That is a brave answer slider. It is very easy to become intractable under the adversity of so much opposition. You can see how thought out heartfelt many of the answers have been. I live in West Wales deep into the country, the B roads here are in very poor condition very twisty lots of adverse cambers and tree lined ditches etc. My farm is way out in the sticks and have to use small unclassified roads far worse than the description above and need to pull over to allow others to pass or reverse back to the last gateway. I never bother with the fogs they would not be of much use being so low and when the roads are wet as they so often are in this neck of the woods they could easily confuse the opposing driver and make passing maneuvers more difficult and possibly cause an off road situation.

If you need the extra light on these dark roads, though I see that you have a BMW which normally have excellent lighting might I suggest buying some decent auxiliary lights from the likes of Cibie' or Hella. Some of both companies larger rally type lights are truly outstanding. Hella have several lights 3000, 4000 & Luminator series and a few others, Cibie have Apollo, Oscar & Super Oscar that are available in fog, wide angle, drive and spot. Some of the cibies are even available with fog/drive combined. Forget the spot, spot or pencil beams are absolutely useless on their own on all but 10 mile straits. I would suggest drive or wide angle to facilitate main beam. The drive are normally better and more intense with greater spread then the main beam. Wide angle is just that, offering exceptional width at the expense of reach and would suit very narrow twisty wet roads.

I should not be encouraging but if you really do feel that you need a fog and still intend to use them, then ditch the original fogs and fit one from the above manufacturers will be very good in the large size as mentioned above. If the roads are deserted then it does not matter so much, except for legal reasons if the fogs are illuminated along with dip beam. Mount mount these above bumper not bellow. In this position they give far more range even when aimed correctly and in fact can be angled slightly down. In this position they will cause less glare and believe me the lights I have suggested will give a phenomenal improvement in width reach and luminosity and cause less glare because of superior lens/reflector manufacture. When you see a car coming in the very far distance distance switch over to dip + fog and then switch off the fog as the car gets closer and be prepared to slow as conditions allow.

For your next car my suggestion would be to buy one with Original Fit HID Xenon lights, they are truly amazing and auxiliary/fogs or what ever can be thrown in the bin because they are so good. Once used to traveling behind HID you will never go back to anything else! Until that is, LED headlamps become more available.

Looks good though, doesn't it...

I cannot believe what I am reading on this thread!!So this idiot/wally is driving towards you with his fog lights on, in your opinion the weather conditions do not warrant the fog lights being on. So what do you do stick your main beams on to blind the poor b**ger, so not only is the guy with fog lights on a wally/idiot but so is the guy coming towards him with his main beam on must, by definition, also be a wally/idiot.Needless to say, the main beamer and the fog lighter are both exhibiting a condition known as bad driving!Get to grips lads, driving is about showing consideration for other road users not venting your spleen over a pair of bl**dy fog lights.As for this being a British thing, God help us!!

I just turn my foglights on and off a couple of tines to remind them that they have forgotten!! to turn theirs off. Just like years ago we used to flash at drivers with lights on in daylight. That was before using lights in daylight became commonplace.

That is a brave answer slider. It is very easy to become intractable under the adversity of so much opposition.

If you need the extra light on these dark roads, though I see that you have a BMW which normally have excellent lighting might I suggest buying some decent auxiliary lights from the likes of Cibie' or Hella. Some of both companies larger rally type lights are truly outstanding. Hella have several lights 3000, 4000 & Luminator series and a few others, Cibie have Apollo, Oscar & Super Oscar that are available in fog, wide angle, drive and spot. Some of the cibies are even available with fog/drive combined. Forget the spot, spot or pencil beams are absolutely useless on their own on all but 10 mile straits. I would suggest drive or wide angle to facilitate main beam. The drive are normally better and more intense with greater spread then the main beam. Wide angle is just that, offering exceptional width at the expense of reach and would suit very narrow twisty wet roads.

QUOTE]

Thanks for your considered reply. The point of my original post was to gauge opinion, which it certainly did!. I must say that constructibe relies alway bear more weight that curt and abusive ones.

I am familiar with Cibie lights and teh like from my rallying days many moons ago but if using front fogs in non-foggy conditions is illeagal then bigger and better fogs are not goung to help.

Contary to your comments - standard lights on a 1 series BMW are Cr@p! I promised myself xenons before I bought the BMW but ended up buying an ex demo car that didn't have then fitted. Retro fit costs are crazy money.

