HID factory fog lights possible?

[DHC6twinotter]

Hey all,

I've wanted to upgrade to HID headlights on my 3rd gen, but I've also been thinking about doing the factory fog lights as well.

Has anybody here converted the factory fogs to HIDs? They seem to be fairly well sealed on the backside, and I'm not sure if it's possible without drilling holes or whatnot.

Anyways, any help would be great. Thanks!

[YotaFun]

Dan,
I believe it is very possible, I have seen a few 3rd gens around here with HIDs in the fog lights.

Also if your doing the headlights but are not doing a projection retrofit you might want to consider these:
http://www.vvme.com/hid-headlights/hi-low-one-beam-in-hid-hid-kit/h4-2-9003-hid-conversion-kit/standard-h4-2-9003-hid-conversion-kit

And here is the kit for the fog lights for 99-02:
http://www.vvme.com/hid-headlights/single-beam-hid-conversion-kit/h3-hid-conversion-kit/standard-h3-hid-conversion-kit

They are plug and play and fit right in, you just have to make sure to adjust your headlights accordingly when you put them in your headlights, I haven't gotten a chance to do that yet.

[YotaFun]

Also Dan I have seen a lot of people go with a more yellow hue in the fog lights.
I am not sure if it really helps with fog, but I know its an option as a cover for light force so it might do something?

[Seanz0rz]

amber light is a huge advantage in fog, at least to me. it provides greater contrast, the way yellow shooting glasses do. i know alot of people will argue against amber fogs. but i prefer them and have had them on many different vehicles.

color temps for "amber" light is around 3000 Kelvin, so look for that when you buy fog lights if you want amber light. if you want "stock" halogen light, then 5000 K, and 6000 K for the more white light (looks a bit blue) but i would recommend against that for fog lights. stick with 3000K or 5000K

[DHC6twinotter]

Thanks guys! It looks like the HID fog lights are more plug and play then I had anticipated.

As far as color goes, I was kinda thinking about matching the fogs and the headlights at 6000k. My eye sight isn't that great at night, and the whiter lights makes a huge difference for me. I'll have to rethink that for fogs though. We don't get too much fog around here, and I use the fog lights more for additional night visibility than anything.

Sean, are your headlights 5000 or 6000k?

:headscratch:

[YotaFun]

Dan I'll get a picture for you later this week, I have 5000k bulbs in my truck with your style head lamp

[Seanz0rz]

mine are 6000K, i have a 5000k set in the vw ive never used. 5000K will look like halogen light but better, 6000k will appear slightly blue. higher than 6000k is just stupid. dont do it.

i really like the ddm tuning ones i have for the vw. kit was really really nice. pretty cheap.

for headlights, make sure you get a high/lo kit. for the fogs, you just need a regular kit.

[4x4mike]

Dan I have the highlander fogs but ditched them for the after market Hella Micro DE's. Their housing is longer and will accept the hid bulb better. I think I have a write up on here (not the 500ff mod). I got my HID's from DDM. I know wish I got the 3000k bulbs as the 4000-4300 I got are a little blue when you see them on with the headlights.

The lights are really bright and offer a ton of light. I'm pressed for time right now but search for my write up. It's a custom install and requires a buying new lights to do it right. There are other write ups around that use the stock ones but the DDM kit (wish is really good) has a bulb that is too long.

[paddlenbike]

I have the same setup as Mike. 4200K look a little blue compared to the headlights. I would also go warmer, like 3000K.

[4x4mike]

I looked for pictures but couldn't find any. The stock fogs are labeled Kioto and made by Hella. Hella's aftermarket name for the lights is Micro DE. Ken, a friend and myself have these: http://yellowandbluelighting.com/oe-parts/toyota/toyota-4runner-sr5-micro-de-fog-lamp-kit-74560.html

They are the aftermarket version. My 4Runner came with the Kioto lights with the H3, 55 watt bulb. The lights were very good but I wanted the extra light of HID's. I read up on the mod and found the aftermarket version was the way to go as the HID bulb length is an issue in the stock lights. I didn't want to deal with a bulb exploding or light cut off issues so I sold my stock ones and waited a month for the ones from yellowandbluelighting.com to come.

The after market ones are longer and have different mounting than the stock ones. No issue really. The mod does require cutting the back rubber off the rear seal and then using RTV to seal it up. Mine have been on there for over a year and a half and they are doing great.
Like I mentioned above I'd get the 35w, 3500K kit from DDM. The 55w kit is too much for the little lights and IMO anything cooler than 3500k give the fake flatbiller look. I've got Silverstars in my headligths and I think they are claimed to be 4100K. Standing outside of the vehicle looking at them they are quite warm but have NO blue. My 4500k kit from DDM is blue and looks very 18 year old to me. Standing outside of the vehicle looking at the front looks goofy with yellowish (warm) headlights and blue fogs.
Our Subaru has factory fogs that sit really low and in stock form put out minimal light. I upgraded those as well when I did mine. I bought the same 4500k kit and it looked even worse on that car. I changed out those bulbs to the 3000k and it's much better. When driving the light is noticeably yellow but it doesn't look bad at all. When standing outside of the vehicle the light changes depending on the angle you are standing from the light. It kind of looks yellow but at certain angles it looks much cooler and almost crystal (if that's a color). Bottom line it doesn't look teenager and my wife has no complaints.
Driving the 4Runner with the 4500k is nice. The light is about white (unlike looking at it from the outside) and super nice when it's dark out. Driving in the snow is nice as well as the lights have a nice cut off and lots of spill. If it's snowing real hard I turn my headlights off and just run the DE's with my parking lights. It helps a lot with the depth issue you get with the headlights lighting up falling snow right in front of you. The HID's give plenty of light to see the road, sign and others to see you (although not legal).

