55w/100w PIAA fog lights - worth it? Comments please.

[198491132]

Good Day,
I have had my 911 since 1998, this is the first fog light bulb that I have replaced! Don't make them like that anymore I am sure. Question: is the PIAA 55w = 100w a good investment? Do oncoming drivers flash you because they are too bright? Stock wiring?

Thanks for your thoughts,

Dave

[darrin]

So these are h3 55watt bulbs that are advertised as being as bright as 100watt bulbs? If so, should work fine -- circuit is designed to work with 55watt bulbs, so no real difference.

That said, keep in mind that fog lights are not designed to project much of a beam -- instead, the project a very short (but wide) beam just over the road surface to help illuminate the road in very foggy conditions. Brighter light is not necessarily better for this specific situation.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by darrin

So these are h3 55watt bulbs that are advertised as being as bright as 100watt bulbs? If so, should work fine -- circuit is designed to work with 55watt bulbs, so no real difference.

That said, keep in mind that fog lights are not designed to project much of a beam -- instead, the project a very short (but wide) beam just over the road surface to help illuminate the road in very foggy conditions. Brighter light is not necessarily better for this specific situation.

Fog light are supposed to be used in foggy or low visibility conditions and not as road lights.

[famoroso]

Another consideration is the state of disrepair your fog light lenses are in. Either way, I don't envision any issues for oncoming traffic.

[198491132]

Darrin, yes 55w = 100w output. Pelican has them here on their web site. Might just clean up the lenses and go with the stock h3 55w.

[Autoban]

I use mine as DRLs. Has anyone found a LED bulb that fits as a plug in replacement?

Juergen

[tirwin]

Originally Posted by Autoban

I use mine as DRLs. Has anyone found a LED bulb that fits as a plug in replacement?

Juergen

I tried with mixed results. Most are too long. I tried fabricating a spacer on the backside out of a nylon plug. I ran into another issue but can’t remember now what it was. Part of the issue I had was the state of the fog light reflectors were not good. I ended up boxing the originals up and installing a pair of new Hellas.

Short version. Trying to make the fog lights more useful is a waste of time. They are marginally useful at best.

The PIAA bulbs are mostly marketing gimmick. The bluer light fools people in believing that they work better. Bluer light scatters more. Do a little googling on this topic and you’ll find a ton of info debunking the PIAA bulb marketing.

I spent some time looking for decent LED DRLs and never could find something that didn’t look too modern or was designed for a truck.

[spuggy]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Fog light are supposed to be used in foggy or low visibility conditions and not as road lights.

And depending on actual conditions, you could find that you get best visibility with city/parking lights, as dips and/or fogs produce too much glare... That's pretty extreme though, and the speed involved was about walking pace...

[gtc]

I never found the stock fog lights very effective, and i don't think brighter bulbs would have helped that. I replaced mine with some Hella driving lights and moved the relay connection over to the high beam circuit. Really lights up the road on a dark night.

[198491132]

Thanks everyone for your input. GTC - the Hella DL's come on with the high beams or with the low beams?

Dave

[spoke]

Originally Posted by Autoban

I use mine as DRLs. Has anyone found a LED bulb that fits as a plug in replacement?

Juergen

I am designing a LED foglight for the '84 - '89 911. Still working out some details. I have a set on my '86 930 and one other guy has them on his 911. These should be 2x brighter than the bulbs and burn about 9W each.

[Autoban]

How much is a set? Mine is a ‘86 and I use them as DLRs

Juergen

[spoke]

Originally Posted by Autoban

How much is a set? Mine is a ‘86 and I use them as DLRs

Juergen

The set will be $165 a pair. I'm not satisfied with the light pattern from the LED lenses as they allow more light vertically than I would like to see. They would be great for DRLs but for foglights I'm just not happy with the light pattern. I'm investigating using larger lenses with tighter light pattern but wouldn't be able to put 4 LEDs in a row.

[Not Stig]

H3-W13 LED bulbs fit. Available from superbrightleds.com

[spoke]

Originally Posted by Not Stig

H3-W13 LED bulbs fit. Available from superbrightleds.com

I couldn't find the H3-W13. I did find the H3-W14.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-drl-replacement-bulbs/h3-led-daytime-running-light-bulb-with-focusing-lens-400-lumens/5534/12490/

How did the lights work out for you? How did the light output compare to the H3 halogens? Noticed in the reviews that SuperbrightLEDs commented to several reviews that these were not head/fog lights and were DRLs only.

The LEDs I'm working on are 2x as bright as the halogens on my car; both measured with new glass lenses.

[Not Stig]

Hi Spoke,

Sorry, typo should have been W14. I use them for DRL only, very blue light. I have not tried them for night vision but my guess is that they would be pretty much useless. Looking forward to your version. I have your led brake lights and really like them.

Brett

[gtc]

Originally Posted by 198491132

Thanks everyone for your input. GTC - the Hella DL's come on with the high beams or with the low beams?

Dave

Dave, the stock fog light wiring is set up so they come on with the low beams. You can move a wire in the fuse box to the high beam circuit so they will come on with the high beams instead. Driving lights would be too bright to use around town with low beams.