LED Fog Lights

Alright, this is a mod that will probably only interest the 2.5i owners (like myself) that didn't buy Subaru fog lights. Being the impatient person that I am, when I purchased my ABP Legacy I didn't want to order and wait, so I took the one off the lot. Since then I have wished I had the fog lights every day. When I saw the new look of the Audi's with the LED strip fogs, it got me thinking, how would that look on a legacy?

 

So for now I am very much considering doing this mod, but I wanted a little input on how you guys think it would look, as well as maybe some information you might think could be helpful.

 

For the LED's I am considering using www.superbrightleds.com they have a waterproof, flexible 9 inch strip in "cool white". I want to then wire a switch to my dash by the steering wheel that would turn these on/off.

 

Thanks for any advice/help/support!

actualy i think with the Audi's and their strip LEDs those are just daytime running LEDs.. but i could be wrong

^Yeah, I'm pretty sure they are too, I'm just thinking that since theres nothing there right now it might not emit enough light to be used as fogs, but maybe it will still be a nice looking exterior mod

For now, you'll need to go with a custom solution. I'm not aware of any legitimate aftermarket LED-based *front* fog-light solutions. [ Note that many models of current US-market Audis do come with LED DRL "strips," and that soon, they will have LED forward-lighting available. ]

 

For the output level, you'll need a nice 3W or even 5W LED, and some decent optics to allow it to "project" properly. Actually, if one could retrofit the 3W LHD LED of one of my flashlights into the LGT's fog housing, and then effect proper weatherproofing as well as solve run-time (heat sink) concerns, it would be pretty darned awesome.

 

Heat-sinking will be a big concern.

 

As for running lights, yep, there's plenty out there that's now easily bright enough to serve in this role.

Alright so I purchased some strips at superbrightleds seen here: http://www.superbrightleds.com/light_bars-flexible.html (It's the second one down, WFLB Series 24-LED)

They are waterproof, flexible, and 9.25", which looks to be the perfect length for what I want to do. I plan to wire a switch into the dash by the headlights switch instead of tapping them into a switched wire. They should be here around Wednesday, and, weather permitting, installed Thursday. Wish me luck!

Cool! Please keep us updated on this mod.

 

It may not be bright enough nor focused enough for fogs, but i'll be a cool "city light," if nothing else.

Good Luck

Well unfortunately I just got an email that my lights were shipped, so they probably wont be here till Friday or Saturday, but I'll try to get them done this weekend i guess:rolleyes:

subscribing to this ive been thinking about somethings like this interested to see how they turmn out. additionally, im wondering if single leds will work for interior lights. i saw some on machvs website but crazy for 60 bucks

mdzowner

I did purchase some blue led bulbs a while back for the domes, I'm sure a single led would be ok IF it was white, mine has four but because they're blue its more asthetic than functional. Also, I just checked my tracking number and it looks like my strips might arrive tommorow!

The prices for the ones sold by Mach V are just outrageous. For the price of just the dome, I was able to equip my cabin dome plus both doors/puddles by going to other sources online.

 

My cabin dome is "red." It's as much functional as aesthetic, as I needed dimmer lighting to check on my daughter, in the back-seat, without waking her at night. The red allows me to do this.

 

My cabin dome is a 24-LED flat-array, and it's actually bright enough that finding dropped items in any part of the cabin presents little problems - it's on the same scale as the factory incandescent.

are you thinking about something like this?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2X-Blue-LED-Rectangle-Universal-Head-Fog-light-Car-kit_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33713QQihZ019QQitemZ290225705958QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Well, I never thought I'd be able to say this but the LED Fogs are installed and a success. I still need to attach the switch to my dash, but I figure that can be an easy project for tomorrow. Let me know what you guys think, the pics are terrible because I was trying not to use the flash, but if you think they look good in the pictures you should see them in real life! And now without further adue:

looks good bro...but day light pics pleaseeee

that is so nice bro!!

Very cool, DocHolladay !

 

OK, it certainly looks bright enough for "nav" lights, from your first pic. They look bright enough to be CCFL. I think my RPM halos put out a similar amount of light, given the "spill" visualized in the first picture.

