One of the best lighting reviews I've seen. Comparing with to without the LEDs on the same stretch of road back to back really makes it clear what they're adding. Nice work!
I'VE SEEN A FEW RUclips CHANNELS WHERE THEY'VE RAISED THEM IN DIFFERENT WAYS & THEY LOOKED PRETTY NICE & STILL GET PRETTY GOOD GAS MILEAGE ⛽. ONE PUT AUTO LEVELING SUSPENSION WHICH I GUESS THAT CAN BE PUT ON ANY VEHICLE DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU'RE INTO . THANK YOU FOR GETTING BACK TO ME ! PLEASE BE SAFE OUT THERE IT'S BREATHTAKING COUNTRY WE HAVE & THANK YOU & ALL THE REST THAT I ❤ WATCHING & YOU BEEN WITH SOME OF THEM !
Thank you for this review, Donald! I've been looking at light options for my truck (a 30" light bar as well as ditch lights) and I didn't want to spend $1000-1200 on just the lights (Baja Designs, Rigid, etc.). Now that you've introduced me to Diode Dynamics, I can get both lights for less than the light bar from the other manufacturers I named before. You provide a great mix of adventures videos along with review videos and are a wealth of applicable knowledge.
4:09 your wiring diagram got me thinking... I've been having problem with a P0451 trouble code for weeks. I also have aftermarket fog lights that were wired up when I got the car, by using a fuse tap off the 12 volt outlet/cigarette lighter fuse. When I checked the fuse box under the dash, the 20 amp fuse was burnt out and the fuse tap had slight carbon scoring from being loose. So, I removed the fuse tap and replaced the fuse. I then cleared the check engine code and took the car on 4 short trips, shutting it off and removing the keys each time, to complete the required drive cycles for the EVAP system to reset. The car ran normally and the CEL did not come back on! I've been driving it for over a week and no check engine light! 😊 Thanks for your inspirational help!
Thanks you so much for the honest review. Always looking forward for your new videos. Very good cinemagraphic work, really enjoying it. Keep up the good work. Regards, Eric
That was amazing opening footage. The lighting was golden! Great review. Now I just need a lift kit, smaller rims so I can put K02’s on, and the. I know just the lights to get.
I have both SAE-compliant Fog Yellows and SAE-compliant White Driving pods on my GX470, and both perform wonderfully. I drive a 45mph canyon highway everyday in all weather, and the fogs are fantastic in the snow, while the driving whites are excellent for late nights year round to provide farther (and wider for spotting wildlife on the shoulder!) vision to allow comfortable driving. I highly recommend DD to anyone looking for a mid-price/high-performance light.
I'm astonished by how much I wasn't seeing with just my high beams! It always feels so illuminating to turn them on from the low beams, but man...the LED pods just blow them away. When I was driving home from filming these nighttime tests up in the hills, I played around with running the SS3 as my high beams on the rural highway when there was no oncoming traffic, and OMG it was spectacular. It got me thinking about moving my switches to a more convenient location, because these things put my high beams to shame on the highway. I don't want to wire them to my car's built in high beam switching, but if I had a switch in a more convenient spot, I'd use these instead of my factory high beams. Maybe I can find a footswitch from an old American car. I always preferred that method anyway. :-)
@@toddingram1198 Ha, no way! When I was a kid, my dad had a 74 Monte Carlo. Hated riding in the back seat of that thing, no real windows to speak of. When I was a teenager I owned a 1964 Chevelle, and in my early 20s I had a 1964 Dodge Dart...spent a lot of formative years with foot switch high beams! :-)
@@softroadingthewest how did you align the ss3 pod in this video? I'm not sure if I should match it with the high beam or in the middle higher than low beams
@@maxportillo4262 Because I had my SS3s made with the "driving" optic, I aimed mine sort of medium far down the road, similar to high beams. My roof light bar is very effective for illuminating closer areas. If one had the SS3s made with the fog or flood optics, that might change how you'd aim them. I would just get out onto a forest road after dark and experiment with the positioning to find what you like best.
Thanks for another very clear and well done review! These lights look fantastic! Seeing the pattern options for these lights made me wonder what it would be like to have 1 driving and 1 fog configuration. The spread of the fog beam combined with the distance of a driving light should provide a well-rounded pattern, I would think.
I have these in the fog light optic on my tacoma. Worth every penny. They light up the sides of those dark forest roads without being harsh on the eyes. Another perk of selective yellow.
Every time you turned on the SS3s I LMAO - wife asked if I was ok... Great side/side comparisons. I drive mountain passes in Oregon weather, so the SAE Fog was my choice - even street legal have astonishing light output. Thank you for doing through testing. Glad you have such a nice set of lights and like them.
I like how you go through the trouble of listing the camera settings. Makes it very fair. Although on those moving sections the light seems to be bouncing a lot more than the headlight. Is that from the mount? The bracket? Just easier for the camera to show bumps in the road with that color light? Is it noticeable in person?
I'm pretty sure it's the ADF mount, and yes, it is noticeable in person. I didn't find it hugely bothersome - it was better having the light than not having it - but I do think I will try to find a way to stabilize that mount. It's basically two tongues of metal extending out from in front of the radiator. I'll send some feedback along to Patrick in case they want to look at tweaking the design a bit.
@@softroadingthewest LP Adventure offers a bumper guard for Foresters that would make a nice platform for mounting auxiliary lighting. They have extensive offerings for Subaru vehicles and their products seem to be good quality and easy to install. The down side is that their products are a bit expensive.
@@softroadingthewest Some triangulation on the bracket would help any flex in the bracket but going back to the video on it it might actually be the piece of the radiator support that it's mounting to is bending and not the bracket.
@@bruceyyyyy Oohhh didn't even think of that, but you're right, there is definitely some flex there too. I'll have to poke at it next time I need to remove the bumper cover & grill and see what I can figure out to reinforce all that.
Great review! I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Diode Dynamics lights. With lighting, the optics are just as important as the light source and type. Most people just figure if they put a brighter bulb or LED into a light that will make it better. Sometimes that does work if your lucky enough to have found a light that has optics designed to deal with a brighter source of light. The benefit of buying LED lights with the lens and housing as a kit, is they should be designed to be optimized for the light source they come with. Diode Dynamics seems to get the math right and their light kits all seem to work awesome. I hear a lot of people talk about the color temperature of light and how different “color” lights are better in different conditions. I’m not totally sold on that. I’ve been running some bright white 6,000 K LED fog lights in my 2015 Outback 3.6r and they work great in fog, snow, and rain. Just for fun I swapped them out with some 2,500 K yellow led fog lights with the same wattage and I found they weren’t as good. I think it’s more about the placement of the light. The lower the light the better able to shoot under fog it is. Also the optics play a part, is the light throwing out a low and wide “flood” pattern (good for fog) or a sharp narrow beam that shines way down the road (good for driving lights). When you buy these lights they often advertise what they are designed for (fog or driving lights) because the optics matter.
