5th Generation Maxima (2000-2003) Learn more about the 5th Generation Maxima, including the VQ30DE-K and VQ35DE engines.

Amber H3 Fog Bulbs

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 02-23-2010, 11:23 AM
  #41  
Supporting Maxima.org Member
iTrader: (5)
 
NissanMan97's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Louisville KY
Posts: 728
Originally Posted by Rochester
I would think the paint should be high-temp, right? Those 55w Halogen H3's do get mighty hot.
here

B
NissanMan97 is offline  
Old 02-23-2010, 11:46 AM
  #42  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
Originally Posted by NissanMan97
Why do you think flat paint? Why not high-temp orange gloss?

http://rndperformance.com/i-128737-v...-can-each.html
Rochester is offline  
Old 02-23-2010, 11:48 AM
  #43  
Supporting Maxima.org Member
iTrader: (5)
 
NissanMan97's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Louisville KY
Posts: 728
Originally Posted by Rochester
Why do you think flat paint? Why not high-temp orange gloss?

http://rndperformance.com/i-128737-v...-can-each.html
yes that would be better...couldnt find the gloss. every thing i tried kept coming back flat

B
NissanMan97 is offline  
Old 02-23-2010, 04:29 PM
  #44  
Senior Member
iTrader: (27)
 
phatboislim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,162
im selling my amber LED H3s until some HIDs are made for it
phatboislim is offline  
Old 02-24-2010, 05:56 PM
  #45  
Senior Member
iTrader: (3)
 
aackshun's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 5,404
I haven't worked on fog lights yet, but my experiments on flashlights aren't going too well.

The color effect is achieved, but the flashlight's beam pattern became more spread out and not as defined, the color of the light also changed too. I will upload pics later to show.
aackshun is offline  
Old 02-24-2010, 06:23 PM
  #46  
Member
 
20th01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Edm, Ab, Can
Posts: 57
Wow, I do not like the yellow fog lights on anything except JDM civics and such but the ambers seems like it would look decent on these cars, I'd like to see a few pictures of Maximas with there's done not photshopped then I might think about doing it myself
20th01 is offline  
Old 02-27-2010, 07:51 AM
  #47  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
So I got around to playing with the old OEM fog lens today, and baked it in the oven at 250 for 20 minutes. I got a pass from the wife to do this, and 250 degrees really isn't that hot after all. I didn't notice any fumes.

Anyway, after 2 minutes, the glass wouldn't budge. Then I put it in for another 10, and the glass slipped right off the black plastic with leverage from a small flat-head.

I'm looking at the inside now. Notice how easy it is to remove the hat. I'm tempted to remove the hat and see what the Amber LED would look like, before moving on and painting the reflector.



As to painting the reflector... I'm thinking of just painting the smooth backside, and leaving the ribbed walls chrome.

Playtime will be somewhat curbed, however, since we've had 2 feet of snow in the last 2 days.
Rochester is offline  
Old 03-06-2010, 05:23 PM
  #48  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
Today I put the 9-SMD bulb in the old OEM fog lens, and put it in the car for some side-by-side pictures. Take note, this is without the hat. That's pretty important, because with the hat in the lens, the LED bulb becomes super weak. Actually, it's pretty weak as is.

During daylight, it's a dead ringer for my running lights (same bulbs, actually). The only difference is that the surface area is larger. Also during the day (dusk), it looks more yellow than orange.



During the night, it looks pretty darn good. But the weakness of the light is just to obvious for my taste, and I prefer the white look.

Rochester is offline  
Old 03-06-2010, 05:26 PM
  #49  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
Tonight, I'm spraying the back surface of the reflector with florescent orange paint. Tomorrow, I'll put the lens back in the car again, this time with a bright white halogen light. The theory is that the white light bulb will reflect orange light out of the lens because the flat surface of the lens reflector is florescent orange.