 

Question -> Would you say that it's bright enough as true fogs?

 

Cool stuff - I'm in for daytime and close-up pictures, too!

NICE! i like.. you're giving me ideas.. ha. can you post some pics of just how its mounted and tell us where you ran the wires and all? thanks

Alright as requested here are some daytime pics. As you can tell from the first one I still need to do a little clean up (notice the gap on the bend). I was thinking some black silicone might look nice. I'm at work right now, but I will get some install pics either tonight or tomorrow and post them ASAP. If anyone is thinking of doing somethings similar I would be happy to lend any help needed. Also if there is anyone out there that has a 2.5i and purchased fogs but still has the black hole covers I am looking to purchase a set, I am thinking about trying to run the strips behind with individual holes cut out for the bulbs (would look much nicer I think)

I am thinking about trying to run the strips behind with individual holes cut out for the bulbs (would look much nicer I think)

 

 

+1

Also if there is anyone out there that has a 2.5i and purchased fogs but still has the black hole covers I am looking to purchase a set, I am thinking about trying to run the strips behind with individual holes cut out for the bulbs (would look much nicer I think)

 

 

^ I think that idea - instead of using black silicone - would be a better way to go. The silicone won't be easy to control, and might end up looking messier rather than cleaner. Besides, there's always issue of long-term bonding, particularly as the vehicle will see a lot of weathering and washing.

 

That's what I did with my Talon (on which I embedded two "recessed" 1W LEDs on each side of the fog-lamp covers [which still retained the factory fogs, as I only used the LEDs for decoration]), and it looked very nice.

 

You'll want to buy (probably wholesale) a bunch of individual "LED-holders" so that you can trim the holes you've drilled into the housing or, alternatively, try something like a straight-line cut along the LED run-length to get a "continuous" look. Maybe even doing something like gluing on a secondary panel that has some kind of "fresnel" cuts in it in order to more visually disguise the nature of the LEDs that lie behind it?

 

This sure sounds like a fun project! Best of luck!

 

I can't wait to see what you can get this to look like after all's said and done, considering how excellent it looks in the dark, now!

hmm.. how do you think this would look with my lgt.. with fogs.. but i doubt id run both at the same time..

I think it would look really good underneath some fogs, The only thing I would suggest is maybe using less LED's. My strip has 24 or 25, maybe something like 10 would look better to accent the bigger bulb

*subscribed* waiting for pics here.

This will be my attempt at a walkthrough for this mod, I wasn't expecting many people to take interest (although I'm glad you did), so I don't have a lot of pics from the actual install process. (Pics at the bottom)

 

1) First thing to do is to get the lights attached to the plate. As I said I think it would look really good if you were to drill holes for each light and attach them to the back, but I only had one set of lights and plates, so if I messed up I would have to drive around with holes in my bumper. I sanded down the bumps on the side and glued the strips on with some 3000 psi epoxy.

 

2) Next step is to run the wires from the fog "hole" to the engine compartment. For the passenger side I just took off the intake and stuck a hanger just below the headlights through one of the holes in the top of the fog compartment (I think there were 2 or 3 holes in the top), taped the wires to the end, and pulled it back out. The drivers side was easier, same steps without the intake.

 

3) Attach the two strips together with a length of wire (about 4 feet does the trick) and put some tubing around the them.

 

4) On the driver's side attach the wires to a new wire, this will be the one that is powered. You have a few options from here, you could tap into the headlight wire so they come on with the headlights, or what I did since I wanted a switch was run it into the cabin. It's easier than it sounds, there is actually a rubber piece shaped like a trapezoid with the letters LH on it. If you poke a hole in the middle of this and use the hanger to push the wire through it will end up right under the dash.

 

5) I powered mine using a fuse tap ($6 at Autozone) and ran that cable into a switch. Then plugged the wire I pushed through the firewall into the the second terminal on the switch. 3rd terminal on the switch is for Ground.

 

6) Cover all wires in the engine compartment with tubing and, hopefully, you're set to go!

 

I'm not too great at writing walkthroughs, so I'm sorry if that sounded confusing. Take confidence in the fact that I'm not an electrician, and that this was my first major install, so it's truthfully not that hard

Looks cool!