Yeah, I'll be curious to see how I feel about the yellow long term. The wash of yellow light is sort of like viewing the world in black & white (or, well, black and yellow), whereas with a whiter light, you definitely get much more color distinction on what you're seeing, which arguably would be better overall visibility. I went back and forth on it when ordering these, but since wet weather stuff was a main concern and I had read SO many accounts of yellow providing better performance in those conditions, I went for that option. Really difficult to definitively test yellow vs white without having two sets of otherwise identical lights mounted so you can test both in the exact same conditions. I'm sure you're correct that position plays a far greater role than color in fog - and currently mine are not really positioned low enough to be effective fog lights, though my plan is to eventually move these down low in a future custom bumper. Thanks for watching!
Excellent review! I wouldn't be surprised if Consumer Reports offered you a job, hahaha. These, and the SSC2's are definitely getting added to the list of light options. I'm also considering some comparatively (very) inexpensive options. But, I'm concerned about their durability, reflectors and optics. From what I understand, that's where the cost difference resides. I know in my heart, the best option for long-term use is "buy once, cry once." But, at DD's price point, these are more like "buy once, snivel once," lol.
I have to admit that, on my own, I would almost certainly take my chances with something inexpensive off Amazon. But what I do like about partnering with Diode Dynamics is that they are making the highest output pods of anyone, at a lower price point than some of the bigger name brands seen on the fancy built rigs. I am frequently astonished when I see trucks outfitted with massive banks of (not gonna name names) lights across the roof, grill, sides, and rear...literally thousands of dollars worth. There are probably rigs whose lighting arrays are worth more than my entire car, LOL. Meanwhile my $80 Auxbeam lightbar still turns night to day. :-)
@@softroadingthewest True. Appreciate the cadid response. I don't get the rows of lights, especially with today's tech. I will conceed that there's a HUGE difference in lighting requirements for 5~10mph in the woods, and doing 90 through the open desert though. But, 99% of what I'll actually be doing is woods, and deer infested country 2 lane. A couple floods so I can see the available lines off-road, and something fog for inclement weather on-road, is all I really need. Nothing crazy, as there's little worries of "outrunning" lights in my Yota. I'm not sure the ol' boy can outrun a candle, lol. Btw, I watched a DD video, and left a comment that I learned about them from your channel.
Hello Donald, another great info vlog. Looks like another great buy... chalk n cheese in my opinion. With what you and your over lander friends do you can never have enough illumination. Take care bro n stay safe until this cloud we're all living under disperses for good.
You can say that again...it took one unexpected nighttime drive down a narrow trail with a steep drop-off to make me understand why people put all those lights on their rigs...all I wanted in that moment was more light. :-) Thanks for watching!
Ive just installed yellow halogen spots and its a great improvement but these are certainly better..ill get a set deffo..lucky all the wireing is now done so its just a matter of swapping the head lamps..thnx and peace ✌
Nice review. I think I might buy these for fog lights. My light set up is too bright for foggy or dusty conditions and I think these will do nicely. Not too expensive and good quality. Thanks
THANK YOU FOR SHOWING US ! BE SAFE ! HAVE FUN ! GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS ON YOUR JOURNEYS ! ENJOYED ! WILL HAVE TO CHECK THEM OUT ! QUESTION HAVE YOU SEEN ANY CROSSTREK'S GOING WHERE YOU HAVE GONE ? JUST WONDERING !
Yes, for sure. Crosstreks are equipped with the same AWD and the same ground clearance as the Forester, they can pretty much go anywhere I can. I have a number of friends with Crosstreks and have been out on the trails with them many times.
@@softroadingthewest It could be the plastic grill blade that's flexing. Thanks for a review, very well put together video. I didn't get why prices on their site are $180 for a pair and $300 for a pair on exact same models. Kind of confusing. Was your pair $180 or $300?
BigSmartArmed. I think the review mentioned standard vs. pro light options, priced accordingly. Those in this review were the pro lights at $300 a pair.
I agree it's not obvious on their site - when I first looked at these, I was VERY confused by this as well, LOL. But there's a "Sport" version and a "Pro" version of each model, which is hard to notice in the long model name, e.g. "Stage Series 3" SAE/DOT White Sport Standard LED Pod (pair)" vs "Stage Series 3" SAE/DOT White Pro Standard LED Pod (pair)." The $300 Pro version has higher light output than the Sport version. If you click on the Specifications tab on any of the product pages, there is a comparison chart of the various models. I have the Pro version on my car.
@@softroadingthewest Oh yeah, I just noticed that. Lumen output of the sport models is too low. 1300 lumens per set, it's only a bit over 300 lumens per emitter. I have a small hand held 3 emitter with total 3000 lumen output at 9 amp draw. I also noticed that the yellow 3K tint is a filter, not the LEDs themselves. Did you get a technical data sheet with your lamps? Like which emitters these are, what kind of driver and amperage draw at what wattage? That would be required information in order to determine if both Pro lamps can be wired to a singe relay switch and on what fuse rating. Since Pro models output 2700 lumens each at 12v, their combined amp draw could be 15+ amps. At one point I had amperage over draw issue with my fogs, and the fuse socket literally melted from overheating. A wiring upgrade was needed, new relay, etc.
Not gonna lie I was looking for a Bigfoot to step right out of the tree line. Seriously though outstanding video. I watched the whole thing and I’m not even in the market for pod lights.
Had some time to get this video in during lunch! Awesome review, thorough and a good footage of how it makes a difference in comparison to the OEM highbesms. I really like the beam and the color of those pods. And yes I do agree they perform very well for it's price range. The yellow lens really makes the light soft on the eyes. That's especially important when out their on the trails driving hours and hours over night. Is there a way you can broaden your beam by spacing out the pods a bit more? I think you can optimize the width of view by spacing em out more. Otherwise good pod lights! I still need to wire mine up. And I can't wait! Prolly be a month from now before I have any new content haha thanks for another awesome video!
For sure, I'm going to experiment with aiming the pods slightly more outward. I was really interested in pushing light far down the road, because my Auxbeam lightbar has more of a wide/near illumination. I didn't want to confuse this review by mixing in another light, so I didn't show it, but running the pods plus the bar, they really complement each other, filling in what the other misses. With everything switched on, it's like driving during the day, LOL. I do think the DD pods alone could be even more effective with different aiming than what I've done, and I should fiddle around with that.
