Frstyl838

im looking into getting some foglights for my EM1. Ive been looking on ebay and passwordjdm. Here are a couple i found on Ebay, let me know what you guys think.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/99-00...Q5fAccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/99-00...Q5fAccessories

I like the clear ones because they are OEM but what could i use to make the lense yellow without melting or peeling off. I would be getting white Osram Nightbreaker bulbs for them.

Or should i just go with Depo Plastic or Glass ones that are already yellow, but with that ive heard fitment issues. Also, i like the look of the glass ones but im afraid they'd break if a rock hit them.

98civdx

go with the oem clear ones.
the glass ones are better and wont break if a rock hits them
well inless its huge, and then you other crap to worrie about besides you fogs.

NOFX

DEPO sells plastic ones now? Eeek...

OEM ones are your best bet though. You can use Lamin-X on them if you want or you can use yellow bulbs.

apekd

I would get the DEPO as they are made of glass. the Raybrig are glass as well. but really it depends on what you want. I would take the yellow Depo's over the clear Raybrig though

Frstyl838

do you think id see a difference at all in fitment between the 2? if i can get by with the DEPO glass yellow ones and save money and from having to put the film on them id rather do that!!

NOFX

I don't know about other years, but '96-'98 DEPOs have a different light pattern than the OEM ones. It's much worse than the OEM. Wiring also isn't as great, plus they're known for leaking (and grounding issues).

My OEM ones fit better than my DEPO or Esuse lights did.

Devon M

iTrader: (4)

Get OEM, nothing fits like OEM.

CarbonizedDX

my reasons for getting depos were simple, OE's don't come in yellow lense (square housings) and yellow bulbs thru clear housings just don't look right (i like the deep yellow/amber color). I've not owned OE's to know which is better, the depos seemed to fit like OE, I didn't have to do anything to get them to fit in at all....

steveo135

this

striker_18

plastic is more durable than glass?

NOFX

There are yellow square OEM foglights.

oc_civic on ClubCivic.com has them.

http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=123283

I'm using yellow bulbs in my clear square OE lights and it's comparable lighting to my boyfriend's yellow round OE lights.

I thought DEPO fit very well until I got OEM ones. They fit a bit tighter and are less likely to move around at all.

I've owned DEPO (square, clear), Esuse (square, clear) and OEM (square, clear). My boyfriend has owned Esuse (square, clear/ion), OEM (older style lenses, round, clear), OEM (newer style lenses, round, clear) and OEM (older style lenses, round, yellow).

The older style lenses were fluted, the new ones are clear.
No. It's usually thinner.

striker_18

Exactly!
In this case, OE is better than OEM in regards to quality. But fitment wise, OEM will be far better. Been there, done that.

NOFX

What?

OE = OEM

OE Style would be different. That would be DEPO or Esuse, for example.

Thin, brittle plastic (some aftermarket companies) is WORSE than thick, strong glass (OE/OEM/Honda).

Btw, DEPO, Esuse and Honda (aka OE/OEM) all use glass lenses. So it's really not worth mentioning unless anyone wants to buy Autozone Pilot aftermarket foglights.

striker_18

OE style or depo will always be of better quality than OEM when it comes to fog housings, yes.
OEM will have a far better fitment.
OE style or depo will have a thicker wiring, 14-12ga.
OEM will have 20ga wiring.

Eran

iTrader: (1)

Depo housings are garbage compared to OEM. They leak, they rust faster. The only thing they have is that the glass is a little thicker.

NOFX

I'd have to dig out the housings I still have to check on the wiring, but DEPO is ****. The wiring was crap. There's a stock harness in the car and it doesn't even touch that. DEPO has a driving light pattern too.

Esuse is decent. Esuse use a fog light beam pattern.

OEM is the best. OEM use a fog light beam pattern.

striker_18

Well, I have an 06 civic haha
Bought depo fogs.
They were MUCH better than OEM as the OEM fogs would crack.
Also, at 30 bucks for Depo fogs, it was FAR better than OEm that costs 250 shipped.

Here is a crappy cellphone picture of the wiring for my civic.
Depo on the left, OEM on the right

NOFX

At least I'm talking about the '96-'98 style fog lights. At least those are still 6th gen Civic parts.

The OP is interested in '99-'00 style ones.

