Since the fog lights aren't really fog lights (they're better described as auxiliary lights) I don't find any good use for them. When driving in white-out conditions on the highway in the winter I find it easier to just use the DRL's than low beam headlights. The 'fogs' don't help.

I live in the city, so it's lighted in the winter and I get by with low beams, no need for headlights in the summer. Like has been mentioned, most, if not all, N.A. cars have 'fogs' for decoration than anything practical.

What's most annoying is that it seems like of the 90% of cars that are built with them the owners always use them with the low beam lights. Holy glare city.

 

I use them any time I'm not in the city at night because I like the way they light up the side of the road. Anything that gives me a better chance of seeing and avoiding a deer before it smashes up my car, is a good thing.

 

My reason for using them as well. Sometimes rural roads are narrow and you never know what debris or critters you will find on the sides. I like the increased visibility. I don't see any reason for using them on regular well lit roads, except for show.

 

Actually, that will make the problem worse. Putting a bulb designed for a projector in a reflector housing and increasing the lumen output increases the amount of glare that is output. When that glare is reflected back at the driver (whether it be off of signs, the road, brush alongside the road, other vehicles, etc...), they see less.

Quality of lighting, not quantity is what is key and quality light is properly aimed/focused light in the right spectrum.

~SB

 

The purpose of the fog lights is to take stones through the lenses so that Honda can charge you $300+ per side for new ones. /sarcasm

 

Or pay $300 for those shiny chrome mesh lens covers to protect them.

 

I'm hoping the $18 Headlight Armor for the foglights will prevent that.
09-12 Honda Fit Lighting Protection Kits

 

What always got me was that Honda had already moved to plastic lenses for headlights so that this wouldn't happen. Their engineering group had already come to grips with the problem. Why wouldn't they carry that solution through to the fog lights as well? Irritating.

 

Here is an interesting FAQ about fog lights:
Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

 

Yeah, the lamps on the fit seem to have good cutoff, but I don't think they project far enough forward. They should project further down the road and fill in the low beams.

The beam pattern on these, I can't even see the light projected. The only light I can see is out the little window on the drivers side that's forward of the mirror. (WTH is that window called anyway?)

 

The A pillar window? They used to call them front vent windows but, of course, they no longer open in modern cars.

But that would be totally awesome if they did!! OMG.

 

I just call them front quarter windows. And of course the ones in the back are rear quarter windows... mainly because of the fact that the sheet metal in front and behind the doors are usually called quarter panels.

 

IIRc, they were Butterfly Windows. we had them on both of our VW Bus and Rabbits. Can't remember if the vanagon had them... think so. They were great for venting air either in or out.

~SB

 

Every car or truck I've owned that had vent or butterfly windows had them on the door. My old Bronco's would open. My Miata's were static. My Altima didn't have them at all. Only the Fit has had these strange little beasts in front of the door and side mirror.

 

What they do best is reflect in the windshield. Maybe they would be good in combination with the fog lights to see the white line but I haven't encountered fog with the Fit yet.

 

Fog lights are of limited benefit with the headlights on. The idea is to get under the fog and not reflect off of it. Since you cant shut the headlights of with the fogs you still get a lot of reflection from the headlights.

 

driving up to tahoe last winter with drifting rain/lightsnow,

the fogs did help illuminate the immediate road surface itself better to give more contrast so I could follow the road by the lane markers. The road itself would've just been pitch black or white without the fogs due to the water on the road and snow in the air.

Maybe if they were designed as some other people suggested they would've been even better? I;'m not a lighting expert, but at least in this one personal instance they helped to some degree, so they aren't completely just for show.

 

Our regular headlights are designed to shine only so far, because otherwise they will blind people due to a higher angle. Foglights as we know them are really peripheral lights. I have dodged plenty of would-be-roadkill thanks to having my foglights on in my '09 fit.

 

I haven't encountered much fog in my fit, but in rainy conditions they have helped me see the striping on several occasions.

 

Minimally functional due to size but nice to have - to see and be seen. Changing to yellow/amber film or bulb helps minimize snow/rain reflection. Just my take.