Time to change the fog light bulbs again on my 2001 Outback wagon. I always use the same bulb the book calls for, 9006 HB 4, 12v,51 watts. Would like to go with something brighter but dont want to burn anything up. Would like to know how many watts are too much for the fog lights on my Outback. So many different bulbs on Ebay in different watts. Would 55 watts make much of a difference in heat to melt wires or hurt anything ??? Has anyone here tried different bulbs without burning any thing up ????? Are the amber LED lights brighter in fog and do they get hot enough to melt wires ??? thanks

1 horsepower = 745.699872 watts.

 

Light it up. Just kidding.

55 watts should be fine. Would I go to 100 watt bulbs with the stock wiring and harnesses? No, it might be enough to blow the fuse eventually and could potentially damage the insulation on the wiring.

 

Watch out with headlight bulbs, many of them are pretty much scams, like the Xtravision and stuff like that which look 'cool' because they are blueish like HID's but actually put out less light.

 

That cat Daniel Stern had a nice site about automotive lighting.

 

LED fog lights if anything should run far cooler than normal incandescent bulbs.

55 watts vs 51 watts means a negligible increase in current (Amps) through the wiring, so it should be safe. The real question is why would you do that...

 

When it comes to lighting, most of the stuff you find on ebay and online stores (and brick and mortar stores, for that matter) is just crap, usually intended to mislead people. They get away with it mostly because there isn't much regulation this side of the pond (i.e. the "blue light bulbs", the HID conversion kits, etc).

 

In any case:

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/lights/fog_lamps/fog_lamps.html

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/lights/light_color/light_color.html

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/daniel-stern-lighting-and-subaru-headlight-options-45991.html

 

Edit: CAN-OF-WORMS warning:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?260292-How-many-of-you-actually-NEED-your-fog-lights

Edited November 17, 201114 yr by jarl
Changed order/added link

Unless you want to rewire the foglights with heavier gauge wire and relay your kinda stuck with 55w bulbs. You can get bulbs in that watt that produce more lumes but their lifespan is considerably shorter. These new leds are interesting however. They use about one tenth of the power of the same size incandescent bulb and put out virtually no heat. That might be the way to go but won't be cheap.

I've been using these PIAA bulbs http://www.amazon.com/PIAA-10903-H3-Intense-White/dp/B000MG40QC/ref=sr_1_7?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1321622944&sr=1-7 for several years without issue; they seem to put out more illumination than standard 55W bulbs. They replaced the original stock bulbs and are noticeably brighter.

Yeah, they're pricey but PIAA makes quality automotive lighting. I've also got PIAA's "intense white" hi and low beam headlight bulbs and they're really fine.

Bulbs that put out blue light are worthless; I tried them once and their illumination sucks.

Edited November 18, 201114 yr by ergo

Regarding the "PIAA 10903":

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/good/good.html

 

I've have my OBW for just a few months, and the car has 13 years of wear on it. The lights are not particularly bright, but I'm wondering if it's because the design is mediocre, or because something is worn. If the lights were fine at some point, and now they are not bright enough, I would start by making sure the headlights are grounded correctly, that all the contacts are clean, the headlights are clean (the headlight cleaning kits are wonderful), and ONLY then would I worry about changing the bulbs. And I would (will) stay away from the blue bulbs, btw.

 

Finally, PLEASE, pretty PLEASE: if your car didn't have HID bulbs originally, please refrain from using kits with it. Simply put the only way of not blinding oncoming traffic with them is turning them off. If your car have HID lights, please make sure they are aimed correctly.

Edited November 18, 201114 yr by jarl
typo

I have heard some real good things about piaa bulbs 40% brighter with the same watts. The one downside, besides the price, is heat! They put out 2x the heat of standard bulbs. So the wattage won't melt your wires but the heat will! Has anyone tried leds in their foglights? Or know a supplier?