HID vs LED Fogs

[shub]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/02/yvysypuz.jpg

Hey all,

One of the things I want to do for sure is HID headlights (6k) because I want more range/power, and also the looks haha. I also use my fogs quite a bit and was wondering if it's worth it to go HIDs for those as well, or would I be good buying 6K LED or Halogen bulbs?
Anyone tried either and thoughts? Originally I was leaning towards HID in both, but if I have headlights I'm wondering if they'll overshadow the fogs.
Also, does someone out there have 6K headlights and fogs (for a picture) and also 6k headlights, 8k fogs?

Cheers

[Chrisinski]

http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p678/christopher_howitt1/20130728_215713_zps926074f8.jpg

HID.
6000k nighttimes
3000k fogs

[shub]

http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p678/christopher_howitt1/20130728_215713_zps926074f8.jpg

HID.
6000k nighttimes
3000k fogs

Nice! Is there room to mount a ballast where the fogs are, or did you run it somewhere else?
Also, did you take off the bumper to put them in?
Thanks for the pic!

[Chrisinski]

Nice! Is there room to mount a ballast where the fogs are, or did you run it somewhere else?
Also, did you take off the bumper to put them in?
Thanks for the pic!

Bumpers needs to come off. It doesnt take long. I suggest 2 people do this. I mounted the ballast to a big screw that holds the fog light in and I sat it in a way so it doesnt really touch anything and is away from things that could be melted. A buddy of mine literally put his right on the splash gaurd lol.

You pop a bunch of push pins and two screws ontop. Undo the wheel well that links to it. Undo splash guard and reach in past the splash guard and undo two screws under that area.I wish I took more pics of the process. I wish I had some so I didnt geel so unprepared when I did it.
http://i1345.photobucket.com/albums/p678/christopher_howitt1/20130728_140352_zps189c7f27.jpg

[ShibaYuki]

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x355/winternightt/IMG_2253_zps12f2ca1f.jpg

HID 6000k Headlights
HID 6000k Fogs

I just crawled underneath and mounted it at the side and it's holding up pretty well.
Hope this help. =)

[shub]

Bumpers needs to come off. It doesnt take long. I suggest 2 people do this. I mounted the ballast to a big screw that holds the fog light in and I sat it in a way so it doesnt really touch anything and is away from things that could be melted. A buddy of mine literally put his right on the splash gaurd lol.

You pop a bunch of push pins and two screws ontop. Undo the wheel well that links to it. Undo splash guard and reach in past the splash guard and undo two screws under that area.I wish I took more pics of the process. I wish I had some so I didnt geel so unprepared when I did it.


Ah okay. Might grab some Hella Horns to make two uses of the time while bumper's off haha. Didn't know it was that easy to take it off though, thanks!

Is overheating ballasts a thing? Haven't looked in to the HID install too too much.


http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x355/winternightt/IMG_2253_zps12f2ca1f.jpg

HID 6000k Headlights
HID 6000k Fogs

I just crawled underneath and mounted it at the side and it's holding up pretty well.
Hope this help. =)

Looks sweet, thanks! I'll probably pony up and get 6000K on both, looks good! Do the fogs make a good difference in terms of seeing right ahead of you? I find the factory fogs are horrible, not sure if it's aim or the bulb or both.

[silverstarmazda]

i personally dont do leds in fog lights as moisture will get in them. leds will not evaporate the moisture and your fog housing could flood.

[Stathakos]

Also LEDs aren't in fact stronger either

[Chrisinski]

Taking the bumper off takes about 15-20mins. Yes its easy to do. I prefer 3000 to get the yellow. But i also have yellow layovers ontop of that

[leecheefoto]

I used to have 6000 and 8000 in both fogs and headlights. They're really bright especially when my gf drove my car 800m away and it sparkles.

Also had my brother drive it behind me in another car and it was also bright when I put 3000k on.

But haters gonna hate.


Just pop off around 3 push pins on te fender liner, take out the bolt, then do the top of te bumper on the sides and pull the bumper outwards a bit till they pop out and you can install it.


As for ballast mounting I mount them with zip ties where the headlight clips are. There's enough space to zip tie a few loops to hang the ballast.

[zoomahh]

Don't need to do the bumper...
- jack the car
- block it..for safety ;)
- remove tire on side your working on
- carefully remove plastic wheel well screws and pull back the plastic well
- have a portable light handy depending where u are
- change out your bulbs n mount ballast

Tips:
1. Be very careful when your putting the hid bulb in place. Hid bulbs are a bit longer than halo's, so the shroud guard inside the light housing is short too, so make sure the H11 bulb flanges match up, and carefully insert the bulb. You'll hear the hid bulb touch the shroud, but it does fit. I did mine last month so I know it works.
2. When your done, test it before moving to the other side.
3. Have an old blanket handy so you can have something clean to sit on, put parts on etc.
4. Borrow a torque wrench as well if you don't already have one. For the wheels when your done. Re torque in a week for good measure.
5. Have clean tissue n alcohol in case you touch the bulb during install.
6. There is room to mount/fasten the ballast but you'll have to be creative.
7. Pick up some heavy duty Velcro, and get zip-ties for mounting the ballasts and to tidy up the extra wire lengths after you install the hid and ballast.

Anything else, hit me up in pm ;)

[Glanza]

Taking the bumper off takes about 15-20mins. Yes its easy to do. I prefer 3000 to get the yellow. But i also have yellow layovers ontop of that


Is the yellow layover u're talking about that film thingy u put on your fogs to make more yellow? If so where can I get some?

[Chrisinski]

Is the yellow layover u're talking about that film thingy u put on your fogs to make more yellow? If so where can I get some?

msg foxy if you want to DIY or contact restyle it. I had mine done by restyle it when I got my tail lights done.

