i'm thinking of getting OEM fog lights but i want brighter lights, does anyone have any ideas to what bulb, etc i should go for?

or... maybe aftermarket HID ..?

 

If you want significantly brighter, go HID. Xtronic is good, but pretty much even the cheap stuff on Ebay nowadays is pretty decent. If it doesn't blow out in the first few weeks, they usually last as long as the "premium" HID's. Downside is highest price.

If you want half assed brighter, you can get those ghetto wannabe HID's, which are a booster kit to clear bulbs, along with a big *** blue cap that goes over it. They are ghetto, but they actually light up pretty bright. Downside to this is color, since I think they only have super white, and I am not even sure they still sell them.

If you want marginally brighter, you can get the bulbs, but make sure they are high wattage bulbs. Be aware though, that high wattage bulbs can and will melt your stock harness eventually, so you may wanna look into those replacement harnesses as well. Also, generally speaking, the bulbs made in Japan and Korea are the best, in that order.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by streettactics &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you want significantly brighter, go HID. Xtronic is good, but pretty much even the cheap stuff on Ebay nowadays is pretty decent. If it doesn't blow out in the first few weeks, they usually last as long as the "premium" HID's. Downside is highest price.</TD></TR></TABLE>

pnp hid kits aren't meant for halogen projectors or reflectors...

in foglights... you can -sort of- get away with pnp.... just aim them low, foglights are really just to light up the foreground, anyway...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by streettactics &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you want half assed brighter, you can get those ghetto wannabe HID's, which are a booster kit to clear bulbs, along with a big *** blue cap that goes over it. They are ghetto, but they actually light up pretty bright. Downside to this is color, since I think they only have super white, and I am not even sure they still sell them. </TD></TR></TABLE>

covering your bulb with anything will reduce the light output...any kind of tinting reduces light output...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by streettactics &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you want marginally brighter, you can get the bulbs, but make sure they are high wattage bulbs. Be aware though, that high wattage bulbs can and will melt your stock harness eventually, so you may wanna look into those replacement harnesses as well. Also, generally speaking, the bulbs made in Japan and Korea are the best, in that order.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Japan and Korea???

Osram and Philips are German Companies...

PIAA is Japanese

Making a harness is a fairly easy to learn how to do, just learn how to solder, and how relays work.

 

oh, so since fogs are aimed low, den pnp would be fine? or do i have to aim it lower than it originally is aimed?

 

aim lower than original

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bpr0422 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Japan and Korea???

Osram and Philips are German Companies...
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Right, but the bulbs made by German companies are usually to DOT standards so they are usually pretty light and not too rich in color. In Southern California, almost no tuner shops sell those brands.

Japan (PIAA & Raybrig) makes the best bulbs with "real" coatings, but Korea (Nokya and Luminics) is not that far behind, and they are a helluva lot cheaper. The worst of the pack would be Taiwanese and then Chinese bulbs which blow out the fastest.

 

Just becuase no tuner shops sell them doesnt mean there not as good. If raybrig or PIAA are the best then why does NO car manufacturer use them as OEM parts? Manufacturers dont even use GE D2S bulbs, which I would take over PIAA. Also as stated above, a coating reduces output. Added coloring doesnt make the brightest bulb, which is what the OP asked for. PNP quality sucks simple as that.

 

Well, DOT only lets you go up to a certain wattage too. The brightest bulbs are gonna be higher wattage bulbs... if you are after DOT comliancy (as all OEMs have to) you can't accomplish that.

As for Japanese companies, CATZ claims to make the OEM Lexus HID's... though that's a little off topic.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bpr0422 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">aim lower than original </TD></TR></TABLE>

how much lower are we looking at?

 

actually to be more correct....

Find some flat land.... with some kind of wall so you can light up the wall.

Measure the distance between the flat level ground, and the top of your fog light.

then on the wall, mark that same distance on the wall starting from the ground.

do that for both sides, then draw a line across both points.

measure 1.5" down from that line, and make another line, parallel to your first line.

this new line, is how high your lights should be when your car is 25 feet away from the wall.

http://www.danielsternlighting....html

 

so, i'm planning to put some aftermarket HIDs in my foglights. I hear that aftermarket HIDS starts to flash/blink, is there any way to make that NOT happen? is there a certain brand of aftermarket HIDS that would be better?

and i just want to ask again, would it really be okay to use aftermarket for the fogs even if its pointed low enough, because since i already spent a lot of money on a retrofit for the headlights, i dont want the aftermarket to just ruin everything and blind people. so if its not okay , what alternative do i have for brighter whiter lights other than retrofitting the foglights.?

thanks.


Modified by htsang07 at 7:37 PM 5/2/2008