aftermarket lighting in place of factory fog lights.

[SilicaRich]

HIDs draw fewer amps than many foglights while the arc is burning but draw much more when the ignighter starts them. They're not for foglight use at all.
There are a few decent LED foglights but those are pricey.

I don't necessarily want to replace them with fogs, I just want to make use of my old fog switch.

 

[Hilldweller]

I don't necessarily want to replace them with fogs, I just want to make use of my old fog switch.

I get ya.
If you want to make them god-lights and use them offroad, HIDs are practical. But I'd upgrade the wiring. The amperage jolt from the ignighter is often significant. I've measured as much as 13 amps with some.

But, otoh, if you're just looking for lots of light and not a real foglight, I'd apply a liberal dose of cheap LEDs to it. Like BWT said though, don't believe any seller that touts the benefit of amber LEDs. Amber is for signaling, not for illuminating. There are proven benefits to selective yellow lighting but you won't find LEDs in that color and it's not really worth trying. I tinted a set of HIDs to selective yellow and use them to this day; it was a fun project but not really worth the time in terms of actual performance...

 

[kojackJKU]

I would not bother adding Driving/spot lights to the factory switch as it is connected to the LOW beam light. When using forward lighting for distance you usually have your high beams on. Add a proper fog light to that switch and wire a set of spot or driving beams to a separate circuit.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I would not bother adding Driving/spot lights to the factory switch as it is connected to the LOW beam light. When using forward lighting for distance you usually have your high beams on. Add a proper fog light to that switch and wire a set of spot or driving beams to a separate circuit.

On many vehicles that can be bypassed so the fogs will work independent of the headlights.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Buddha.]

I've done a 180 on the lights. I'm gonna ignore the fogs for now and mount my hella 4000's. They're decent lights but they are almost as deep as they are tall. I might remove my grill so they can sit back more and not stick out so far.

 

[SilicaRich]

I get ya.
If you want to make them god-lights and use them offroad, HIDs are practical. But I'd upgrade the wiring. The amperage jolt from the ignighter is often significant. I've measured as much as 13 amps with some.

But, otoh, if you're just looking for lots of light and not a real foglight, I'd apply a liberal dose of cheap LEDs to it. Like BWT said though, don't believe any seller that touts the benefit of amber LEDs. Amber is for signaling, not for illuminating. There are proven benefits to selective yellow lighting but you won't find LEDs in that color and it's not really worth trying. I tinted a set of HIDs to selective yellow and use them to this day; it was a fun project but not really worth the time in terms of actual performance...

Kind of what I figured. Think I'll just rip out what's left of the fog harness and put in a new harness to handle the higher amps. Well I'm currently looking at Lightforce 10" HIDs and buying a set of their lenses (blue, yellow, and amber) to suit different conditions. Thanks for the info!

LED wise, I prefer the round look on my vehicle and most of the round LEDs are WAY overpriced IMO

 

[kojackJKU]

have a look at the ARB LED. One of the guys on here had a set on the soob he had. Said they were really good.

 

[SilicaRich]

have a look at the ARB LED. One of the guys on here had a set on the soob he had. Said they were really good.

I don't doubt their performance, I just have an issue spending $500-$750 on a pair of lights

 

[kojackJKU]

I thought they were like 350 a set….sorry, not ARB….IPF….

 

[kojackJKU]

Just looked at OK 4wd. The IPF LEDs are 218 each. But use reflector technology which i think is much better for lighting.

 

[Buddha.]

Gonna replace the factory bulbs. Replace factory h11's with h9's for the lows. For the highs switching the factory 9005's for HIR 9011's. It should almost if not completly double my lumens. This is candlepowerfotums approved.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

Gonna replace the factory bulbs. Replace factory h11's with h9's for the lows. For the highs switching the factory 9005's for HIR 9011's. It should almost if not completly double my lumens. This is candlepowerfotums approved.

I have 9011 HIR in the fogs on one truck and the high beams on another truck, and they are a huge improvement over anything else I have tied, including aftermarket HIDs. Lot cheaper, too.

 

[kojackJKU]

I am giving them a shot in my suburban when I get it back on the road. Everyone that has them really likes them. HIR are not available here, have to order them. The other thing I am doing is doing the "4 light mod". So low and high beams are on at the same time. I have no idea why GM does this.

 

[AFSOC]

Replace factory h11's with h9's for the lows. For the highs switching the factory 9005's for HIR 9011's. It should almost if not completly double my lumens. This is candlepowerfotums approved.

Replacing high beam 9005s with 9011s on my GMC 2500HD was transformational. I also added harness and relays. The overall improvement was shocking.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

The other thing I am doing is doing the "4 light mod". So low and high beams are on at the same time. I have no idea why GM does this.

I have no idea why GM wasn't fixing known problems with a lot of their trucks. My 98 Z71 came from the factory with the same flaws that were in the 88s. Re the headlights, I did the 4-light conversion on a couple of my GMs, used the kit from Painless Performance. One of mine had the old 4-light rectangular headlight arrangement, with plastic lenses. Once the lenses clouded, no amount of polishing would make them functional again. So I found a set of aftermarket (Chinese) headlamps with glass lenses and that made a big difference. Don't remember the name of the company, but they are/were in Pomona CA, internet only, no showroom and no local pickup. Found them on eBay.