HID Fog Light (Driving Light)

[Trickflow25]

Does anyone have HID's on their vehicle besides the headlights?

Any HID fog lights or HID off road lights....?

I use to have a Tacoma and bought a set of Sylvania HID fog lights for it and they were AWESOME!!!! I loved them. But I sold the truck and had the HID's mounted on a nice black push bar (Safari Bar) in front of the front bumper. It made the truck look that much better so I included the lights in the sale. Now of course I am kicking my own butt for it. They were Osram Sylvania X1010 HID fog lights. I think if I remember correctly I chose the 5400K temp. Instead of the kit coming with a switch to mount inside the vehicle for power on/off it actually came with two wireless remote controls! At first that was the only thing that made me not want to purchase the kit. After I installed it and started getting use to it they are actually great. If you are working in your drive way and need some light just click away. Or if you are camping .......... its really handy.

I want to get another set of HID fog lights and want to see if anyone has any or knows of any HID's that are a good setup and not like some of the kits out there that are huge money. I am trying to stay under $400....

 

[Scott Packard]

I have a set of the Sylvania X1010's on my car. They're actually auxiliary low beams, legal under some state's DMV codes. I haven't seen HID fog lights yet. There's not much yellow or red spectrum to most automotive HIDs so I don't think a fog light will come around anytime soon.

 

[dk8558]

I put a pair of HID foglights in the 8k temperature on my truck that I found on craigslist. I paid about 125 shipped and after 6 months no problems at all. They replaced my oem set.

 

[bobfried]

You need to go on eBay and type in 3000K HID and a bunch will come up.

Having a "Fog Light" at anything over 3000K is like having a "Small Monster Truck"; THERE'S NO SUCH THING.

Heck at 4000K it's already way too bright to be anything but blinding beams of lights in any real fog. Anything over 3000K would be classified as either search lights, spot lights or flood lights. The last time I ecountered real super heavy fog I was glad I had my regular old yellowed fog lights instead of my 5400K HID low beams. Turned that lowbeam down real fast as it was blinding the heck out of me and switched on the fogs.

 

[Supernam]

What are you talking about? The Kelvin ratings refer to color temperature, not brightness. 3K is yellowish, 12K is purple/violet. The higher the color temp, typically lower the actual brightness (lumens) on the road.

 

[dk8558]

yea you're right supernam. my lights are actually a light blue/purple, similar to the lexus lights. they are real bright and would blind if they were pointed high. i'm not using them for fog as much as more for effect.

 

[havand]

Yeah, you want 3000k to cut through the fog...8000k or even 5400k is useless. Why bother? Just adds more light. I hate to recommend Ebay, but my ebay specials have been running for over a year now, no problems. Only problem I have is my car gives me a 'low beam failure' warning because the resistance is different than normal halogen bulbs. ALSO, if you wire them into your fog system, you may need to up your fog fuses a bit. HID uses a lot less power than their halogen counterparts, but the initial surge to power up the ballasts is pretty brutal and sometimes needs a slightly bigger fuse for the first few milliseconds.

EDIT: Kai and DX have kits, slightly more expensive than ebay, but they've shown to be good on their word for DOAs.

 

[XeRay]

yea you're right supernam. my lights are actually a light blue/purple, similar to the lexus lights. they are real bright and would blind if they were pointed high. i'm not using them for fog as much as more for effect.

ALL automotive factory OEM HID (All makes) use ~4200K bulbs. No cars come from the factories with higher color temps. The different colors near the cutoff and at the sides is created by the prismatic effect of the projector optics design.

 

[bobfried]

What are you talking about? The Kelvin ratings refer to color temperature, not brightness. 3K is yellowish, 12K is purple/violet. The higher the color temp, typically lower the actual brightness (lumens) on the road.

You are absolutely correct. If you read my post a bit more closely you would understand I WAS referring to the color and not output. If you hang around road racers in Europe long enough you'll know exactly why anything over 3000K is suicidal, especially at 2 AM driving from Munchen to Saarbrucken.

It's also why you will see 3000K or lower lights on GT cars during long endurance races where fog and rain is a real possiblity.

Anything over 3000K is simply way too high in the spectrum to effectively cut through fog/sleet/rain and would just shine right back in your face. In fog, an 8000K light would be BRIGHTER to you as it would simply bounce off the fog and right into your face. Whilst a 3000K light would cut through the fog better, yet will appear LESS BRIGHT to you. It's kind of strange as that is the exact opposite when the weather is clear, but do it enough time and you'll realize it's true.

 

[deeuubee]

I can't remember where or when, but when I was looking, I came across these.

http://www.hidfoglight.com/productsAndServices/fog/hidNarrowAngleFog.html

 

[Orbit]

Yes i have a few....

The larger lights are 50watt 4200k.
the smaller ones are 35watt 3000k with yellow filters for easier sighting (being seen in fog) I use the blue filters to lift the colour temp a little when driving in snow as i much prefer the result, all other times i drive with clear lenses, excpt in the occasional dust story where i use all yellow filters.

ORB.

 

[Orbit]

You also might want to keep this Thread in mind too.. and read post number 11 before deciding what colour you want for "fog"

ORB.

 

[270winchester]

impressive.

is it legal to drive with all those on at once in your region?

Yes i have a few....

The larger lights are 50watt 4200k.
the smaller ones are 35watt 3000k with yellow filters for easier sighting (being seen in fog) I use the blue filters to lift the colour temp a little when driving in snow as i much prefer the result, all other times i drive with clear lenses, excpt in the occasional dust story where i use all yellow filters.

ORB.

 

[Orbit]

Yes it is legal, And they are removable...i only put them up at night...saves fuel.

 

[270winchester]

sweet.

how much did all that set you back?

 

[DM51]

Has anyone here converted or adapted a vehicle HID to handheld use?

 

[Orbit]

yep.. but it's easier to adapt the LF hand held which has the same components but a more comfortable grip.