The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

So this makes me wonder their "waiving" of the lux meter may have also picked up the Laser from the laser leveler as well? After watching again and seeing as how it was mentioned that you can see the HXB dim towards the end of the first test, I did notice that after watching it again. So many inconsistencies.

EDIT: After watching TRS's video they mention the "WIDE" beam pattern "the NCS (lower end) does comply with SAE compliance when it comes to on road use". Thats the first mention I have heard of that I have heard, but that likely means the HXB will not be SAE certified, just an assumption though. Also when they compared the two, does it not seem like the camera settings are different to optimize the 4Banger? I'm not an expert on camera settings, so someone else can chime in. It seems like the strong foreground would not be good in most settings, though I can say it may be beneficial for lifted trucks. One kudos I will give them is the adjuster mechanism for OEM use settings is a very nice touch if it works well.

 

It’s clear that MM light dims like crazy. I wouldn’t be advertising the smaller heat sinks. I’d want larger heat sinks so the light could maintain its intensity.

Still happy with my DD Max’s.

 

Agreed, especially when it's going to be in area where air flow is reduced, like in a bumper. Not to mention when used in higher ambient temperatures.

 

It was a short rein. Probably too short to merit a statue in the town square. Fear not, we still like you.

 

This was what I felt was most telling about the raw performance of each of the lights. Yes, the Morimoto hxb has a larger spot pattern, but even accounting for that I doubt the raw performances are similar. And yes, they have to be aware of how easily the optics swap- though they haven't mentioned that as a feature for their own.

In my opinion, the combo optic they advertise looks like an awful afterthought.

 

Hard to say on the camera settings, but they are using the same emitters, so one would expect the same output color, and the Max photo does look to be higher color temp than the 4banger.

A fogs purpose is strong foreground light, so it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The 4banger pattern is less wide and appears taller. However when properly aiming the Max you don’t see a dark spot in front of the truck, as that is too close to be seen from the driver position, so light there really isn’t beneficial for the fog use purpose.

It does appear their premium HXB wide is not an SAE compliant pattern.

Agreed on the aiming mechanism if it is well done. They mention it, but haven’t demoed it.

 

I agree with the camera settings. What got me was the color temperature as well as the light in the top right of the photo is darker as well. To me that indicates camera settings were different, though like I said, I am not into photography at all other than knowing camera settings must be locked for lighting photos and that pictures are not always accurate representation of light output.

Stronger foreground on a lifted vehicle IMO (and strictly only theory) may be beneficial since they are higher off the ground and can sometime help distribute light on the road a little better. Which is why some of the taller beam patterns are nice for trucks as long as it's aimed correctly. But on a car with lower mounted fog lights I could see it potentially causing more eye fatigue and less distance vision due to how strong the foreground is. I agree that the MAX has plenty of on the road presence regarding the beam height. Now for those 6ft high jacked F350's, I think there's nothing good that can be done for lighting using the factory lighting positions. But for the majority of this page that will likely never be the case.

I wonder if the HXB is too bright or too much glare for SAE J583? If I recall the SS3 Max Fog is on the limit for output levels of the J583 standards. If the HXB is as bright as they claim, then it would likely exceed SAE J583 standards...at least on initial startup.

Anyways, thanks for listening to my rambling guys. haha

 

For lifted trucks, the taller the lift the further away the sight distance from the front of the vehicle to the roadway is, as the hood obstructs the view even more, so a taller pattern isn’t always as beneficial as it may seem in that application. On my lifted Gladiator with 37s and properly aimed Maxes, I cannot see any dark space in front of the vehicle with the Max fogs. And recall that aim is defined by the upper cut off, so it isn’t like you can aim them up to get a benefit of the taller pattern. What you want in the fog pattern is width.

I’d speculate gradient is also out of compliance on the HXB. Interesting though they claim the lower model is compliant which presumably uses the same optics. Smaller emitters in a good TIR should have better focus, and the HX Boost emitters are quite small. In a well designed TIR glare shouldn’t be an issue but hard to say for sure. I was trying to compare the trees above the pattern in their comparison shot to the Max, but it is also difficult to tell if the lights are aimed equivalent.

