bad idea.
The theory behind yellow for fog lights is that yellow light is is diffracted (scattered) 20% less than white light, by fog. And this is true. So you should be able to see 20% better (or further) in fog with yellow light than with white light, right?
Wrong! :

What the above theory does not take into account is that your eyes are 40% less sensitive to yellow light than white light.
So at best, in thick fog when the light is being scattered, you can see 20% worse with yellow lights (+20% -40%) than with white.
On a clear night you just see 40% less.

Good fog lights have a wide, flat-topped beam pattern and white light.

Yes, but when the fog is really bad, and you can see nothing with the white lights because there is too much light getting reflected back at you from the fog, yellow can be helpful. 40% less is much better than 0. It is largely dependent upon just how bad the fog is. If it is bad enough to make running with my somewhat blue driving lights with my high beams, turning off the driving lights and using just the 3200K high beams is an improvement. From there I can go to low beams with the fogs, and ultimately just the fogs for when the fog is thick enough to cut with a knife.

 

[Tree_Hugger]

Yes, but when the fog is really bad, and you can see nothing with the white lights because there is too much light getting reflected back at you from the fog, yellow can be helpful. 40% less is much better than 0. It is largely dependent upon just how bad the fog is. If it is bad enough to make running with my somewhat blue driving lights with my high beams, turning off the driving lights and using just the 3200K high beams is an improvement. From there I can go to low beams with the fogs, and ultimately just the fogs for when the fog is thick enough to cut with a knife.

Obviously, your experience is as valid for you as mine is for me, so if you like to use yellow fog lights, then that's right for you.
My experience is different from yours. I find that the key to visibility in heavy fog is a sharply defined upper cutoff on a flat-topped wide beam, and the more light in that pattern, the better.
On my other vehicles I tend to use 100W H2 bulbs and I find them better than the 50W I have upgraded the Av's to.
One other consideration might be that fog lights also serve to make you more visible to traffic in front of you, and, again, the wide white flat-topped beam does this much more efficiently than yellow. In the case of visibility to other road users there is no upside to yellow light, just a straight 40% downside.