automatcentral.com $54.99 light review

[tacosupreme]

So automatcentral recently became a vendor here and will supposedly refund my $54.99 if I do a review on their lights, so here it is. I got the 100W 7" lights to stuff behind my grill to use as fog lights. I just moved to Oregon and it's pea soup up here a lot and stock lights just don't cut through it. We'll see how these do, can't hurt anyway. They came well packaged and with the wiring loom already sorted out. It's a simple plug and pray operation, you just need to find a hot wire and a ground.
They're pretty flat, easy to stuff in tight.

Comes with all you see here. The wires and connection are all decent quality considering they were made in 5 seconds by a 10 year old chinese kid.

Won't blind oncoming traffic (in fog) too bad behind the grill.

Seems like a "spot" pattern

Stock lights comparison-

[hytenor]

yea, them ain't fogs
I wondered about that when I checked their site...lens pattern was all wrong.

[tacosupreme]

The site clearly says

100 watt intense white output in a far casting yet wide beam pattern.

That's also 3 feet away from the wall. If I wasn't drinking already I'd go get a night shot at a longer distance. Maybe tomorrow. http://www.automatcentral.com/7-inch-offroad-lamps

[hytenor]

Originally Posted by tacosupreme

The site clearly says

That's also 3 feet away from the wall. If I wasn't drinking already I'd go get a night shot at a longer distance. Maybe tomorrow. http://www.automatcentral.com/7-inch-offroad-lamps

no need. A true fog pattern, even at 3' will look like two long, skinny rectangles. Beam shouldn't be much taller than 18" even at 25'. those look like a driving beam pattern, not a spot/pencil beam.

[automatcentral]

Originally Posted by hytenor

no need. A true fog pattern, even at 3' will look like two long, skinny rectangles. Beam shouldn't be much taller than 18" even at 25'. those look like a driving beam pattern, not a spot/pencil beam.

Yes, these lights definitely don't have a fog beam pattern; but, rather a driving beam pattern, which appears to be a fairly wide driving beam pattern based on other reviews I've seen.

tacosupreme:
Thanks again for the review. If you have an opportunity, I'd be delighted to see more night shots of the light pattern.

[hytenor]

Originally Posted by automatcentral

Yes, these lights definitely don't have a fog beam pattern; but, rather a driving beam pattern, which appears to be a fairly wide driving beam pattern based on other reviews I've seen.

Uh, there are huge differences between the 3 basic beam patterns of aux lighting. You might want to familiarize yourself with them.

[automatcentral]

Originally Posted by hytenor

Uh, there are huge differences between the 3 basic beam patterns of aux lighting. You might want to familiarize yourself with them.

Yes, not only are there "huge" differences between the 3 basic beam patterns -- spot, driving, and fog; but, there are also sub-categories.

For example,

Driving Beam
The driving beam has a 20 degree field of view.
This pattern works best for longer range visibility with a wider field of view
Driving beams can be used by themselves or in conjunction with other beams for best results.

Wide Driving Beam
The driving beam has a 30 degree field of view.
This pattern works best for Medium range visibility with broad field of view.
Wide Driving beams can be used by themselves or in conjunction with other beams for best results.

You may want to familiarize yourself with these.

[hytenor]

Originally Posted by automatcentral

Yes, not only are there "huge" differences between the 3 basic beam patterns -- spot, driving, and fog; but, there are also sub-categories.

For example,

Driving Beam
The driving beam has a 20 degree field of view.
This pattern works best for longer range visibility with a wider field of view
Driving beams can be used by themselves or in conjunction with other beams for best results.

Wide Driving Beam
The driving beam has a 30 degree field of view.
This pattern works best for Medium range visibility with broad field of view.
Wide Driving beams can be used by themselves or in conjunction with other beams for best results.

You may want to familiarize yourself with these.

I've been familiar with them for over 30yrs...hence the term, "basic".


Each mfg will have differing beam idiosyncrasies...no two will be exact so the "30* field of view" for one company will be something else for another...and will be different for each model of light w/i said mfg's line.

That said...it seems that you didn't exactly bill these as "fog" lights although several of the reviews do just that...none the less, by bad. These are NOT fog lights, period; they are drivers. In dense fog, especially with the HID kits, these would be nearly useless due to the upper glare...produced by a driving lens configuration.

As Drivers, however, they do seem to be a very good value since they can easily be retroed with a lo-pro H-3 HID bulb kit putting out a better pattern (based on pics in the reviews) than Hella 500s that have a similar price point.

[automatcentral]

Your observations are extremely accurate and thoughtful. I couldn't agree with you more.

[ozarkie]

Besides the patterns and all...those things are too damn bright, too damn white and are gonna blind your ass so you can't see WHERE you are going. Get some real fog lights and use those for off road.

[hytenor]

Originally Posted by ozarkie

Besides the patterns and all...those things are too damn bright, too damn white and are gonna blind your ass so you can't see WHERE you are going. Get some real fog lights and use those for off road.

'bright' isn't really the issue with fogs, pattern and cut-off are. however, a hi-watt or HID light with amber lens is the best route to go in dense fog...as long as the pattern/cut-off are right. I grew up in the Central Valley in Cali...fog so thick you can't see past your hood

[ozarkie]

Originally Posted by hytenor

'bright' isn't really the issue with fogs, pattern and cut-off are. however, a hi-watt or HID light with amber lens is the best route to go in dense fog...as long as the pattern/cut-off are right. I grew up in the Central Valley in Cali...fog so thick you can't see past your hood

I agree on the pattern, etc.. 30+ yrs. on the Gulf Coast and a lot of fog, too. Whites won't cut it...gotta be amber. As for bright, even if one has an amber too bright, it's going to bounce back. Best thing is to use what gives the best penetration and go slow in the fog.

[hytenor]

Originally Posted by ozarkie

I agree on the pattern, etc.. 30+ yrs. on the Gulf Coast and a lot of fog, too. Whites won't cut it...gotta be amber. As for bright, even if one has an amber too bright, it's going to bounce back. Best thing is to use what gives the best penetration and go slow in the fog.

no, they won't...provided the lens assembly is correct, the lights are places low enough and aimed correctly. Frankly, there are only a very few companies out there with top quality fog lens/reflector assemblies...and they don't come cheap.