chin kwan

I am a Newbie here.. I own a 2002 IS300..

Please excuse me if I am asking a dumb question..

I have done the research here and it seems that getting a HID kit for the Foglights to match up with the stock HID lowbeams is a very popular mod here..

I have serached and read up on the forum and it seems most people have like the way it looks from the OUTSIDE...

My question : Is there a big improvement in terms of lighting up the road with the HID kit vs. the stock or aftermarket bulbs??

I would like to do this mod based on the looks from the outside but I find it hard to justify if I am not going to get any improvement when I am driving..

Basically, I find the stock fog lights to make a small difference. Turning my existing fogs on or off does not make a difference as the stock HIDS are so bright already.. The fogs merely light up the first 3 feet in front of the car better as the HID seems to throw light further...

Any personal expericence is much appreciated!!

rominl

iTrader: (4)

welcome to the club, don't hesitate to ask anything you want.

i don't have is300, so i can only speak about my experience from what i have -- acura tl type s.

it has clear fogs, and i put in 6000k fogs together with my 6000k headlight. on my car it makes a bit difference. it lights up more road and everything is clearer. i didn't get that at all (not even close) with my old stock halogen.

however in your car i am not 100% sure coz' you have yellow fogs and it's projective type.

for looks yes it's definitely nice, if you put it on people would be like damn that's bright. from inside the car i have yet to see to tell. basically if by changing to aftermarket brighter bulbs, do you light up more road? if yes, then changing to hid will definitely helps.

basically it's safe to say that hid lights up the load a lot better than halogen

lex400sc

You have an IS300, you already have HID low beams that are very bright. Your foglights are halogen and yellow for a reason: because they are fog lights. Fog lights aren't intended to compete with others for brightness. In fact, very bright fog lights are almost useless. In the fog, the brighter and whiter your light, the more reflection you get back into the fog and thus the less you can see in front of you. Fog lights are yellow so that the light doesn't scatter as quickly, in fact yellow light cuts through fog better than white or blue. They are dim because they are intended to illuminate the near-field because you shouldn't be driving fast through heavy fog anyway.

If you NEVER have fog in your area, then you have my blessing to upgrade to HID foglights just for the image and visual appeal factor, but IMO, the IS300 looks gorgeous with it's stock lighting left completely stock.

GS4Will

agree with above...i can always spot an IS from far away...stock system is GREAT

chin kwan

Thankx guys for the help..

Mine is a 2002 IS300;thus, I have the clear Fog lights..

I agree with u guys.. if the stock are yellow like my Mom's ES300. I will not bother with this..

The key factor is that dull halogen yellow looks ugly compared to the HID.. Sometimes I wish I had the yellow lenses..

Thankx for the info.. I will keep it in mind and might decide to do it in the future..

rominl

iTrader: (4)

oh i didn't know that is300 ever come out with clear fogs, that's a first. it's an option in 02 is300?!

either case, if i get rid of my current acura and get the is300, i will have a spare hid kit, and 99.9% it will go to my fogs. that'd be cool

Jmai22

i have a 93 gs300 with custom projector HID fogs. from outside the car it will look brighter. but none of that light you will see from inside the car. the reason why is because the fog lights are much lower to the ground, i have my fog lights aim straight out. and it lights up the entire area in front of the car but is not bright enough to drive without my low beams on. if i just have my fogs on the area within 4 feet of the front of car is lit up.

its soo hard to notice that you couldn't tell if i had my fogs on or off from inside the car, unless you drive the car everyday like me

chin kwan

Jmai22:

Form what you are saying, can I take it as that it does not light up the road except 4 feet ahead of the car..

I am certain that they would look sweet from the outside but if there is no worthwhile improvement..

I think it might be safe to say that $50 on a pair of HID bulbs will do the a similar job to a $500 HID set as the light is not really seen??

If you guys could post IN-CAR pics with it on and off.. That would be the greatest...

Thankx again.

Jmai22

there is no such thing as a 50 dollar HID bulb. they are halogen bulb with blue coating to make it look more white

yes, the fog HID only light up the road right infront of you because they are soo low to the ground. you wouldn't be able to see it from inside the car. sure they look great standing outside but inside you can barely tell its on. you have an IS with a great stock system it doesn't get much better than that.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i don't know what else to say, but definitely a pair of 50 bucks halogen didn't get half of what i have with the hid fogs on my acura. a lot of people on acura boards know about my hid fogs, and some of them have compared their halogen (brighter ones already) with mine.... they didn't even come close

but then again, i don't know how bright it will make the fogs on the is300 be, but i am sure it will be brighter

Jmai22

sure it will be brigther. don't get me wrong. i believe you. it may look brigther. but there really isn't enough light to make a significant enough difference to be able to say its really worth 500+ or so. almost all hid will be better than halogen unless its 10000K plus.

Chin Kwan,

Realy it comes down to your housing. I have tried a couple of different housing in my fog light for HID. a refecltor housing made for fog will point the light down and make it wide like this \ /. it's suppose to light up ONLY the immediate area in front of your car. because if it were to point further it would defeat the whole purpose to fog light. it would be like turnin on high beam in the fog. but if you live in an area with no or little fog like myself you or if you just want ultimate bright car like myself than you have a little more room to work with. i tried my stock reflector housing but it SUCKED and just threw the light straight down even if i aimed it up or removed the glare guard. currently i'm using a projector housing. it shoots a light a little bit further and has a nice cutoff line and changes color from angle and distance just like my low beams but the main problem if its too low to the ground.

chin kwan

Thankx for all the informative opinions..

I doubt the stock IS300 Projector style foglights are aim-able...

So, I will have to take a risk to see if it makes a difference..

I have no doubt it will look cool.. Once I get them, i will post my opinion..

Thankx again!!

Jmai22

alll lights are aimabled.