Look (lights on 2003 Infiniti M45)

[CakeDaddy]

I installed one piaa yellow h3 to get an idea on how’d it would look. I have to say that it is an upgrade from those standard oem h3s. My camera isn’t that great, but you get the idea. The overall project was a grind and requires great patients. I only removed 6 bolts from the bottom of the cars under panel to complete this project. I'll do the other side later and I'm estimating only half the time o complete.

[audtatious]

Are those PIAA Ion Crystals or some other yellow bulbs?

[nmgoodthing]

I like the way teh PIAAs look but mine always lasted 3-6 months before oen burned out. Right now I have some cheapo yellows in there. Theyve been running for about 3 months now but have already faded somewhat.

It's a pain replacing them but if you have a lift its cake after you remove the plastic covering.

I hear you can buy yellow capsules that go over your H3 bulb that gives it that Lexus fog light color. A real rich yellow. HIDTEch has them for $30. http://www.hidtech.com/retros.html#retroprices , and you can use stock bulbs.

Heres a comparison of what those capsules look like.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=449650
Modified by nmgoodthing at 4:50 PM 1/17/2007

[CakeDaddy]

Update- I put the other yellow piaa in the passenger side and I discovered I had it in wrong, so once I made the adjustment on both sides it was 10 times brighter.

[audtatious]

I like the way teh PIAAs look but mine always lasted 3-6 months before oen burned out. Right now I have some cheapo yellows in there. Theyve been running for about 3 months now but have already faded somewhat.Modified by nmgoodthing at 4:50 PM 1/17/2007

My Ion Crystals would last up to a year, then go south. The one thing I disliked about them was the blue that always showed up in the middle of the foglight.

[audtatious]

Update- I put the other yellow piaa in the passenger side and I discovered I had it in wrong, so once I made the adjustment on both sides it was 10 times brighter.

Looks better

[CakeDaddy]

My Ion Crystals would last up to a year, then go south. The one thing I disliked about them was the blue that always showed up in the middle of the foglight.

blue?? hmmm i'll keep my eyes on that, but so far so good and thx for the props.

[audtatious]

When you get tired of replacing them, grab a set of H3 HIDs that match the headlights (or are in the 3000k range for yellow). I just picked up a kit to install once it warms up to at least the 30's

[ProvidenceLeaf]

Here is my contribution to this thread. I installed some 3000K HIDs for my fogs. They are really amazing and bright. These pics are during the day and you can still see that they are BRIGHT yellow in the day time. I'll post some night time shots when I get a chance. I hope you enjoy!

[audtatious]

Exactly what I was talking about

PIAA bulbs are, what, $70 with shipping? Replace a couple sets within a couple years timeframe and you could have saved by upgrading to a HID kit. Co-Way (NICO Sponsor) has HID H3 kits available for this purpose ( zerothread?id=224976 ). I just upgraded to his 6000k headlights and I have the H3 kit (in 6000k to match) to be installed soon. The build quality is top-notch and uses metal housings instead of the cheap plastic housings you can find by others.

[ProvidenceLeaf]

Here are the night pics that I promised. NICE AND BRIGHT YELLOW!

[Bag302]

I just installed the PIAA yellows and while they are a big improvement over the factory candles, I'm not really happy about the blue/green tinge they have. I may look into that HID kit - they look really good.

[CakeDaddy]

wow, that hid fog kit is clean. I like it. I'm going to look into that kit that Audtatious is talking about for the heads.

[Teknic73]

i swapped out to Nokya bulbs a couple of months ago, and one is slightly brighter than the other. I know there is a way to adjust them, but i obviously don't know how to do it. anyone wanna help ?

[audtatious]

Physically brighter or simply brighter on the road (on one side)?

[Teknic73]

physically i suppose. if the car is parked one side is brighter, and same when i drive.

[CakeDaddy]

I ha

physically i suppose. if the car is parked one side is brighter, and same when i drive.

I had the same issue when I installed mine. I simply went back in a flipped the buld over and clamped it down with the metal clip.

[nmgoodthing]

Teknic73,

If you notice the H3 bulb has a small notch cut out on the base flange.

Make sure that notch is fit into the small bump that is one the housing where the bulb goes into. Make sure it is flush then fasten the clip. You shouldn't need to re aim anything. It should all fall into place. Its kind of a pain because your working with such a small area. This should fix your brightness problem. Also beware of higher wattage bulbs unless you upgrade your harness, and even then you risk browning your reflectors due to heat.

As far as HID kits go. Unless you can get OEM equipment, Philips/Hella ballasts and a relay I wouldn't risk it. Your asking for electrical problems later down the road. That 3000k does look nice though.

