LED fog light upgrade to LED - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Aussie ZL1 · 01-24-2014, 05:26 PM

I bought a set of 50W LED bulbs to upgrade the DRL's to driving lights to come on with high beam.

While I was there, I thought I would upgrade the fog lights to 50W LEDs too.

The upgrade to the DRL's is great. It gives a good spread of light to compliment high beams ( you have to change the wiring to get the lamps to change the switching logic, but the vendor also supplies this)

But the fog lights..... Not so good... I feel I've lost a head of performance with the LED's.

Anyone else done the swap to 50W 5k globes in the fog lights and had the same experience?

Cheers

Brad

mmarx82 · 01-24-2014, 09:10 PM

Look at them turned on from down low by the road. If you think that angle looks good then your problem is the cutoff shroud inside the fog housing. To fix it you have to bake it open in an oven and then use a dremel to cut out the shroud.

G-Oil Guy · 01-24-2014, 09:14 PM

You need to be careful doing that because you very often being "that guy" who blinds other drivers by putting bulbs into housings that weren't designed for it.

Aussie ZL1 · 01-24-2014, 10:34 PM

But they were fine with the standard halogen(?) bulbs, got spread with a low cut off.
Now they seem to throw very little light and it point at the ground about 2 feet in front of the car.

It seems, IMHO, that the lamp isn't suited to the light pattern from LED bulbs.

Just wondering if others find the same?

Cheers

Brad

mmarx82 · 01-25-2014, 09:14 AM

No it's not good for the LED's on the spread, I thought you were concerned with the looks.

Trickskier · 01-25-2014, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aussie ZL1

I bought a set of 50W LED bulbs to upgrade the DRL's to driving lights to come on with high beam.

While I was there, I thought I would upgrade the fog lights to 50W LEDs too.

The upgrade to the DRL's is great. It gives a good spread of light to compliment high beams ( you have to change the wiring to get the lamps to change the switching logic, but the vendor also supplies this)

But the fog lights..... Not so good... I feel I've lost a head of performance with the LED's.

Anyone else done the swap to 50W 5k globes in the fog lights and had the same experience?

Cheers

Brad

Yes - I did the same thing. The DLR's are great but the fog lights look weak.

christianmotox · 01-25-2014, 02:13 PM

It's because the housing is designed for the halogen bulb, most LED bulbs are not of the same size, I noticed the same thing when I put my LEDs.

affox83 · 01-25-2014, 08:23 PM

I've heard of this. As an aside check this thread,

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...&highlight=h11

This is the route I'm going.

Deke736 · 01-25-2014, 09:14 PM

The fog lights on our ZL1's are worthless in my opinion, even if left with factory halogen bulbs. With the output of our HID headlights, the fog lights are barely visible from inside the car. Truthfully, I'm not really sure they serve a functional purpose, I have 80watt LEDs in mine currently and have I have tried several different wattages available. The best option is to stick with halogen if you want to have a chance of them working in the fog, but if you just want them for looks and to match the headlights you should stick with LED. I've tried both 4300K and 5000K and I think the 4300K are the best match. Oh, and make sure they are aimed correctly, mine were not from the factory.

OPP · 01-26-2014, 08:34 AM

Same problem here. The LED fogs are for show only. They are worthless for ilumination.

djnice · 01-26-2014, 02:18 PM

Where do you get the LED DRL's and the kit to make them come on with high beams?

Aussie ZL1 · 01-26-2014, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djnice

Where do you get the LED DRL's and the kit to make them come on with high beams?

I bought mine off gen5diy (http://www.gen5diy.com/PnP_harnesses).

They Were great to deal with. I had a number of email conversations with Jarod there and he built me a custom harness to do what I wanted the lights to do.
Not only did they get it right, but it was built and shipped in a day...

But I wouldn't rush into getting the LED fog light globes....

