Lighting upgrade for rainy conditions

[scarab]

I'm running a stock LED headlights in my 2022 Wrangler. In normal weather conditions they work great to me. Last weekend I got hit by a pretty bad night thunderstorm and I had the worst driving experience ever. I wasn't able to see literarily anything, fogs didn't do anything either. I'm thinking about putting a set of yellow KC Flex Era 4's on the bumper. Is that a good option or maybe you guys can recommend something better? Usually I don't wheel overnight, and on a trail stock LED's are sufficient to me, I just need a better lighting in rainy/snowy conditions on a highway.

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[AcesandEights]

More light is not necessarily better. You're pushing light against water and you won't be able to see "through" it with more light. Best bet, low-beams and slow down. There is no way to "see" better with more light if the rain is that heavy.

 

[Pinky Tuscadero]

Its an exact color that is needed. I've only owned one pair in the 80's that could see through fog and rain better (of course after turning off the other lights)
Also owned one pair of cheap yellowish flea market sunglasses that could see through any rain
Both long gone and never have found replacements
I would check a whole lot of reviews before buying anything or..... waste
Sorry
And I honestly don't know why they call an extra pair of white lights today "fog lights"

 

[scarab]

Well, I'm originally from Europe and I've got like 20 years of experience as a driver, I've seen all kinds of weather conditions and used all kinds of headlights from halogens, xenons to LED's but honestly I've never experienced anything even close to that in any vehicle. I was doing like 40mph while everyone else was making 50-60, and to be fair I was super grateful that I made it home in one piece. And it was just a thunderstorm with some heavy rain, but nothing super extreme. I had three passengers in the Jeep and a ton of camping gear so my headlights were sitting pretty up high so that contributed to the problem as well. BTW it's ridiculous that there is no power headlight height adjustment in 2022 vehicle (it's mandatory in Europe for like 25 years) but that's another discussion. Other than that I absolutely love my Jeep Anyway, I think it's certainly possible to make it better, so I would appreciate some recommendations My Rubi is a 2022 XR with 35's, that's why I think I need some lights on the bumper so that they would sit lower and be able to do a better job in rainy/snowy conditions than the headlights.

 

[Whiskeybiskit]

I have a diode dynamics 6" light bar with an amber fog pattern lens. It's a wide beam, but a very sharp cutoff, so no glare. I have it mounted on my front bumper bar just below the legal height for fog lights in Nevada. Works well in heavy rain, snow and helps to be seen when on dusty trails. They also have fog light pods with different levels of lumens, sport, pro and max I believe. Diode makes some really good products for the price.

 

[AcesandEights]

Well, I'm originally from Europe and I've got like 20 years of experience as a driver, I've seen all kinds of weather conditions and used all kinds of headlights from halogens, xenons to LED's but honestly I've never experienced anything even close to that in any vehicle. I was doing like 40mph while everyone else was making 50-60, and to be fair I was super grateful that I made it home in one piece. And it was just a thunderstorm with some heavy rain, but nothing super extreme. I had three passengers in the Jeep and a ton of camping gear so my headlights were sitting pretty up high so that contributed to the problem as well. BTW it's ridiculous that there is no power headlight height adjustment in 2022 vehicle (it's mandatory in Europe for like 25 years) but that's another discussion. Other than that I absolutely love my Jeep Anyway, I think it's certainly possible to make it better, so I would appreciate some recommendations My Rubi is a 2022 XR with 35's, that's why I think I need some lights on the bumper so that they would sit lower and be able to do a better job in rainy/snowy conditions than the headlights.

I think you're missing the point. More light won't make it better. If your lights are on and reflecting and refracting light, adding additional lights won't change that. In fact, it's likely to make it worse, even if they are pointed down. They won't provide additional usable light for driving in rain.

Other people's unsafe speed doesn't make your speed safe; meaning it doesn't matter how fast other people were driving in adverse conditions; that they were driving faster than you doesn't mean you were driving at a safe speed. They were probably driving a car lower to the ground with properly aimed lights. It matters what vehicle you were driving, and you're driving a Wrangler with headlights aimed improperly for conditions, so slow down. You're have the wrong tool (Wrangler) for the job (driving 40+ mph in heavy rain).

 

[Philly_]

Really liking my Baja Designs Squadron SAE foglights in Amber. They're a direct plug and play replacement for the factory fogs and street legal; although, in the factory bumper I found I do not get as much light left to right as the standard fogs. Not a problem, because it puts A LOT of light right where I want it, and I find the amber (yellow) color much better for rain, dust, snow, etc.

If you're not looking to replace the factory fogs, you can look at the Squadron Sports or Squadron Pro's in a wide cornering pattern that will throw more light with a similar beam.

 

[JLTruman]

Color makes a difference, yellow or amber have longer wavelengths and reflect less light. That's why we use them for dusty/rainy conditions in the desert.

 

[ELJL]

Color makes a difference, yellow or amber have longer wavelengths and reflect less light. That's why we use them for dusty/rainy conditions in the desert.

Correct on yellow and amber.

Reflection is why fogs are set lower too, and where the OP would want to have his additional setup if he is struggling with reflection.

 

[Ratbert]

I haven't had the opportunity to really try these in the rain, but theoretically they'd be great due to their low stance under the bumper. AEV, so it's an expensive solution.

 

[Zandcwhite]

Your headlights were pointed up, likely significantly based on my experience with a fully loaded down 4 door with stock suspension. The headlights weren't the problem the aim was. Run a heavier spring in the rear to eliminate the massive sag and you'll be amazed how much better you can see in the rain (not to mention how much less you get oncoming traffic flashing their high beams at you). We took a 5 day trip down to big bear with 4 adults and my niece. Nearly 1k lbs of passengers plus luggage for 5 packed in the back literally had us into the bump stops on large bumps in the road and every car coming the opposite direction was flashing the brights at us. New rear springs got ordered the day we got home and problem solved.

 

[Wbino]

In conditions like that you find a safe spot, pull over and wait it out.

 

[fourseasons1621]

Here in Florida extreme rain and fog are a daily obstacle. I run 2 pairs of KC Flex ERA 3 lights with yellow covers and Lamin-X yellow fog light tint. Rain and fog visibility are incredible with this set up. I turn the lights to "Parking" and turn on the fogs/KC's. I do not use abuse this set up to oncoming traffic though.

 

[conFUcius]

Really liking my Baja Designs Squadron SAE foglights in Amber. They're a direct plug and play replacement for the factory fogs and street legal; although, in the factory bumper I found I do not get as much light left to right as the standard fogs. Not a problem, because it puts A LOT of light right where I want it, and I find the amber (yellow) color much better for rain, dust, snow, etc.

If you're not looking to replace the factory fogs, you can look at the Squadron Sports or Squadron Pro's in a wide cornering pattern that will throw more light with a similar beam.

@scarab - I did something similar (I think I have the wide cornering ones) when I switched to the Mopar OEM steel bumper. My original plastic OEM JLUR bumper was sold with the LED fog lights to someone who was in an accident, so I needed a set of fog lights when I switched from the Motobilt Crusher to the OEM steel bumper. Agree with @Philly_ about them not being as bright but they are much more noticeable in rain (have not tested them in dust/snow). In a torrential downpour, as soon as I turned them on, the amber lighting cut through the rain much better than the OEM LED headlights. 100% worth it and they are street legal.

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