Fog Light Replacement - HID Kit

[scott23642]

Hey Guys,

I bought my second M a couple of months back and I have been looking at making some changes starting wth the exterior lighting. Looking for some help on determine the the brightness for making the fog lights HID. What are you guys liking for brightness, 3K, 4300 or 6K? It really hard to tell what it looks like on a website!!!

Any preferences on where to order the kits from?

Thanks in advance!

Scott
2011 M37S
2006 M35 - It is still on the road with 176K and my 17yr old is now the happy driver!

[Debonair]

3K, 4300 or 6K are color temperatures on the Kelvin scale. Essentially they determine the light color and output. 4300K thru 6K will generally give you the most output. Lower and the color yellows, higher and the color changes and output decreases.



I personally feel that 5K is the sweet spot. It is the whitest and brightest without a blue or other color appearance. For fog lights, I prefer a 3K yellow look. The problem for me is that the 3K HID kits do not look yellow and cast a yellowish color in the M's foglight housing. I am getting some LED fog lights in 3K to hopefully resolve this.

If I was to do my foglight in white I would use 5K like the headlights.

[scott23642]

Thanks for the info! I am looking at the 6K so I think I will pull the trigger today and get them next week.

I think I will have more fun with this one than I did the M35.

[Debonair]

Very cool. Check out the FAQ thread for info on changing out the bulbs. Also, welcome the Y51 M owners Club.

I almost forgot - DISCONNECT THE NEGATIVE BATTERY TERMINAL BEFORE DOING ANY ELECTRICAL WORK. Trust me on this one with this car.

[putim37s]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7bskhf2300019 ... 7.jpg?dl=0

I'm horrible at taking pics, and posting pics on this forum. Anyways, 5500k Headlights, 3000k COB LED fogs.

[Ilya]

I personally would go with LED over HID...HID are touchy (when they get wet, etc.). I went through many sets, even the high-end stuff and I always made sure that I tried to minimize moisture access as much as possible.

I need to get a set of LED 3K's because my halogen 3K's just had one fail.

EDIT: Just purchased the iJDMToy ones that were mentioned: http://www.amazon.com/iJDMTOY-Bright-Ye ... ED+Fog+40w

[beachbum718]

I run 5k top and bottom.over the years ive always used vvme slim kit for my old q45.and all my friends cars.my brothers car is going over 5 years same hid bulbs.bulb has never gone out period.when installed correctly.they work as good as the 300$ brands...vvme cost 45 to 55 shipped.just did my friends 2014 genesis coupe.heads and fogs.5k heads 3k fogs.his car is black.looks so good compared to oem.

[Debonair]

It's a LED fog light gold rush around here. My set is being delivered tomorrow in 3K.

[JCesar]

I would go with LED's

[beachbum718]

No way any foglight led is bright then an hid bulb. Led is just for looks.on a dark country road.ill take hid over led any day.as long as its 5k and under.any higher and its crap.

[Debonair]

No way any foglight led is bright then an hid bulb. Led is just for looks.on a dark country road.ill take hid over led any day.as long as its 5k and under.any higher and its crap.

Tell this to all the OEMs switching to LED for headlights. Technology is bridging the gap. Plus I think we are only discussing them for the fogs. I am definitely am staying HID for headlights.

I'll try to wire them all up (halogen, HID, and Led) and see the output comparison. I have all three in 3K. Should be a fun project. I think my set is a lower wattage then some other kits though. I will have to check.

[Ilya]

The one I got was 40w. If yours is lower, it's probably 25w or 30w.

And yes, LED is the future. Acura has like 9 powerful LED's in each headlight assembly, etc. One isn't going to be enough. I don't use fogs for, well, fog...I use them strictly for aesthetics lol.

[M37xfan]

thought about LED for fogs, but instead went with a 3k(deep yellow) bulb for fogs. The Infiniti dealer I use installed them for free

[Debonair]

thought about LED for fogs, but instead went with a 3k(deep yellow) bulb for fogs. The Infiniti dealer I use installed them for free

Post some pics! I took my 3K HID out already because I was not happy with them.

[M37xfan]

I love the contrast between the yellow fogs and HID bulbs!!

[redsworld]

I just recvd my iJDMtoys LED 3k fogs today. Install tomorrow. I have also noticed my right head light "shaking" when I hit bumps. Anything I should look for while I have the fender liner loose to install the fogs?

[Ilya]

I received mine today too, but was out with the lady all day so won't be installing for a few days.

[redsworld]

Installed !! Took more time than our should have, but I'm a happy M'er !

[Ilya]

Did your LED bulbs have a plug that goes to the OEM plug + another small harness? If so, what did you do with the smaller connector?

EDIT: NVM, figured it out. But one of my new LED bulbs is bad...the bulb holder that locks it into place rotates so I can't lock it in. FML.