It's understandable that the '06+ ones could be different, but I'm still not interested in aftermarket DEPO lights. No use in trying to change my mind. It won't happen.

I've heard that the '99-'00 DEPO fog lights aren't as prone to leaking (or possibly grounding) issues, but the wiring is the same janky quality. That horrible long *** red wire.

'99-'00 DEPO: http://www.advancespeedshop.com/depo...ow-p-1242.html
'96-'98 DEPO: http://www.advancespeedshop.com/depo...low-p-174.html

striker_18

well, I know i can't change your mind but there has been an improvement in quality from 6-9 yrs back.
Also, a relay for an oem setup will cost 4 to 5 times more than the relay aftermarket fog lights use(they're denso made in the philipines for 20+ shipping as opposed to the 4prong relay for 2-5 bucks at any autoparts store).

Oh, and to answer to the guy above, condensation occurs when the housing is either:
1) lense is not sealed properly.
2) bad bulb installation. As a result, heat and weather will cause condensation inside the fog light as vapor. That vapor will then turn into water.

NOFX

I didn't buy the DEPOs 6-9 years back though. The style appears to still be the same exact kit that I purchased.

As for OEM quality, I have seen nothing that makes me think eighth gens have higher quality harnesses than sixth gens.

I've had zero relays go out. Not on any part of my car in the five years I've owned it. Eran (the boyfriend I mentioned before) has also had zero relays of any sort go out on his car in close to five years of ownership.

If a relay goes out, even on our OEM fog lights, I'm sure we can scrape together the change to replace them.

Who is the other guy you were replying to?

striker_18

Sorry, the other guy was Eran.
As far as faulty relays, as far as I know, on my 06 civic, the fuel relay(similar to the fog relay haha) was faulty so that was replaced under warranty.
Older civics and accords had this as well. They all share the same relay model unfortunately.
Otherwise, it wouldve costed me 30 bucks.
The harness itself costs 45+10 shipping or $65 plus tax at the stealership without any relay.
But i'm savvy enough to make my own wiring.

CarbonizedDX

This is the first I've heard/seen oe squares in yellow, I've yet to find them for sale tho (mostly 99-00's).

Guess it all depends on the bulbs and optics. My yellow lens units are a better yellow than the yellow dipped bulbs (not ion) that I put in my buddies clear factory fogs... For me it also is the simple fact that I like a 3 buck bulb replacement over a 20+ local or 15 buck ebay if a bulb burns out...

As for fitment, I've not had the experiance, I didn't know they did OE square yellows and hadn't seen them. But unless I find an oe square yellow set for a good price, my replacement order that I'm going to make will be depos with some projector retrofitted (not sure weather to keep it H3 or go with 350z mini projectors..)...

Eran

iTrader: (1)

I wasn't talking condensation, like a little fog. I'm talking about standing water. The backing plate doesn't seal properly and the lens is BOLTED on with a gasket, instead of permanently sealed like factory. They also have massive grounding issues inside the housing. Like, you have to kick your foglight to get it to come on. Relays, I never had a problem with factory or aftermarket .... it's not a high-stress part.

NOFX

I'm fairly certain I've seen them for sale. If I haven't, I'm sure I could find them if I wanted them.

I had a more difficult time finding the clear square OE ones for a decent price.
I suppose mine might use somewhat of an ion coating, but the color of the light is bright yellow when on. At night with them on they just look like yellow fog lights, not just bulbs.

Oh, and H3 bulbs, even stock style clear ones are not just $3/apiece. IIRC, they're at least $5-10/apiece. I prefer brighter bulbs anyway usually. I now don't drive out in the country much at night, so I'm okay with using lower light bulbs now because of that (thus the reasoning for the current yellow lighting).

As I've mentioned before, I plan to keep this car long term. I'm okay with spending a little more on it because of that. I'm almost six years into owning this car and don't foresee getting rid of it anytime soon. $200 over a year of ownership might seem like a bit, but $200 over ten years isn't really anything.

Wow, I just noticed my "anniversary" with my car is coming up in about a month.

Frstyl838

wow, loving the feedback guys, thanks a ton. i think im goint to get the clear oem's and try using the lamin-x with some nightbreaker H3 bulbs. since i plan on keeping my car for a while. plus that wiring and getting condensation in them worries me