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Installing HID fogs. Match HID headlight color? Opinions please

11K views 33 replies 13 participants last post by  molson.david 
#1 ·
I have 5k morimoto HID headlights, and I'll be buying morimoto fogs in about 3 weeks,

The fogs will mostly be for looks, but if the need arises, I'd like them to perform adequately. We don't live in a rural area and mostly travel on lighted roads/ freeways. These will be HID's, so if I use a lower color temp they won't give the housing a yellow tint when they're off.

I am leaning toward getting 5k's to match but I'd like to hear your opinions. I know I'll at least get one or two "hid fogs are lame" :)

Let's hear it!


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#2 · (Edited)
I would use 3000K color temperature for the fog. It depends on your personal preference. To me, 4300K or 5000K low beam and 3000K fog look good. There are inconsistent ideas about selective yellow vs white colors for fog, but people "perceive" yellow better than white in foggy condition.
 
#4 ·
QFT. 3000k or 4300k would be the best if your set on putting HIDS in your fogs, though the glare from hids in fogs is pretty annoying. :catfight:
 
#11 ·
i personally have 15000k's in mine which is almost blue blue but not quite, i have them both in the regualr beams and high beams and i have to say i live in the country and driving down those back roads with those on is sexy looking so i would absolutly love to get some hid fog lamps but im not willing to spend 300 or 400 for them
 
#12 ·
If it is really 15000K, it's going to be purple. The output for a 15000K HID is less than halogen. I hope it's a joke when you have 15000K in both your low and high beam.
 
#14 ·
I don't hate. I just care for your safety and others who share the road with you.
 
#19 ·
But for me driving int he dark country it doesnt matter bc it pitch damn black dark too lol so i can see everything perfectly fine at night now i agree int he city it is kinda hard but its so lit up even at night to be honest you really dont need them lol once you get used to driving with them you honestly can see alot more than you think
 
#22 ·
Not sure about the retrofitted projectors in foglights (I think eyezack87 had ES300 foglights retro'd, not sure if those are projectors either, but try searching), but for sure the 3000k will perform best in fog.

yes it will be sweet that your fogs match your low beams, but i dont think its very practical, due to the fact that
the white light will reflect and have a negative effect. plus, fogs are usually white anyway, so imagine shining a white light onto a white fog cloud. it doesnt work out well, i can attest.

i remember reading somewhere that the yellow light will penetrate the fog better and it's easier for u to pick up the visibility due to the yellow light. again, when i switched from 5000k to 3000k halogen foglights, that is true (imo)

HID or halogen 3000ks, i can't say, which one you will have more luck with the in the fog.
also might blind other drivers via HIDs in fogs.
but just thinking about it, if you had something that's too bright it may end up being a negative in the fog due to reflection off the water beads.

that's just my 2cents worth of analyzing the situation, still should try to research it online.(google)
 
#24 ·
Not sure about the retrofitted projectors in foglights (I think eyezack87 had ES300 foglights retro'd, not sure if those are projectors either, but try searching), but for sure the 3000k will perform best in fog.

yes it will be sweet that your fogs match your low beams, but i dont think its very practical, due to the fact that
the white light will reflect and have a negative effect. plus, fogs are usually white anyway, so imagine shining a white light onto a white fog cloud. it doesnt work out well, i can attest.

i remember reading somewhere that the yellow light will penetrate the fog better and it's easier for u to pick up the visibility due to the yellow light. again, when i switched from 5000k to 3000k halogen foglights, that is true (imo)

HID or halogen 3000ks, i can't say, which one you will have more luck with the in the fog.
also might blind other drivers via HIDs in fogs.
but just thinking about it, if you had something that's too bright it may end up being a negative in the fog due to reflection off the water beads.

that's just my 2cents worth of analyzing the situation, still should try to research it online.(google)
+100
Some projectors fog I know:
- ES300
- Blazer
- Micro DE
- Ford Fusion
- Mini H1 (I saw some pictures on HIDP)

@OP: Please slow down in inclement weather no matter how powerful your fog light is.
 
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#23 ·
i think you should first try driving with 3k halogen fogs. that way if you dont like it then you should spend the money and do the fog retrofit. on my rav4 i was going to do hid fogs in the reflector fogs and i knew i was going to do 3k yellow bulbs. so before anything i simply changed the stock bulb for a yellow halogen bulb. and ive been driving with that since then. they do a great difference compared to the stock bulb.
 
#26 ·
+1! just a simple color change helped a lot in terms of visibility.

Okay, I promise I'll slow down.
You didn't comment on how the projectors (with hid's? performed). Is the retrofit worth it, or should I just get some yellow halogens?
Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app
Try going with yellow 3000k halogens.
for me, they do a great job.




if that doesn't cut it for you, you can always do a retrofit.

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?30776-ES300-fogs-w-h3c-hid

google search ES300 foglights and you might find the answer to what you are looking for in terms of if its worth it to retrofit.

i'm not a retrofit guru so i can't tell you where to begin to search how to retro a ES300 projectors into your foglights, but hopefully some searching can help you decide.

also, try to refrain from using HIDs in non-projector foglights, they do tend to blind people and cause glare..or worse.
 
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#27 ·
Excellent information. Thank you everyone, I do feel this has been a great discussion. I guess for potential write ups that fit my application I'll refer to - :google: and quit bothering you all

Well, maybe I'll ry some MTEC 3000k's and see how it works out. It will be MUCH cheaper than a retro, but maybe some part of me is just looking for a project (which I will spend money on.) They're always much more fulfilling when they're justifiable. I'll need to search to see if I will get better performance out of HID fogs (through a projector with a cutoff) without blinding anyone or just super illuminating the water particles in front of me.

But I did want to try out my first retrofit, and the headlights are too expensive to screw up ..:boink:
 
#28 · (Edited)
I know I'll at least get one or two "hid fogs are lame" :)

Yep and here it comes :lol:

The Toyota fog housing (the camry, venza, and highlander use the same housing) uses a bulb with a painted glare tip to prevent glare. The HID bulb won't have that and you will basically have 2 high beam's on the front corners of the bumper when they are on. I know because I used to use them before I learned the error of my ways :D

If you want hid fogs, projector retrofit is the way to go. You will get better ouput and won't blind oncoming traffic.

You can use Blazer or Lexus fog (forgot the model). The Blazer is at theretrofitsource.com.
They have actually stopped selling blazer because it was total shit... I retrofitted my fogs with the blazers, but had to remove them due to damage. The blazers couldn't handle 35 watts of HID's without melting/bubbling the "chrome" off the bowl and making them totally useless. I would stay away from blazers at all cost.

as mentioned other good fogs: lexus ES, ford fusion, Hella Micro DE, or the morimoto matchbox (from TRS). I saw you mentioned the Morimoto mini, I don't think you could fit that into the housing without extending it with pvc pipe or something.


The fogs in my car are the same as the camry's, some Lexus' and rav 4's (there are other Toyota's I'm sure). Does anyone know of a write up, or someone who has retroed their fogs?
Here are a few from my BS blazers...





Here is the output of the stock housings with pnp HID, notice how lit up the building is above the main area of light.

VS a projector with a cutoff (fogs only, headlights are off)




and this is why you don't use blazers :lol: (the projectors are upside down, the bottom in the pics is the top of the projector's bowl):

 
#29 ·
Thanks for correcting me about Blazer fog. I only know some projectors that people usually retrofit for their fog light but don't want to do it because I don't think I will need it.
 
#30 ·
I personally went 6k lows and fogs, like the look of the same color, this is a summer setup. Winter time i go back to 5k lows, and 3k halogen fogs.
 
#34 ·
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