That's a good idea. I haven't fiddled extensively with the aiming, but I bet you're right, I probably have some excessive overlap in the middle there and could spread that light across a wider swath in front of me. I'll try to tweak that before going out next weekend and see how it looks.
Great video! I need some amber light on my 2020 tundra. I can’t decide if I want to swap the fogs with diode’s amber or go with their tundra stealth bar. Probably the more light the better for driving logging roads out here on the OR coast
You forgot to mention that they come with an 8 year warranty on all models of SS3's. $300 for a pair of pros and an 8 year warranty, count me sold. Squadron Pros or Pro R's are like $350-$400 depending on the model you choose with a "limited lifetime" warranty.
Excellent point! Pretty remarkable really for an item that has to sit outside and take abuse from the weather. Can't think of the last time I saw a warranty that was longer than two or three years tops.
Haha, well, if KC wants to send me lights, then maybe, but honestly I hope I'm done with lighting reviews for a while, LOL. I suppose if I ended up on the trail with someone running KCs or some other comparable LED pod, it would be possible to do some comparisons without doing more install work on my car. :-)
Congratulation for your video, it explains all we need to know about pods, but you didn't especify what of the three power is. There are SPORT, PRO and MAX. Its is important to know about that. thanks.
Did you get the Pro or Sport level? I have the DD Sport amber Fogs and they are incredible! I need to add more throw forward and this may be the solution.
Initially I had the same thought, and I was even planning to try reinforcing the ADF mounting bracket a bit (the lights are sort of extended out on tongues of metal which amplify the vibrations), but I've found that in practice, when I'm actually using them on the trail to see, I don't even notice. Eventually I expect to mount the pods solidly to a custom from bumper so it will become a non-issue.
Very ‘enlightening’ review. These lights are still a little on the expensive side but seem to be a good value looking at their construction details. I’m pretty disappointed in your Auxbeam light bar getting condensation in it, it seems to be a common failure unfortunately. How about a comparison between the bar and the Diodes?
The Auxbeam got water in it within about a week of install; that said it continues to work just fine. Next time I'm working on the roof rack configuration, I may try to disassemble it, get it well dried out, and do a little extra sealing work on. I didn't want to confuse things in this video by mixing in the Auxbeam in this review, but now that this one is done, I'll definitely be talking about how the two approaches compare in a future video, and showing how they complement each other. The Auxbeam pretty effectively lights up all those dark peripheral areas surrounding the focused beam of the DD pods, and the DD pods very effectively punch light much further up the road than the Auxbeam bar is able to do. With everything on, it's like driving in daylight. :-)
Pretty sure DD is running a 20% off sale right now Erik! Sarah & Aaron have these also, both in their factory fog location AND on their ditch light mounts. I always feel good about running anything Aaron approves of. :-)
They are just plain metal toggle switches, mounted on the door of my interior fuse panel access. There is virtually nowhere to install nice switches that look integrated into the dash....no blanks to be had. Some people mount a switch panel in the little cubby in front of the gear shift, but there are so few storage compartments in this car, I use that cubby and didn't want to give it up. Where I have them mounted is not ideal but works well enough and made the install very easy. I just have to remember which is which when I reach down to turn one on, because I can't really see the switches when I'm driving.
I think some people do take this approach. I prefer to keep them separate for a few reasons. One, the high beams on the Forester are complicated...it's the same bulb as the daytime running lights, but with less voltage sent or something. I really didn't want to start fiddling with the car's stock wiring and risk making a mistake. Running independent circuits is nice and simple. Also, I prefer to have full control over when they're on or off. I want to be able to run them paired with my low beams if that better fits the conditions (e.g. foggy night).
You would need to find either some kind of aftermarket light mount (check Rally Innovations, they may have something for your car) or if you're handy, you can come up with a DIY solution. With some searching you might find some other solutions, either aftermarket or DIY approaches other Impreza owners have tried.
From everything I've read, yellow or amber is supposed to be beneficial in fog, rain and snow...less dazzling somehow? As inclement weather was a primary concern for adding more lights in addition to my overhead light bar, I opted for the yellow to maximize my chances of improving visibility in those conditions.
@@softroadingthewest I was going to post this a little further back up, but this spot seems appropriate. Someone smarter than me can chime in about the difference in the frequency of yellow light vs white light and that yellow is a lower frequency wave. What this means for visibility during precipitation vs a high frequency wavelength is that it less likely to strike and reflect on something. (like rain drops or snowflakes; think Auxbeam effect). Also think about a high frequency light wave being able to "fill all nooks and crannies" of an uneven road surface, whereas, yellow's longer wavelength doesn't, and therefore actually leaves shadows in potholes, ruts and behind big rocks. This is a sought after feature of yellow lights due to the surface contrast that is revealed. I use one yellow and one white bulb in my snowmobile for this very reason, to read the road surface better and be able to go faster, safer. Sport bike riders have known this for years. There is perhaps a more elegant and detailed way to say what I'm saying, but you get the point. I believe I read all that I know about this topic about 10 years ago on the PIAA lights webpage if you are interested in a starting point for sources, otherwise there are lots of university physics department's webpage's that talk about the EM spectrum and the visible light bands. BTW, Thank you for all this testing and documentation! I have a 2010 Forester and find what you are doing invaluable to my own efforts.
That is *super* interesting!! I never knew any of the theory behind running yellow lights. I do understand what you're saying, that all makes sense to me. I may have to do more reading on this so I can better answer the question when people ask me. Thanks for the detailed explanation!
One of the main motivations for adding lights in front in addition to my pretty effective Auxbeam lightbar was that the roof-mounted lightbar is just about impossible to use in rain, fog, or snow...all that precipitation gets dazzlingly illuminated right in front of your eyes. Nearly everything I had read suggested that yellow or amber lights are better in fog & snow, so, even though these technically aren't fog lights per se, I went with yellow in hopes of optimizing performance in inclement weather. I can't comment definitively on if this truly makes a difference, I've never been able to do any sort of side by side comparison of white vs yellow.
Do you have any real time fog / snow diving condition video's...lookin for the best fog light for snow or fog conditions. I don’t want to just light up the water droplets 💦 in the air. Look for the best illumination without creating a fog wall ahead of me in real conditions of heavy snow or fog.
No, but my Diode Dynamics are not configured for fog use. DD offers a different optic if you want to use them as fog lights, which keeps the beam down lower. Based on how precise my "Driving" optics are (similar to high beams, in fact I use them as my high beams since they're waaay more effective) I would expect their fog optic to keep the light where you want it to be.
