White Foglights? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Zerohour3k · #1 10-05-2007, 08:17 AM

Alright... so yesterday was about the foggiest I've seen it around here for quite some time, and I decided to use my foglights to help combat it. This is the first time I actually used the foglights in my "new" 300D (which has Euro headlights, not US Spec rounds), in the fog.

I don't know if it's just my mind playing tricks on me, or if it's actually the case... but I don't think these euros have the same fog-fighting capabilities as my US Spec bulbs did. First, the Euros are white, not amber. I stuck some amber-ish H1 bulbs in there, but they don't seem to throw off much amber light, and are nowhere near as "golden yellow" as the Bosch yellow rounds. After turning them on, they didn't seem to give me much improvement in the fog. Visibility went from "Pretty crappy" to "Slightly less crappy, but still pretty bad.".

So, I guess my question is, "Are the US Yellow's better than the euro white's for fog-fighting, or is it just in my head?", and "Is there a way to make these euro's more yellow / improve their ability to cut fog?". The PO sold this car to me, and included the US bezels / sockets.. this has made me tempted to swap out the euro's for the more old-fashioned looking US DOT's.

Maybe it was just me, and maybe the fog was simply too thick to cut.. but I found this whole thing strange.

neptune · #2 10-05-2007, 01:10 PM

I would try some good selective yellow bulbs and see if that helps. At maybe $5-10 each for some selective yellow H3's it can't hurt that much. Lots of studies on the effects of the yellower vs. whiter light are floating around, general consensus seems to be that the yellow helps in fog.
How old and corroded are the reflectors in your euros? A little bit of rust or de-silvered reflectors can seriously decrease the light output.
Likewise, any significant voltage drop in the wiring? We wound up with less voltage drop with the euros than we had with the DOT's so that helped.
Part of it is just that the position of the foglights on w123/126/124 cars is simply too high to effectively fight fog. The point of fog lights is generally to get under the fog and thus shine ahead without being reflected back into the driver. A set of real fogs mounted under the bumper are the only choice if you get a lot of fog where you live. The difference in fog between my sisters w123 with euros and my 242 with white ZKW fogs under the bumper is amazing. I've actually had standard H3's and selective yellow H3's in my ZKW's and don't have a preference, they both seem to work just as well. The w123 euro fogs throw a lot of light in a very wide arc, but they throw it right into the fog making it very hard to see anything. I haven't tried selective yellows in them yet, but will sometime soon.
My plan for her car if I get permission is to keep the Euros (because they just look so much better and work better on low beam) and add a set of cibie or bosch pilot fogs (if I can fit them) recessed into the plastic fins below the bumper. Not sure what to call that, guess it is just an air intake. That should give us effective light in fog, the superior light and asthetics of the euros, and not mess up the appearance of the front end with some stick-on fogs.

Zerohour3k · #3 10-05-2007, 01:21 PM

Selective yellow bulbs? Maybe I'm out of the loop, but what are those?

Right now, I have a pair of H3 "Yellow" bulbs in the foglight sockets. The bulbs themselves are a metallic silver in color, and they put off a yellowish white light when on. Nowhere near as yellow as the bosch DOT's put out, though. The reflectors are practically brand new, so I doubt that was affecting it.

On the front of my car, I also have a set of 1000FF PIAA's, but those seem to make driving in fog a nightmare (when turned on), due to the fact that they hit way too high and the brightness of them simply blinds you. Unfortunately, throughout the 3 years I owned my DOT W123's, I never hit a thick fog (and thus, never got to use those bright yellows, for comparison).. so this may just be in my mind.

winmutt · #4 10-05-2007, 02:08 PM

The amber color was surpassed years ago. The color has less to do with it than the width of the beam. Turn on the fogs and night and you will notice that they but a pencil width line across, causing less diffraction. Sounds to me like you should just adjust them properly? I would stick with white.

[edit]
Yellow lights is a DOT regulation item what wasnt present pre 1980 afaik

pawoSD · #5 10-05-2007, 02:25 PM

Our 300D's fog lights are white....they both work but they have both been hit by rocks so they are cracked/full of water.

They do have a narrower beam...we'll have to replace them sometime....

TheDon · #6 10-05-2007, 02:41 PM

all fog lights do is light up the sides of the road so you can safely see the lane markings as well as signal to other cars that you exists..

I like my euros with selective yellow bulbs.. If I want to to be cool I would get the special paint for the lights and make some fake french euros

nate300d · #7 10-05-2007, 02:50 PM

I find that the yellow fogs on my W123's provide contrast which helps with seeing that the white fogs on my W210 do not provide.

Just my 2 cents.

pawoSD · #8 10-05-2007, 03:50 PM

I agree, the yellow fogs on my SD are way better when actually in the fog or rain (when I use them most)....vastly helps see the wet road or signs...

chetwesley · #9 10-05-2007, 03:56 PM

Wow, I am suprised by so many people saying how much their fog lights help. On my old 300TD I always thought they were cool and liked turning them on, but honestly when it came to fog or rain, I didn't feel they did all that much but still would turn them on just for fun. I seemed to have oncoming traffic flashing their lights at me when I had them on, maybe because of the yellow color?

Sadly, they do not work in my SD and I haven't bothered to figure out why yet.

#10 10-05-2007, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chetwesley

I seemed to have oncoming traffic flashing their lights at me when I had them on, maybe because of the yellow color?

Maybe they were adjusted too high, to do any good they need to be adjusted pretty low. Mine seem to do a good job of lighting the edge of the road, which helps in low visibility conditions.

winmutt · #11 10-05-2007, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig

Maybe they were adjusted too high, to do any good they need to be adjusted pretty low. Mine seem to do a good job of lighting the edge of the road, which helps in low visibility conditions.

I agree. The only time I have ever needed to use them I could barely see the stern on the hood but was able to pick out the edges of the road.