Anyone Upgrade their Fogs to HIDs?

[3002 tii]

Putting on a new bumper in the upcoming weeks and thought I'd upgrade my fogs while I'm at it. I looked at a few H11 bulbs that give a yellowish output but then realized maybe the cost differential to HIDs isn't that much more. Has anyone done this upgrade?

If so, which vendor did you go with? I'm most concerned with any error codes or bulb/ballast failing due to poor quality. Else, I may just stick to the brands I've gone with before for regular Halogens (Hoen or PIAA).

[jnkhan82]

Why not kid the HID kit put in? It's plug and play. I'm going to install the kit mid Jan. 180bux.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by jnkhan82

Why not kid the HID kit put in? It's plug and play. I'm going to install the kit mid Jan. 180bux.

Say again?

I'm open to HID kits... which is why I'm asking what kits are out there, and what has been your experience... I've heard mixed reviews on DDM. Umnitza seems to be popular among the e46 guys.

[jnkhan82]

Oh Sorry I thought you were saying you just wanted bulbs. My fault.

hmm I have to check what brand I have.

I got them from http://www.gothidxenon.com/

Left side is 8000k right side is 10000k, for some reason the drivers side was not producing the same volts, it wasn't looking the same. any higher and it looks pink.

My friends had his for about 3yrs, so I went the same route.

My friends the dealer is Queens,NY.

If your interested, you can just pick them up. He also installs, which is coo because he can match up the bulbs and everything.

So far they've been perfect. Bit bright in the picture, in person you would see the projector. Looks really nice.
Same kit goes into the fog.





And during the day.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by jnkhan82

Oh Sorry I thought you were saying you just wanted bulbs. My fault.

hmm I have to check what brand I have.

I got them from http://www.gothidxenon.com/

Left side is 8000k right side is 10000k, for some reason the drivers side was not producing the same volts, it wasn't looking the same. any higher and it looks pink.

My friends had his for about 3yrs, so I went the same route.

My friends the dealer is Queens,NY.

If your interested, you can just pick them up. He also installs, which is coo because he can match up the bulbs and everything.

So far they've been perfect. Bit bright in the picture, in person you would see the projector. Looks really nice.
Same kit goes into the fog.





And during the day.

Assuming no, but any pics of the install? Wondering how thin the ballast is and how/where he mounted it.

[jnkhan82]

ah sorry no pictures. But the box hangs from some mount inside. You also need this other piece. Let me call him tonight and get the information.

[MetMan]

I converted my fogs 60 days ago when I also converted the headlights. I bought new Xenon Projectors, bulbs, ballasts and bulb error switches from theretrofitsource.com. I'm so happy with headlight upgrade that I never use the fogs.

Nickpapa who is a regular on this forum was a wealth of information when I was looking to do my upgrade. You may want to research his previous posts to get additional information.

[pokeybritches]

I wouldn't change the fog lights to HIDs. The whole point of having fog lights is to have a lower output light source, because bright light reflects off of the fog to a greater degree. It sort of defeats the purpose of having fogs.

[SCHMOUPE]

Originally Posted by pokeybritches

I wouldn't change the fog lights to HIDs. The whole point of having fog lights is to have a lower output light source, because bright light reflects off of the fog to a greater degree. It sort of defeats the purpose of having fogs.

+1

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by pokeybritches

I wouldn't change the fog lights to HIDs. The whole point of having fog lights is to have a lower output light source, because bright light reflects off of the fog to a greater degree. It sort of defeats the purpose of having fogs.

That's not the first time I read that halogen fogs are better than hid's, but it's the first time someone explained why. Thank you!

I just ordered a set of PIAA's in yellow. $60 shipped, good deal...

[jnkhan82]

Interesting.

I've never experienced extreme fog where I needed my lights. So I'm going for pure show.

So how come the new Mercedes and Porches have HID fogs stock. Any idea?

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by jnkhan82

Interesting.

I've never experienced extreme fog where I needed my lights. So I'm going for pure show.

So how come the new Mercedes and Porches have HID fogs stock. Any idea?

I thought those were led's?

[ANUSTART]

I put on a set of Halo H11s in yellow on my 2005 and have had great luck so far. They only run $20 on Amazon.

