fog light HID bulb swap

[bina12834]

hey, anyone out there that has swapped their fogs halogen bulbs for HID bulbs can give me a few tips?

1) was it easier/harder than the doing the headlight swap?

2) what was the best way to get to them? taking the bumper off all together or going in through the wheel well like with the headlight swap?

3) was it hard to find places to mount the ballast's?

4) if i have Xentec 5000k's for my headlights, would 5000k's look good for the fogs as well?

thanks for the input guys, and if you have pics of where you mounted your ballasts for your fogs, or maybe even an install guide with pics, that would be awesome.....basically anything will help! thanks again

[kuhan]

hey, anyone out there that has swapped their fogs halogen bulbs for HID bulbs can give me a few tips?

Yes, i swapped my stock fog light bulbs to HID.Quote »1) was it easier/harder than the doing the headlight swap?[/quote]Well, I swapped both low beam and fog light at the same. I removed the bumper for easy installation. Quote »2) what was the best way to get to them? taking the bumper off all together or going in through the wheel well like with the headlight swap?3) was it hard to find places to mount the ballast's? [/quote]Where did you mount your ballasts for the low beam? Check this thread for ballast mount location. That's where I mounted all 4 ballasts. It seems like perfect locations. http://forums.altimas.org/zerothread?id=318637

Quote »4) if i have Xentec 5000k's for my headlights, would 5000k's look good for the fogs as well?[/quote]Yes, I would go for 5000k for fog as well. It will look nice. I got 6000k low beam and 5000k fog light. I got 2 different temps because I can always switch 5000k for low beam and 6000k fog light and vice versa.

Good Luck...

[bina12834]

well what i was thinking was xenonmatch bulbs for the fogs and the high beams since theyre cheap and they dont look bad at all.....sure theyre not HID, but i think for the small amount of time that we use our high beams, and the small roll that the fog lights play, $30/pair isnt a bad price

[kuhan]

Hey, whatever suits your taste, go for it

[bina12834]

Where did you mount your ballasts for the low beam? Check this thread for ballast mount location. That's where I mounted all 4 ballasts. It seems like perfect locations. http://forums.altimas.org/zerothread?id=318637

when i went to that thread it only shows where to mount 2 balasts...where did you mount the other 2?

[windhaven]

well what i was thinking was xenonmatch bulbs for the fogs and the high beams since theyre cheap and they dont look bad at all.....sure theyre not HID, but i think for the small amount of time that we use our high beams, and the small roll that the fog lights play, $30/pair isnt a bad price

Bina,

I did Xenomatch H11's for my fogs. They look great.

Bumper removal is unnecessary. Just jack up the front of the car and remove the undercarriage plastic cover (Black flat plastic between bumper and front sub-frame. You'll be able to reach up and change the bulbs from there.

Hope this helps,-- Wind

[bina12834]

Bina,

I did Xenomatch H11's for my fogs. They look great.

Bumper removal is unnecessary. Just jack up the front of the car and remove the undercarriage plastic cover (Black flat plastic between bumper and front sub-frame. You'll be able to reach up and change the bulbs from there.

Hope this helps,-- Wind

thanks man....i cant wait to get them....should have them by the end of this week ready to install this weekend. couple questions for you. do you have HID's for your low beams? do the xenonmatch H11's that you put in your fog lights put out a lot more light than teh stock halogen bulbs?
Modified by bina12834 at 12:10 PM 4/1/2008

[Robs_altima]

How did you know which one to get, H3, H7, H8, H10, H11 ect??? I'm new to stuff like this and want to match the factory bolb on the low beams.

http://www.hoen-usa.com/fog.htm

[bina12834]

How did you know which one to get, H3, H7, H8, H10, H11 ect??? I'm new to stuff like this and want to match the factory bolb on the low beams.

http://www.hoen-usa.com/fog.htm

the LOW BEAMS and FOG LIGHTS use H11 bulbs....the HIGH BEAMS use H9 bulbs

[windhaven]

thanks man....i cant wait to get them....should have them by the end of this week ready to install this weekend. couple questions for you. do you have HID's for your low beams? do the xeonmatch H11's that you put in your fog lights put out a lot more light than teh stock halogen bulbs?

Bina,

I have OEM HIDs on my ride. The Xenonmatch H11's are definitely brighter than the stock H11 Halogens, they are also much whiter in color, not exactly the same, but hard to differentiate when you start into them.

-- Wind

[bina12834]

Bina,

I have OEM HIDs on my ride. The Xenonmatch H11's are definitely brighter than the stock H11 Halogens, they are also much whiter in color, not exactly the same, but hard to differentiate when you start into them.

