So when did yellow over-take amber in the fog/off-road light market?

[OFC Ranger]

I can't remember if I have asked this before, but the idea was wandering around in my head and I could research no good answer.

From my understanding in inclement weather the spectrum of best to worst is as follows;

red > orange > yellow > white

Amber I guess was the middle step between straight orange and straight yellow.

What is advertised as "amber" these days with off-road companies is not amber, its some sort of golden yellow shade. I painstakingly found a way to alter my lenses to a true amber hue using two glass spray paints that was more or less a combination of "Tangerine Orange" and "Canary Yellow". Sadly it seems these have been discontinued by the manufacturer.

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[deleriumtremor]

Not sure when, but you definitely have right that something other than true amber is now the norm.

I have a new set of $400 SS3 Pro LED fog replacements sitting in the garage and they are yellow and really not even much a dark yellow. I am thinking about the amber fog lights I put on an old 69 911 and they were a much darker amber, excellent in driving snow.

 

[OFC Ranger]

Not sure when, but you definitely have right that something other than true amber is now the norm.

I have a new set of $400 SS3 Pro LED fog replacements sitting in the garage and they are yellow and really not even much a dark yellow. I am thinking about the amber fog lights I put on an old 69 911 and they were a much darker amber, excellent in driving snow.

I've updated all my "amber" lenses to actual amber some time ago;

 

[Bob902]

Not sure when, but you definitely have right that something other than true amber is now the norm.

I have a new set of $400 SS3 Pro LED fog replacements sitting in the garage and they are yellow and really not even much a dark yellow. I am thinking about the amber fog lights I put on an old 69 911 and they were a much darker amber, excellent in driving snow.

I have the DD yellow fogs. They work pretty good in inclement weather.

 

[OFC Ranger]

I have the DD yellow fogs. They work pretty good in inclement weather.

Dont think anyone will dispute the working aspect, but the history from moving away from true amber, which from my understanding was a better hue up the scale.

 

[deleriumtremor]

I have the DD yellow fogs. They work pretty good in inclement weather.

For me, I knew the fogs were not going to be as dark an amber as I had on the 911, actually a lot lighter toward yellow. My point of view is I would rather have a quality product than focus only on the color, but no doubt the color is lighter.

BTW, DD made no bones about the yellow versus amber, which I can't say for a number of other AM fog light suppliers. Had DD offered a darker amber in the pro offering, I would have bought that one, but what I got will work, pretty sure.

 

[Bob902]

For me, I knew the fogs were not going to be as dark an amber as I had on the 911, actually a lot lighter toward yellow. My point of view is I would rather have a quality product than focus only on the color, but no doubt the color is lighter.

BTW, DD made no bones about the yellow versus amber, which I can't say for a number of other AM fog light suppliers. Had DD offered a darker amber in the pro offering, I would have bought that one, but what I got will work, pretty sure.

I agree. Diode makes good stuff. And for me, they are local, too.

 

[D Fresh]

There has definitely been a change. My BD Squadron Pros surely produce a more "yellow" color than "amber." Although I cannot deny the effectiveness of their "amber," it is different, and I don't know when that changed.

I suspect that it has something to do with the color spectrum of the white LEDs that companies are starting with and their lense formulations.

Older lights produced more red spectrum light is my guess.

 

[OFC Ranger]

There has definitely been a change. My BD Squadron Pros surely produce a more "yellow" color than "amber." Although I cannot deny the effectiveness of their "amber," it is different, and I don't know when that changed.

I suspect that it has something to do with the color spectrum of the white LEDs that companies are starting with and their lense formulations.

Older lights produced more red spectrum light is my guess.

Actually DD does have a true amber hue product in their Stage Series light bars...

Why they don't carry this over to their other products I don't know.

 

[D Fresh]

Actually DD does have a true amber hue product in their Stage Series light bars...

Why they don't carry this over to their other products I don't know.

So if it's not a product of the technology, perhaps it's a product of the science?

Have you tried emailing to ask? DD has a rep for good customer service.

 

[deleriumtremor]

Actually DD does have a true amber hue product in their Stage Series light bars...

Why they don't carry this over to their other products I don't know.

Had they offered that in the pro line I bought (because of the endorsement I read here by @Bob902), I would have bought that color. But if they were Amber and not the pro’s, would have still bought the pro’s.

 

[OFC Ranger]

So if it's not a product of the technology, perhaps it's a product of the science?

Have you tried emailing to ask? DD has a rep for good customer service.

It is not just DD.

Everyone from Baja Designs to Chinesium on Amazon all use yellow.

Its funny if you do something as simple as "Yellow vs. Amber Fog Lights" in google, its just a rabbit hole of no answers.

 

[deleriumtremor]

Actually DD does have a true amber hue product in their Stage Series light bars...

Why they don't carry this over to their other products I don't know.

It might be a product of the fact that as you move to the lighter yellows, with the lights above you eye level (no cut off), the reflection becomes a problem in heavy rain/snow let alone fog.

In the olden days, the lights on my 911 didn’t have a cutoff, so it was all about the amber not dazzling in reflection as much, I think.

 

[Rinn69]

Having driven in true white out conditions, back in 1986-87, my 2 friends and I were caught in a nasty blizzard. The snow was horizontal with winds 30-60 mph and we were about halfway home when we hit it. It was only 7-8 miles to get home, but we were only going 5-10 mph. I had some yellow fog lights on the front bumper of my 1980 Dodge D-50 and they saved us big-time !!! We could only see 10-15 ft at most, but the yellow fogs lit the yellow center line like a laser and saved our butts !!

 

[Bob902]

It might be a product of the fact that as you move to the lighter yellows, with the lights above you eye level (no cut off), the reflection becomes a problem in heavy rain/snow let alone fog.

In the olden days, the lights on my 911 didn’t have a cutoff, so it was all about the amber not dazzling in reflection as much, I think.

The cut off part might have something to do with it. Mine have a very distinct and sharp cutoff.

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