HID for fogs

Ok, I have been reading a bunch of posts about people switching to HIDs for there fog lights. I would like to do this but im not sure where to buy the HID kit from or what type I need. Can someone please posts some links to send me in the right direction? Thanks for any help!

Want to go in the right direction? Don't put HID's in your fog lights.

I purposely didn't reply in anticipation of your arrival.

Want to go in the right direction? Don't put HID's in your fog lights.

 

Harsh.

You need H3 bulbs and you can buy any generic H3 HID kit you wish, just make sure you get one with slim ballasts as they take up less room.

I've had good luck with DDM Tuning's slim ballast kits. Reasonable price too.

 

DDM Slim Ballast HID Kit

 

I prefer 3000K for fog lights.

Go yellow for fogs if you swap to HID in there...then at least you'll be doing something a little more usable instead of just making it 'bright'

Why not make it brighter? Isn't it the point of HID?

Oh boy.

DDM Tuning is a good place to get them. I'd stick with yellow though, maybe a 3k.

I put 3k in my fogs because it wasn't too expensive. The fogs do suck though and the output isn't the greatest. Until I find a good replacement to take the stock location fog light I'll just stick with my hid.

I don't really know why people say this...? The fogs generally suck anyways, so why not replace them? Granted, they still won't be good foglights if you go HID, but they would be extra light output for sure.

 

There are fundamental reasons for fog lights not being brighter than the sun.

 

Output from an HID source will dump MUCH more light into a projector ABSOLUTELY not designed for it. In projector headlights, this isn't a HUGE issue. The design of a projector can put light where it needs to go nearly independent of the output source. Headlights, unlike fog lights, are designed to throw that light a great distance. Increasing lumen output in a headlight just throws more light in approximately the same locations.

 

But in a fog light, especially a projector fog, that added output does very little other than increase scatter against fog and snow. What you end up with, is getting blinded.

 

OK, so don't use your fog lights in the fog, right?

 

Well that's not such a good idea either. Fog lights have a wide spread, very close to the front of the car. This is exactly what you want in a fog light. It's exactly what you DON'T want in a driving light. So now you have enormous light saturation, very close to the front of the car, and for a relatively short distance.

 

From a night-driving performance standpoint, this is the trifecta of shitty light design. All it serves to do, is draw your eyes off the distance and to the very front of the car. Exactly what you don't want to do when you are trying to see.

 

If you want driving lights, get driving lights. Don't put HID's in your fog lights. The only purpose it will serve, is looking "cool" in parking lots.

Nice write up. Def answered all my questions. Thanx man

Bac would you say Yellow Tint instead of HID, or just leave it alone?

There is no "instead of HID". HID is not an option if you care about actually being able to see.

 

You could use yellow tint, if you like the look. There are definite advantages to selective yellow, though you likely won't notice the improvement.

 

I have Lumin-X film on my fogs, but I almost never use the fog lights.

There is no "instead of HID". HID is not an option if you care about actually being able to see.

 

You could use yellow tint, if you like the look. There are definite advantages to selective yellow, though you likely won't notice the improvement.

 

I have Lumin-X film on my fogs, but I almost never use the fog lights.

 

Ahh, thanks man. You saved me some money today as i was thinking about getting HIDs for my fogs sometime later on. After checking out my current troubles I'll see if I get some yellow tint.

I have yellow tint on my fogs. Some spray on yellow with Japanese writing on the can. Worked pretty good. And I didn't go crazy with the yellow either. I'm pretty happy about it

just buy the proper yellow bulbs ... works great have them in my RS

just buy the proper yellow bulbs ... works great have them in my RS

 

There is no functional difference between using yellow bulbs or a film over the lens, really.

 

In my Forester, I used the selective yellow shrouds from Daniel Stern over Navara bulbs. I liked that setup, because I could use common bulbs.

Are the fogs on the Outback as lame at the legacy? Mine suck. My GF's '09 fog are utterly useless.

 

I had done 55W HIDs in my GTO and they actually made an amazing difference. They were a 4 or 5" diameter non-projector housing and They spread the light so well that I could use them instead of my headlights and still not blind oncoming traffic. With that said, it was a fluke that it worked that well and dont do it on the legacy.

The fog lights on my L worked great and so do the ones I have now. Which are the the outbacks. And they work perfect as well. Key is to have the glass clean and the bulbs updated for optimal vision. Sure they're not supposed to be as bright as the headlights but I noticed a difference. I also have 55w in them.

I have 55w 5000k HIDs in the headlights and 35w 3000k HIDs in the fogs and I love it. The factory fogs are useless. I tried yellow tint and yellow bulbs separately and they were both pretty dim. Btw I have an 05 with the 09 front end which has non projector fogs. With both the headlights and fogs on it creates a nice mix of useable light.

Have you ever used your 3000k HID's in fog?

 

Your nice mix of useable light is a nice mix of useable %^# you for other drivers.