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  1. #1
    Established Member Two Rings r1de's Avatar
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    Brightest fog lights money can buy

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    I'm looking for recommendations on some dazzling fogs. I do a lot of driving on poorly lit, poorly maintained roads + a lot of winter driving, and looking for something that will help me see better. The OEM fog bulbs don't add much on the Xenons. Yellow or clear is fine, whatever will add the best visibility.

    TIA.
    __
    -bp // 07 Avant 2.0TQ AT6 ti

  2. #2
    Active Member Four Rings drumnjuny's Avatar
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    idk if they're the brightest, but mine are preeetty fucking bright. i just have an HID kit, i think its 4300K to match the oem bulbs? not that expensive and super easy to install

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  4. #4
    Veteran Member Four Rings bmc333's Avatar
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    Check out Sonic Tuning - get a set for about $20
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  5. #5
    Senior Member Two Rings
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    Yellow halogen fogs will give you the best visibility of any of the choices through fog rain snow, as well as not graping everyone in front of you with blinding glared light.

  6. #6
    Veteran Member Three Rings JWatson's Avatar
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    Hella 700ff with an HID conversion should be bright enough . I looked into some super bright fogs/driving lights over the summer for my long night road trips in dear country, and after lots of research I found that if you want two suns mounted on the front of your car go with the Hella 500ff or 700ff with an HID conversion. It's popular in the off-roading world.
    01.5 S4 (on meth)

  7. #7
    Established Member Two Rings Pletsch's Avatar
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    3,000k is the best at cutting fog. I got mine at DDM tuning for ~$45.
    [IMG] P1010224 by Pletsch89, on Flickr[/IMG]

  8. #8
    Veteran Member Four Rings CorneliusRox's Avatar
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    Yeah I run DDM in my truck, bike, and snowmobile. I was thinking about getting a 5k (pure white) set for my fogs.

    Crappy pic but you get the idea. 55w 5000K DDM HIDs

  9. #9
    Veteran Member Four Rings Solarsuplex's Avatar
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    This has got me interested. Christmas present perhaps.
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  10. #10
    Veteran Member Four Rings airbornerifleman's Avatar
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    FYI, "HIDs" do not work so great on wet surfaces. Xenons are shit in wet weather.
    Last edited by airbornerifleman; 11-15-2011 at 09:58 AM.
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  11. #11
    Veteran Member Four Rings Solarsuplex's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by airborneriflema View Post
    FYI, "HIDs" don't do not work so great on wet surfaces. Xenons are shit in wet weather.
    wut
    -James
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  12. #12
    Senior Member Two Rings 2007B7cabrio's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by airborneriflema View Post
    FYI, "HIDs" don't do not work so great on wet surfaces. Xenons are shit in wet weather.
    I would say that depends on if you have the ricer color's 8-12K or if you use the closer to sun light color's 4.3-5K...

    HID and Xenon is the same light type, just 2 different names.
    Last edited by 2007B7cabrio; 11-15-2011 at 10:24 AM.

  13. #13
    Veteran Member Four Rings JPT's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 2007B7cabrio View Post
    I would say that depends on if you have the ricer color's 8-12K or if you use the closer to sun light color's 4.3-5K...
    x2... it is all about the color...

  14. #14
    Established Member Two Rings r1de's Avatar
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    Yeah, this looks like just what I want. Can you give me a link or a part number for those? Is it the "DDM HID Kit Slim Ballast (35W or 55W)"? What wattage are you running, and what bulb type is it? Is the installation pretty simple?