Note on startup. SAE J583 was updated 5/13/2020 with a new requirement specifying peak intensity at startup for LED fogs vs previously only using stable test values for compliance. With SAE compliance, the products made compliant before a new regulation spec goes into effect are still legally compliant, as they met the required spec at the time of going into production. Hence the year stamp on traditionally the lens of a compliant product. The SS3 Pros did not meet the new startup intensity spec as the larger emitters used in the Pros cause more light spill and at startup it was over the new compliance startup limit. Since the SS3 Pro was tested as compliant and in production prior to the 5/13/2020 update, it was not legally required to meet the new spec. However Diode Dynamics updated the SS3 Pro fog anyway to regulate startup intensity to match the newly updated compliance standard, even though they didn’t have to. In the SS3 Max, the HX Boost chips are smaller with better focus producing tighter cut offs and less light spill. The Max isn’t regulated at startup, because it meets the startup compliance standard without it, so it isn’t needed.

All of this is to point out that using an HX Boost chip shouldn’t be a cause for glare to be non-compliant in a good TIR optic. In a lesser designed one it certainly could be. It would also be odd if both versions are using the same optic, for the gradient to pass in one but not the other. You get tighter gradient with smaller emitters and the HX Boost ones are pretty small, meaning the entry level unit should be even smaller for a better gradient.

But if you look at how the 4banger crops the optics in the center I’m not sure you could get a compliant gradient out of that, as that is going to do some odd things to the light in the TIR. Pure speculation, but that could be why there is the odd hot spot in the pattern (which shouldn’t be in a fog) which drives higher peak intensity values in that spot at the expense of a better more even light distribution. Hmm.

 

Soooo... we know their lux numbers are questionable because of their light meter choice...

Punching their numbers into an online lux to CD calculator on rapidtables.com I get these results.

There are some differences. Given that Crash uses a light meter that is much more accurate, I'm going to say his numbers are likely significantly more accurate. There's about a 17-35% swing between the converted cd nuumbers from their video vs crash's testing.

I pulled crash's numbers from his linked test posts here and in the J581 thread.

 

Who doesn’t love a good spreadsheet!

Too many variables/unknowns to draw good conclusions.

 

Thank you for entertaining my random rambling!! I did not know that about the SS3 Pro, but kudos to DD for staying up to date based on the most current standards. Really shows the that they really do care about adherence to all standards and their dedication.

I guess I did not consider the design of the TIR/lens how the 3 "lenses" combine in an odd way. In my mind I would agree that it would not be optimal use of TIR optics and would not allow proper focus.

I still can't wait for proper testing for better or for worse, competition is always good.

 

What we really need to see is the new denali pod fog (and driving/spot in the J581 thread) so we can really shake things up before the holiday sales season.

[Stirs pot]

That's some interesting news about the J583 spec update. I wonder what the reasoning is for that, other than the argument that the temp stable spec allows for increased glare in situations where a driver is frequently flipping the fogs on and off (e.g. driving and encountering oncoming traffic frequently).

 

I’ve signed up for their updates and been watching. Still says expected to be in stock Oct 15, which has long since passed.

 

Me waiting for the Morimoto laser fog lights

 

A combo light isn’t an SAE light, nor is it an effective driving light. Selective yellow is also only SAE compliant in a fog light. That said in the SS3 You can have a yellow driving optic so you can have an SAE driving pattern in a non-compliant selective yellow color. Sounds like in those situations a rear fog light would be worth looking into.

 

Based on Crash's testing of the selective yellow fog optic vs the 6000k clear, you don't give up significant performance for the selective yellow pods, excepting the Max yellow fog lens, which is different and has to filter more blue and green light.

Thinking of picking up some yellow driving light lenses myself, although 4000k is pretty comfy through a clear lens.

 

>complains about other peoples poor lighting choices that cause him glare and issues seeing on the road.

>Has driving lights in place of fog lights and uses them on the road with his low beams.

Hayrider, I believe its been pointed out to you in prior discussion why that might not be the best thing to do. You have the neutral white color temp pods. For dealing with these dust storms, you're probably best served by replacing the driving light optic with a selective yellow fog pattern lens. Because a light that is meant to have a harder cutoff with less light above the lenses horizon and less short wavelength light will probably be significantly better for seeing the edges of the road to navigate slowly in poor visibility than a high intensity white light pattern.

 

I drove in pretty thick fog in the CA Central Valley last night in the Freightliner. It was an experience which I can best characterize as harrowing. Sure wish I had some MAX fogs in selective yellow. It was several dark hours at 30mph with a loaded horse trailer. Meanwhile others blasting past at 60+.