DRIVING LIGHT UPGRADE
After replacing my regular headlights with some halogen H3 units, it became
very obvious how dim and yellow my original fog lights were. Frankly, they
looked very sad sitting under my new bright headlights. So I started looking
for an alternative to the stock units. I wanted to stay with something close
to stock in terms of wattage so that I didn't have to add extra relays or
heavier gauge wiring. A set of 55W driving lights was what I decided to pursue
(stock US spec fog lights are 35W).
I got a tip from fellow 914 enthusiast Craig Laughlin
(Camp914) that some aftermarket fog
lights marketed by Pilot Automotive
part number PL-193C worked well.
So I ordered up a set (rumor has it that they are available at Auto Zone for
about $45). They are a very nice (especially for the price) set of complete
driving lights with clear glass lenses and 55W H3 bulbs. I compared the new lights
to my old fog lights and the difference was amazing. The stock fog light kind of
resembled a night light next to the new driving lights. This is partly due to wattage,
partly due to the new lights having halogen bulbs, partly due to the clear lenses,
and partly due to the difference in the beam patterns. Another Rennlister Paul
Anders did a really nice writeup about the differences between the stock fog lights
and a set of similar aftermarket driving lights:
http://members.rennlist.com/pbanders/neolite_driving_lights.htm
Craig had indicated that he used the stock foglight bracket to
mount his lights. I found that using the stock bracket places the lights about
1 inch too far back in the light opening for my liking, so I made my own bracket
for the lights (PDF available below, print on 8.5 x 11 paper, 100% scale, do not
scale to fit, use dimension check to verify scale).
CLICK FOR FULL SIZE PDF
The small slotted holes are for side to side light adjustment. I used the mounting
bracket that came with the new lights just as a nutplate so that I didn't have to
use loose nuts to fasten the fog lights to my custom bracket. The custom bracket
fastens to the car in the same way that the stock fog light bracket does. After
hooking up the lights to the stock wiring, aiming the lights, and putting on the grills
I was done. Here are a couple pictures of the results:
These new lights work great and look great too. Between these driving lights and my upgraded
headlights I probably have 6X the brightness that I had before. It really is a
night and day difference.
Now that you have such nice bright foglights, why not re-wire them so you can use them
anytime you want?
Click here for instructions.
If you are going to upgrade the fog lights like this on your car, good luck! And
be sure and drop me an e-mail and let me know if you found this informative. I
always like to hear from people I have helped.
"WHERE TO BUY" update
I got my initial tip on these from Craig Laughlin. Now he sells them for a very
good price. I'd recommend purchasing them from him at
Camp914 (check the products for sale page).
demick@yahoo.com