[Debonair]

Did your LED bulbs have a plug that goes to the OEM plug + another small harness? If so, what did you do with the smaller connector?

EDIT: NVM, figured it out. But one of my new LED bulbs is bad...the bulb holder that locks it into place rotates so I can't lock it in. FML.

Oh that sucks!

[redsworld]

The large plug attached directly to oem. The small on is not used. It started raining on me, so I will go back into the small ones and cover with some shrink wrap to keep water out. Also, min felt like it was turning slso, but I pushed in a little harder to get it to lock in. I think you have to push pretty hard to compress the rubber seal. That's how I locked it in. They are very secure.

[Ilya]

I covered the small ones with electrical tape...hopefully that'll do. If not I'll go back and shrink wrap...but what a pain. The new designs of cars are so hard to work on the front lighting. I remember my old Maxima, took 5 minutes to change a fog light bulb.

One of my marker lights in the headlight went out...it's a f'in 30 minute job trying to fish that out. Then I saw that the side marker light (orange reflective piece) went out...so now I have to figure out how to remove that POS. The frame of the car/fender is in the way and you can't get any tools and barely your fingers in there. What a PITA.

And no, it's not an issue with the seal. The physical bulb lock ring was not stationary...could spin it in my hands. Got a 10% refund ($9.00) from iJDMToy and just super glued that POS lol. Didn't spin enough for me to secure it in the fog light. But now that I think about it...if I ever have to remove it...eek!

Debonair, I know you are pretty good with the bulbs. Any idea how to remove the side marker bulb from the front headlight? And any tips on an easier method to remove the parking bulb that's above the middle section of the headlight?

[sirstroke]

so what bulb so done purchase to march my OEM head lights I own a m56 model

[sirstroke]

sorry what bulb do I purchase my m35 is totaled so stepped up to a m56

[Debonair]

Debonair, I know you are pretty good with the bulbs. Any idea how to remove the side marker bulb from the front headlight? And any tips on an easier method to remove the parking bulb that's above the middle section of the headlight?

For the headlight side marker it is pretty easy to get to it once you have the fender liner removed , like when changing a fog light bulb. I tapped into one of them for my DRL relay.

The front market is no fun. I have some long nose pliers that I use to lock/unlock the socket since there in not much room for fingers. I have done it a bunch with various bulbs and projects so it's pretty easy for me now.

[Ilya]

Damn. I need to remove the wheel and liner again? F that...I'll just rock the cockeyed one marker look until the other dies or until I'm in that area again. Such a idiotic design.

[Debonair]

so what bulb so done purchase to march my OEM head lights I own a m56 model

sorry what bulb do I purchase my m35 is totaled so stepped up to a m56

First off sorry about the M35, but congrats on the M56!

Have you replaced the headlight bulbs yet? If yes then get a HID kit in the same color temperature (5kK 6K, etc.). Or an Led kit but the color may not be an exact match.

OEM HID headlight color is 4300K. You can match this but I would switch them to 5K and get the matching foglight bulbs.

[sirstroke]

Thanks for your response. I have not done anything to the car because I just got it. So I am running OEM as far as I know. So when you say replace to 5K for headlights and match that with the fog lights do you mean use 5K as well for the fogs? And are we just talking about bulbs? I see the phrase "HID Kit" and that scares me thinking of boxes and switches. Can you elaborate? Sorry I am new to the forum questions and usually just read and not reply, LOL.

[Debonair]

So when you say replace to 5K for headlights and match that with the fog lights do you mean use 5K as well for the fogs? And are we just talking about bulbs? I see the phrase "HID Kit" and that scares me thinking of boxes and switches. Can you elaborate?

Headlights are factory HID with 4300K (color) HID. Fogs are incandescent H8 (think yellowish white). If you want your fog lights to match your headlights you have three options

• A. Get regular H8 bulbs that claim to be brighter and whiter than normal bulbs. They will not be and you will be disappointed.
  
  B. Replace the fog lights bulbs with a plug-&-play HID kit running 4300K bulbs. No extra steps are needed other than double-stick taping a ballast (a small box that powers the HID bulb) to the frame. No complicated wiring or modifications are needed.
  
  C. BEST OPTION! Replace your factory headlight HID bulbs with 5K (or another color temp. of your liking) bulbs. Then install a plug-&-play HID kit for the fog lights with the same color temp bulbs.

You can also run LED bulbs in the fog light housing with the OE headlight bulbs or upgraded headlight bulbs. Most of the LED bulbs list a color temp, but it is not as consistent as HID bulbs, and their output is generally less.

HID kits are plug and play. Unplug and remove the OEM bulb. Plug the factory harness into the HID kit, install the new HID bulb into the fog light housing, mount the ballast, and you are done.

[sirstroke]

thanks for your help. Would you have
any links to sites fo
r the kit or bulbs or would the local parts stores have them.