    Thanks
    __
    -bp // 07 Avant 2.0TQ AT6 ti

  15. #15
    Veteran Member Three Rings Adub-Drew's Avatar
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    I mean yellow fog's have always been the "color" for fog and bad weather situations... However a 4-5k hid kit may be brighter in certain situations...
    B7 A4 tip (daily) Mk6 Gti Drivers Edition (toy) Soon to come Mk4 R32

  16. #16
    Active Member Four Rings drumnjuny's Avatar
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    why do people always associate HIDs with like 8000k blue ass lights haha

  17. #17
    Veteran Member Four Rings airbornerifleman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Solarsuplex View Post
    wut
    fixed
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  18. #18
    Veteran Member Four Rings airbornerifleman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 2007B7cabrio View Post
    I would say that depends on if you have the ricer color's 8-12K or if you use the closer to sun light color's 4.3-5K...
    NO, it has something to do with the wave length (or some thing like that) of xenon output VS halogen. Although, color plays a key role in xenon light output.
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  19. #19
    Veteran Member Four Rings Solarsuplex's Avatar
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    Heres, my noob question. Are there any bulbs that can replace those of the bixenon's to be brighter, and a tad bluer. Ive never done light research, so if im understanding right maybe a 5k or 5.5k light, and get matching fog.
    -James
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  20. #20
    Veteran Member Four Rings airbornerifleman's Avatar
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    Our OEM BI-X are 35W D1S bulbs. The brightest you can go with the OEM setup in what you got from the factory. Key rule in xenon (HID) lighting is "more color=less bright" With aftermarket setup you can get a set of 50W hid kit.

    HIDPLANET.COM
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  21. #21
    Veteran Member Four Rings CorneliusRox's Avatar
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    Here is a little lesson in wavelengths. Technically, you dont want the brightest but you want the most highest luman rating.
    Our eyes see 4300K the best (I believe, it's been a while but I am pretty sure it is 4300). K is temp in Kelvin. As you go up it goes through the rainbow blue/purp, as you go down it goes yellow/red.

    I like 5000K because it is white, but is slightly less visible light than 4300K.

    The issue of the bulbs not igniting is more of a temp thing. Cold temps makes them not want to light. Also, getting oil (from fingers) or water on them can be bad. Oil will boil and can break the bulbs, and water can take temp away (like a heat synk) and not let it ignite.

    All it is is basically a neon tube like in a bar, but puts out a lot more light.

    Anyways, all that being said, most kits work great now a days. This is why you are seeing them in OEM cars. Although OEM uses digital ballasts and most others (DDM, etc.) use analog. Digital is more expensive but more reliable, but I have not had ANY issues with my DDM's over the past few years.


  22. #22
    Senior Member Two Rings 2007B7cabrio's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CorneliusRox View Post
    Here is a little lesson in wavelengths. Technically, you dont want the brightest but you want the most highest luman rating.
    Our eyes see 4300K the best (I believe, it's been a while but I am pretty sure it is 4300). K is temp in Kelvin. As you go up it goes through the rainbow blue/purp, as you go down it goes yellow/red.

    I like 5000K because it is white, but is slightly less visible light than 4300K.

    The issue of the bulbs not igniting is more of a temp thing. Cold temps makes them not want to light. Also, getting oil (from fingers) or water on them can be bad. Oil will boil and can break the bulbs, and water can take temp away (like a heat synk) and not let it ignite.

    All it is is basically a neon tube like in a bar, but puts out a lot more light.

    Anyways, all that being said, most kits work great now a days. This is why you are seeing them in OEM cars. Although OEM uses digital ballasts and most others (DDM, etc.) use analog. Digital is more expensive but more reliable, but I have not had ANY issues with my DDM's over the past few years.

    ^X2

    and this tread;

    http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ghtness-output)

  23. #23
    Senior Member Three Rings GAIC Husky's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by airborneriflema View Post
    FYI, "HIDs" do not work so great on wet surfaces. Xenons are shit in wet weather.
    I would have to disagree. Wet weather night driving was one of the main reasons why I spent the money to do a bi-xenon conversion from halogen headlights. I got the oem headlights and HID fogs with 4300k bulbs and they actually light up a wet road surface at night unlike halogens where I wasn’t even sure if my lights were on (they were) because the light output was so terrible. I do not drive on rural roads but on streets with street lights, but they do not provide enough light to watch for hazards in the road (animals/potholes).
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  24. #24
    Established Member Two Rings
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    Is it safe to replace our 55w h11 bulbs with 80w h11 bulbs? or will it melt the housing etc..

