Amber vs White Lights

Would anyone have any insight as to the pros/cons for white versus amber in various lighting conditions? I like the idea of having a combination setup, but am at a loss decided what color the fogs, grille light bar, and overhead light bar should be.

 

Do you drive in the snow often?

I've got two sets of Squadrons, both started out with clear lenses. I then added yellow lenses for both and find that in snow there is no question they show contrast and depth much better than white and don't glare back while it's snowing.

Also I've found after a few hours driving with white lamps my eyes were getting tired. I didn't realize it until after I switched to yellow lenses. There may be a bit of distance lost to the yellow colour, but the tradeoff is worth it for me.

 

amber is better in heavy rain and snow. My fogs are amber and my light bar is clear

 

Being in Nebraska I do drive in snow quite a bit. I was eyeing the Extreme LED Amber/White combo light bar in the front bumper with amber fogs and a roof rack mounted white light bar. It seems like a good balance but then again I don't know what tradeoffs this setup may present.

 

@crashnburn80 you got a lighting question lol

 

There are effectively 3 colors. Amber, selective yellow and white. KC and Morimoto are the only ones to offer amber fog lights. Baja causes lots of confusion by incorrectly calling their yellow lights amber when they are yellow. And even in white there are varying color temps of white; 4000k, 5000k and 6000k.

For poor weather use, long wavelength light will reflect less off the precipitation in the air allowing you to see the road beyond it rather than highlighting the precipitation in the air. Both amber and selective yellow are long wavelength light, however selective yellow offers better contrast and typically higher intensity output and provides better visibility compared to amber which can be a bit monochromatic. So for fogs, to be used in actual poor weather conditions, selective yellow is the appropriate color choice. The best performing selective yellow fogs by far are the Diode Dynamics SS3.

For light bars most often you are looking for extended visibility, which is typically in clearer weather, meaning white would be the appropriate color choice for most. Higher white color temps are more fatiguing and provide less contrast than lower temp white lights, 5000k is more ideal than 6000k. Note the pattern of your light bar is also important to match for how you intend to use it. A combo bar for example doesn't make much sense for street use as any flood type light isn't useful and can actually be harmful at higher speeds when distance light is most helpful, so for street use you'd want to prioritize your output in a driving light pattern (not to be confused with some that call a combo pattern driving). Diode Dynamics, KC, Rigid, Hella, Sylvania's new reflector bars (though not SAE/ECE) and others offer real driving light patterns. The KC Pro 6s have snap on covers to convert the 5000k output to amber for poor weather use conditions, not ideal as selective yellow but doesn't mean you are stuck with one color either. If you are 4wheeling in some trails at night, a combo bar, or something with more flood would be more appropriate for near range visibility and situational awareness at slower speeds, at the cost of reducing the distance light.

Roof bars have some potential to be more harmful than helpful due to high amounts of hood glare. Glare off the hood will restrict your eyes ability to see distance at night, and when you turn the roof bar off your night vision will be worse than before you turned it on. The way to best combat this, is to use a light product that has superior light control and focus so that light isn't spilled onto the hood. This means using a light where all the light output is reflected off a surface and not using an open bucket reflector design light commonly found in most light bars. For reflected optics light bars in full width roof size, there is the KC Pro 6 Gravity light bar and Diode Dynamics Stage series TIR optic light bars. The size and cost of the Gravity bars rule that one out for many.

 

When you put @crashnburn's suggestions into motion, you get something like I run in my truck. Look carefully and you'll see The Ultimate Headlight Upgrade, Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro selective yellow fogs and a 30" Diode Dynamics Stage Driving pattern LED bar. Awesome lighting!

 

Interesting.....

I have a different view on this....or perhaps experience.

I ride a motorcycle and have frequently been caught wearing amber sunglasses when caught in a down pour. I realized I could see more clearly with the sunglasses than without.

So now, I use the low beam and fogs (both white) while I wear my sunglasses. Good illumination and clear vision with filtered light thru the sunglasses. Yes, even at night.

 

I looking to buy a raptor grill. Should I get amber, amber smoked, white, or white smoked? I plan to go off-road about 2 times every month if that information helps at all.
This is the site I’m looking on:
https://www.kokautoparts.com/products/2005-2011-tacoma-trd-pro-grille?variant=42594135736554

 

That's completely up to your preference. The raptor lights will do nothing to help illuminate the road in front of you.

 

This works very well ….