[leecheefoto]

Is the yellow layover u're talking about that film thingy u put on your fogs to make more yellow? If so where can I get some?

Fog overlay is one of the easiest DIY next to changing a bulb !

[shub]

i personally dont do leds in fog lights as moisture will get in them. leds will not evaporate the moisture and your fog housing could flood.

So, I wouldn't have this problem with HIDs?


Also LEDs aren't in fact stronger either

Even to the stock halogens?


Taking the bumper off takes about 15-20mins. Yes its easy to do. I prefer 3000 to get the yellow. But i also have yellow layovers ontop of that

Oh okay, thanks! Yeah, I also heard you can turn the wheel and take off the plastic where the wheel well is? But that seems worse to me than front bumper.


I used to have 6000 and 8000 in both fogs and headlights. They're really bright especially when my gf drove my car 800m away and it sparkles.

Also had my brother drive it behind me in another car and it was also bright when I put 3000k on.

But haters gonna hate.


Just pop off around 3 push pins on te fender liner, take out the bolt, then do the top of te bumper on the sides and pull the bumper outwards a bit till they pop out and you can install it.


As for ballast mounting I mount them with zip ties where the headlight clips are. There's enough space to zip tie a few loops to hang the ballast.

Do you have a photo with the 6000K and 8000K? I'm wondering if the combination would look good or off, haha. Also, what kit did you get?


Don't need to do the bumper...
- jack the car
- block it..for safety ;)
- remove tire on side your working on
- carefully remove plastic wheel well screws and pull back the plastic well
- have a portable light handy depending where u are
- change out your bulbs n mount ballast

Tips:
1. Be very careful when your putting the hid bulb in place. Hid bulbs are a bit longer than halo's, so the shroud guard inside the light housing is short too, so make sure the H11 bulb flanges match up, and carefully insert the bulb. You'll hear the hid bulb touch the shroud, but it does fit. I did mine last month so I know it works.
2. When your done, test it before moving to the other side.
3. Have an old blanket handy so you can have something clean to sit on, put parts on etc.
4. Borrow a torque wrench as well if you don't already have one. For the wheels when your done. Re torque in a week for good measure.
5. Have clean tissue n alcohol in case you touch the bulb during install.
6. There is room to mount/fasten the ballast but you'll have to be creative.
7. Pick up some heavy duty Velcro, and get zip-ties for mounting the ballasts and to tidy up the extra wire lengths after you install the hid and ballast.

Anything else, hit me up in pm ;)

Thanks for the in depth guide! Appreciate it :D Would you recommend wheel well over the front bumper? Both seem fairly simple now. I'll have my wheels off to do a second coat on my calipers (just did the first yesterday) so might do this then.

Does it matter if the ballast touches anything? And any kits you'd recommend over others? I have a friend who says he can do two sets $200 installed - thoughts? (Two H11 sets)


msg foxy if you want to DIY or contact restyle it. I had mine done by restyle it when I got my tail lights done.

Slightly OT, but does anyone have a ball park of how much a full car overlay by restyle it (or similar) would cost? May be considering a colour change...

[Cab0oze]

Sounds like everyone is saying HID, but here is a vote for LED.

a) Its cheaper, install takes 2 seconds, and it doesn't blind everyone.
b) Light up instantaneously, no lag, issues with ballasts screwing up, etc.
c) Don't have to even think about the lens or any overlay melting
d) I had mine for a year now, none of this 'moisture gets in and floods your housing' bs.

LEDs on left, HIDs on right. Mine came on right away, he had to re-start his twice to get them both to fire lol
http://www.engsoc.org/~caboose/upload/Ms3Projects/Meets/2012-07-13%20-MC1.jpg

-edit-
Regarding your question, my LEDs are pretty much the same brightness as my old halogens, but the color matches my HID lowbeams now so it looks much cleaner.
About the housing flooding, if your housing is flooding, you installed something wrong or something isn't sealed correctly. If you do have water in there, you're going to ruin your lights no matter what kind they are.

[leungalv]

Sounds like everyone is saying HID, but here is a vote for LED.

a) Its cheaper, install takes 2 seconds, and it doesn't blind everyone.
b) Light up instantaneously, no lag, issues with ballasts screwing up, etc.
c) Don't have to even think about the lens or any overlay melting
d) I had mine for a year now, none of this 'moisture gets in and floods your housing' bs.

LEDs on left, HIDs on right. Mine came on right away, he had to re-start his twice to get them both to fire lol
http://www.engsoc.org/~caboose/upload/Ms3Projects/Meets/2012-07-13%20-MC1.jpg

-edit-
Regarding your question, my LEDs are pretty much the same brightness as my old halogens, but the color matches my HID lowbeams now so it looks much cleaner.
About the housing flooding, if your housing is flooding, you installed something wrong or something isn't sealed correctly. If you do have water in there, you're going to ruin your lights no matter what kind they are.

+1 for LED's ... I've been running LED fogs for over two years (various colors) ... most recently I'm using 5000K LEDs that everyone thinks are HID's. I have had 0 issues with anything flooding or moisture and zero problems. Basically everything that Cab0oze said is on point, I would go with LED's!

[Zuluwun]

LEDs are basically just for looks since they don't really project light down the road.

That said, fogs are basically just for looks in the first place. They don't actually illuminate much in front of you. LED bulbs shouldn't have any more moisture issues than any other bulb.

[aboss]

+1 for LED fogs -- Put mine in recently... basically the same light output as halogen (read: very little) but the colour is a much nicer match for my HID headlights.

I know a lot of people do it, but I personally avoid HIDs in any type of reflector housing whatsoever, because of the glare to other drivers. It's probably not too bad with fogs being right on the ground, but still.

No moisture issues so far... not something I even considered when putting them in, to be honest.