Fog light question? HIDs?

[SOAB]

Hey guys! Finially got myself a set of factory foglights! My head lights are awesome except when it rains my visibility is bad.. real bad.

So far I have not been able to see any noticeable difference with the fogs installed and I assume thats cause there are prob some cheap old bulbs in there, but my question is can these lights perform their function and improve visibility and if so what should I do to get that improved visibility? Yellow bulbs (the one ricer fad I really hate) or good bulbs or HID's?

I know HID's are a no go in our head lights but I know some people on here have installed them in their fogs with success. If y'all chime in was it worth it and did it require any modifications?

Or should I just use these fogs for decoration and put some good fogs front and center for visibility?

Thanks!
Alex

[tuner4life]

I have HIDs in my headlights and fogs and I love them! Only gripe is that sometimes the fogs don't want to turn on at the same time as the headlights. You have to wait a second before turning on the fogs after the headlights. Mine is a 1992 though.

[SOAB]

those are still H3 fog lights though aren't they? And yours are really white aren't they? Hows visibility?

[tuner4life]

yes H3 bulbs. Visibility is excellent (although I get flashed by oncoming cars on occasion).

I have very white HIDs, not sure of the kelvin rating (bought from ebay), but they just have a slight blueish hue.

It's hard to get good pictures of them showing the correct color, but here's what I have:

Oncoming:



Kind of shows the visibility:



The newer body style would be nicer for HIDs since they have a separate low and high bulb. The 1992 only has 1 headlight bulb/side and the HIDs only have lowbeam.

[MikesAERO]

Ive been looking into HIDs myself...my brother and roomate have both gotten kits from ddmtuning and they work great...I was thinking a 9005 35w 5000k for my low beams and a h3 35w 5000k for my high beams...from browsing the forums it looks like i wouldnt need the error eliminators...can anyone confirm this?

HID Kits, BMW Aftermarket Bumpers & Lighting, DEPO - DDM Tuning

[saabkid37]

you cant use a seperate kit for the high beams. every time you click the stalk, the bulb would have to fire and warm up. this wont end well and is why factory set ups are either bi xenon or have a halogen high beam.

go projector or dont bother. its soooo cheap and easy to do now.

[MikesAERO]

Originally Posted by saabkid37

go projector or dont bother. its soooo cheap and easy to do now.

got a link to get me started?

[SOAB]

Projector Lens Xenon Bi-xenon Headlights Retro Fit Kit | eBay

Found this the other day after sein my buddy half way through a retrofit.

But what should I do about Fogs? Can anybody with a 1994-1998 tell me if the fogs are any good with the right bulb/HIDs? Or should I just put one of my old sets from a c900 or a c9000 on there?

[saabkid37]

$300 projector retrofit (no cutting required)

putting hid's in the fog lights completely contradicts the definition of fog lights.

[SOAB]

Then what is my best bet for rain/fog visability.. Early fog lights with good bulbs? The newer fogs with good bulbs? Yellow bulbs?

And i know I need to aim my headlights down cause some mounting tabs are broken. Do ya'll think having my headlights aimed back down would make a big difference?

[MR.E]

I have H.I.D's , I took them out. Honestly was worse then the stock headlights. Only I think because my adjustment tabs are broken as well. Would be much better if someone actually made projector headlights for the 9000. Or with the e-codes.

[BuHuSPG]

I think you'll notice a WAY bigger difference from aiming the lights correctly than from modifying the bulbs in anyway (unless they are only slightly out of adjustment)

[SOAB]

Im not asking about HID's in the headlights.. I am asking if the optics of the 1994-1998 9000 FOG LIGHTS are any good or if I should throw my old style ones on the front instead

[saabkid37]

Originally Posted by SOAB

Im not asking about HID's in the headlights.. I am asking if the optics of the 1994-1998 9000 FOG LIGHTS are any good or if I should throw my old style ones on the front instead

aim them and get good bulbs. a foglight isnt meant to provide tons of extra light, its meant to be a low wavelength lowdown light to illuminate the side of the road. in foggy conditions.

putting hid's in the fogs is stupid, as you have no made it a wavelength of light that will just bounce off snow and fog back into your face.