Driving Lights Useless

[silver2k2]

Are the factory 94-96 Q45 fog lights useless or are mine just aimed incorrectly. When I turn on my fog lights in my Lightning or 330ci there is noticeable difference in visibility down low and on the shoulder. I cant tell any difference with my Q fog lights. Are they that bad or are low beams just that good that I don’t need them.

Updating name to Fog
Modified by silver2k2 at 8:37 AM 8/21/2007

[qship96]

First off ,they are Fog lights,not Driving lights,and yes the stock ones are pretty much useless-more show than go,as they say.

[elwesso]

Yeah I agree. You can replace them with something else for a nice look. Look up HID driving lights on ebay, it shouldnt be too bad to mount them up...

Putting in silverstar lights into them may help.

[superuber]

Wes, are you talking about replaceing the whole light?Would they fit good and look right? The oe one's are teardrop shaped.

[silver2k2]

I wonder if these would help? Has anyone melted their harness yet with some?

[maxnix]

Replaced mine with Sylvania X1010. A nice low beam auxiliary lighting solution, but not cheap, nor technically available anymore..

[elwesso]

Wes, are you talking about replaceing the whole light?Would they fit good and look right? The oe one's are teardrop shaped.

Yeah, look at the front of Jamemost's Q and sijoko's... Both look decent...

[goody90q45]

..... I cant tell any difference with my Q fog lights. Are they that bad or are low beams just that good that I don’t need them.

I upgraded to 100 watt bulbs over a year ago and it didn't help any. The fogs do nothing at all in clear weather. I think I'm going to switch to the 65 watt Silverstar bulbs. The Silverstar headlights were a big improvement. We'll see if they do anything in the fog.

[StarPD]

Are the factory 94-96 Q45 fog lights useless or are mine just aimed incorrectly. When I turn on my fog lights in my Lightning or 330ci there is noticeable difference in visibility down low and on the shoulder. I cant tell any difference with my Q fog lights. Are they that bad or are low beams just that good that I don’t need them.

Updating name to Fog

Modified by silver2k2 at 8:37 AM 8/21/2007

They are not driving lights, but rather FOG lights. Fog lights are intended for slow speed driving, and are aimed low and have a sharp top cutoff. They do not reach out very far at all. They do have a very wide beam though, so they're great for illuminating the side of the road in mountain curves. Brighter bulbs will increase the light output, but won't make the beam pattern any different.

Try to find a very dark road that has a light concrete surface that will allow you to see the beam pattern and light output. . Turn them on and off and you'll see that they only illuminate around 25' in front of the car, but illuminate the shoulders and beyond a lot more than regular headlights do. They only work on low beams, so be sure you have them on and not high beams.

[silver2k2]

I know they are not supposed to reach out past the headlamps, but I see very little peripheral lightning taking place. I was wondering if my are adjusted wrong or it is the same with all 94 Qs

I dont think I will be trying the silverstars

http://www.danielsternlighting....html

It shows here how they have less light output measured in lumens then a standard bulb.

I will probably just leave it alone and replace the low beams with these HIR bulbs

http://www.hirheadlights.com/FAQs.htm

[StarPD]

I know they are not supposed to reach out past the headlamps, but I see very little peripheral lightning taking place. I was wondering if my are adjusted wrong or it is the same with all 94 Qs

I dont think I will be trying the silverstars

http://www.danielsternlighting....html

It shows here how they have less light output measured in lumens then a standard bulb.

I will probably just leave it alone and replace the low beams with these HIR bulbs

http://www.hirheadlights.com/FAQs.htm

Actually, silver, the fog lights not only won't reach out further than the headlights, they won't reach anywhere near as far. The low beams illuminate pretty far. Fog lights only reach out maybe 25 feet at the most. That's all. Maybe not even that far.

If you pulled the low beam bulbs and saw the distance the fog lights illuminated, you'd be surprised. The light that close in is pretty bright, and also covers the area alongside of the front of the car quite a way, and brightly. But you are NOT going to get any distance with them. The reflector determines that, and no matter how bright you make the light, it won't change the beam pattern.

