Fog Light Upgrades by Vehicle: Jeep, Truck & SUV Buyer's Guide
Quick Answer
A vehicle-specific guide to upgrading fog lights on popular off-road platforms including Jeep Wrangler JK/JL, Gladiator JT, Toyota Tacoma, and Ford F-150/Bronco — covering fitment, lens color, and performance.
Why Fog Lights Deserve Their Own Upgrade
Fog lights serve a fundamentally different purpose than headlights. While headlights project a beam forward and slightly down to illuminate the road ahead, fog lights are mounted low on the bumper and project a wide, flat beam pattern that hugs the ground surface. This low, wide pattern does two critical things: it illuminates the road edges and shoulders that headlights miss (especially in turns), and in actual fog, rain, or snow, the low mounting angle projects light under the layer of suspended moisture rather than reflecting back into the driver's eyes.
Factory fog lights on most trucks and SUVs are underwhelming — typically 19-35W halogen bulbs producing 500-900 lumens behind a basic reflector housing. Upgrading to LED fog lights is one of the highest-impact, lowest-effort lighting modifications you can make. Most fog light upgrades are direct bolt-in replacements using the factory mounting points and electrical connectors, requiring no cutting, drilling, or relay wiring.
Jeep Wrangler JK (2007-2018) & JL (2018+)
The JK and JL use different fog light form factors, so parts are not interchangeable. The JK uses a round 4-inch fog light that mounts into the factory bumper fog light pockets. The JL uses a smaller round fog light with a different mounting tab pattern and electrical connector.
For the JK, the most popular upgrade is the Rigid Industries 504813 or the Diode Dynamics SS3 fog light kit. Both are direct bolt-in replacements that use the factory mounting holes and connector (with an included adapter pigtail). The Rigid unit pushes 2,880 lumens per side in a SAE-compliant fog beam pattern, while the Diode Dynamics SS3 Sport produces 1,860 lumens in its fog optic configuration. Both come in white (6,000K) and selective yellow (3,000K) lens options.
For the JL, Morimoto offers a 4Banger fog light pod that replaces the factory housing with a quad-LED pod producing 4,960 combined lumens per side. It is dramatically brighter than the factory LED fog light (which produces about 800 lumens per side) but requires minor bumper trimming on some JL bumper configurations. The Diode Dynamics SS3 is also available in a JL-specific bracket kit that requires no trimming.
The Gladiator JT shares the same fog light housing and connector as the JL, so all JL fog light upgrades fit the JT directly.
Toyota Tacoma, 4Runner & Ford F-150 / Bronco
The 2016+ Toyota Tacoma uses a rectangular fog light housing that is specific to the Tacoma. Diode Dynamics makes a dedicated SS3 bracket for the Tacoma that bolts directly to the factory fog light mounting points and connector. Baja Designs offers the Squadron SAE fog light kit with a Tacoma-specific bracket that delivers 4,900 lumens per side. Both are available in white and amber.
The 5th-gen 4Runner (2014+) shares the same fog light mounting pattern as the Tacoma but with a slightly different bezel shape. Most Tacoma fog light kits fit the 4Runner with the correct bezel adapter.
The 2021+ Ford Bronco has rapidly become one of the most popular platforms for fog light upgrades. The Bronco uses a rectangular fog light housing mounted in the modular bumper. Rigid Industries, Baja Designs, and Diode Dynamics all offer Bronco-specific fog light kits. The Rigid 360-Series in fog optic is a popular choice, delivering 3,568 lumens in a wide-pattern SAE fog beam.
The Ford F-150 (2015+) uses a round fog light housing that varies slightly between model years. Check your specific year before ordering. The 2015-2017, 2018-2020, and 2021+ models each use different housings and connectors. Morimoto and Diode Dynamics both publish year-specific fitment guides to avoid compatibility issues.
| Vehicle | Form Factor | Top Upgrade Pick | Lumens/Side |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeep JK (2007-18) | 4" round | Rigid 504813 | 2,880 |
| Jeep JL/JT (2018+) | JL-specific round | Diode Dynamics SS3 | 1,860 |
| Toyota Tacoma (2016+) | Rectangular | Baja Designs Squadron SAE | 4,900 |
| Ford Bronco (2021+) | Rectangular | Rigid 360-Series Fog | 3,568 |
| Ford F-150 (2021+) | Round | Morimoto XB LED | 2,200 |
White vs Yellow Fog Lights: When to Choose Each
The white-versus-yellow debate in fog lights is not purely aesthetic — there is real science behind it. Yellow light (selective yellow, typically 2,500-3,000K) has a longer wavelength than white light (5,000-6,000K). Longer wavelengths scatter less when passing through suspended water droplets (fog, mist, rain) and airborne particulates (dust, snow). This means yellow fog lights produce less backscatter — the reflected glare that bounces off fog and back into your eyes — compared to white fog lights of the same lumen output.
In clear conditions, white fog lights produce more total visible light because the human eye is most sensitive to the green-yellow portion of the spectrum (around 555nm), which white LEDs hit more efficiently than filtered yellow LEDs. So white fog lights illuminate more ground area in clear weather.
The practical recommendation: if you drive frequently in fog, rain, snow, or dusty trail conditions, go with selective yellow. If you mostly drive in clear conditions and want maximum ground illumination, go with white. Many premium fog light kits from Baja Designs and Diode Dynamics offer swappable lens covers that let you switch between white and amber depending on conditions — this is the ideal solution if you can afford the premium.