-- Wind

thats cool....since i have aftermarket 5000k's for my low beams i know they will be a little bit more blue than the stock HIDs.....im not really looking for a color match though....im looking at performance of the bulbs (basically how much light they put out) because i love to have the road as lit as much i can possibly make it without blinding people

[maxentropy]

Wind, the Xenonmatch H11's are a tad brighter than the OEM HIDs? Could you recommend a brand/model close to the OEM HIDs? I have the OEM HIDs as well and want something that is close in color-- or maybe even with a hint of blue (perhaps 6000k for the fogs?)

I want something that is bright and will last-- I don't mind paying a few dollars extra for something that will last longer/better quality.

To clarify, even though the 3.5SE fully loaded comes with Halogen fogs, we can replace them with HID fogs with no ballast kits, etc? So they are already HID-ready/"plug & play"?

[guitarist982]

Wind, the Xenonmatch H11's are a tad brighter than the OEM HIDs?

Nope. He was saying that they're brighter than the stock halogen fogs. The Hoen Xenonmatch Fogs are 4,000K output and the factory HID low beams are 4,300K. They are definately a close match. I think 300K is pretty negligable for most people to dissern. $30 and 5 minutes and you've got a good match to the factory HID's.

To clarify, even though the 3.5SE fully loaded comes with Halogen fogs, we can replace them with HID fogs with no ballast kits, etc? So they are already HID-ready/"plug & play"?

All HID's have a ballast. So if you put HID fogs in, you would have 2 ballasts to mount. The Hoens are not HID, but close in appearance and identical to factory power requirements, therefore they are plug and play.

Hope this helps

[bina12834]

Nope. He was saying that they're brighter than the stock halogen fogs. The Hoen Xenonmatch Fogs are 4,000K output and the factory HID low beams are 4,300K. They are definately a close match. I think 300K is pretty negligable for most people to dissern. $30 and 5 minutes and you've got a good match to the factory HID's.

i hope that the difference between my 5000k HID lows and the 4000k Xenonmatch isnt that noticeable....but i could care less because all i want is brighter blubs than the halogens.....especially now after i installed my HIDs....i can barely notice my fogs....its like the HIDs swallow up the stock halogen light
Modified by bina12834 at 12:11 PM 4/1/2008

[maxentropy]

Thanks guitarist982, I had sped-read Wind's post and originally did not dicern that. Appreciate the clarification.

What are the benefits/drawbacks of either sticking with Halogen and getting something like the Xenonmatch fogs or installing two more ballasts and getting HID fogs?

[bina12834]

well both Xenonmatch and HIDs will give you more light output and a whiter light than halogen bulbs

[Robs_altima]

I just want it to be a close match with the stock HID's in the low beams....

[kuhan]

when i went to that thread it only shows where to mount 2 balasts...where did you mount the other 2?

My Xlight kit came with mounting brackets and Xentec kit only came with double-sided pads. I mounted the xentec ballast on the top and xlight ballast w/ bracket on the bottom. both were mounted in the same location.

[guitarist982]

What are the benefits/drawbacks of either sticking with Halogen and getting something like the Xenonmatch fogs or installing two more ballasts and getting HID fogs?

I'll say quality for the price is your biggest plus with the Xenonmatch. They're a pretty reputable brand from what I can tell. Didn't really research HID fogs myself because I just assumed they would cost too much. That and I didn't want to possibly sacrifice quality and go for something off ebay.

Also, although the install on the fogs won't be terrible, it's probably not a 10 minute job like the halogen swap.

You can always check out the gallery on their website and get an idea of what the results will be: http://www.hoen-usa.com/gallery.htm

[bina12834]

I'll say quality for the price is your biggest plus with the Xenonmatch. They're a pretty reputable brand from what I can tell. Didn't really research HID fogs myself because I just assumed they would cost too much. That and I didn't want to possibly sacrifice quality and go for something off ebay.

Also, although the install on the fogs won't be terrible, it's probably not a 10 minute job like the halogen swap.

You can always check out the gallery on their website and get an idea of what the results will be: http://www.hoen-usa.com/gallery.htm

HID Fogs will cost the same as HID lows.....same bulbs....same kits

[guitarist982]

HID Fogs will cost the same as HID lows.....same bulbs....same kits

Exactly, which is much more than $30 for a decent set.

[maxentropy]

Thanks for the info gents.

Prolly gonna pick myself up a set of those Hoen Xenomatch H11s unless someone knows of any halogen fogs similiar to the Xenomatch H11s-- almost as bright as HID too-- but with a hint of blue...

[bina12834]

the Xenonmatch's are the closest youre going to get to HID

[maxentropy]

No other manufacturers make anything relatively similiar with a blue hue?