  25. #25
    Veteran Member Four Rings CorneliusRox's Avatar
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    I would definitely stay away from 80w. Specially if from a cheap source.

  26. #26
    Veteran Member Four Rings chrislane31's Avatar
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    Anything more than 4300k and your out put will decrease

  27. #27
    Veteran Member Four Rings wildcat333's Avatar
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    How easy or difficult would it be to install fog bulbs, or to install a full HID fog kit? Does the f'n bumper have to come off for this? Time approx for a noob for an install? Plug and play too?
    2008 Audi A4 2.0T Quattro | Light Silver | S-Line | Automatic-Tiptronic | GIAC Stage 1+ | Autotech HPFP | 135 bar PRV | 35% Tint | KW V1 Coilovers | RS4 RSB | 034 Snub Mount | Evolution Thor Skid Plate | Osram CBI 5000K D1S | Clear-Cornered | 6000K LED City Lights | LED DRLs | Paint-Matched Sidemarkers | Hoen Endurance Fogs | Interior LEDs | Plate LEDs | Upgraded Brakes | 18" RS4 Wheels | Sirius Satellite Radio Tuner | Aux-In | Hardwired Passport 8500 X50 | Hella Super Tone Horns

  28. #28
    Veteran Member Four Rings
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    Sorry if this gets a bit technical but it may help to sort out much of the mis-information in some of the posts above. Depth perception is an extremely important aspect of night driving. Unfortunately, it degrades very quickly as the temperature of the lighting system increases. Too much above 5000 deg Kelvin and you are starting to put out a much higher percentage of short wavelength light (blue light). This is very easy to do with HID lighting systems. The worst light for night driving is blue light. This is because the human eye does not know how to handle blue light. Due to its shorter wavelength it focuses in front of the retina and confuses the brain and adversely affects depth perception. This is also why sportsmen wear amber/yellow glasses, to filter out all the blue/purple light. HID systems can certainly put out a lot of light per watt of input energy, but it is not necessarily a quality light, especially when run at the higher temperatures (say above 6000 degrees).

    More to the point, fog and wet surfaces tend to easily refract the blue portion of light, and this is what causes glare. This is precisely why lower temperature light, towards the yellow-red end of the visible spectrum, is superior for inclement weather visibility. Why folks put blue tinted halogen bulbs in their headlamps is beyond me. Same goes for HID lights running at temperatures above 6000 deg. K. The amount of usable light (above 6000 deg K) greatly diminishes as the temperature increases.

  29. #29
    Senior Member Two Rings 2007B7cabrio's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by airborneriflema View Post
    NO, it has something to do with the wave length (or some thing like that) of xenon output VS halogen. Although, color plays a key role in xenon light output.
    The Kelvin temperature used in normal OEM xenons ranges from 4300 to 5000 Kelvin, this is the color, the color is a certain wave length, a normal halogen is around 2800 to 3200 Kelvin.
    So if you have a 3000K Xenon bulb you have the same wave length/color as the halogen bulb.

    Where the big difference comes to play is that Xenon lights have a higher efficiency grade, less thermal loss, hence leading to a higher light output compared to halogen.

    A 35W xenon bulb at 4300K will have roughly 3200 lumen (92 lm/W) where as a 55W halogen has roughly 1200 (22Lm/W)

  30. #30
    Veteran Member Three Rings Adub-Drew's Avatar
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    I run 4300k xenon's (oem bi-xenon's) and all I added were some 3000k yellow fogs. I have yet to sit in another car that can match the visibility of my car with a different lighting setup. I did buy some 6000k bulbs way back when for my xenon's but they were so bad i couldn't took em out to get another pair of 4300's.
    B7 A4 tip (daily) Mk6 Gti Drivers Edition (toy) Soon to come Mk4 R32

  31. #31
    Established Member Two Rings
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    Quote Originally Posted by wildcat333 View Post
    How easy or difficult would it be to install fog bulbs, or to install a full HID fog kit? Does the f'n bumper have to come off for this? Time approx for a noob for an install? Plug and play too?
    On the s-line bumper you can simply remove the fog light grilles, just feel up inside of the top edge of them, and there are 2 tabs that you can pull down, they come out very easily. Then its 3 torx screws and the whole fog light assembly will be in your hand, undo the wire harness, twist the bulb a quarter turn C-Clockwise and change it out, then re-assemble. Just a few minutes per side.

