Driving Lights...Fog Lights...Running Lights....

[RopinandRidin]

I'm old school and dumb, would somebody tell me the difference between all of them and what I should buy to make the road show up better as I'm driving down it?

[69mach1377]

Not an expert, but for night driving many use brighter and whiter headlight bulbs for far vision at the cost of lifetime vs. factory bulbs.
Fog lights only help closer to the vehicle for slower driving in really bad weather like fog, heavy rain or snow.
Free bump to get it rolling.

[Term3]

This is my understanding. Driving lights are wider, medium range. Fog lights are mounted low on a vehicle and have a flatter projection plus usually yellow to reduce back glare off the fog or snow. Running lights or what we call daytime running lights up here are reduced wattage lights which are meant to make your vehicle easier to see in the distance but not bright enough to be used to light your way in the dark.

[53fordguy]

I'm no expert here either, but i toss in my 2 cents as well.

Driving lights can usually be bought in two different patterns. You can either get a narrow beam, or a flood. It all depends on what you are looking to accomplish. If you want to see further down the road, you should probably go with a narrow beam that will project further down the road. If you are worried about something coming onto the road from the side, you should probably go with a flood pattern.

Fog lights: Hopefully this will make sense when i finish typing it out, if not...i'll try to clear it up. They are generally mounted low, and have an upper as well as lower cutoff on the beam. It will appear as if there is a band of light in front of the vehicle. Meaning, when you turn them on, there will be a space in front of the vehicle that is not being lit up, followed by a distance that is lit up, and then no more light. (I remember seeing a picture that better explained what i am trying to say, so i will try to find it) What this does, is reduce the amount of light that is reflected back up off of the road.

Running lights: I think Term3 was spot on with that explanation.

A couple side notes. If you do decide to upgrade/swap headlight bulbs, i would carry a spare set with you. The lifespan was shortened much more than i thought it would be, i found that out the hard way. I was in the middle of no where late at night when one of the bulbs decided it wasnt going to work anymore. Might as well be safe than sorry, and keep your old bulbs in the truck with you....just in case. The final thing is, dont go with blue/purple headlights. They do not throw the same amount of light that the yellowish bulbs throw.