[SteveInfante]

I bought some from Luminic's in JDM yellow for my fogs on the last car I had and they were awesome. Really helped out and they were around the same price, $55.00 shipped and they have a 1 year warranty. Never had any problems and they made fog disappear.

http://www.luminicsbulbs.com/

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by Stevedotmil

I bought some from Luminic's in JDM yellow for my fogs on the last car I had and they were awesome. Really helped out and they were around the same price, $55.00 shipped and they have a 1 year warranty. Never had any problems and they made fog disappear.

http://www.luminicsbulbs.com/

Good stuff, I've run Luminics before on my G... didn't know they had H11s else I would've taken a look at them as well. I'll report on how the PIAA's turn out...

[jnkhan82]

Originally Posted by Dubbedown

I thought those were led's?

Sorry, your right

[SteveInfante]

They are out of stock for the yellow H11's right now. I'm waiting till they come back in till I get mine.

[Qusain]

Originally Posted by Dubbedown

Putting on a new bumper in the upcoming weeks and thought I'd upgrade my fogs while I'm at it. I looked at a few H11 bulbs that give a yellowish output but then realized maybe the cost differential to HIDs isn't that much more. Has anyone done this upgrade?

If so, which vendor did you go with? I'm most concerned with any error codes or bulb/ballast failing due to poor quality. Else, I may just stick to the brands I've gone with before for regular Halogens (Hoen or PIAA).

Hi,

I have recently done this upgrade, and once completed am so glad I did it. The difference is remarkable and the car looks very nice. I purchased my H11 Xenon White light, led Fog lights from ebay and went through a company called mylitco.com (they are on ebay or search them in google). The great thing about these bulbs is that they are Japanese imports and have built in resistor chips which makes sure no on board computer errors pop up.

Very impressed by the delivery time and price, I would definitely recommend them. Best of luck

[ZZZZ]

Originally Posted by pokeybritches

I wouldn't change the fog lights to HIDs. The whole point of having fog lights is to have a lower output light source, because bright light reflects off of the fog to a greater degree. It sort of defeats the purpose of having fogs.

Yep, also yellower colors of light are supposed to reduce the refraction of light. Hence why some fog lights are actually yellow.

The other concept of fog lights are for them to be positioned lower to the ground to be able to peer under the fog to light up any road signs, traffic, etc. ahead.

The only times I've had to use the fog lights were when I travelled out of the city, and even then I found using the Daytime Running lights worked better than the fog lights. (on an e46, not Z4). Depends on your location I suppose.

[ZZZZ]

Originally Posted by pokeybritches

I wouldn't change the fog lights to HIDs. The whole point of having fog lights is to have a lower output light source, because bright light reflects off of the fog to a greater degree. It sort of defeats the purpose of having fogs.

Yep, also yellower colors of light are supposed to reduce the refraction of light. Hence why some fog lights are actually yellow.

The other concept of fog lights are for them to be positioned lower to the ground to be able to peer under the fog to light up any road signs, traffic, etc. ahead.

The only times I've had to use the fog lights were when I travelled out of the city, and even then I found using the Daytime Running lights worked better than the fog lights. (on an e46, not Z4). Depends on your location I suppose. If you're doing it for asthetics / color temperature then I think LED's will work just as well and much cheaper to do.

[The HACK]

I turned on the HIDs once to see what the hub-bub is about in dense fog.

Big mistake.

All I saw was a giant wall of white. Almost all the light from the headlight got reflected back and I couldn't see squat. Turned off the HIDs and turned on the fogs on the 323Ci and was instantly rewarded with enough visibility to limp along at 15 mph.

This was pretty thick stuff, common in the San Joaquin Valley during the winter. Outside of the car you can maybe see about 15-20 feet ahead. Barely.

If you're doing it purely for looks, just hope that you NEVER run into thick fogs, because you will have absolutely no visibility beyond your bumper once the HIDs are lit.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by The HACK

I turned on the HIDs once to see what the hub-bub is about in dense fog.

Big mistake.

All I saw was a giant wall of white. Almost all the light from the headlight got reflected back and I couldn't see squat. Turned off the HIDs and turned on the fogs on the 323Ci and was instantly rewarded with enough visibility to limp along at 15 mph.

This was pretty thick stuff, common in the San Joaquin Valley during the winter. Outside of the car you can maybe see about 15-20 feet ahead. Barely.

If you're doing it purely for looks, just hope that you NEVER run into thick fogs, because you will have absolutely no visibility beyond your bumper once the HIDs are lit.

not for looks, purchased normal h11 bulbs. i encounter pretty dense fog as well when crossing the nj/ny border going up the hudson.