It's made by Anderson Design & Fabrication: awdadventure.com/products/2009-20013-subaru-forester-grill-led-pod-mounts Note that it's a direct fit on the 09-10 Forester. The 11-13 Forester (like mine) will need a tiny bit of cutting. I have a video about the bracket and how I modified my grill to make it work: ruclips.net/video/EPjymK756vE/видео.html
Oh derrrr sorry about that! :-) I'm based in Eugene Oregon. We have BLM lands off in almost every direction just outside of town, and National Forest land generally just beyond. Really simple to get up onto some forest roads here. :-)
How much difference do the high beams make when the SS3s are on? Is it a noticeable drop in light if you do low beams + SS3s? I was considering the SS3 fog light swap, but my vehicle does not allow high beams and fog lights on together. It has me wondering if it'll really matter given how bright the SS3s are, though.
Switching from low beams to high beams or vice versa with the SS3 turned on was virtually indistinguishable. That said, I'm running the driving optic, which is designed to work more like a high beam. Presumably you'd get the fog optic if you were to install these in the factory fog position, and I haven't used that configuration, so I don't know what it looks like in the pattern and in conjunction with the headlights. Of course, if it's actually foggy, I usually run my low beams and not my high beams anyway. But if you want the ability to just blast all the light power you possibly can when needed - which is totally legit IMO - you could always install them in the factory fog position but wire them independently so you've got complete control. That's part of why I've got all my aux lights on their own separate system, so I can run exactly what I want whenever I want, regardless of what my headlights are doing at the time.
Andrew Okerlund. If you check out some of his earlier videos you will see his description of the roof set up. I believe he used superstructure/unistrut to fabricate his own roof bar set up.
The crossbars themselves are actually some inexpensive (I believe) knockoff of something nicer, they were on the car when I bought it. No idea what the brand is. I built an additional half-rack structure on top of the crossbars using unistrut material. Honestly I can't recommend the crossbars themselves, I can see that they're very slightly flexing/bowing in the middle. I will probably replace them at some point with either new crossbars or with more unistrut. But there should be a number of crossbar brands out there which offer longer bars that extend beyond the factory rails, I do see these pretty commonly.
I’m unaware of a product like this for the older Foresters. You might check Rally Innovations though. They make light mounting solutions for numerous Subaru models. Generally a little bigger and more elaborate (and expensive) than the ADF mount seen here, but it’s nicely made stuff.
I have a 2010 Forester and I plan to get these same lights. Do you ever wish you got them in white instead of yellow? I like the idea of a warmer color for inclement weather, but my eyes don't really like that yellow. I feel like the white ones are a good neutral white and not too blue, so I should be good with those up here in Northern Michigan.
That's an excellent question. I went with the yellow because I wanted something that would cut through the inclement stuff better than the bluish-white light bar on my roof, but in practice, as general purpose offroad lights, the yellow seems less than ideal. You end up seeing everything in a yellow-tinted black & white, whereas a white light would enable you to see the various colors of what shows up in front of you. I think that if you're getting these as offroad/driving lights in the flood or driving optic, white probably makes the most sense. If you're getting these as true fog lights, with the fog optic installed and mounted low on your vehicle, the yellow is a legit choice. In either color, the light output and precision light distribution of the optics is just fabulous.
@@softroadingthewest I think what I will do is get the same mounting bracket that you have, but white with fog lenses, so it spreads the light out nicely but doesn't blind other drivers. Then I will probably put some yellow ones in the fog light housings. This will be my first winter up here, so the yellow fogs should help. Thanks so much for the reply!
DD was great until they leaked every customers personal data including CC# for over a year. Good way to lose customer trust. I was a victim and unfortunately no longer a customer.
One of the best lighting reviews I've seen. Comparing with to without the LEDs on the same stretch of road back to back really makes it clear what they're adding. Nice work!
I'VE SEEN A FEW RUclips CHANNELS WHERE THEY'VE RAISED THEM IN DIFFERENT WAYS & THEY LOOKED PRETTY NICE & STILL GET PRETTY GOOD GAS MILEAGE ⛽. ONE PUT AUTO LEVELING SUSPENSION WHICH I GUESS THAT CAN BE PUT ON ANY VEHICLE DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU'RE INTO . THANK YOU FOR GETTING BACK TO ME ! PLEASE BE SAFE OUT THERE IT'S BREATHTAKING COUNTRY WE HAVE & THANK YOU & ALL THE REST THAT I ❤ WATCHING & YOU BEEN WITH SOME OF THEM !
Thank you for this review, Donald! I've been looking at light options for my truck (a 30" light bar as well as ditch lights) and I didn't want to spend $1000-1200 on just the lights (Baja Designs, Rigid, etc.). Now that you've introduced me to Diode Dynamics, I can get both lights for less than the light bar from the other manufacturers I named before. You provide a great mix of adventures videos along with review videos and are a wealth of applicable knowledge.
Your cinematography has gotten amazingly better! WOW! Thanks for this review.
Great video!
Good job on demonstrating real world conditions.
Amazing what a difference they make. Thank you, as usual, for an honest, helpful, review.
The side by side comparison is so useful, really appreciate your work on review and testing.
4:09 your wiring diagram got me thinking...
I've been having problem with a P0451 trouble code for weeks.
I also have aftermarket fog lights that were wired up when I got the car, by using a fuse tap off the 12 volt outlet/cigarette lighter fuse.
When I checked the fuse box under the dash, the 20 amp fuse was burnt out and the fuse tap had slight carbon scoring from being loose.
So, I removed the fuse tap and replaced the fuse.
I then cleared the check engine code and took the car on 4 short trips, shutting it off and removing the keys each time, to complete the required drive cycles for the EVAP system to reset.
The car ran normally and the CEL did not come back on!
I've been driving it for over a week and no check engine light!
😊
Thanks for your inspirational help!
Ha! That's awesome, I'm glad that somehow triggered your diagnostic thinking and you were able to make the fix!
I watch a lot of YT videos and this is easily the best informative video I’ve seen about vehicle accessories
THANK YOU FOR GETTING BACK TO ME ! PLEASE BE SAFE & HAVE FUN !
I'm getting six cubes and this is exactly what I needed to see, thank you!
That intro was very Jurassic Park-like. I half-expected T-Rex to jump out.
Thanks you so much for the honest review. Always looking forward for your new videos. Very good cinemagraphic work, really enjoying it. Keep up the good work. Regards, Eric
That was amazing opening footage. The lighting was golden! Great review. Now I just need a lift kit, smaller rims so I can put K02’s on, and the. I know just the lights to get.
