Thread: Fog lights - Yellow VS White

Not sure about white but was told as a young lad that yellow will cut through the fog better and white reflects back onto your screen. Happy to be proven wrong

Originally Posted by Bazzle218

Not sure about white but was told as a young lad that yellow will cut through the fog better and white reflects back onto your screen. Happy to be proven wrong

fog reflects white really well but yellow poorly
most objects (other than fog) will reflect yellow moderately well.

cant use white because of fog... use the 2nd best, yellow

yellow light always seems to add depth and dimension for me, i much prefer it over white light when driving and especially in wet or foggy conditions.

Yellow will penetrate further through fog than white (which is reflects straight back) - also yellow can be seen further away by other vehicles. Many of the yellow fog lamps on older cars are not actually mounted close to the ground like white fog lamps. White lamps need to be mounted low to the ground to see under the fog (you are supposed to also slow right down).

I actually used my RRS fog lamps for the first time the other night - the globes in them have a very low heat range so are not white - but sort of mid way between normal halogen whitish and traditional fog lamp yellow - not sure if they are a special globe.

Garry

Originally Posted by incisor

yellow light always seems to add depth and dimension for me,

i do recall somewhere in a pilots magazine that yellow lenses add depth and and better for flying.

Yellow.

In the Olden Days, before 'Marketing' defeated sound 'Engineering' in vehicle design... it was accepted wisdom that FOG lamps should be yellow -and a particular shade of yellow - and must have a very clear and sharp horizontal cut-off of their wide beam.
Not only but also, maximum function was gained when they were mounted as low as practically possible. On most foggy grounds, the lower you go the thinner the fog, the density changing most noticeably (for our purpose) at or around knee-high. - Or below "normal" headlight height.

This particular shade of yellow eliminates all of the blue end of the spectrum, effectively increasing perceived contrast, which is a Good Thing in foggy conditions.

Note that it is the 'perceived' contrast, not figures on a metering machine which may or may not give Engineers their Jollies.... - we're interested in what the eyes see, pass on to the brain to process and how the person reacts.

Here's an easy to read summation.

Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

As a comment on blue/red focussing, us Old Fossils who are afflicted with age-related long-sightedness often find that red instrumentation on some modern cars very blurry to read at night, whereas blue or traditional 'green' can often be read without (reading) glasses.

Shooters often use yellow lenses to enhance (perceived....) sharpness / contrast, and when I first visited the Great Unknown Land (Eastern Australia) I bought a pair of Sodium Yellow glasses. - And yes, I was happy with the way they 'brightened' up the bleak Victorian weather...
- Maybe they'll be effective against the *&^%$ glary blue light of so many legal and otherwise HID car headlamps. !

Laate Edit: Another reference to what a Fog Lamp should be...
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...fog_lamps.html

Yes, I was always taught that Yellow was the only colour for a fog light and that the white accessory lamps that used to be available and fitted to most vehicles in the 50s,60s,70s,were clear lens=long range,fluted lens=spread beam,and amber/yellow = fog.

There is nothing more annoying or dangerous as these modern vehicles with fog/accessory lamps out of focus or badly adjusted by either error or sloppy smash repairers,and vehicles which the accessory lamps come on when the headlamps are switched on should be defected.

rant over.

Those in/under front bumper lights generally are used to alert all other road users that their owner is pleasing himself at the expense of comfort & safety of all other road users, to put it nicely.

No apologies, I feel rather strongly about it. Maybe because WA does'nt have the annual RWC that so many are dangerously out of alignment.... or a reflection on our lower standard of driving...

Their prime purpose appears to be 'Marketing'. Local road regulations throughout the world are a dog's breakfast regarding their useage etc, which clearly tells us something...

It will only be a matter of time before the Powers That Be realize that they can earn more money from (glaringly obvious.....) lighting infringements than 'speeeeding'.

Would lower the Road Rage level, may even save more lives...