SAE Fog Lights
SAE fog lights are specialized automotive lamps designed to shine low to the ground in a wide beam of light. Since they're mounted low on the vehicle, they can help in adverse weather conditions by shining underneath fog, dust and snow, and by lighting up the immediate road surface. They're also available in a standard white output or selective yellow, which some consider to provide more contrast and visiblity in bad weather.
Diode Dynamics is well-known as the industry leader in fog light technology. While other manufacturers have reduced light output and considered fog lights an afterthought, Diode Dynamics has developed high-performance fog lights, redefining what's possible with this specialized lighting application. Available in both Stage Series off-road style and Elite Series factory-style models, Diode Dynamics offers a full range of plug-and-play kits to upgrade your original fog lights. Click here to find a fog light upgrade for your vehicle.
Why are these called SAE fog lights? The output patterns comply with a technical standard written and maintained by the Society of Automotive Engineers, called J583. From there, fog light patterns are designated into one of two categories. The first "F" standard was the original U.S. output pattern. This requires a wide beam of light, a cutoff to avoid shining glare towards other drivers, and output focused just underneath that cutoff line. The newer "F3" standard is consistent with European standards. It is similar to "F" but also has a lower cutoff requirement. The result is a much "shorter" pattern of light. Which type of SAE fog light is up to personal taste, but in general, "F3" fog lights are more commonly found on factory-style and OEM fog light applications, while "F" pattern lights are still used to achieve the absolute maximum levels of raw output. To see which fog lights you have, take a look at the lens - it will either say "SAE F" or "SAE F3", followed by the year of the lamp's original design.
Why don't we call these DOT Fog Lights? In the current Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108, maintained by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), there is no definition for fog lights. Instead, fog lights are permitted on a state-by-state basis in the U.S., with the general understanding that they should meet the SAE J583 technical standard. As a result, you probably won't find a "DOT" marking on your fog lights, like you would on almost all other lights on your vehicle. Instead, they only have the SAE marking.
At Diode Dynamics, we've packed all kinds of technology into our fog lights to outperform the competition - from the patent-pending FineLine optic design, which provides an extremely wide field of view, to the exclusive amber backlight to provide accent illumination. Whether you're a fan of off-road styling or you want to keep it clean with a factory-style light, we offer a variety of models, colors, and power levels to meet your needs, and provide a hugh increase in performance from low-power factory fog lights.