I have both SAE-compliant Fog Yellows and SAE-compliant White Driving pods on my GX470, and both perform wonderfully. I drive a 45mph canyon highway everyday in all weather, and the fogs are fantastic in the snow, while the driving whites are excellent for late nights year round to provide farther (and wider for spotting wildlife on the shoulder!) vision to allow comfortable driving. I highly recommend DD to anyone looking for a mid-price/high-performance light.
Being able to see the corner up ahead is a massive boost to night time driving. Your review really shows the benefit to this upgrade.
I'm astonished by how much I wasn't seeing with just my high beams! It always feels so illuminating to turn them on from the low beams, but man...the LED pods just blow them away.
When I was driving home from filming these nighttime tests up in the hills, I played around with running the SS3 as my high beams on the rural highway when there was no oncoming traffic, and OMG it was spectacular. It got me thinking about moving my switches to a more convenient location, because these things put my high beams to shame on the highway. I don't want to wire them to my car's built in high beam switching, but if I had a switch in a more convenient spot, I'd use these instead of my factory high beams. Maybe I can find a footswitch from an old American car. I always preferred that method anyway. :-)
Agreed. I miss those foot switches (I had a land yacht 73 Chevy Monte Carlo). So simple and easy.
@@toddingram1198 Ha, no way! When I was a kid, my dad had a 74 Monte Carlo. Hated riding in the back seat of that thing, no real windows to speak of.
When I was a teenager I owned a 1964 Chevelle, and in my early 20s I had a 1964 Dodge Dart...spent a lot of formative years with foot switch high beams! :-)
@@softroadingthewest how did you align the ss3 pod in this video? I'm not sure if I should match it with the high beam or in the middle higher than low beams
@@maxportillo4262 Because I had my SS3s made with the "driving" optic, I aimed mine sort of medium far down the road, similar to high beams. My roof light bar is very effective for illuminating closer areas. If one had the SS3s made with the fog or flood optics, that might change how you'd aim them. I would just get out onto a forest road after dark and experiment with the positioning to find what you like best.
Really Impressive upgrade! So efficient for their sizes!!
Thanks for another very clear and well done review! These lights look fantastic! Seeing the pattern options for these lights made me wonder what it would be like to have 1 driving and 1 fog configuration. The spread of the fog beam combined with the distance of a driving light should provide a well-rounded pattern, I would think.
That's an interesting idea. They do sell them individually, I wonder if that is why.
Great video! DD has 20% off through May 29 if anyone was inspired to get these (like me) after watching the review. 👍🏻
Very cool...love the side by side comps.
It looks like a nice and comfortable addition for night drives !
I think I have to try yellow light !
I have these in the fog light optic on my tacoma. Worth every penny. They light up the sides of those dark forest roads without being harsh on the eyes. Another perk of selective yellow.
At work. But came here to give it a 👍 I'll come back to it later tho haha
Wait until you see the updated design. Love the footage good sir. Cheers to the next one!
Awesome job on this one! Your “real world” comparisons makes it so much easier to decide on my next purchase. Thank you!
Thanks Dan!
Great review ! Real explanation, real world, real application, real meaningful tests. Thank you!
Every time you turned on the SS3s I LMAO - wife asked if I was ok... Great side/side comparisons. I drive mountain passes in Oregon weather, so the SAE Fog was my choice - even street legal have astonishing light output. Thank you for doing through testing. Glad you have such a nice set of lights and like them.
LOL, that's awesome. :-)
I like how you go through the trouble of listing the camera settings. Makes it very fair.
Although on those moving sections the light seems to be bouncing a lot more than the headlight.
Is that from the mount? The bracket? Just easier for the camera to show bumps in the road with that color light? Is it noticeable in person?
I'm pretty sure it's the ADF mount, and yes, it is noticeable in person. I didn't find it hugely bothersome - it was better having the light than not having it - but I do think I will try to find a way to stabilize that mount. It's basically two tongues of metal extending out from in front of the radiator. I'll send some feedback along to Patrick in case they want to look at tweaking the design a bit.
@@softroadingthewest LP Adventure offers a bumper guard for Foresters that would make a nice platform for mounting auxiliary lighting. They have extensive offerings for Subaru vehicles and their products seem to be good quality and easy to install. The down side is that their products are a bit expensive.
@@softroadingthewest Some triangulation on the bracket would help any flex in the bracket but going back to the video on it it might actually be the piece of the radiator support that it's mounting to is bending and not the bracket.
@@bruceyyyyy Oohhh didn't even think of that, but you're right, there is definitely some flex there too. I'll have to poke at it next time I need to remove the bumper cover & grill and see what I can figure out to reinforce all that.
Very good video from beginning to end.
A really good comparison between the different types of lights & Nice driving impressions. 👍
Great video! This was just what I needed to see, I’ve been eyeballing these for weeks.
Great review! I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Diode Dynamics lights. With lighting, the optics are just as important as the light source and type. Most people just figure if they put a brighter bulb or LED into a light that will make it better. Sometimes that does work if your lucky enough to have found a light that has optics designed to deal with a brighter source of light. The benefit of buying LED lights with the lens and housing as a kit, is they should be designed to be optimized for the light source they come with. Diode Dynamics seems to get the math right and their light kits all seem to work awesome. I hear a lot of people talk about the color temperature of light and how different “color” lights are better in different conditions. I’m not totally sold on that. I’ve been running some bright white 6,000 K LED fog lights in my 2015 Outback 3.6r and they work great in fog, snow, and rain. Just for fun I swapped them out with some 2,500 K yellow led fog lights with the same wattage and I found they weren’t as good. I think it’s more about the placement of the light. The lower the light the better able to shoot under fog it is. Also the optics play a part, is the light throwing out a low and wide “flood” pattern (good for fog) or a sharp narrow beam that shines way down the road (good for driving lights). When you buy these lights they often advertise what they are designed for (fog or driving lights) because the optics matter.
Yeah, I'll be curious to see how I feel about the yellow long term. The wash of yellow light is sort of like viewing the world in black & white (or, well, black and yellow), whereas with a whiter light, you definitely get much more color distinction on what you're seeing, which arguably would be better overall visibility. I went back and forth on it when ordering these, but since wet weather stuff was a main concern and I had read SO many accounts of yellow providing better performance in those conditions, I went for that option. Really difficult to definitively test yellow vs white without having two sets of otherwise identical lights mounted so you can test both in the exact same conditions. I'm sure you're correct that position plays a far greater role than color in fog - and currently mine are not really positioned low enough to be effective fog lights, though my plan is to eventually move these down low in a future custom bumper. Thanks for watching!
Excellent review! I wouldn't be surprised if Consumer Reports offered you a job, hahaha.