    You may want to clean the area around the grille lip, it will be full of sand and stuff. I took some time and waxed that part of the bumper....you will at the least have some water spots or a ring around that area.

  32. #32
    Veteran Member Four Rings Solarsuplex's Avatar
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    So i understand that i want to keep my 4300K xenon's for my main lights, and possibly get some 2500k~ for my fogs? I could search right now or google, but having it explained from different people works best. Are all 4300k lights going to be the same? or can you give more power to one than another producing more light. If that makes sense.
    -James
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  33. #33
    Stage 2 Banner Advertiser Four Rings Hugh@EuropaParts's Avatar
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    4300k on top and 3k on bottom is what I run... I couldn't be any happier with my visibility. I do however believe that visibility from light in general is compromised when it rains. I run these...
    Hugh
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  34. #34
    Veteran Member Four Rings CorneliusRox's Avatar
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    There is quite a bit of wrong info here, but I will say that you use Yellow for fogs, not for you, but so that the other people can see you. 4300K will always be the best light output as long as you are human and use human eyes.
    Last edited by CorneliusRox; 11-16-2011 at 07:03 AM.

  35. #35
    Veteran Member Four Rings xULx's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CorneliusRox View Post
    There is quite a bit is wrong info here, but I will say that you use Yellow for fogs, not for you, but so that the other people can see you. 4300K will always be the best light output as long as you are human and use human eyes.
    This just made my day, bwahahaha!
    -Jesse

  36. #36
    Established Member Two Rings r1de's Avatar
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    Hey guys, thanks for all the good info. I decided that I want 3000K 35W fogs. Probably will go with these: http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DD...ast-35W-or-55W

    Just want some confirmation on what options to select. Bulb type is H11, right? I'm not sure about the harness or error-eliminator though. Put my mind at ease and I'll click "buy".
    __
    -bp // 07 Avant 2.0TQ AT6 ti

  37. #37
    Deactivated Three Rings
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    Quote Originally Posted by r1de View Post
    Hey guys, thanks for all the good info. I decided that I want 3000K 35W fogs. Probably will go with these: http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DD...ast-35W-or-55W

    Just want some confirmation on what options to select. Bulb type is H11, right? I'm not sure about the harness or error-eliminator though. Put my mind at ease and I'll click "buy".
    The bulb type is H7 I think.

  38. #38
    Veteran Member Four Rings CorneliusRox's Avatar
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    I thought it was H11. lol

    BTW DDM will take about 3 weeks to get to your door. horrible communication but their stuff works!

  39. #39
    Active Member Four Rings drumnjuny's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CorneliusRox View Post
    I thought it was H11. lol

    BTW DDM will take about 3 weeks to get to your door. horrible communication but their stuff works!
    x2 pretty sure its H11.

    H7 looks totally different...

  40. #40
    Active Member One Ring balenaw's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by r1de View Post
    Hey guys, thanks for all the good info. I decided that I want 3000K 35W fogs. Probably will go with these: http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DD...ast-35W-or-55W

    Just want some confirmation on what options to select. Bulb type is H11, right? I'm not sure about the harness or error-eliminator though. Put my mind at ease and I'll click "buy".
    In a B7 the original halogen bulbs are as follows: Low Beam - H7, High Beam - H7, Fog Light - H11 (Information taken from new members guide and numerous other posts.)

    Standard advice I've seen is if you are going to be running more than one HID kit, get the relay harness. (I only run one without the harness and I have no problems... so far.)

    Most people say to buy the error eliminator to be safe... but if you're frugal (coughcheapcough) like me, and you can stand to wait the 3-4 week shipping time from ddm with a bulb out error, then wait and buy the eliminator only if needed.

    Happy wrenching.
    2006 Quartz Grey A4 2.0T Quattro
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