Diode foglights: overview, specifications, choice, reviews

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:41

Lighting is an important safety requirement on the road. Therefore, great attention is paid to the choice of lamps for headlights. If the weather is wet or foggy, you will need to use special types of lighting fixtures. There are many models on the automotive market today.

Diode foglights differ in certain characteristics. Visibility on the road largely depends on the quality of the presented devices. How to choose the best lamp option for your car headlights will be discussed below.

General characteristics

Diode fog lights for cars today are very popular. This is due to their operational characteristics. The presented devices have a number of advantages. With a sufficiently high brightness of the glow, they consume less electricity.

A distinctive feature of fog lamps is their luminous spectrum. These are almost always devices that emit a yellow light flux. This special quality allows the presented devices to be used insnow, rain, bad weather. With increased humidity in the space in front of the car, many small droplets form. Blue, white lamps are reflected from them. In this case, the stream of reflected rays blinds the driver.

This does not happen with yellow lamps. In fog, the driver can clearly see the road. High-quality modern equipment allows the use of such devices in almost all types of headlights. They are installed in headlights, parking lights, rear brake lights.

Benefits

Diode foglights have a lot of advantages. They produce a luminous flux of greater power compared to other types of lamps. At the same time, high-quality structures practically do not heat up. This saves power to the vehicle's system.

Also, LED lamps are durable. They quickly reach the threshold of working glow, providing almost instantaneous visibility on the road. LED headlights do not blind oncoming drivers. At the same time, the presented devices have a wide scope of application. They can be installed as daytime running lights.

Diode-based fog lamps are resistant to vibrations. These are reliable high quality devices. Their wide variety of shapes, designs and shades of glow will allow you to choose the best option for your car.

Comparative characteristics

Diode lamps H4 today are the most common modification of the presented products. However, for almostany type of plinth, you can choose the optimal variety. If we compare LED designs with other options, we can note a lot of their technical advantages.

So, the power of a halogen lamp with a similar luminous flux is 55 W, and xenon - 35 W. An LED lamp with the same glow will consume from 20 to 40 watts (depending on the manufacturer). In this case, the brightness of the presented variety will be higher. It is 2000-4000 lm. At the same time, halogen will be able to provide a stream of light with a brightness of up to 1500 Lm, and xenon - up to 3000 Lm.

When comparing these three varieties, the duration of their work should be noted. Halogen can demonstrate stable operation for only 500 hours, and xenon - 3 thousand hours. Diode devices are significantly superior in this indicator to their counterparts. They can work for 30 thousand hours. This allows them to be used for both daylight and night lighting.

Design features

H4 LED Fog Type (PTF) lamps have many advantages. Today on sale are designs that have a rectangular, round, square shape. This allows you to choose the best option for your car.

In such designs there may be 5-30 diodes of different sizes. The most commonly used varieties of the SMD type. However, there are other varieties. Diode size is different. The brightness of the glow depends on this characteristic.

The most popular types of headlight bulbs have dimensions of 19x50 mm. The maximum power that such devices are capable of delivering is 7 watts. In this case, the luminous flux can reach 700 lm. The design can be supplemented by a lens that distributes the light flux more efficiently. Some models can adjust the angle of the light beam.

Flaws

Installation of diode lamps in fog lights is not always possible. This is due to the presence of certain shortcomings of the presented lighting devices. First of all, it is necessary to note their high cost. If a set of halogen devices will cost the buyer 1-1.5 thousand rubles, then LED headlights can cost from 2.5 to 5 thousand rubles.

However, their road lighting features will not always be acceptable. These are bright lights. However, when choosing a suitable device, it is important to consider the features of the light flux that it creates. Brightness does not always guarantee good visibility.

With a significant increase in temperature, LEDs quickly degrade. This significantly reduces their service life. The temperature may rise due to insufficient heat dissipation. If the diode is well cooled, the dimensions of the lamp will be very large. This will prevent them from being installed in the headlights.

Can LEDs be installed in headlights?

Many drivers are interested in whether diode lamps are allowed in foglights. Some have already experienced the serious consequences of such vehicle conversions.

It is impossible to install the presented lighting devices in unintended types of headlights. If, for example, halogen lamps were installed on a vehicle, they have a specific diffuser in their design. If you install PTF in such headlights, you can get a completely unacceptable glow angle.