These, and the SSC2's are definitely getting added to the list of light options. I'm also considering some comparatively (very) inexpensive options. But, I'm concerned about their durability, reflectors and optics. From what I understand, that's where the cost difference resides.
I know in my heart, the best option for long-term use is "buy once, cry once." But, at DD's price point, these are more like "buy once, snivel once," lol.
I have to admit that, on my own, I would almost certainly take my chances with something inexpensive off Amazon. But what I do like about partnering with Diode Dynamics is that they are making the highest output pods of anyone, at a lower price point than some of the bigger name brands seen on the fancy built rigs. I am frequently astonished when I see trucks outfitted with massive banks of (not gonna name names) lights across the roof, grill, sides, and rear...literally thousands of dollars worth. There are probably rigs whose lighting arrays are worth more than my entire car, LOL. Meanwhile my $80 Auxbeam lightbar still turns night to day. :-)
@@softroadingthewest True. Appreciate the cadid response.
I don't get the rows of lights, especially with today's tech. I will conceed that there's a HUGE difference in lighting requirements for 5~10mph in the woods, and doing 90 through the open desert though. But, 99% of what I'll actually be doing is woods, and deer infested country 2 lane. A couple floods so I can see the available lines off-road, and something fog for inclement weather on-road, is all I really need. Nothing crazy, as there's little worries of "outrunning" lights in my Yota. I'm not sure the ol' boy can outrun a candle, lol.
Btw, I watched a DD video, and left a comment that I learned about them from your channel.
Holy cow. Those pods are so bright.
I was looking at PIAA but now I'll have to reconsider. These look good.
Hello Donald, another great info vlog. Looks like another great buy... chalk n cheese in my opinion. With what you and your over lander friends do you can never have enough illumination. Take care bro n stay safe until this cloud we're all living under disperses for good.
You can say that again...it took one unexpected nighttime drive down a narrow trail with a steep drop-off to make me understand why people put all those lights on their rigs...all I wanted in that moment was more light. :-) Thanks for watching!
Ive just installed yellow halogen spots and its a great improvement but these are certainly better..ill get a set deffo..lucky all the wireing is now done so its just a matter of swapping the head lamps..thnx and peace ✌
Great review! I would've loved to see a comparison between the white light from the light bar in the rain and the yellow from the pods
Great review & love the music Don. Wanted to link up with you sometime if my schedule permits to so some trails with my Subie as well, I'm here in WA.
Nice review. I think I might buy these for fog lights. My light set up is too bright for foggy or dusty conditions and I think these will do nicely. Not too expensive and good quality. Thanks
Great video as always donald!
Nicely done! Those LED lights well worth having. Thanks for sharing your video and time to put it together. Will checkout some for my Crosstrek soon.
Great review 👍
Thanks again😁
THANK YOU FOR SHOWING US ! BE SAFE ! HAVE FUN ! GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS ON YOUR JOURNEYS ! ENJOYED ! WILL HAVE TO CHECK THEM OUT !
QUESTION HAVE YOU SEEN ANY CROSSTREK'S GOING WHERE YOU HAVE GONE ? JUST WONDERING !
Yes, for sure. Crosstreks are equipped with the same AWD and the same ground clearance as the Forester, they can pretty much go anywhere I can. I have a number of friends with Crosstreks and have been out on the trails with them many times.
This video "lit" up my day
Haha! :-)
Mounts are soft, lights bounce. It'll start giving a headache after about 2 hours. Hard mount is the only way to do it.
Indeed. This light mount is a new product I'm testing and I did notice that that jiggle. I might fiddle around with stabilizing it somehow.
@@softroadingthewest It could be the plastic grill blade that's flexing. Thanks for a review, very well put together video. I didn't get why prices on their site are $180 for a pair and $300 for a pair on exact same models. Kind of confusing. Was your pair $180 or $300?
BigSmartArmed. I think the review mentioned standard vs. pro light options, priced accordingly. Those in this review were the pro lights at $300 a pair.
I agree it's not obvious on their site - when I first looked at these, I was VERY confused by this as well, LOL. But there's a "Sport" version and a "Pro" version of each model, which is hard to notice in the long model name, e.g. "Stage Series 3" SAE/DOT White Sport Standard LED Pod (pair)" vs "Stage Series 3" SAE/DOT White Pro Standard LED Pod (pair)."
The $300 Pro version has higher light output than the Sport version. If you click on the Specifications tab on any of the product pages, there is a comparison chart of the various models.
I have the Pro version on my car.
@@softroadingthewest Oh yeah, I just noticed that. Lumen output of the sport models is too low. 1300 lumens per set, it's only a bit over 300 lumens per emitter. I have a small hand held 3 emitter with total 3000 lumen output at 9 amp draw. I also noticed that the yellow 3K tint is a filter, not the LEDs themselves. Did you get a technical data sheet with your lamps? Like which emitters these are, what kind of driver and amperage draw at what wattage? That would be required information in order to determine if both Pro lamps can be wired to a singe relay switch and on what fuse rating. Since Pro models output 2700 lumens each at 12v, their combined amp draw could be 15+ amps. At one point I had amperage over draw issue with my fogs, and the fuse socket literally melted from overheating. A wiring upgrade was needed, new relay, etc.
I have an SJ forester and it’s high beam is crap I need some of these !! 🤘🏼
Not gonna lie I was looking for a Bigfoot to step right out of the tree line. Seriously though outstanding video. I watched the whole thing and I’m not even in the market for pod lights.
Haha, I keep hoping he'll show up. I've lived here all my life and have been looking for him for decades. :-)
Had some time to get this video in during lunch! Awesome review, thorough and a good footage of how it makes a difference in comparison to the OEM highbesms.
I really like the beam and the color of those pods. And yes I do agree they perform very well for it's price range. The yellow lens really makes the light soft on the eyes. That's especially important when out their on the trails driving hours and hours over night.
Is there a way you can broaden your beam by spacing out the pods a bit more? I think you can optimize the width of view by spacing em out more. Otherwise good pod lights!
I still need to wire mine up. And I can't wait! Prolly be a month from now before I have any new content haha thanks for another awesome video!
For sure, I'm going to experiment with aiming the pods slightly more outward. I was really interested in pushing light far down the road, because my Auxbeam lightbar has more of a wide/near illumination. I didn't want to confuse this review by mixing in another light, so I didn't show it, but running the pods plus the bar, they really complement each other, filling in what the other misses. With everything switched on, it's like driving during the day, LOL. I do think the DD pods alone could be even more effective with different aiming than what I've done, and I should fiddle around with that.
@@softroadingthewest awww I seee. Yess you should definitely do that. Could make another review video on the versatility use for the lights.
