Fog light questions

[tvsjr]

Disclaimer: Before njerald jumps in with his flames, yes, I've searched and read quite a few threads. However, this is a slightly different circumstance than I've seen addressed here before.

I recently purchased an 08 Camry LE. I will be equipping it with some emergency lighting, but I'm going for a fairly discreet configuration (in stark contrast to my truck). As such, I'm considering adding fog lights and turning them into LED housings. How? Whelen (major emergency lighting manufacturer) makes LED "hideaways", which are designed to be mounted in existing light housings (turn signals, headlights, taillights) to provide emergency lighting. If this all works, I will mount one of the LED hideaways (red driver side/blue passenger side) in place of the actual fog light bulb.

So, I'm looking for fog lights to add to the LE. I don't really care about the light... it's all going away anyway. I do care about the quality of the housing - I want OEM appearance and durability. And, of course, the less $$, the better! Are the ~$65 kits on eBay decent? Other recommended sources?

Thanks.

[98CamryLE]

Originally Posted by tvsjr

Disclaimer: Before njerald jumps in with his flames, yes, I've searched and read quite a few threads.

Search... um... more...

Just kidding.

There have been many people that have purchased the cheaper fogs from Ebay and I've never heard anything negative- other than some kits require minor modifications to the wiring. In terms of quality and toughness, I've always gone by the saying "you get what you pay for". That said, I've never heard any complaints about the Ebay fogs being flimsy or excessively cheap.

The question(s) that I have for you are:

1) Are you a police officer? If you aren't, many/most states have specific laws about having any blue and red lights on the front of your car (some ban blue altogether). If you get caught, some states have very harsh penalties/fines. Even if you aren't a police officer, but a firefighter/medical responder- the combo of blue and red might be illegal- check your state laws.

2) Are you sure that putting such lights in the lower bumper is the best placement? Obviously, (even if you want to be descrete- which kind of answers question #1) the lower bumper isn't a very good place for "emergency" lights. They are way too low and out sight for other drivers to see them. When they are flashing, many people won't notice them because they are too low and out of the line of sight. (Especially to those with SUVs and trucks) You might be better off finding slim light bars that could mount on the inside of the upper windshield, or inside the grille.

[ebumdude]

I have a set of the JDM's from ebay and they are great. No problems for me.

I was thinking, why dont you setup a set of the emergency LED lights like you want on the inside of the grille??

Down here in Hawaii, cops drive their own cars as patrol cars. I saw a Blue SE the other day and he had the LED bar mounted on the inside of his grille.

I thought it was a good idea, but thats just my 2 cents.

EDIT: Didnt see the post above about mounting the lights inside the grille...my bad

[tvsjr]

I'm a volunteer firefighter/assistant chief. Texas restricts red, white, and blue lighting 360 degrees to emergency vehicles and certain other vehicles... but there are no assignments based on color (some states mandate blue for law enforcement only, etc.) I'm good on the legal aspects, but thanks for checking (we don't like wackers either!) My truck has red/blue lensed lights (red/blue even when off) front and rear, without any difficulties. If anyone is curious, PM me and I can send you the relevant sections from the Transportation Code.

The reason for the "discreet" treatment is this will be my low-key ride. The truck has obvious lightheads 360 degrees, a 30-inch console full of communications equipment, mobile data computer, and more. It's a nice ride, but it's a fair amount of work to drive (it's 23 feet long, 8.5' tall, diesel, etc.) This vehicle is going to be the cruising/commuting ride... I want a basic setup of lights/siren/radios, but nothing nearly as overt as my truck. Put it this way: *everyone* looks at the truck... I don't want people looking at the car.

The lights down low aren't going to be the only lights, of course. I will also have lighting in the grille, lighting above the rear-view mirror, and wig-wag headlights. The fog lights seemed like a pimpin' addition! They will also provide some intersection warning.

Thanks for the comments. I don't really care about the wiring - I won't be using it anyway (LED hideaways have to be driven from a HV ballast). I think I'll grab a set, see what happens.

Thanks.

[njerald]

If you don't need the lights, wiring or switch, why not just buy the fog light surrounds from Toyota?????

or just cut a correct size hole in the existing solid surrounds??

[tvsjr]

Originally Posted by njerald

If you don't need the lights, wiring or switch, why not just buy the fog light surrounds from Toyota?????

or just cut a correct size hole in the existing solid surrounds??

Because I do need the lamp housing and reflector.

As usual, the forum troll fails again...

[Trojan]

Look for a seller who goes by "procarparts" on ebay. That's where I and a few others here on TN go our fog lights.

[CamrySExxx]

Originally Posted by tvsjr

Disclaimer: Before njerald jumps in with his flames, yes, I've searched and read quite a few threads.

To me it looks like you did quite a bit of searching to know that njerald will flame every thread possible. So to you for searching

[tvsjr]

Originally Posted by CamrySExxx

To me it looks like you did quite a bit of searching to know that njerald will flame every thread possible. So to you for searching

He flamed me multiple times on my very first post here on the site, as well. I suspect he suffers from feelings of inadequacy... manifested quite well in his not-quite-a-Lexus XLE. I am a tad concerned about the "woodie steering wheel"...