fog lights on GT - bulb upgrade?

I know this subject has been hashed here before, but I have yet to find a clear answer to my question. In a perfect world, I'd love to be able to simply pull out the stock light bulbs from my stock GT fog lights, and replace them with higher wattage bulbs... as bright as possible, but of course not hot enough to melt the housings, etc. Does anyone have any recommendations for what bulbs to use (part number) for a simple bulb swap? Also, what about for the main headlights? Is there a slightly brighter bulb that can be used, but something that is not hideously "too bright"? Even a small upgrade is fine for me. I had upgraded the bulb in my bike by only 20 or 30 watts if I remember correctly, and it made a noticeable difference. What I am looking for here are bulb specs and part numbers if ya got `em. Thanks.

Reply to
GT-Vert-03
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You might try asking Daniel Stern in rec.autos.driving... He's the most knowledgeable guy I've come across as far as anything involving lighting goes.

Cory

Reply to
Cory Dunkle

Just about any higher wattage will indeed eventually melt the housing. I believe PIAA has a good fit replacement lamp, but I don't know the model number off the top of my head.

The best you're going to be able to do with the stock lenses is the Sylvania XtraVision bulbs in the purple and black packaging, stock wattage. They're the same bulb as the Sylvania SilverStar, but without that light-stealing blue tint crap on the glass.

As Cory suggested, you might want to get in touch with Dan Stern, and take some time to look at his webpage at

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Reply to
Garth Almgren
** The best you're going to be able to do with the stock lenses is the ** Sylvania XtraVision bulbs in the purple and black packaging, stock ** wattage. They're the same bulb as the Sylvania SilverStar, but without ** that light-stealing blue tint crap on the glass.

I just put a set of these in the headlamps, and they do work better than stock lamps. The next time I'm at the parts store, I plan to see if Sylvania makes XtraVision's that will fit the fog lamps. They use the same wattage and don't create extra heat, so I assume they use a different filament that is more efficient than stock. I now get an occasional high-beam 'blip' from oncoming traffic, and if they're now that annoying, they must be working really well. (No, the headlamp alignment is fine - they're just brighter is all.)

-JD

Reply to
JD Adams

Actually, the problem isn't with them being brighter (though, they certainly are); the problem is inherent in the design of the reflector and lens. DOT specs simply allow far too much glare to stray upward into oncoming driver's eyes.

Reply to
Garth Almgren

It won't matter. The light pattern from those fog lights is so awful that no matter how bright you make the bulbs you still won't be able to see much of anything with them. Much better to replace them entirely. The PIAA 1500 driving lights fit about as good as can be done putting rectangular lights in a non-rectangular opening. With a few appropriately sized allen head bolts and nylon spacers from ACE hardware you can use the original mounting HOLES that the original mount used (not the original mount itself).

D Stern, who is fairly knowledgeable on which lights are good quality, dislikes the PIAAs. However, they do fit and they provide a much needed amount of extra light that makes a big difference compared to the stock high beams.

I"ve tried the brighter bulbs and they make practically no difference in those miserable factory housings. I think I had used 65/100 watt to replace the factory 35/55. The housings just don't put the light where it's needed no matter how bright the bulb. You will get far more bang for the buck to just put PIAA 1500 driving lights (or some other brands equivalent sized light) in place of the factory fog lights. If you use a $35 set from PEP boys, all bets are off as they may not be worth diddly as far as projecting a useful beam.

----------------- Jim '88 LX 5.0 (now in car heaven) '89 LX 5.0 vert '99 GT 35th Anniversery Edition - Silver Mods to date - Relocated trunk release to drivers side, shortened throttle cable.

Reply to
AZGuy

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