[auditech10]

What problems would you be asking for by using a HID kit???They draw less wattage and amperage than a standard halogen bulb. The only bad things I have heard of aftermarket cheapo HID kits is that the bulbs burn out prematurely due to them being rebased OEM bulbs or just cheap korean or taiwaneese made bulbs that change colors unevenly or just stop working.

[ProvidenceLeaf]

What problems would you be asking for by using a HID kit???They draw less wattage and amperage than a standard halogen bulb. The only bad things I have heard of aftermarket cheapo HID kits is that the bulbs burn out prematurely due to them being rebased OEM bulbs or just cheap korean or taiwaneese made bulbs that change colors unevenly or just stop working.

Very well stated!

[nmgoodthing]

For starters the fog light reflectors are designed for halogen not HID. So you end up with blinding glare unless you modify the shield, and even then it's still not very good.

A standard H3 bulb is 55W and is typically found in less critical applications like aux. lighting. H3 has a lateral mount filament, and HID is only fore and aft, so a result of retrofit is that you will end up with garbage.

You can read more about it at Daniel Stern Lighting

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

As far as electrical goes I have personally have heard of people who had installed HID kits and the kit didn't come with a relay harness and screwing up the electrical system and blowing fuses all the time.

For someone with the know how, by all means go for it. There's more to it then Plug and Play with some of these kits. OEM manufactures don't even make a H3 HID capsule, it's re-based in China or Taiwan somewhere. I'm just saying personally I wouldn't do it. I think it looks cool even though it's blinding, but I'm conservative about mods and wouldn't risk the install unless done by someone experienced.

[audtatious]

HID kits are simply 12v into the trans pack. A H3 bulb will draw more power than a HID kit so there should be no issues at all if you have a true kit instead of something tinker-toy'd.

[ProvidenceLeaf]

First I must say, please don't take my response like me being a jerk. I just wanted to add my opinion here.

For starters the fog light reflectors are designed for halogen not HID. So you end up with blinding glare unless you modify the shield, and even then it's still not very good.

I'm sorry, but I can't agree with you at all here. I don't have a "blinding glare" at all. I haven't modified anything in the fog lens or reflector.

As far as electrical goes I have personally have heard of people who had installed HID kits and the kit didn't come with a relay harness and screwing up the electrical system and blowing fuses all the time.

That is why you do some research and buy a good kit from a reputable company. I have had this kit on for a couple of months and haven't had any issues. I had the same kit for my fogs from the same company on my Acura TL for over a year with no issues. I know many people that have done the same with HID kits and none of them have ever had any issues. It's a simple install that almost anyone can do.

I think the people that you know that had many issues may have bought crap HID kits and possibly may have installed their kits incorrectly...(just my 2 cents)

[CakeDaddy]

will you

First I must say, please don't take my response like me being a jerk. I just wanted to add my opinion here.



I'm sorry, but I can't agree with you at all here. I don't have a "blinding glare" at all. I haven't modified anything in the fog lens or reflector.

That is why you do some research and buy a good kit from a reputable company. I have had this kit on for a couple of months and haven't had any issues. I had the same kit for my fogs from the same company on my Acura TL for over a year with no issues. I know many people that have done the same with HID kits and none of them have ever had any issues. It's a simple install that almost anyone can do.

I think the people that you know that had many issues may have bought crap HID kits and possibly may have installed their kits incorrectly...(just my 2 cents)

will you be upgrading your head lights as well with the c0 way setup ?

[auditech10]

Most of us are all saying the same thing just in different words. My opinion on aftermarket HID kits is that they are all crap. Yes some are better than others, no doubt. Not everybody that has them has had a problem, if they did the company that made them wouldnt have a business any longer. I dont recommend anything other than OEM quality parts.

What kit did you get by the way ProvidenceLeaf? Your setup does look nice. I upgraded my headlamps with Philips Ultinon 6000K(anything more than 6000K is crap!) They are just a tiny bit bluer than the stock 4300K but the biggest difference I noticed about them is that they reflect road markings and signs 100X better so they SEEM slightly brighter even though they dont produce as many lumens. Ill post pics as soon as I get my fog light housings replaced with D2S/D2R fog light housings. Im not sure if I will use 3000K or 6000K to match my headlamps but one of these days soon we'll find out.Best RegardsD

[nmgoodthing]

First I must say, please don't take my response like me being a jerk. I just wanted to add my opinion here.

You didn't seem to come off that way at all. It's all good. Liek I said, I think your fogs look awesome.

Where are you guys mounting your ballasts?

[pmtran16]

Here are the night pics that I promised. NICE AND BRIGHT YELLOW!

Looks nice...I'm considering getting a Yellow HID conversion kit for my 06 M45. I believe they are H11 bulbs