I'm going to get a set of these to trial in the fog lights to see if it will not only colour match the LED DRL's, but also work as a fog light:

http://www.powerbulbs.com/au/product...ision-h11-twin

Cheers

Brad

01-24-2014, 05:26 PM	#1
Aussie ZL1 Drives: 2013 ZL1 manual RHD Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 73	LED fog light upgrade to LED I bought a set of 50W LED bulbs to upgrade the DRL's to driving lights to come on with high beam. While I was there, I thought I would upgrade the fog lights to 50W LEDs too. The upgrade to the DRL's is great. It gives a good spread of light to compliment high beams ( you have to change the wiring to get the lamps to change the switching logic, but the vendor also supplies this) But the fog lights..... Not so good... I feel I've lost a head of performance with the LED's. Anyone else done the swap to 50W 5k globes in the fog lights and had the same experience? Cheers Brad __________________ Brad Dunstan RHD '13 M6 ZL1

01-24-2014, 09:10 PM	#2
mmarx82 Drives: '12 ZL1 #1609 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Georgia Posts: 1,762	Look at them turned on from down low by the road. If you think that angle looks good then your problem is the cutoff shroud inside the fog housing. To fix it you have to bake it open in an oven and then use a dremel to cut out the shroud. __________________ Life is too short to drive cars that suck. My build Thread

01-24-2014, 09:14 PM	#3
G-Oil Guy Where am I? Drives: Zoe the ZL1, 2012 Frontier Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Mars, PA Posts: 6,071	You need to be careful doing that because you very often being "that guy" who blinds other drivers by putting bulbs into housings that weren't designed for it. __________________ FOR SALE: 2013 ZL1 Message me if interested

01-24-2014, 10:34 PM	#4
Aussie ZL1 Drives: 2013 ZL1 manual RHD Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 73	But they were fine with the standard halogen(?) bulbs, got spread with a low cut off. Now they seem to throw very little light and it point at the ground about 2 feet in front of the car. It seems, IMHO, that the lamp isn't suited to the light pattern from LED bulbs. Just wondering if others find the same? Cheers Brad __________________ Brad Dunstan RHD '13 M6 ZL1

01-25-2014, 09:14 AM	#5
mmarx82 Drives: '12 ZL1 #1609 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Georgia Posts: 1,762	No it's not good for the LED's on the spread, I thought you were concerned with the looks. __________________ Life is too short to drive cars that suck. My build Thread

01-25-2014, 02:13 PM	#7
christianmotox Drives: ( . )( . ) Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 2,827	It's because the housing is designed for the halogen bulb, most LED bulbs are not of the same size, I noticed the same thing when I put my LEDs. __________________

01-25-2014, 08:23 PM	#8
affox83 System Test Engineer Drives: '12 ZL1 #1011 Join Date: May 2012 Location: South Weber, UT Posts: 72	I've heard of this. As an aside check this thread, http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...&highlight=h11 This is the route I'm going.

01-25-2014, 09:14 PM	#9
Deke736 COTW 12/3/12 Drives: 2012 Ashen Gray ZL1 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Glen Carbon, IL Posts: 3,279	LED fog light upgrade to LED The fog lights on our ZL1's are worthless in my opinion, even if left with factory halogen bulbs. With the output of our HID headlights, the fog lights are barely visible from inside the car. Truthfully, I'm not really sure they serve a functional purpose, I have 80watt LEDs in mine currently and have I have tried several different wattages available. The best option is to stick with halogen if you want to have a chance of them working in the fog, but if you just want them for looks and to match the headlights you should stick with LED. I've tried both 4300K and 5000K and I think the 4300K are the best match. Oh, and make sure they are aimed correctly, mine were not from the factory. __________________ Last edited by Deke736; 01-26-2014 at 01:17 PM.

01-26-2014, 08:34 AM	#10
OPP Drives: 2018 MBM ZL1 Auto Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico Posts: 960 View My Garage	Same problem here. The LED fogs are for show only. They are worthless for ilumination. __________________ .

01-26-2014, 02:18 PM	#11
djnice Drives: 13 ZL1 SIM, 99 Z28 Black Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 708	Where do you get the LED DRL's and the kit to make them come on with high beams? __________________ 2018 C7 Z06 - WGG, M7. / 2013 ZL1 - SIM, 6 spd, RotoFab CAI, Can. / 1999 Z28 - Black, 6 spd, K&N, Subframe. / More Fun Stuff - www.inlandspeed.com