At least, that's the theory. We'll see tomorrow.
Rochester is offline  
Old 03-06-2010, 09:17 PM
  #50  
Senior Member
iTrader: (27)
 
phatboislim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,162
let us know how it goes
phatboislim is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 05:40 AM
  #51  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
I painted the back part of the reflector last night. IDK, maybe I should have painted the ribbed sides instead of the curved backing. This morning I reassembled the old fog lens, with the hat re-installed, and an old 100w H3 bulb I had left over from last year. I'll put it back on the car later today and take some more pictures.

It looks... well, very weird. While it certainly looks better than the orange exterior film that I tried out last year, it still looks kind of goofy. Maybe I'll think differently once it's on the car.

Anyway, here's what it looks like just sitting on my desk:

Rochester is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 07:13 AM
  #52  
Senior Member
iTrader: (27)
 
phatboislim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,162
ewww lol. if it comes out amber you may have to ride with your fogs on everywhere you go.
phatboislim is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 07:52 AM
  #53  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
Originally Posted by phatboislim
ewww lol. if it comes out amber you may have to ride with your fogs on everywhere you go.
I have to admit, that was my feeling too.

I'm still going to put it on and see. But, yeah... ewww.
Rochester is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 07:54 AM
  #54  
Senior Member
iTrader: (27)
 
phatboislim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,162
rofl
phatboislim is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 08:06 AM
  #55  
Senior Member
iTrader: (13)
 
Ghost_54's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Burlington, Ontario Canada
Posts: 1,364
Originally Posted by Rochester
I have to admit, that was my feeling too.

I'm still going to put it on and see. But, yeah... ewww.
Wow Rochester, I am not sure what to say ... are you developing some kind of new fog lamp mod called "Seasonal Lighting" I suppose this orange one would be for the fall say October ... can't wait to see what you have instore for Decembers selection.
Ghost_54 is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 09:03 AM
  #56  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
OK, funny guy. It does look pretty silly here on my desk, and I'm feeling just as pessimistic as you and phatboislim. Just let me get through this for some closure. Check back this evening.
Rochester is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 09:38 AM
  #57  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
I popped it in just now, and will take pictures at 4:00 (same time of day, same location, same sun); then again after dark.

I'll do it because, well, what the heck... it's not costing me anything but for a can of paint and some time to experiment. But I have to say, I really hate it. Seriously. Puke.

Guys, it looks pink. PINK! It's like I contracted Barbie to customize my fog lights.

Oh my God... Now I understand why Operatic said to use "dark orange".
Rochester is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 09:58 AM
  #58  
Senior Member
iTrader: (13)
 
Ghost_54's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Burlington, Ontario Canada
Posts: 1,364
Should be interesting to see how it looks anyway, you have gone to such great length thus far. I see you found out that Nissan spared no amount of sealant when they closed up these fogs as I believe I too spend about 1/2 hour at around 250* just to get it to loosen up and then another 15 mins. just digging out the balance that they file inside the trough to hold the glass. Like you mentioned there really wasn't any fumes from the baking.

Pink you say, well at least pink and gray go together so the silver from the bumper covery will be a nice contrast
Ghost_54 is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 10:48 AM
  #59  
Senior Member
iTrader: (2)
 
AlexxSCM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: With Wizard, my idol
Posts: 8,773
Originally Posted by nismomaxgtr18
In person, the 5th gen fogs look very close to amber. Amber is an emergency color? Really? wtf what color is NOT an emergency color then?
lol! the color sparkle and glitter!! and the color rainbow!! hehe

i want amber fog lights. amber!
so the light bulb itself wont do the trick?
AlexxSCM is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 12:09 PM
  #60  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
Originally Posted by alexx0108
lol! the color sparkle and glitter!! and the color rainbow!! hehe

i want amber fog lights. amber!
so the light bulb itself wont do the trick?
Not as a LED, in my opinion. You see the pics... right color, weak light.

The lexus capsul idea would work, but that's yellow. And I was going for the orange side of yellow. There's really nothing stopping me from trying the painted reflector route again, with a dark orange. Maybe. Not sure I want to invest too much more time in a loser idea.

More pics later.
Rochester is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 01:04 PM
  #61  
Senior Member
iTrader: (27)
 
phatboislim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,162
LOL @ barbie. i wana see this
phatboislim is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 01:13 PM
  #62  
iTrader: (7)
 
Mr. Brett's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Nashville, TN
Posts: 3
ITT: How to make a modified car more appealing to your wife.

