What’s the Problem?
You don’t need to drive a big rig for long to have your first “white knuckle” experience. After a few miles under your belt, it just becomes part of the job. Whether you are driving through California or Alberta, situations that reduce your visibility happen. Adverse weather conditions happen. Jacked up F250’s with quad HIDs happen. No matter what the cause, the result is you losing visibility with the road and making you seriously question your life choices.
A Class 8 commercial heavy truck is a serious machine that takes a real professional to operate. It demands respect; because, when things go wrong….. they go wrong bad. With so much at stake, you would think these machines would be equipped with the absolute best safety standards legally allowed, right? Wrong! Many of the big rig OEM will market their mediocre headlight housing as a “uptime maximizer”, that you can find a replacement bulb for at any truck stop. Why do they think this is a good thing? Give me the most advanced LED or HID headlight available over a easy swap 1990’s era halogen any day.
Fog/Driving Lights
The factory fog lights on these trucks are no exception. For the most part, they are a compete waste. The older style Freightliner Cascadia at least had a proper H11 fog light, but they produce a lot of glare and should have been put in a projector. The last gen of Volvo VNL and the new Western Star 5700xe , both use a 800 series bulb (880,881,896 etc) for the fog and driving lights. When I spoke to James over at Diode Dynamics, he couldn’t believe they would use a 800 series in a big rig. He said they barely put out any light! And we have to agree.
There is a Light at the End of the Tunnel, Literally
Enter the Diode Dynamics SSC2 LED Pod Lights. These small, but insanely potent fog/driving lights are SAE/DOT compliant for on road use, something many pod lights cannot say. They come in a SAE Fog, SAE Driving or a Flood pattern with a clear lens or a SAE Fog option with the Selective Amber lense. They also come in two power levels: Sport and Pro, to really match your needs.
The light output and beam pattern on the SSC2 are a thing of beauty. They don’t pack the same punch as Diode Dynamics SS3 Pods, but for their size, they are more than what’s needed. We believe a fog light should never be brighter than your headlights, that isn’t the designed function, and excessive foreground light takes your focus away from down road-where it should be. The SSC2 is bright–very bright. It can destroy many 3″ pod lights on the market without even breaking a sweat, making it the perfect addition to your tractor.
Here is where things get really interesting. They come with your choice of backlighting color: White, Amber, Blue and Red. The backlighting is just an ambient level light that is illuminated when the fog light is off. It then turns off when the actual fog light is turned on.
Why Truckers Will Love This
Picture if you will, the front of your Peterbilt 389 with chicken lights shining in every direction. In the front are 4 amber cubes that match the rest of your marker lights, just adding to the look. But then when you flip a switch, the one lights up white for your SAE Fog light. Then when you turn your high beam on, it goes back to amber and the other one lights up as a SAE Driving auxiliary high beam.
As I write this, I am staring at a Western Star 5700xe. The installation will be easy: I will remove the factory Fog assembly, put the backing plate back in and bolt 2 SSC2 Pods on either side using spacers or washers to straighten them forward. My dilemma: whether I’d like to install amber back lit pods wired to my marker lights,or white back lit pods wired into the factory white DRL light that’s in the headlights. Either way, it’s sure to turn some heads and goes to show just how unique and customizable these SSC2 pods really are.
But Wait, There’s More
While risking sounding like a cheap infomercial, it gets better. The Diode Dynamics SSC2 Pods also come in a flush mount application, with the same Clear lens or Selective Amber lens options and the same Sport and Pro power levels. Where they differ is the flush mount is only available in a SAE Fog or flood patter.
The flush mount option is perfect for flat bumper rigs like the Freightliner Classic or W990/W900 Peterbilt 379, for example. The one unique use for this would be in the rear of your rig or pickup truck with the red backlighting and flood optics. This would give you a rear marker light that can be wired as a powerful reverse light or to blend in a work light behind your bunk.
As you can see, the Diode Dynamics SSC2 LED Pod Lights are a must have for any rig putting on miles and the SAE compliant options make it so you’ll never have to worry at the scale house.
