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Will 35w HID kit melt fog lights? What have you tried?
I'm trying to match the 4300K headlights and gain some better illumination.
The concern is melting the fog light housing. Does anyone have experience with HID in the fogs or is LED the best option. Obviously retrofitting is th best option but I thought I should check here first before burning cash and fog lights.
Assuming you have the OEM reflector type fogs, LED is the best option. If you've been running the fogs most of the time, you can look at the top of the reflector through the front, and most likely already see heat induced damage.
What do you want in terms of 'better' illumination? More light to the sides and ditches? More light to fill a gap between the vehicle and the low beams? More light on the street signs?
If you really want HIDs, get a new housing with a projector lens and a cutoff shield.
I am working on a new light system for the fogs, using a 3" bi-xenon setup. I expect this to be the best possible current use of the fogs area.
There are similar ones available now, but they didn't look like they were good enough for me.
I'll post some pics if wanted of what I'm working on, I plan to have short term testing completed in 2 weeks, and that's when long term testing begins.
I’m not stuck on HID if there is a good LED bulb to use. Saying “better illumination” might not be the best wording. How about “equal to or very close” to what is there with the halogen bulbs.
I could go retrofit fit but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
What LED bulbs brands are not junk? There are so many available now.
left is OEM halogen, right is an LED. there is much more light with most led. if you want the same or equal amount of led light output, then you need to find on that has a low lumens rating. FYI most want more light output. bulbfacts.com has some relative halogen to led values, although not in the fog housing.
the ideal choice for a lower power fog LED would be something with passive cooling (the braids or major heatsink). this is because water, bugs, mud etc can jam up the fan.
heres another relative pic, this is the stock 55w halogen on the left vs a rhombus shape led with a spacer to adjust led bulb depth, custom braid and active cooling, and the led glare cap removed. the intensity of the led causes the camera to auto dim.
make sure the led you get has the ability to rotate the bulb in the socket adapter, or that it will have the led chips facing th sides in the fog housing.
i really like the dr auto's mentioned here:
if you really want to match the 4300K, you'll most likely need something spec'd as such. CREE makes the domed ones which should be OK in a fog application.
They have CCT bin choices of 4000 or 4500: cold color temp. https://www.cree.com/led-components/...s/ds-XHP50.pdf
the driver current and warm temp will have potential to change the color you end up with
for more similar to OEM, they make these types. some have color tubes and they are less bright than led headlight replacement bulbs.
this type doesnt really need much for cooling, and the light output is on par with the OEM brightness.
i had forgotten all about these since i dont use them.
If you have a 10-13, then you should consider the Morimoto LED projectors. Direct fit, plug and play, and covered in this forum already by several of us.
The morimoto xb is 1200lm, so a slight bit better than stock, which he wanted to be close, but with a 5500k color. if hes really wanting to match the 4300k, then the xb wont do it. i think he didnt want to change the housing, although that is a super easy thing to do, one screw LOL.
i almost went with the xb's, but they just werent bright enough for me.
i plan to post more on this later, but heres what a 35w hid fog will look like. the top are 35W hid ultinons in OEM low beam housings, maybe 6000k or so, the bottoms are 35w hid, in the fog location but a custom housing, adapter and controller setup, but a little lower k, maybe 5500 or 5700.
hotspots can be adjusted relative to the cutoff on the fogs.
mine have an electronically adjustable cutoff, for when more light is needed:
there are some similar solutions commercially available, but nothing that looked good enough to put on my gx, so i had to make this system myself.
total cost is about $160 - $175. takes some wiring mods, and add maybe $10 for extensions i used to not cut the original wires.
If you have a 10-13, then you should consider the Morimoto LED projectors. Direct fit, plug and play, and covered in this forum already by several of us.
The OEM fogs on my new '22 seem like they would be bright enough, but also seem like they are pointed quite low. Way lower than previous Toyota SUVs I have owned. Others focused their light below the low beam and spread light broadly on both sides. The GX fog beam is barely visible above the hoodline while driving (and I am 6' tall). I have not climbed under to see if there is any adjustability, but pics here and past experience has not provided any adjustment. Any advice?
02-15-19, 08:44 PM
Will 35w HID kit melt fog lights? What have you tried?
