Alright everyone - cool your jets please. I've cleaned up the thread and removed the questionable bits. Please continue to banter on regarding 2007 lighting.

 

This just needs to show up in every one of the dozens of threads on this topic. Oh, and all the chest thumping is getting as old as the topic

Read it all, it explains the issue;
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...ght_color.html

Mark

 

I have to agree that driving with fog lights on in the city is a waste and a distraction for oncoming vehicles. When is there ever a situation where the streetlights in combination with your headlights is not sufficient to see what you need to see.

I do not drive a Mini Cooper on a daily basis, instead I drive a BMW Z4. When approaching vehicles with fog lights I often cannot see where I am going due to the fact they shine directly into my eyes.

I agree that the US and even Canada should adopt a stricter policy for use of fog lights. They are not on vehicles so you can look 'cool' as you roll around town looking like a pimp in your Escalade or even in your Kia, they are there for a purpose, and that is to allow for greater visibility in foggy or poor visibility situations.

When it is appropriate, I too flash my high beams to those cars on undivided roads with no sense to care about the well-being of approaching vehicles.

Sorry for the rant, just wanted to provide my $0.02

 

Originally posted about 2007 lights not as bright as my 2003. Recd. quite a few emotional posts about fog lights which wasn't my interest but thank-you anyway. Discovered in meantime that 2007 has three (3) lighting positions: 1. low beams 2. push turn signal lever forward and lock-high beams 3. pull lever back and won't lock-high and low beams at same time. In No. 3 is about comparable lighting to my 2003 which has the high and low beam on together when set on high beam. Anyone know why set up this way and can it be modified for high and low on at same time. I agree with the post that stated the more light the better is right, at least for me. Aside: 2007 (11K) is improved over my 2003 (156K) both the best cars I've ever owned.

 

From Wikipedia, where I like to look for info:

Front fog lamps provide a wide, bar-shaped beam of light with a sharp cutoff at the top, and are generally aimed and mounted low. They may be either white or selective yellow.

They are intended for use at low speed to increase the illumination directed towards the road surface and verges in conditions of poor visibility due to rain, fog, dust or snow. As such, they are often most effectively used in place of dipped-beam headlamps, reducing the glareback from fog or falling snow, although the legality varies by jurisdiction of using front fog lamps without low beam headlamps.

Use of the front fog lamps when visibility is not seriously reduced is often prohibited (for example in the United Kingdom), as they can cause increased glare to other drivers, particularly in wet pavement conditions, as well as harming the driver's own vision due to excessive foreground illumination.

The respective purposes of front fog lamps and driving lamps are often confused, due in part to the misconception that fog lamps are necessarily selective yellow, while any auxiliary lamp that makes white light is a driving lamp.

Automakers and aftermarket parts and accessories suppliers frequently refer interchangeably to "fog lamps" and "driving lamps" (or "fog/driving lamps").

In most countries, weather conditions rarely necessitate the use of fog lamps, and there is no legal requirement for them, so their primary purpose is frequently cosmetic. They are often available as optional extras or only on higher trim levels of many cars.

Studies have shown that in North America more people inappropriately use their fog lamps in dry weather than use them properly in poor weather.

 

Mark, I like to fill my head with knowledge, always. That Daniel Stern article is great!

Anyone who starts on a webpage with the below is tops in my book.

_________

The first step is to get educated.

There are a lot of products on the automotive lighting market, most of which are claimed to be upgrades. Some of them are, but many of them are downgrades, and some of them are dangerous and illegal.

 

I'll tell you why you use fog lights in the city, and especially if you have a Z4--- they make great DRL's--
The point IS to distract you!

I had a Z3 and a guy in a pickup truck pulled out from a stop sign and almost crunched me because he didn't see me. I ALWAYS ONLY drove the car with the headlights on from then on.

My MINI has Xenons and fogs. The Xenons are a bit pricey to replace, so my fogs are my DRL's--- Don't run into my little car please!

And by the way I hate DRL's they are placed to blind you in the rear view mirror! (especially GM ones) so fogs are even betterf for that reason.

 

I always drive with my headlights on too.

Isn't that the law in Europe, lights always have to be on, so cars have either have daytime running lights or the lights are designed to always stay on, kinda like motorcycles?

Here in California I see more and more cars with their headlights on during the day. But there's still many mental slobs who run their cars without headlights on, after dusk. [It's the law in California that at dusk lights are to be on.]

I got into the habit of running with lights on from motorcycle riding. I saw that people could see me with my bike headlight on high beam, so way back I decided if that made sense for bikes, might as well do it with my cars.

Back in the old days, meaning 10 years or so ago, people used to pull along side me and signal that my lights were on. Had to say thanks, but I know that.

Now, everyone is getting the idea that it's intentional.

And I make all my friends turn on their lights too, when I am a passenger. Some don't like it when I am a passenger. One girl took offense when she first noticed that my left hand always rested near her parking brake. I won't digress on what her driving is like to have motivated me to do that.

 

In Texas, it is illegal to drive with your fogs on when not foggy or raining. The problem is most officers don't pull individuals over. The only time most officers will pull you over for the infraction is because they need a reason to pull you over. So they can check for other infractions such as you being drunk.

I don't doubt Texas is the only state either. I'm sure other states have the law in place but don't enforce the law.

BlitZ