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Replacing fog light bulbs...DYI?

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Old Apr 11, 2005 | 10:43 AM
  #1  
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Replacing fog light bulbs...DYI?

I need to replace one of my fog lights, but I want to know how easy it is first. In my old car it was a PITA cause the opening was so small. I would have to take off my front wheels to get decent clearance.

BTW-What size bulb is the fog? What are you guys using as replacement bulbs. I'd like it to be similar to the HID's.

Thanks in advance.

I tried the search function but I guess I'm not allowed to because I'm not a donating member.
Old Apr 11, 2005 | 10:51 AM
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yeah, its a DIY. check the how tos section, its in there, its very easy. i believe the bulb is an H3.
Old Apr 11, 2005 | 10:54 AM
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The job is easy enough to do. I'm a relative noob, and I found it to be a simple job as long as you take your time. The job is even easier if you have ramps or a jack and jack stands, but I was able to do it without raising the car, because I was a monkey in a past life.

The bulb size is H3. H3 bulbs are easy to find online and at any local auto parts store, but I'm having trouble finding an affordable fog light bulb that is a good color match for my HID headlights. Housecor used PIAA Super Plasmas for his fogs, and they look pretty good, but they're quite expensive.
Old Apr 11, 2005 | 10:56 AM
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Here's Housecor's write up:

http://www.innerbean.com/housecor/piaa_fogs.html
Old Apr 11, 2005 | 11:01 AM
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I used super plasma GTX. I don't think they make plain old super plasma anymore. They are a great match. Not perfect but they are white rather than that dull yellow.

IMPORTANT, if you go through the trouble of getting your fogs to match the HID's spend the 7 bucks and buy some Polarg M-4 clearance bulbs. Then all your lights in the headlights and fog lights will match. You can get the Polargs on ebay cheap.

Old Apr 11, 2005 | 12:18 PM
  #6  
XGaSpAcHo
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this is the best place i know to get them. they also have regular super plasmas but for some reason they are only sold one at a time and come out to be $6 more than these...

http://www.optauto.com/index.htm?stocknumber=PIA-15955

and if you have a drop then it might be very tough to get your head under the car in order to see what you're doing.
Old Apr 11, 2005 | 12:23 PM
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Originally Posted by XGaSpAcHo
and if you have a drop then it might be very tough to get your head under the car in order to see what you're doing.
My car is stock height, and I had barely enough room to work when I did the job without ramps or a jack. If you have a drop, you will definitely need to lift the front end to get this job done.
Old Apr 11, 2005 | 12:24 PM
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I would agree with Bigsherv....I purchased the PIAA Super Plasma GTX H3 bulbs. Just Google it....I got mine for $68 shipped. For future reference, you may wanna go ahead and order Polarg M4(194) bulbs for parking lights,....OEM yellow looks nasty once you have your lowbeam and fogs lookin good. Just be careful with the bulbs during install and you wont regret the look of the new fog light bulbs compared to the nasty yellow. Best of luck
Old Apr 11, 2005 | 12:26 PM
  #9  
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The site says:

"The new GT-X provides an exclusive purple low beam and an Xtreme White high beam."

When is it purple and when is it white? Or is the color different depending on what angle you're looking from?
Old Apr 11, 2005 | 12:27 PM
  #10  
XGaSpAcHo
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Originally Posted by spiromax
My car is stock height, and I had barely enough room to work when I did the job without ramps or a jack. If you have a drop, you will definitely need to lift the front end to get this job done.
if you're going to lift it up i HIGHLY recommend going out and getting a set of real jacks from pep boys or sears for about $30-$40 each or get a pair of ramps with extentions. i'm thinking about getting a set of ramps for the next time i have to change my fog light. it's a PIA to work under there with the bumper being 2 inches from your nose.
Old Apr 11, 2005 | 12:29 PM
  #11  
XGaSpAcHo
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Originally Posted by spiromax
The site says:

"The new GT-X provides an exclusive purple low beam and an Xtreme White high beam."

When is it purple and when is it white? Or is the color different depending on what angle you're looking from?
i have no f'n clue what that means. but here's the regular plasmas. i find it matches the stock HIDs well.

http://www.optauto.com/index.htm?stocknumber=PIA-15555
Old Apr 11, 2005 | 12:36 PM
  #12  
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Housecor used the Super Plasmas, and Bigsherv used the Super Plasma GTX bulbs. The Super Plasmas claim to give your lights a "bluish purple" look, and the GTX bulbs claim to have "an exclusive purple low beam and an Xtreme White high beam."

After looking at Bigsherv and Housecor's pics, I think both of these PIAA bulbs look very similar to each other. Neither of them looks purple or blue compared to the HIDs, and neither of them is a perfect match for the HIDs, but both look a lot better than stock.
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