LameRandomName Posted April 24, 2004 Share Posted April 24, 2004 I was wondering about the feasibility of replacing my stock fog lights with some sort of driving light. (This is on a 2000 Forester.) I know that actually pulling out the stock lights and making the electrical connection is not that big a deal, but there are two major questions: 1) Does anyone make a better light than the stock piece, which actually fits well in the physical space provided by the stock opening? 2) Is this a situation where I can wire up new lights directly, or do I need to put in relays which would be controlled by the stock wiring and draw power from a higher capacity source, perhaps directly off the battery? One other question... Assuming that this idea doesn't work out, has anyone added an aftermarket lighting system that works particularly good and looks particularly good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted April 24, 2004 Share Posted April 24, 2004 I mounted a set of Hella FF75 Driving lights on my old Legacy BC7, and they added significantly to the total light output. People/animals in the distance, say 900ft away would be visible, despite not wearing any refelective clothing - damn animals... ;-) There were no stock lights there, so I plumbed them into the main-beam via a relay to the battery, using some thick wiring. This might not be strictly necessary if the car has stock fog wiring, but it's a good idea anyway, since you might want to use high wattage bulbs in the driving lights - keep it legal though. I am now working on replacing those on my Impreza and intend to use Hella again. There are kits available from places like Prodrive.com, but they are EXPENSIVE and I don't know if they fit the Forester bumper. Have a look at http://www.geocities.com/vik2r/Sube/ for pics of my Legacy lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LameRandomName Posted April 28, 2004 Author Share Posted April 28, 2004 ...^ttt^... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EOppegaard Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 You can upgrade, and I am sure you have found that many different lights can be mounted in that position. One thing to remember is the amount of electrical current being drawn by your new lights. You most likely will not be able to "plug and play" as far as the electrical wiring goes...at least safely. I would reccomend setting up a type of relay system, and a pulling a new positive power lead to give juice to your new beams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LameRandomName Posted April 28, 2004 Author Share Posted April 28, 2004 What I'm looking for here is the experiences of people who have already been down this road. (Putting aftermarket lights where the factory fog lights are now.) I'm reasonably sure that I can't possibly be the first one to contemplate doing this and I am hoping that at least a few of my predecessors are here on this website and can give me the benefit of their experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howards11 Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 :-\ How about a better (brighter) bulb ? ~Howard 2000 Forester L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EOppegaard Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 :-\How about a better (brighter) bulb ? Once again, you need to make sure this is not going to melt the current light housing, since the brighter bulb, will also be drawing more current, as well as be generating more heat. I mounted a pair of Hella 500's on my front bumper, however I am sure you could retrofit them to fit in the current space. What are you looking for as in wattage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hklaine Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 I have not had experince with your specific vehicle, but I do run aftermarket higher wattage bulbs in my car. First, the stock mounting locations for your fog lights are not the ideal location for driving lights. Driving lights should be mounted above the bumper at equal height with the headlights. You can mount aftermarket fog lamps in these locations or upgrade the bulbs, but if you are looking for a truly effective driving light and are planning to spend the money I would suggest mounting them higer than your fog lights. Second, the stock wiring in Subarus is weak. I have my lighting, even the fogs which are only 55W bulbs, wired with relays and power (not to mention ground) connected directly to the battery. The power should come directly from the battery via good wiring. The ground should be to the battery or alternator mount, not sheet metal. A wiring upgrade alone can produce some results in your lighting, and I would suggest upgrading for sure if you plan to install aftermarket lighting. This will let you get the most out of your investment. If you are going to purchase the lighting it pays to go the extra mile. I don't intend for my post to make me appear as any sort of an authority of this matter. Simply sharing what I have learned upgrading my cars. -Heikki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 Hey LameRandom! I have been searching and KartBoy make adapter mounts for the Impreza. Screws into the three standard holes in the bumper, maybe this fits you Forester? Or perhaps looking at the design will inspire you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EOppegaard Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 The ground should be to the battery or alternator mount, not sheet metal. -Heikki Connecting ground directly to the battery is a bad thing...sheet metal is fine to use, or try the frame...or most any metal on the car. Why not...it's what everything else on the car uses for ground Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hklaine Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 Connecting ground directly to the battery is a bad thing...sheet metal is fine to use, or try the frame...or most any metal on the car. Why not...it's what everything else on the car uses for ground Why do you say that grounding to the battery is a bad thing? Most things on the car are grounded to sheet metal to minimize wiring for items that just need "enough" voltage. As for "why not", in an electrical circuit such as the headlight there is a point of high potential (Battery + Terminal) and a point of low potential (ground). In between those two points is the load of the circuit. This load consists of the headlight bulb AND any wiring that connects the two points. We find voltage drop in the circuit across any two points that are measured (V=IR, where V is voltage, I is current, and R is resistance - The greater the resistance, the greated the voltage drop). Ideally, we would like to isolate as much of this voltage drop to the bulb and lose as little voltage as possible elsewhere in the circuit. Makes sense? The more voltage we have at the bulb the brighter the bulb glows. So...to minimize voltage drop along the circuit in places other than the bulb we want to run as short a length of high quality wire as possible. (I run 12 awg on my lighting circuits.) Voltage drop affects the circuit on both sides of the bulb. It defeats the purpose to run heavy wire to the bulb and then use thin wire or sheet metal to ground the circuit. If you are curious about actual numbers: Turn on your headlights and get out a multimeter. First place the positive end on the battery + terminal and the negative end on the power source terminal of the beam that is on (low or high). This is the voltage drop in your power supply wiring. Then take the positive end of the multimeter and place it on the ground terminal of the beam that is on. Place the negative end of the multimeter on the battery - terminal. This is the voltage drop in your ground wiring. Moving the ground wire from sheet metal to the battery should lower the voltage drop in the second test, and in your overall circuit. Sheet metal might not be as bad if you have a grounding kit installed. Most cars 12V system cars, when running, put out 13.5V or better. "At approximately this voltage, halogen headlamp bulbs achieve 100 percent of their design luminous output. When operating voltage drops to 95 percent (12.825v), headlamp bulbs produce only 83 percent of their rated light output. When voltage drops to 90 percent (12.15v), bulb output is only 67 percent of what it should be. And when voltage drops to 85 percent (11.475v), bulb output is a paltry 53 percent of normal! [source: Hella KG Hueck AG, Germany] This is way more than I generally ramble on a post, but I hope it helps someone. -Heikki More important than any of this: If you are installing aftermarket wiring for lighting install a dedicated fuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.