"Honey, look. They're pink!"


Mr. Brett is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 01:14 PM
  #63  
Senior Member
iTrader: (27)
 
phatboislim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,162
LOLOLOL
phatboislim is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 01:21 PM
  #64  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
Originally Posted by phatboislim
LOL @ barbie. i wana see this
Here it is: Daytime Barbie Fogs. First with the lights off, in absolutely hideous neon orange/pink:



And next with the lights on, also orange in person, but on the camera it actually has a lot more yellow when lit, and is slightly less hideous.



Based on this, I'm expecting the nighttime shots to look half-way decent.

But the unlit daytime orange is a total show-stopper. Ug.
Rochester is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 01:27 PM
  #65  
Senior Member
iTrader: (27)
 
phatboislim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,162
man it looks like a pretty dope situation. i cant wait to see the nighttime shot
phatboislim is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 01:28 PM
  #66  
Senior Member
iTrader: (27)
 
phatboislim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,162
on the 4th gen with teh crimson orange paint job...it'd be dope...
phatboislim is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 01:33 PM
  #67  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
Originally Posted by phatboislim
man it looks like a pretty dope situation. i cant wait to see the nighttime shot
I don't speak jive.
Rochester is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 01:36 PM
  #68  
Senior Member
iTrader: (27)
 
phatboislim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,162
LOL as it looks with during the daytime with the lights on it looks good
phatboislim is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 01:46 PM
  #69  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
Originally Posted by phatboislim
LOL as it looks with during the daytime with the lights on it looks good
Oh. Thanks for the translation.

OK, yeah, I could agree with that, although it's way-y-y too bright orange, and not enough amber. That would be my bad for using bright florescent orange paint.

If I were to do it over again, I'd use a darker color, more yellow/orange than this florescent crap. And I think I'd paint the ribbed sides of the reflector, instead of the concave backing.

I'll still wait until after dark before swapping the lens out, so I can see what it looks like at night. Thank god it warmed up into the 40's today. If feels like a heat wave!
Rochester is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 02:51 PM
  #70  
Supporting Maxima.org Member
iTrader: (5)
 
NissanMan97's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Louisville KY
Posts: 728
Originally Posted by Rochester
Oh. Thanks for the translation.

OK, yeah, I could agree with that, although it's way-y-y too bright orange, and not enough amber. That would be my bad for using bright florescent orange paint.

If I were to do it over again, I'd use a darker color, more yellow/orange than this florescent crap. And I think I'd paint the ribbed sides of the reflector, instead of the concave backing.

I'll still wait until after dark before swapping the lens out, so I can see what it looks like at night. Thank god it warmed up into the 40's today. If feels like a heat wave!
damn near 60 here.

doesnt look to bad. i bet the darker orange (lights off) would match up with the side markers and orange in the headlights.

B
NissanMan97 is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 05:11 PM
  #71  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
For some reason, I thought it would get better as it got dark out. I couldn't have been more upside down in my expectations. The more dark it grew outside, the more pink the fog light became.

Seriously. Pink.



...and this, which really shows what I mean:



Well, I'm done. This whole amber-fog thing has become a dead-end for me. God knows I've tried:
  • Amber film overlay
  • Amber LED bulbs with and without the hat
  • Amber painted reflector
In the end, it's just not going to happen. I'm standing outside in the driveway, in the dark and the cold, staring at this stupid pink fog light. Meanwhile, I see my wife in the kitchen window with her hand over her mouth, laughing at the sight. Ouch.

I'm going to keep my white fogs, and maybe do up a HID kit later this summer. But as for this amber holy grail... I'm done.

/amberfogs
Rochester is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 05:19 PM
  #72  
Demodded and Forgotten
iTrader: (45)
 
rroderiques77's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Area 51
Posts: 2,881
Originally Posted by Rochester
Today I put the 9-SMD bulb in the old OEM fog lens, and put it in the car for some side-by-side pictures. Take note, this is without the hat. That's pretty important, because with the hat in the lens, the LED bulb becomes super weak. Actually, it's pretty weak as is.

