Fog lights are for seeing 30-50 feet in front of you when you are driving 20MPH, HIDs are for seeing 300 feet in front of you when your dring 70+ MPH.

More light in fog is definatly not better.

But I do agree with the look, it's just not function.

 

Fog lights do help.... a little . Probably 90% of OEM fog lights are for aesthetic purposes only... some may argue and say not, but most STOCK fog lights dont provide enough of a difference in visibility to make me change my mind. I know that there are some vehicles that have oem fogs that help greatly though.

The main problem with fog is that standard headlamps cause glare, which makes it hard to see through fog. Light that cuts through fog/snow needs to be either yellow (3000k) or of low wattage. Both reduce glare, which helps see through the fog. Also, fog lamps need to have a sharp cut off line so that light does not go reflecting everywhere. And need to be low to the ground to try and light up as much of the road and less of the fog.This is why you see projector lens used for fog lamps (have a sharp cut off line and the light can be more concentrated. So if a vehicle does not havewhat I just explained, your pretty much pissing in the wind or fog...

Which is why I say that most oem applications are for aesthetic purposes. I do like the look of fog lights, and only wish I could keep mine (drl's) on all the time

 

Our escape hybrid has oem fog lights and they help a lot, not for seeing further, but for seeing closer. They allow you to see a lot more directly in front of you and makes the light a little bit brighter. I use them sometimes just on a dark road (I drive in PA where the roads can be twisty and very dark). I don't care all that much about not being able to use the fogs on the outie, as the HID's are pretty good, I hate more the fact that the DRL's are always on. I often get to places early, and sit for a minute or two before leaving the car. And with the DRL's, people always think I am leaving, so I often have to turn off the car, and turn it back on with the parking brake on to turn them off (that works for people who don't know). But yes, it would be nice to be able to choose when to have them on, but oh well, we don't!

 

I don't have HIDs on my Outlander, and I find that the fog lights that I have work very well, much better than the OEM fog lights I had on my Mazda.
I totally agree with the esthetic's, I very often turnon the fog lightsjust for the look. People can be unhappy about how MMC has designed the system, but it certainly does not impact function.

 

Are there any HIDprojectors that will fit as fog lights? that would be sweet and simple way to bypass the whole DRL thing, just doa straight to batter configuration and add a switch, that way you dont even need to turn on your head lights if you just want fog ligts.