Considering whether it is possible to put diode lamps in foglights, you should study the parameters that such lighting should correspond to. First of all, it is necessary to note the brightness of the glow. It is considered acceptable if each lamp has an indicator of 1000 lm or more. Also, its glow angle should be 30º. Most often, LED foglights have this indicator at 45º. Therefore, when choosing a design, it is necessary to select the appropriate varieties.

Features of PTF installation

Diode fog lamps in H3-base or other types of headlights can be installed in three cases. In the first, such devices are included in the vehicle's factory equipment. The manufacturer must design the headlight so that it is suitable for the use of diode lamps.

You can also install PTF on a car if the manufacturer provides for the installation of such devices on similar models. However, if the engineering company has not provided for the possibility of installing PTF on a specific car model, the user will be able to reconstruct.

In the last presentedoption, the driver may have a question: how to connect diode foglights? The answer is simple. The headlights will need to be completely replaced. Designs with an unsuitable reflector must not be used. This is fraught with punishment - deprivation of a driver's license for a period of six months to a year. Converted headlights will need to be legalized. To do this, they obtain permission in the relevant authorities, re-register the vehicle with the traffic police.

Headlamps

Knowing how diode foglights shine, one can note their high brightness. With the correct design of the headlights, they can be installed for head lighting. However, in this case, it will be necessary to give preference only to high-quality varieties. Otherwise, the luminous flux will be incorrect, and a high load will be placed on the standard electrical system.

A characteristic feature of PTF for head lighting are large dimensions. They can get very hot. Only high-quality devices have an effective heat dissipation system. Otherwise, the device will quickly fail.

Also, high attention is paid to the correct setting of the luminous flux when using such lamps. When driving in bad weather, it is important to ensure high brightness and visibility on the road. However, not every headlamp design is capable of providing acceptable beam characteristics. Therefore, the use of LEDs for head lighting today is quite problematic, but possible.

Recommendations for selection

Reviews on diode foglights are left by experts. They claim thatThe presented variety of devices has a lot of advantages. Therefore, this branch of production is actively developing, new, perfect models of devices for headlights are being produced.

When choosing PTF, experts recommend choosing only high-quality products. The cost of such lamps will be quite high. However, cheap lamps from unknown manufacturers will not meet the existing requirements. Their use in vehicle headlights may be unacceptable and dangerous.

It should be noted that many Chinese manufacturers indicate incorrect information on the packaging of their lamps. The choice can be much more difficult. Renowned global companies can guarantee the appropriate quality of their products. It is these lamps that you need to purchase for your car.

Best PTFs

Today, the automotive lighting market has a large selection of H4 diode lamps and other types. To choose a quality product, you need to consider the reviews of experts and buyers. Based on their feedback, a PTF rating was compiled.

Best LED Fog Lights were Morimoto XB LED (9.9 out of 10), PIAA LP530 (9.5 out of 10), Osram LEDriving FOG 101 (9.3 out of 10), Wesem CDC2 (rating 9, 1 out of 10). The listed devices differ in high reliability, quality. They can be used for car headlights in bad weather.

The cost of the presented products is significantly different. The most expensive model is PIAA LP530. Its price is 17.5-18 thousand rubles. Productscompanies Morimoto and Osram is approximately on the same level. They can be purchased at a price of 12.4-12.6 thousand rubles. The cheapest product is Wesem. Its cost is 6.7 thousand rubles.

Features of popular models

One of the best LED foglights is the Morimoto XB LED. It is designed for bumper mounting. At the same time, the presented lamp can replace the standard optics of such models as Type S, T. This is a durable, high-quality design that can operate from a 12 or 24 V network. The advantages of the lamp are tightness, a wide range of applications and high luminous flux.

The products of the Japanese brand PIAA LP530 have proven themselves well. This lamp is highly energy efficient. At the same time, it has a good focusing of the light flux. This prevents you from blinding oncoming drivers. Lenses and housing are made of shock-resistant materials. The only drawback is the high cost of the presented model.

The Osram LEDriving FOG lamp combines daytime running lights and cornering lights in its body. This is an economical product that is characterized by high rates of moisture and dust protection. Its light output is rather low.

Customer Reviews

When buying H4 diode lamps and other similar varieties of the PTF type, many users note a lot of advantages of such devices. However, they argue that high performance can only be observed in quality products.

Those buyers who bought cheapChinese diodes cannot use them in the headlights of their vehicle. Insufficient light output may result in a fine. Therefore, it is not advisable to purchase such products.

Having considered the features of diode foglights, we can note their high efficiency. It is important to choose these lamps correctly, as well as install them on your vehicle in accordance with the regulations.