Your most correct, bigger fogs will be just as illegal (or more so perhaps ha,) it was just incase your were intent on using them the better lenses better position and all that, jolly good. For years I wanted a car with HID Xenon lights and finally have one a Jaguar X-Type. the lights are fantastic even though the X-Type gets a real slating for the halogen equivalents which must be bordering on the legal limits of poor illumination lux if their is such a thing. It just a pity that i do not like the rest of the car but that has little to do with this conversation.

1, Have you tried having your beams set for optimum adjustment with a beam setter?

2, Have you had the circuitry checked for resistance losses in the lighting circuit? It may be worth your while making up a harness with thicker wire and good contacts if the resistance is high? I presume that The 1 series BMW uses relays.

3, have you changed the bulbs over to legal high intensity bulbs? Their are a number available at various +% but I believe that +100% are available now. These should make a huge difference. I have +80 or +90 in one of my offered vehicles and these are a major improvement over the standard fit.

4, headlamp units do age over time becoming less efficient, clouded, reduced opacity and so on. Depending on how long your going to keep the car, it may be worthwhile sourcing new ones.

I am surprised that the headlamps of the BMW 1 series are poor as they use hella units I understand of standard size. I used to be on the baby BMW forum some time ago, I was unaware that the standard beams were considered poor. I will have to go back and have a read, I quite like the 1 series, avery good handling car.

I have never needed fog lights in anything other than fog, and have managed to see and bee seen just fine without them in wet and snow conditions (inc a heavy blizzard on the M1 in feb).

On B roads either upgrade the bulbs, if roads are busy, or use main beam. That's what they're for.

How about driving lights that come on with full beam like used in rally driving? They're usually installed more as a fashion statement these days either on mini's and less often so by boy racers.

Full beam is not the problem. The reason I have been using fogs is to aid visability when on dipped beam.

I don't know about BMW's but the only difference I've ever noticed on the Fabia is a slight increase in the width of the light pattern on the road when fog lights are on, hardly aiding much on most roads.

I don't know about BMW's but the only difference I've ever noticed on the Fabia is a slight increase in the width of the light pattern on the road when fog lights are on, hardly aiding much on most roads.

The fogs make a huge difference to the light pattern on my car, but as previously noted I need to stop using them.

If the visibility is less than 100m, due to fog or any other type of weather, then use them. Apart from that, leave them off.

In normal coniditions, I've found they're not useful on the many country routes I drive; they don't throw light far enough ahead to spot anything at the side of the road and if you're scanning the area where they're shining, you're arguably not scanning the road far enough ahead

Steve

Couldn’t find a thanks button

People using fog lights on dark country roads don't bother me at all, they're not particularly dazzling. It's the idiots that leave their full beam on that annoy me, or the muppets who flash someone just because of their holier than though attitude.

There's quite a few of those in this thread I see, people who make driving more dangerous for everyone.

An interesting website with a relevant topic:

http://www.ukpoliceonline.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26246&st=20

I cannot believe what I am reading on this thread!!So this idiot/wally is driving towards you with his fog lights on, in your opinion the weather conditions do not warrant the fog lights being on. So what do you do stick your main beams on to blind the poor b**ger, so not only is the guy with fog lights on a wally/idiot but so is the guy coming towards him with his main beam on must, by definition, also be a wally/idiot.Needless to say, the main beamer and the fog lighter are both exhibiting a condition known as bad driving!Get to grips lads, driving is about showing consideration for other road users not venting your spleen over a pair of bl**dy fog lights.As for this being a British thing, God help us!!

So should we just let people drive at their own speed in towns, park where they want and sit in the middle lane as it is all bad driving. Driving standards in the UK are getting worse and worse and need to be addressed. Just letting people get away with it isn't going to help

There's quite a few of those in this thread I see, people who make driving more dangerous for everyone.

Are you a perfect driver then that never does anything wrong and have never wronged another driver?

Are you a perfect driver then that never does anything wrong and have never wronged another driver?

The word you were looking for is INTENT, e.g. have you intentionally wronged another driver? If you're going to troll, at least try to do it properly.

The word you were looking for is INTENT, e.g. have you intentionally wronged another driver? If you're going to troll, at least try to do it properly.

No as I said thanks; no need for correction. Have you ever wronged another drive (intentionally or not?) Not looking to troll just seeing if you are the perfect driver as it would appear to be from your earlier comment.

Are you a perfect driver then that never does anything wrong and have never wronged another driver?