Read up on the other forums about the mod. More so for the light and less of the bulb color. I sold my stock lights in a few day for what I was asking.

[4x4mike]

I guess I did put a few pics up here, just not a lot of detail.

http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=4960.0

The video shows them on but not the real color. The Hella 500's are actually quite blue when standing out of the vehicle looking at them. They are beyond bright so you don't even notice the color especially since you can't see any other lights to compare them to. While driving they are a cold color but not bad at all.

[DHC6twinotter]

Awesome. Thanks for the input guys. How accurate is the DDM color chart?

http://www.ddmtuning.com/images/custom/hid-color-chart-projector.jpg

I'd like to a color as close to white as possible. If that chart is accurate, I like 5000k, or maybe 4500k, the best. I'm not looking for a ricer (or flatbiller :laugh: ) look. Just a color that most of the factory HIDs seem to have.

Mike, you have 4500s in your Micro DEs in that video, correct?

[4x4mike]

I'd say the chart is accurate. Just know that when you're out of the vehicle looking at the light it's bluish especially compared to the headlights.

Yes I have the 35w, 4500k in the fogs. Our Subaru has the 35w, 3000k.

I think your biggest problem will be the length of the bulb though. Search YT for the mod. They have pics with measurements. It was too close for me so I got the new housings. It was totally worth it.

[DHC6twinotter]

Thanks. When I do the fog lights, I'll be getting the new housing as well.

Mike, you can turn off the headlights and still run your fog lights? I can't do that on mine. The fog lights turn off whenever I turn off my headlights, even if I still have the parking lights on. And when I turn on my parking lights, my DRLs still stay on. Makes me wonder why there is even a parking light option. :headscratch:

I'll be upgrading the headlights to HIDs as well, so I'm not too concerned about the colors not matching. I'll have to disable the DRLs though...

[4x4mike]

There is a mod I can link when I get to a computer. You will have to disable your DRL's though. I have a '99 so I didn't have anything to disable. Stay tuned.

[4x4mike]

Ok, here is the link.
http://www.top4runners.com/ja/fogmod.html

His site is actually very helpful with information.

Tell you what. Since you're getting new housings as well I'll offer you a chance for some 4500k bulbs. I have a set of extra 4500k bulbs from the kit I put on our Subaru. When they were too blue I pulled them and ordered the 3000k. If you're on the fence between 2 color choices and one is the 4500k get the other one. I'll send you the 4500k if you cover shipping. If you get the 3000k and like the 4500k's I'll trade you bulbs.

I sold my factory Kiotos with all the wiring and whatnot from the yellow and blue kit really fast so you'll be able to recoup some cost.

[4x4mike]

I found some time this past weekend to swap out my 35 watt, 4500k bulbs for some 35 watt, 3000k ones. There was nothing wrong with the 4500's but the blue color bugged me. They were great from a drivers perspective. Nice and white but they were blue compared to my headlights.

The 3000k are yellow with a hint of blue. As a result when pointed at a wall the edges look kind of green. I have never noticed this on our Subaru which has the same bulbs and DDM kit. One big difference with the Subaru fogs is the light it self. It's much larger in diameter and doesn't have the cut off shield like the Micro DE's do.

Anywho, I like the 3000k's in the Micro DE's more than I do the 4500k's. They still don't match the headlights but I feel less annoying on the road with my blue lights.


Side by side mid way through the swap.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ENqXI5XVtW4/Tvn70M3X9FI/AAAAAAAArF0/yMmaUa5fShU/s800/IMAG0541.jpg

On the wall. Low beams and 4500k.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-pODQzE9Luu8/Tvn70jpanxI/AAAAAAAArF8/iOXpGLZ24wI/s800/IMAG0543.jpg

One the wall. Low beams and 3000k. Still need to adjust the fog lights.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Rl-I1crcrts/Tvn701tOYjI/AAAAAAAArGA/G_K1DhwgjHk/s800/IMAG0545.jpg

I wanted to post up some pictures so folks have a real life reference. I couldn't find much when I first started looking.

[DHC6twinotter]

Awesome! Thanks Mike! I put off buying the lights with the holidays here, and I just found out that our contract is over in Feb and I'll be unemployed, so I'm going to be in money conservation mode until I have another job lined up. Not sure I'll be buying new lights anytime soon. They're not really a necessity.

I really appreciate all the input everybody has given. Thanks guys! You all are awesome.