Yeah just swivel em outward a touch and u will have a broader spot area..no need to move there positions 👍
I just installed the SAE Sport Yellow Fogs on my ‘13 F150. Love them. I posted a quick video too!
Yup, looks like they work.
Nice video! Maybe spreading the light beams a little would help illuminate the sides a bit more.
That's a good idea. I haven't fiddled extensively with the aiming, but I bet you're right, I probably have some excessive overlap in the middle there and could spread that light across a wider swath in front of me. I'll try to tweak that before going out next weekend and see how it looks.
Great review. Were you testing the Pro or Sport version of these lights? (sorry if I missed it)
Thanks! These are the Pro version.
Great video! I need some amber light on my 2020 tundra. I can’t decide if I want to swap the fogs with diode’s amber or go with their tundra stealth bar. Probably the more light the better for driving logging roads out here on the OR coast
You can never have too much light driving trails in the dark!
You forgot to mention that they come with an 8 year warranty on all models of SS3's. $300 for a pair of pros and an 8 year warranty, count me sold. Squadron Pros or Pro R's are like $350-$400 depending on the model you choose with a "limited lifetime" warranty.
Excellent point! Pretty remarkable really for an item that has to sit outside and take abuse from the weather. Can't think of the last time I saw a warranty that was longer than two or three years tops.
Another nice review. I have KC C-series Amber lights. It's another budget friendly light. Maybe a comparison video?
Haha, well, if KC wants to send me lights, then maybe, but honestly I hope I'm done with lighting reviews for a while, LOL. I suppose if I ended up on the trail with someone running KCs or some other comparable LED pod, it would be possible to do some comparisons without doing more install work on my car. :-)
Maybe you could put them on your Van? 😂🤣
Haha, you must be the guy I ran into over on one of Jason's videos. :-)
@@softroadingthewest I am, I was hoping you would remember and think it was funny. 👍👍
Great video content! Those lights are great.
Congratulation for your video, it explains all we need to know about pods, but you didn't especify what of the three power is. There are SPORT, PRO and MAX. Its is important to know about that. thanks.
At 2:16 I stated: "I'm testing the Pro model on the Forester."
Did you get the Pro or Sport level? I have the DD Sport amber Fogs and they are incredible! I need to add more throw forward and this may be the solution.
These are the Pro. I don't doubt the Sport are very good as well. :-)
Hello! doesn't it bother you that the lights vibrate a bit? i find the moving patch of light a bit distracting...
Initially I had the same thought, and I was even planning to try reinforcing the ADF mounting bracket a bit (the lights are sort of extended out on tongues of metal which amplify the vibrations), but I've found that in practice, when I'm actually using them on the trail to see, I don't even notice. Eventually I expect to mount the pods solidly to a custom from bumper so it will become a non-issue.
Good video, we have different ideas of "affordable" though.
And did you end up fixing or replacing the front shield crack ?
Very ‘enlightening’ review. These lights are still a little on the expensive side but seem to be a good value looking at their construction details. I’m pretty disappointed in your Auxbeam light bar getting condensation in it, it seems to be a common failure unfortunately. How about a comparison between the bar and the Diodes?
The Auxbeam got water in it within about a week of install; that said it continues to work just fine. Next time I'm working on the roof rack configuration, I may try to disassemble it, get it well dried out, and do a little extra sealing work on. I didn't want to confuse things in this video by mixing in the Auxbeam in this review, but now that this one is done, I'll definitely be talking about how the two approaches compare in a future video, and showing how they complement each other. The Auxbeam pretty effectively lights up all those dark peripheral areas surrounding the focused beam of the DD pods, and the DD pods very effectively punch light much further up the road than the Auxbeam bar is able to do. With everything on, it's like driving in daylight. :-)
should probably look intro retrofitting your headlights if you want light
Now I want some...
Pretty sure DD is running a 20% off sale right now Erik! Sarah & Aaron have these also, both in their factory fog location AND on their ditch light mounts. I always feel good about running anything Aaron approves of. :-)
what do the switches inside your car look like? are they after integrated into your dash o just a old fashioned toggle ?
They are just plain metal toggle switches, mounted on the door of my interior fuse panel access. There is virtually nowhere to install nice switches that look integrated into the dash....no blanks to be had. Some people mount a switch panel in the little cubby in front of the gear shift, but there are so few storage compartments in this car, I use that cubby and didn't want to give it up. Where I have them mounted is not ideal but works well enough and made the install very easy. I just have to remember which is which when I reach down to turn one on, because I can't really see the switches when I'm driving.
Is there a reason why not wire the ss3 together with the high beam so they turn on at the same time without toggling one more switch ?
I think some people do take this approach. I prefer to keep them separate for a few reasons. One, the high beams on the Forester are complicated...it's the same bulb as the daytime running lights, but with less voltage sent or something. I really didn't want to start fiddling with the car's stock wiring and risk making a mistake. Running independent circuits is nice and simple. Also, I prefer to have full control over when they're on or off. I want to be able to run them paired with my low beams if that better fits the conditions (e.g. foggy night).
What if your car didn't come with fog lights what do I need to buy to use these on my 18 impreza?
You would need to find either some kind of aftermarket light mount (check Rally Innovations, they may have something for your car) or if you're handy, you can come up with a DIY solution. With some searching you might find some other solutions, either aftermarket or DIY approaches other Impreza owners have tried.
Is the difference between white vs. yellow just a color preference, or do the different colors have particular applications?
From everything I've read, yellow or amber is supposed to be beneficial in fog, rain and snow...less dazzling somehow? As inclement weather was a primary concern for adding more lights in addition to my overhead light bar, I opted for the yellow to maximize my chances of improving visibility in those conditions.
@@softroadingthewest I was going to post this a little further back up, but this spot seems appropriate. Someone smarter than me can chime in about the difference in the frequency of yellow light vs white light and that yellow is a lower frequency wave. What this means for visibility during precipitation vs a high frequency wavelength is that it less likely to strike and reflect on something. (like rain drops or snowflakes; think Auxbeam effect). Also think about a high frequency light wave being able to "fill all nooks and crannies" of an uneven road surface, whereas, yellow's longer wavelength doesn't, and therefore actually leaves shadows in potholes, ruts and behind big rocks. This is a sought after feature of yellow lights due to the surface contrast that is revealed. I use one yellow and one white bulb in my snowmobile for this very reason, to read the road surface better and be able to go faster, safer. Sport bike riders have known this for years. There is perhaps a more elegant and detailed way to say what I'm saying, but you get the point. I believe I read all that I know about this topic about 10 years ago on the PIAA lights webpage if you are interested in a starting point for sources, otherwise there are lots of university physics department's webpage's that talk about the EM spectrum and the visible light bands. BTW, Thank you for all this testing and documentation! I have a 2010 Forester and find what you are doing invaluable to my own efforts.