Back under your bridge! ;)There's a difference between making a mistake caused by momentary inattention and deliberately driving in breach of a well known law for extended periods (ignorance of said law is no defence).

I think the whole point of full beaming a retarded driver (one who uses fog lights in no fog, or is stupidly slow at dipping full beam for oncoming traffic) is to actually make them crash and die. They won't do it again then will they.

It's called natural selection.

Like people who are too dim witted to allow an ambulance to easily pass through traiffic. These people need to be savaged.

I think that this is starting to get a little out of hand. Are we really saying that the purpose of flashing is to deliberately promote harm! If an oncoming driver is caused to crash, is not not most likely that in all probability they will crash into the very person who causes the incident by flashing n such a way. Its a bit like those people who deliberately speed up when they are being overtaken trying to prevent the overtaking car from pulling in safely in front of them. The most likely person to be involved in any accident of that kind is the very person who tries the blocking maneuver, either by being involved as collateral damage when a head on collision takes place or when the overtaking vehicle deliberately rams the offending blocker as the lesser of two evils by avoiding a head on collision, instead opting for a glancing blow.

As unwise and ill advised as it might be, some drivers flash out of irritation, it might be a short flash not designed as anything more than a warning, as might some one who is generally trying to advise the offender that they may be causing a problem. In all probability an accident is not intended or likely. I am sure that some more malicious people give a prolonged flash in order to possibly cause an accident or some other mistake, they are extremely foolish as I pointed out above, if their is intent to cause harm or worse as indicated in the blocking maneuver above, then they are culpable of a very serious crime and should suffer an appropriate criminal penalty such as having their freedom removed for a suitable period as well as having their license removed after being found guilty in court.

"Sarcasm is a form of humor that uses sharp, cutting remarks or language intended to mock, wound, or subject to contempt or ridicule. It is first recorded in English in The Shepheardes Calender in 1579.

Hostile, critical comments may be expressed in an ironic way such as saying "don't work too hard" to a lazy worker. The use of irony introduces an element of humour which may make the criticism seem more polite and less aggressive but understanding the subtlety of this usage requires second-order interpretation of the speaker's intentions. This sophisticated understanding is lacking in people with brain damage, dementia and autism, and this perception has been located by MRI in the right parahippocampal gyrus."

I think the whole point of full beaming a retarded driver (one who uses fog lights in no fog, or is stupidly slow at dipping full beam for oncoming traffic) is to actually make them crash and die. They won't do it again then will they.

It's called natural selection.

Like people who are too dim witted to allow an ambulance to easily pass through traiffic. These people need to be savaged.

Made me laugh.

To me it’s like the radar detector quandary. By the time the box registers the problem it’s too late to do anything about it (your excess speed). Similar, fog lights only illuminate a relatively small area in front of you, so by the time an obstacle is apparent in their beams it’s too late as to avoid it as you are already on top of it.

Seldom of use, more often an abuse...

As Wardy and others have pointed out, fog lights might be useful when fog or snow is so heavy that even dipped beam creates a white blanket in front of you.

In Sweden dipped beam or equivalent is mandatory around the clock. Fog lights may be used instead of dipped beam, but never together with it. Lots of drivers break this rule and it's very irritating for other drivers - i think it's the total amount of light rather than badly adjusted reflectors that's the culprit. Ideally cars should be wired so that you couldn't turn on both dipped and fog, but this is not the case.

My impression is that most people who turn on their fog lights do it just to show that they got them.

Seldom of use, more often an abuse...

As Wardy and others have pointed out, fog lights might be useful when fog or snow is so heavy that even dipped beam creates a white blanket in front of you.

In Sweden dipped beam or equivalent is mandatory around the clock. Fog lights may be used instead of dipped beam, but never together with it. Lots of drivers break this rule and it's very irritating for other drivers - i think it's the total amount of light rather than badly adjusted reflectors that's the culprit. Ideally cars should be wired so that you couldn't turn on both dipped and fog, but this is not the case.

My impression is that most people who turn on their fog lights do it just to show that they got them.

When I learnt to drive (a short while ago….cough cough) my driving instructor had the rare option of Fog lights fitted to his Ford Escort instructors car. He told me Fog lights should only be used when visibility was so poor that even dipped beams threw back too much light. At which point you used sidelights and fog lights only. At this point visibility is so poor that you can only crawl along anyway. In those days people put their fogs on to pretend they were rally drivers :D :D