This is a little off subject since this discussion is aimed at my tow-rig, but it seems applicable to any rig.

So, for Christmas my wife got me an HID kit for my headlights on my truck, which I love! Far better light than the OEM. But there is a snowball effect. I got the 5000K color, but all my other lights are very yellow compared to them and look ugly. And I just picked up a new plate style bumper for my truck, so I'll have a clean slate, just not a bottomless wallet.

First, I am looking to replace my factory fog lights with something else. I use them as daytime running lights and they are always on if the truck is on. They need to have a flat-wide beam since they are also on at night. I plan to use the factory circuit. They will be frenched into the bumper for looks and protection. I wouldn't mind trying a set of LED's if I could find a good set for an affordable price that has the beam pattern I need and the color. I know, not asking for much am I?

Also, I have a set of Hella 500's. These are 6" round driving lights that I use when I am on a lone highway or off-road. They make an "arctic blue" bulb that may get the color I want, but I worry about the light output. However for $50, I can make these work for now. The priority is the fog lights. Any suggestions? Thanks!

J.D.

Should be able to replace the bulbs in whatever you have, fogs, stock lights, hella's etc with all matching brand and color temp though that might get a little pricey. From what I remember the higher color temps have a shorter wavelength so they end up being brighter close up but they don't cast light as far out, but I could be off on that. From what I've seen the 4k-4300k seems to be the ideal balance of color/brightness/distance in HID's. Maybe it'd be beneficial to keep them at different temps/outputs to make them functional in different environments.

Dukie, you're right, the higher K bulbs don't throw as much visible light. They shift into blue, which our eyes don't pick up as well. You can get color matched bulbs-they run about $25/pair. I'd be tempted to pick up another HID kit and install them in your Hellas if they have a H4 (or similar) bulb. Check out www.ddmtuning.com, they've got a good selection of bulb fitments and a lifetime warranty.

Justin, that's where my Headlights are from. I would consider doing a bulb upgrade for my Hella's thru them, but still need to figure out what to do with my fogs. The lenses are so sand blasted, I really need to replace them with something different.

I emailed this company and here are their suggestions, but they aren't cheap:
http://www.rigidindustries.com/ProductD ... uctCode=D2

J.D.

Just to add something, it may not be the direction you want to go, but an FYI. I'm a member of a couple Chrysler 300 forums & those folks are all about making their lights look right. There was a several year long debate about the best bulbs to replace the 9005 & 9006 with. In the end someone showed that a Philips Vision Plus bulb actually gave the best light out put. It was whiter than the stock bulbs, but did not match the HIDs.
http://aid-auto.stores.yahoo.net/viplrebu90.html

They compared them with HIR bulbs (and lots of others), that are very expensive but performed worse. That is saying something, I had already replaced the stock bulbs with the HIRs & noticed a big improvement. (HIRs are not HIDs, they were used on Vipers or something).

The high beam bulb (9006 I believe) will fit in the stock 9142 fog light socket with a little jiggling. Don't know what bulb number your stock fog bulb is.

I've got a real good source for HID lights:
http://www.hidxtra.com/d9/d9.html
If it doesn't work, let me know there may be some stupid password to provide. I'll have to look for that.
I've been running these in my 300C for a while & they are cheap & get real good reviews.

Chad