Post-lift foglight blanks

[Splinter]

I've searched for this, but I guess Im just not using the right words...


1. How do you take the blanks out
2. What size lights fit in there? I'm specifically looking for driving lights. There's a lot of windy deer-infested country road out here. The stock lights arent cutting it.

[vrg3]

1. If you peel back the trim on the bottom (it's an extension of the wheel well trim, I think), you can access the three Phillips-head screws that hold the blanks in place.

2. Driving lights mounted so low don't work that well; I really suggest you try to mount them at headlight-height (like in front of the grill).

[Splinter]

1. If you peel back the trim on the bottom (it's an extension of the wheel well trim, I think), you can access the three Phillips-head screws that hold the blanks in place.

2. Driving lights mounted so low don't work that well; I really suggest you try to mount them at headlight-height (like in front of the grill).

I dont want to get them ripped off...


I've seen those EDM grills with the lights in the grill, could something like that be done?

[vrg3]

Those aren't stock, I don't think... they were modified to fit the lights. You could certainly do the same with some creativity.

Have you already put good bulbs and wiring in your headlights?

[Splinter]

Those aren't stock, I don't think... they were modified to fit the lights. You could certainly do the same with some creativity.

Have you already put good bulbs and wiring in your headlights?

Ive put in those Xtravision bulbs, but I havent touched the wiring


Multimeter shows a .3v drop between the positive terminal and the light, doesnt seem that bad to me.

[vrg3]

That 0.3-volt drop, plus the drop on the ground side, is putting a noticeable dent in the light output. Try fixing it and you'll see. I'm not saying it'll obviate the need for driving lights, but it'll help.

[Legacy777]

I'll second what redoing the wiring can do for your lights. Granted I do have EDM lights, but the bulbs are extremely bright in comparison to when I just had things plugged in through the stock wiring.

[Splinter]

That 0.3-volt drop, plus the drop on the ground side, is putting a noticeable dent in the light output. Try fixing it and you'll see. I'm not saying it'll obviate the need for driving lights, but it'll help.

Is there a writeup on it, or is it just a matter of replacing all the wires and cleaning/replacing the relays?

[vrg3]

Try searching for a thread called "brighter headlight mod" or something.

You don't replace anything -- you add a wiring harness and relays. Use the stock wiring to trigger the new relays.

[Splinter]

Try searching for a thread called "brighter headlight mod" or something.

You don't replace anything -- you add a wiring harness and relays. Use the stock wiring to trigger the new relays.

Does it work with DRL?

[vrg3]

Hmm, I never really thought it through... I guess one simple way to keep some kind of DRL functionality would be to wire in a jumper across the two terminals of the DRL resistor. That would maintain DRLs except they'd be at full intensity instead of reduced intensity. The DRL system uses the low beams, right? Cuz if it does that should be okay.

[Splinter]

Well I probably wouldnt get a ticket for disabling my DRL

I'll just have to be able to reenable in case I need to get the car insepected...

[vrg3]

Oh. That's easy. Make your harness plug-and-play -- have it plug in between the stock headlight sockets and the bulbs.

[Splinter]

What about getting overwattage H4 bulbs and either mounting cooling fans into the headlight assembly, or replacing the back reflector with something a little sturdier than chromed plastic?

[vrg3]

Good thoughts, but neither seems especially practical, unfortunately... A heavy-duty wiring harness would take care of the electrical issue, but... If you promote a lot of air movement through the headlamp you may have a hard time ensuring that nothing touches the bulb. Fabricating a metal reflector with the exact same optical properties as the stock reflector may be possible, but you'd still have to worry about the plastic lens.

[Splinter]

When you say 'nothing', how much of nothing? A high-speed computer case fan or hobby fan with a high-density open foam filter would barely even allow dust to enter the bulb enclosure, although I'm not sure how you'd go about water proofing something like that...


Would that even work anyway? I get the feeling that just the radiated heat from the lamp would be enough to melt the plastic from the sound of things.

[vrg3]

Well, pretty much anything touching the bulb glass would cause a cold spot that would cause the bulb to fail pretty fast. If you kept air flowing through that filter in that environment, wouldn't it clog fairly quickly?

But, yeah, I honestly don't think it would work anyway. It is a lot of heat indeed...

[Splinter]

I suppose theres no where that you could drop off your headlight housing and have them rebuild it in glass

[vrg3]

No, unfortunately not. It's a much harder task than you'd think -- the plastic and glass have different indices of refraction so you couldn't use the same lens design.

[Splinter]

So really, aside from the Hella 90mm conversion (difficult) or grill mounted driving lights (theft targets), there's not really any options?

[vrg3]

A proper wiring harness will make a noticeable difference. When Phil got in my car one time after dark, he was shocked by how bright my lights were compared to his 94's stock ones. And my lenses were actually slightly yellowed at the time!

And if you can get your hands on some Osram Silverstar bulbs, those'll outperform the Sylvania Xtravisions by a little bit too.

And bumper-mounted driving lights can help some; I didn't mean to give you the impression that they're completely useless.

[IronMonkeyL255]

I may try some small driving lights in the grill once I get the $$.

I took out the center bar of mine, so I have plenty of open space there.

[vrg3]

Small driving lights usually do poorly too...