During daylight, it's a dead ringer for my running lights (same bulbs, actually). The only difference is that the surface area is larger. Also during the day (dusk), it looks more yellow than orange.



During the night, it looks pretty darn good. But the weakness of the light is just to obvious for my taste, and I prefer the white look.

Honestly, I liked this version better. It seemed to flow the best with the rest of the headlights. It would be awesome if Lamin-X made amber overlay. It would have made things a lot easier.
Great work overall!! It's fun to experiment with different things. You even got a kick out of your wife in the process.
Have you decided what type of HIDs?
rroderiques77 is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 05:29 PM
  #73  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
Originally Posted by rroderiques77
It would be awesome if Lamin-X made amber overlay. It would have made things a lot easier.
Lamin-x uses Oracal Transparency Film. All they do is cut it to spec and make a fortune on mark-up. For $12 last year, I bought a sheet in amber, enough to make like 4 pairs of fogs. It just looked way to rice for my taste. Good color match, though.

Originally Posted by rroderiques77
Have you decided what type of HIDs?
No. But you know that I like your setup. I'll probably be talking to you in the summer.
Rochester is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 05:33 PM
  #74  
Senior Member
iTrader: (27)
 
phatboislim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,162
yo man, good try on the amber straight up, i know that was hella disappointing to see it turn more pink. if we had a rep system i'd shoot it to you.
phatboislim is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 05:41 PM
  #75  
Supporting Maxima.org Member
iTrader: (5)
 
NissanMan97's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Louisville KY
Posts: 728
Originally Posted by Rochester
Lamin-x uses Oracal Transparency Film. All they do is cut it to spec and make a fortune on mark-up. For $12 last year, I bought a sheet in amber, enough to make like 4 pairs of fogs. It just looked way to rice for my taste. Good color match, though.



No. But you know that I like your setup. I'll probably be talking to you in the summer.
i like how your other fog light has a blue tint to it in the other picture (no flash)

B
NissanMan97 is offline  
Old 03-07-2010, 07:51 PM
  #76  
Senior Member
iTrader: (3)
 
aackshun's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 5,404
Rochester, how was the beam pattern effected? Was there a difference in output?
aackshun is offline  
Old 03-08-2010, 05:20 AM
  #77  
Supporting Maxima.org Member
iTrader: (5)
 
NissanMan97's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Louisville KY
Posts: 728
Originally Posted by aackshun
Rochester, how was the beam pattern effected? Was there a difference in output?
im interested in this as well Rochester...but im also interested in how the removal of the hat affected the light output and pattern?

B
NissanMan97 is offline  
Old 03-08-2010, 05:27 AM
  #78  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
Originally Posted by phatboislim
yo man, good try on the amber straight up, i know that was hella disappointing to see it turn more pink. if we had a rep system i'd shoot it to you.
Thanks. No real expense in this experiment other than time, so no harm done and some lessons learned.
Rochester is offline  
Old 03-08-2010, 05:31 AM
  #79  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
Originally Posted by NissanMan97
i like how your other fog light has a blue tint to it in the other picture (no flash)
5800K H3 bulbs off eBay. These were like $4 or something silly cheap like that. I remember the shipping was more than the cost of the bulbs themselves. Been going strong, almost daily, for half a year without blowing, so I'm pretty happy.

There's no serious light output from them, but our fogs are mostly cosmetic, or see-me-coming bright, anyway. They're use as actual fogs is somewhat lacking... unless you install a HID kit.
Rochester is offline  
Old 03-08-2010, 05:33 AM
  #80  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
Rochester's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 5,296
Originally Posted by aackshun
Rochester, how was the beam pattern effected? Was there a difference in output?
Originally Posted by NissanMan97
im interested in this as well Rochester...but im also interested in how the removal of the hat affected the light output and pattern?
I only removed the hat for the LED experiment, and put the hat back on for the halogen bulb. And I wasn't studying the light pattern; sorry.
Rochester is offline  


Quick Reply: Amber H3 Fog Bulbs



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:29 PM.