I love the fog lights for running curves in the mountains, and often, just plain old curves because of the way they light up the side of the road. But if you want to supplement thefactory head lights fir distance, you might want to replace the fog lights with long range driving lights. Be advised though, that it's going to be a challenge, especially if you want to be able to aim them, which is critical for long range driving lights. That will require custom fabricated mounting brackets and considerable very careful surgery

100 watt bulbs in your high beams will greatly improve them, but as best I can recall, the G50 uses a single multi-watt bulb. You probably have 100/55 watt bulbs since you changed them, maybe 100/65, depending on which ones you got. If you want to use a relay, which is available with a wiring kit from DSL, you can get 100/80 watt bulbs. They will improve your low beams and keep the improvement you got with your high beams. You can also consider the H1R bulbs that Daniel Stern sells. He can recommend the best way to go. While unfortunately, thanks to the reflector limitations on my F50, they didn't extend the range very far at all, they did increase brightness within the existing pattern. They didn't solve my problem of not enough range, but they did improve illumination within the range the OEM bulbs have in the factory reflector. Keep in mind that while changing to HID sounds cool, unless you change the reflector, you could lose more than you gain, as HID bulbs work differently than conventional halogens. This is a major project, regardless of how many guys here tell you it's easy and effective. I strongly urge you to discuss this at length with Daniel Stern. I think he really knows his stuff, and can advise you as to what will work and what won't, as well as how to accomplish whatever you decide on.

BTW, you're lucky. The G50 DOES lend itself to headlight improvement. The F50 does not. I'd LOVE to add auxilliary long range driving lights to my '05 Q45, but there's just no good place to put them where they wouldn't look goofy.

Good luck, and let us know as you progress.

[silver2k2]

Yeah I was going to exactly as you stated upgrading the headlights not fogs.

[Ozzie]

My fog lights work great. But that's maybe because my car is JDM?

[elwesso]

its proably because you have the impul ones.

[superuber]

Yeah, look at the front of Jamemost's Q and sijoko's... Both look decent...

OK, now I'm interested. Can someone post a pic.I've never seen James fogs. Where did he get them?

[StarPD]

Yeah I was going to exactly as you stated upgrading the headlights not fogs.

You're going to really like driving at night with improved headlights. If you get the 100/80 watt bulbs or the HIR equivalents instead of 100/55 or 100/65, it will make a big difference. It's worth the little amount of time installing relays and a wiring kit so they get full power and don't create problems with overloading wiring and fuses. You CAN get brighter fog light bulbs to round out your efforts. The overall lighting improvements will make night driving safer and a lot more fun.

You can also mount auxilliary long range driving lights on a G50. If you can find a PAR 46 housing that is adjustable, here's a lamp you can use:

http://genet.gelighting.com/Li...=null

They are jet aircraft landing lights, good for 130 to 150 MPH. They also require relays and wiring kits, and minor mods to the receptacle that you can do with a hacksaw blade and channelocks to relocate the rotational orientation to get the best horizontal/vertical beam spread. They have screw terminals instead of plugs so they always have a good connection. If you decide to go with them, let me know and I'll help you get them installed.

Best of luck to you.Let me know how you like it when you're finished.

[maxnix]

OK, now I'm interested. Can someone post a pic.I've never seen James fogs. Where did he get them?

I believe it is in his wheel thread.

James auxiliary lights have the same problem I initially did, they are too far back and shrouded by the opening.

In my case, I had to weld on a plate and extend the mounting by 2.5" - 3" to bring them out more. This also located them correctly in the opening, and produced a flat mount for the bottom on which to mount the light's bracket. The bottom stock bracket is not level.

[Rex]

OK, now I'm interested. Can someone post a pic.I've never seen James fogs. Where did he get them?

Here's the best one I can findClick the pic

[maxnix]

There is another one that has a 4/4 view of the front driver's side that shows a little better how far baack they are set and how they are shrouded.

I will post mine up here soon. Don't know if I have all the pictures on this computer.