PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
It's not going to melt your car down but it will let more dirt through guaranteed. http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest3.htm http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html
Emmet, my '03 Monty Sport
- Thread starter hove102
- Start date
PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
I've had them on three cars. Every car has developed issues with the MAF sensor after installing and my oil was dirty faster. Independent tests show this.
Your stock airbox and filter flow plenty.
Your stock airbox and filter flow plenty.
PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
People buy tons of stuff that doesn't work or isn't necessary. Heck I bought 3 of them before I realized it.
PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
Instead of LEDs in the front, you might swap in the stock fog/driving lights.
It's hard to argue with data like that, I suppose, and on that basis I'm not going to start a debate on it on my thread. I appreciate the insight and I'll keep that in mind as I monitor performance between now and 175K, which is the next oil change interval.
I have heard of people doing this, but Montero Sports are pretty hard to come by in salvage yards in my area, and I'm not sure where I could find a clean enough set. Plus I'm more looking for something I could use if I was driving on a poorly-lit back road or trail at night, so I'd like to have something a bit brighter. Is it true that all the trucks were wired for the fog lamps though? I've read this in more than one place, and people say that if your MS doesn't have the fogs, the wiring is still tucked away in the bumper somewhere. Any experience with this?
I have heard of people doing this, but Montero Sports are pretty hard to come by in salvage yards in my area, and I'm not sure where I could find a clean enough set. Plus I'm more looking for something I could use if I was driving on a poorly-lit back road or trail at night, so I'd like to have something a bit brighter. Is it true that all the trucks were wired for the fog lamps though? I've read this in more than one place, and people say that if your MS doesn't have the fogs, the wiring is still tucked away in the bumper somewhere. Any experience with this?
jhill15
Explorer
I wll hop in here. Im not certain mitsu pre wires for fogs but I would look for taped up bulb wires behind you fascia and below your headlights dangling or tucked away in there, and if so then there would be the wiring behind the dash for the fog button...I would assume anyway. I know when we bought our nissan versa it was pre wired for fogs so all I needed were the lights, and turn signal stalk with the fog switch. I cut out fog light holes in the finishers and everything is as if it were stock.
If you wanted to do some led lights for backroad and trails check out some tuff 4" round led spots. They are around $50 for 2 on amazon, throw in an extra $20 for a harness, and the end result will make your headlights seem useless.
If you wanted to do some led lights for backroad and trails check out some tuff 4" round led spots. They are around $50 for 2 on amazon, throw in an extra $20 for a harness, and the end result will make your headlights seem useless.
Good to know! Next time I'm under the truck I'll look behind the bumper and see if I can find any wires. I'll check the manual to see which dash button would be the foglight switch as well. I know there's a spot in the fuse block for it so that counts for something, right?
And I'll check those out. I have these in my Amazon cart, and that price is including a harness, but I'll check out the ones you recommended as well:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NY4LWSI/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_9?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AI8A31CFKBZTU
Either way, I'm not looking to spend tons of money on LEDs, just something to provide a little/a lot more light when the going gets dark.
jhill15
Explorer
Those lights look pretty sweet!
I would also look to see of you will need a relay in the fusable link box under the hood, see if there is already on there, worst case $10 bucks at the dealer. Check out the fsm for the electrical.
PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
I've read that also but don't know if it is true, those CREE lights look pretty nice too. One thing missing from a lot aftermarket lighting is some sort of shield/cover that keeps light from being glaring and being thrown up where it does nothing.
Good call. If I don't end up using the factory wiring, most of the harnesses I've found come with a fusable relay in-line, so that's a plus. There are some great deals for low-priced LEDs on Amazon!
Are you taking about a hood or some sort of block that goes across the top of the lamp? I hadn't considered that...I figured setting them in the factory location would give them some sort of hood-effect but I'll look into that, good point. Do you have any aftermarket lights on your MS?
PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
I don't, the fog lamps on these are really very bright compared to most vehicles. I've had aftermarket lights on my prior vehicles but the reality is they don't get used very often and don't help much really.....unless you are bombing through the desert at night in the Baja 500 it's not all that helpful. With deer and other animals out at night it doesn't make sense to drive that fast in real world conditions especially without long travel suspension so I find the stock setup plus some upgraded bulbs to be great.
Mods are fun but really that money/time can be better served in other areas like a nice camp chair, or better backpack, or gas, or food, or maintenance, or savings or student loans, or a welding class etc. I know it's not as fun and it's hard to make that leap but it gets easier the more you do it. I did all sorts of mods to cars until this vehicle.....I'm a gear head so it's been quite difficult to restrain myself from constant mods but my pocket book, time, and vehicle are better for it.
For around camp nothing compares to a headlamp.....it puts the light right where you need it.
Mods are fun but really that money/time can be better served in other areas like a nice camp chair, or better backpack, or gas, or food, or maintenance, or savings or student loans, or a welding class etc. I know it's not as fun and it's hard to make that leap but it gets easier the more you do it. I did all sorts of mods to cars until this vehicle.....I'm a gear head so it's been quite difficult to restrain myself from constant mods but my pocket book, time, and vehicle are better for it.
For around camp nothing compares to a headlamp.....it puts the light right where you need it.
PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
The factory spot would help with glare. You could also make a little hood quite easily that covered the tops and sides.
You bring up a lot of good points. It's hard to deny to myself that lights would be more of an aesthetic thing and would most likely get used really rarely. I'm with you, it's hard to be a gearhead and not constantly upgrade your rig because you want to do all these little things. I think that might be a good goal for me to undertake, to try to focus less on mods and focus more on skills or things I'll actually use. I really do appreciate the advice, it's good to get that perspective from an outside source because it means another person has gone through the same struggles as I am. Being on this website makes it really tempting to go full out with your builds, but the reality is that most of us don't need 90% of that stuff for the runs we go on. I could definitely spend the cash on a nice LED headlamp and have a lot of money left over to actually get camping gear.
PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
No problem....we need a support group on here. SGHA? Struggling gear heads anonymous?.... Hehe. I found the simpler my setup/vehicle the more it actually gets used and the happier I am. It's fun to look at and dream over all the builds but I would focus on an ultra simple and high quality kit that can pull duty backpacking, car camping (expoing?), day tripping, kayaking, bike packing etc. That way you end up spending less money but having a kit that is comfortable no matter what you are doing.