That is *super* interesting!! I never knew any of the theory behind running yellow lights. I do understand what you're saying, that all makes sense to me. I may have to do more reading on this so I can better answer the question when people ask me. Thanks for the detailed explanation!
Is there a reason why you chose yellow over white?
One of the main motivations for adding lights in front in addition to my pretty effective Auxbeam lightbar was that the roof-mounted lightbar is just about impossible to use in rain, fog, or snow...all that precipitation gets dazzlingly illuminated right in front of your eyes. Nearly everything I had read suggested that yellow or amber lights are better in fog & snow, so, even though these technically aren't fog lights per se, I went with yellow in hopes of optimizing performance in inclement weather. I can't comment definitively on if this truly makes a difference, I've never been able to do any sort of side by side comparison of white vs yellow.
Do you have any real time fog / snow diving condition video's...lookin for the best fog light for snow or fog conditions. I don’t want to just light up the water droplets 💦 in the air. Look for the best illumination without creating a fog wall ahead of me in real conditions of heavy snow or fog.
No, but my Diode Dynamics are not configured for fog use. DD offers a different optic if you want to use them as fog lights, which keeps the beam down lower. Based on how precise my "Driving" optics are (similar to high beams, in fact I use them as my high beams since they're waaay more effective) I would expect their fog optic to keep the light where you want it to be.
Cool lights!!!!
Are these the Sports or Pros?
Do you have a link or info on the mounting bracket you are using?
It's made by Anderson Design & Fabrication:
awdadventure.com/products/2009-20013-subaru-forester-grill-led-pod-mounts
Note that it's a direct fit on the 09-10 Forester. The 11-13 Forester (like mine) will need a tiny bit of cutting. I have a video about the bracket and how I modified my grill to make it work:
ruclips.net/video/EPjymK756vE/видео.html
Diode dynamics or bajas?
Looks pretty good, where did you do your testing?
Just old logging roads on BLM land not far outside of town.
@@softroadingthewest sorry, wasn't specific enough, which town?
Oh derrrr sorry about that! :-) I'm based in Eugene Oregon. We have BLM lands off in almost every direction just outside of town, and National Forest land generally just beyond. Really simple to get up onto some forest roads here. :-)
@@softroadingthewest My question wasn't originally specific enough, my fault. Just wondering cuz I'm in Roseburg.
Some beautiful areas to explore heading up 138! It's long been on my list but I still haven't managed to get down there.
How much difference do the high beams make when the SS3s are on? Is it a noticeable drop in light if you do low beams + SS3s?
I was considering the SS3 fog light swap, but my vehicle does not allow high beams and fog lights on together. It has me wondering if it'll really matter given how bright the SS3s are, though.
Switching from low beams to high beams or vice versa with the SS3 turned on was virtually indistinguishable. That said, I'm running the driving optic, which is designed to work more like a high beam. Presumably you'd get the fog optic if you were to install these in the factory fog position, and I haven't used that configuration, so I don't know what it looks like in the pattern and in conjunction with the headlights. Of course, if it's actually foggy, I usually run my low beams and not my high beams anyway.
But if you want the ability to just blast all the light power you possibly can when needed - which is totally legit IMO - you could always install them in the factory fog position but wire them independently so you've got complete control. That's part of why I've got all my aux lights on their own separate system, so I can run exactly what I want whenever I want, regardless of what my headlights are doing at the time.
@@softroadingthewest thank you for the detailed reply!
What type of cross bars do you have on your roof? I’m looking for some of that style where they extend past the body a little.
Andrew Okerlund. If you check out some of his earlier videos you will see his description of the roof set up. I believe he used superstructure/unistrut to fabricate his own roof bar set up.
The crossbars themselves are actually some inexpensive (I believe) knockoff of something nicer, they were on the car when I bought it. No idea what the brand is. I built an additional half-rack structure on top of the crossbars using unistrut material. Honestly I can't recommend the crossbars themselves, I can see that they're very slightly flexing/bowing in the middle. I will probably replace them at some point with either new crossbars or with more unistrut.
But there should be a number of crossbar brands out there which offer longer bars that extend beyond the factory rails, I do see these pretty commonly.
Where can I get a grill light mount for an 03 forester
I’m unaware of a product like this for the older Foresters. You might check Rally Innovations though. They make light mounting solutions for numerous Subaru models. Generally a little bigger and more elaborate (and expensive) than the ADF mount seen here, but it’s nicely made stuff.
DD are not cheap. They are not overpriced thats all. The other brands are out for blood.
I have a 2010 Forester and I plan to get these same lights. Do you ever wish you got them in white instead of yellow? I like the idea of a warmer color for inclement weather, but my eyes don't really like that yellow. I feel like the white ones are a good neutral white and not too blue, so I should be good with those up here in Northern Michigan.
That's an excellent question. I went with the yellow because I wanted something that would cut through the inclement stuff better than the bluish-white light bar on my roof, but in practice, as general purpose offroad lights, the yellow seems less than ideal. You end up seeing everything in a yellow-tinted black & white, whereas a white light would enable you to see the various colors of what shows up in front of you. I think that if you're getting these as offroad/driving lights in the flood or driving optic, white probably makes the most sense. If you're getting these as true fog lights, with the fog optic installed and mounted low on your vehicle, the yellow is a legit choice. In either color, the light output and precision light distribution of the optics is just fabulous.
@@softroadingthewest I think what I will do is get the same mounting bracket that you have, but white with fog lenses, so it spreads the light out nicely but doesn't blind other drivers. Then I will probably put some yellow ones in the fog light housings. This will be my first winter up here, so the yellow fogs should help. Thanks so much for the reply!
Those are nice, but still expensive as the other brands. For top Diode, you still paying about the same price for top brands.
Hi Donald! 😊
Hi Amanda! Haven't seen you guys in forever!!
@@softroadingthewest yes! It's been too long. Hopefully soon 🤞
Well they aren’t low bean they are high beam lights...I’d light to to the max fogs..
pretty sure your headlights are pointed strait at the ground
But you'll have to drive slower, if you go too fast (670,000,000mph) you'll outdrive the light beam.🤣
haha, not a chance in my slug of a Forester LOL
"Filmed?" No "film" was used in the making of this video. There is no cellulose in your camera.
DD was great until they leaked every customers personal data including CC# for over a year. Good way to lose customer trust. I was a victim and unfortunately no longer a customer.