The LED SAE J583 Fog Pod & Fog Light Review

And the angle of your fogs is typically pointed downward as well, further compromising usefulness of the high-beam pattern.

 

https://www.kchilites.com/kc-flex-era-3-dual-mode-sae-master-pack-system-284.html

thoughts on these?

 

That is the product being discussed in the past several posts. I have not personally tried them as they were just released. Note the specs.



A few interesting points:

• Cd is peak intensity, for the fog pattern:
  • Flex3 spec: 9440 Cd vs DD Sport spec: 10,600 Cd vs DD Max spec 18,000 Cd
• The Flex does have a nicer spec'd 5000k vs the Max 6000k, but the Sport is available in an even more ideal 4000k with a lens swap.
• Note the wattage on the Flex3 spec sheet is shown for 2 lights, aka it is 35w fog/55w combined each lamp. The optics do not appear as efficient as Morimoto or Diode Dynamics TIRs, though maybe the beam covers a larger area diluting the intensity, but that seems unlikely based on the spec performance difference.
  • Spec'd 2 way switch with a 35w/55w power draw and combined with the photos seems to imply the driving light cannot be run independently from the fogs. Fog lights are for low speed in poor weather and maximize foreground light. At any reasonable speed or wanting to see distance, foreground light should be minimized so your eyes can adjust to see distance at speed. You'll also need to wire and mount an aux switch to control the light function, since the lights are not just on and off that can be controlled with the stock 2 wire switch like stock fogs.
• As pointed out having the driving light mounted on the lowest point of the vehicle (below the fogs) while aiming the lights slightly down for SAE fog compliance is going to make for a poor driving light configuration. Driving lights are supposed to be aimed with zero degrees tilt and placed near headlight level.
• It is nice the yellow optic is included for all lights, so you can run clear or yellow without needing to make that decision at time of purchase and have the ease of changing it later.
• Power level is consistent with being able to clear moderate snow, though I'd need to take some thermals on the assembly to confirm.
• Price point for the vehicle specific kits Flex3 is higher. $620 for the Tacoma, which is $40 over the SS3 Max or 4banger HXB fogs priced at $580 while offering fog output intensity that is spec'd at roughly half of the other brands. Yes, it adds a driving beam, but if the fogs are aimed properly, the driving beam will likely not be great.

 

Oops. Guess I should have read the new posts before sharing that.

To me they seem gimmicky. But KC usually makes a good product. Can’t wait to see some real testing.

 

I agree, I have some KC driving lights on my 40 that absolutely rock! I feel like the KC stuff is really high quality. These are the LED versions of their driving lights and they're extremely good. It's odd that they no longer sell these.... at least to my knowledge.

 

I'd use the KC's as a headlight kit for my MR2 as it's as high as fog lights but not for that price. I'd rather use the DD products.

 

From their pic, it appears the "high beam" hotspot is aimed at a pretty noteable elevation above the fogbeam. Given that its two completely separate light sources, it's possible (and hopeful) that they designed these to be aimed correctly as a fog lamp and still have a high intensity light aimed straight down the road.

 

I agree - I think they do have the aim figured out. The tough part is the mounting height... putting a distance light that low is still going to be hard to shine very far, even with the good focus they have. Then, you'll still blow out your distance vision if the fog and driving beams are always activate that the same time - which it does appear they are. The fog pattern looks a bit narrow, but it appears to be nice and sharp with even distribution.

Personally, I like the unique look of these and I'm sure they will fit the bill for some users! White/Yellow swap on the fly is cool. The wiring and mounting setups look solid too.

Paul

 

Those appear to be the LED retro inserts to the older KC Daylighter assemblies. They still sell the modern version in the Pro6 lamp versions. Same optic and emitters, just in a more modern and slim body. On the old Daylighters, they offered a Pro6 optic and emitter retrofit into the Daylighter body for a while, giving more of the old school look with the modern performance.
Pro6: https://www.kchilites.com/kc-2018-2...ty-led-pro6-driving-beam-light-kit-97112.html

I've got a set. They are fantastic driving lights, and some of the most efficient lamps with the reverse emitter facing reflector optics.

Edit: Also love the old FJs.

 

I'll have to pick-up a set. But my initial thought without hands on evaluation is they would have been better off using that extra 55-60% output boost from the 3rd emitter to drive that much more output intensity into the fog pattern. It would then appear to be a more competitive product in terms of the competition. But I think many are looking for unique angles to make their product different, like the Rigid multi-color SAE fogs. But what makes a good fog, is being a good fog, not sacrificing performance for some other functionality which is pretty limited in the fog location and function.

 

Thanks man! They're actually called KC HiLites 653, I just checked because I was curious too. They're fantastic for sure.

 

Yep, the 653 is the Daylighter housing with the Gravity LED optics from the Pro6.

 

Ahhhh, that makes sense. I love the look of them because they look sort of old school, but both the light output and the draw are excellent for that application.

 

100% agree - I run the SS3 Pros and love them in rain, snow, etc because they go wide. Too, you need to aim them lower than most people do (then again most people don't know how to aim headlights, less fog lights ) - especially if you level the truck (which again is one of my biggest pet peeves is when people don't re-aim their lights post lifts).

very familiar running these through Steven's - pretty much "my neighbor's backyard" - glad to see others get to enjoy a beautiful drive

 

Yep, I'm just down the street from you in Bothell and I see plenty of rigs (mostly Tacos funny enough) running around with these DD lights aimed incorrectly. I like to think they'll figure it out pretty soon and that they simply don't know how bright they are to oncomming drivers.

I have them too and they're pretty awesome. Wide and bright!

 

can't aim them any lower on my truck but I try to be mindful of when I have them on. Before buying the oem led headlights I would run them almost all the time to supplement the poor headlights.

 

Happy to help if you want to give it another try. Also, I use a covered parking garage on the corner of NE 195th ST and North Creek Parkway to aim them. Level ground and a brick wall so the grout lines work well to get things lined up. Reach out if you'd like.

Edit - I just read your build thread, clearly you don't need any help aiming your fog lights... Reach out either way if you'd like. I do have an idea for lifted trucks on adding a small spacer to the bottom tabs of the DD fog light mount to aim the bracket lower which would then allow you to get the desired angle on your fogs to be able to use them more often.

 

Interesting
https://youtu.be/G5RBbUOJNpo

 

Well done and helpful, thank you

 

Nothing more than an advertisement from a sister company spraying nonsense.