WARNING: HID Bulbs Will Melt Subaru BRZ Fog Lights – Try These LEDs Instead!

Did you know HID lights will melt the fogs on your BRZ? We will show you what happened to our BRZ and show you 2 good high power LED options so you can STILL have upgraded fog lights.

 

If you’re like us, we love the look and power of HID bulbs in our vehicles and will use them any chance we get. So when it came to updating the Subaru BRZ we went all out and put HIDs in the headlights and fog lights. The strength and intensity of HID lights make them a perfect safety upgrade in headlights and fog lights during poor weather conditions. However, we found out that HIDs were not an ideal choice for our Subaru BRZ fog lights. In the Subaru BRZ, the power of the HID bulbs was too great for the fog light housings; within a few days they began to melt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HID light sources provide the brightest illumination available and are considered the benchmark against which other forward lighting technologies are measured. HID light sources provide three to four times the light output of standard halogen light sources and promote better driving visibility by providing enhanced peripheral vision and improved down-road illumination. HID Bulbs use up to 65% less energy than conventional lighting and can last up to 10 times longer, but all of that light creates heat. I recommend never installing HID bulbs in Subaru BRZ fog lights. We had these 35w HIDs installed in the fog lights for 1 week until we noticed some bubbles forming on the lens. Then within another week we also noticed the chrome reflector starting to flake and melt. As soon as we could, we ordered new housings and replaced them with new LED lights instead.

So now what, are you stuck with dim, yellow light in your BRZ fog lights? Not to worry, we’ve found two great options from Black Top Racing that will look great and keep your fog light housings intact.

Their first option is a 950 lumen 80 watt LED bulb from GTR Lighting. These bulbs will give you the crisp, white light of HID, with the long life and simplicity of LED bulb replacement.

Subaru BRZ LED Fog Light Bulb Upgrade Level 1

Comparison of stock bulb and GTR Lighting LED Bulb in fog light housing.

 

Their second option is a complete LED Conversion Kit that boasts 2,200 lumens per bulb—that’s up to 2.5 times the output of standard halogen bulbs! Totally plug and play, this kit will give you the crisp, white 6000k look of HID without the higher HID price tag. Although the LED Conversion Kit doesn’t quite match the power level of HID, the LED Kit is a great choice where heat and melting issues arise. The LED bulbs in the Conversion Kit are molded from aluminum to conduct and dissipate heat through the bulb.  Also, an embedded fan in each bulb creates a forced-air cooling system to cool the bulb, prolong the bulb life, and protect your fog light housings.

Subaru BRZ LED Fog Light Bulb Upgrade Level 2

 

LED bulb in housing.

Comparison of stock bulb and GTR Lighting LED Conversion Kit bulb in a fog light housing

So if you want to update your Subaru BRZ fog lights, learn from our mistake and looking into these other great options. And if your looking to make any other upgrades to your Subaru BRZ, take a look at all the other BRZ specific options Black Top Racing has to offer.

Custom LED Fog Light Install for the Fiat 500c

We recently came across this custom LED fog light install for the Fiat 500c and thought the results were great. The Fiat owner used the GTR Lighting 9W LED Projector Driving Lights and a GTR Lighting halo switch. Below are the step by steps for the install and the final product.

Re-posted from the fiat500owners.com Forum. Written by macavant

After considering the Fiat option fog lights for auxiliary lighting; I decided to go a different route and go with an LED setup. The other LED setups I have found were either square lamp units or rectangular. I wanted to stay with the “round” – “circle” theme that our lovable 500s currently posses.

Decided on the GTR Lighting LED driving lights. The lights are rated @ 9W, 600 lumens with a 6000K color rating.

GTR Lighting LED driving lights

The install required the front bumper to be removed. Bumper removal was done by following a guide posted by Tweak. Bumper removal instructions. (Thank you Tweak for posting this)

After removing the bumper (with 8 Pozidriv screws & 9 T30 screws) the blank foglight covers can be removed (attached by 4 tabs each). Once removed – A 2.5″ hole cutter was used to provide an opening for the new light units.

Removed bumper and removed wiring harness aftermath.

A mount was created from the rear of the foglight opening from aluminum plates and secured by 4 bolts. The foglight openings of the bumper only had 3 mounting holes, a fourth hole had to be created to provide a more stable mount for the aluminum plate.

Created an aluminum plate as a bracket.

Aluminum plate as a bracket.

The driving light units came with mounting holes @ the rear. I used M8 x 1.25 bolts to mount it to the aluminum plate – the length of the new bolt allowed depth adjustments. The depth is adjusted with the use of fender washers and 2 nuts that sandwich the Al plate.

Depending on the preference, the bolt (along with the light unit) can be moved forward or back.

Driver side.

Passenger side.

12V and ground were tapped from each of the stock DRL bulb holder / wiring harness. The wires needed are Orange (+) and Black (-). This retains the on/off functionality when the turn signals are activated. I did install an auxiliary switch to turn off the LEDs and allow the stock DRLs to stay on.

LED Halo Switch from GTR Lighting.

The LED unit with the lens optic up close.

Completed install – on with DRL in the afternoon sunlight.

Completed install.

 

 

HID Headlight Solution for 2014 Ford Fusion

Many people have been trying to install an HID conversion kit into the new 2014 Ford Fusion and have been running into a bunch of HID issues. Most of the time what happens is after the install you will test the lights and they work fine, but then when you start the engine to drive the car the headlights no longer work at all. We have tried several different types of ballasts and none of them work except for the brand new GEN 4 CANBUS ballast from GTR Lighting. This new series of ballasts (The Hylux Series) features the newest CANBUS integration technology in the market and works as a plug and play option for the new Ford Fusion. It can be expected that the new GEN 4 CANBUS ballast from GTR Lighting will work for any new Ford vehicle with similar CANBUS issues.

HID Issues are Solved with the Hylux ballast from GTR Lighting

We tried a ballast from Morimoto, the 3rd gen ballast from GTR Lighting, a ballast from DDM tuning and a cheap eBay ballast we had laying around and they all did the same thing, worked with the engine off and as soon as the engine was started they quit working. This happens because the CANBUS system is activated on these cars to start controlling and monitoring the headlights once you start the engine to drive it. The ONLY ballast that was totally plug and play, NO extra parts, NO splicing or cutting – just plug it in and go, was the new GEN 4 ballast from GTR.

GTR Lighting GEN 4 CANBUS Ballasts are called the “Hylux Series” and are plug and play on new Ford vehicles for doing HID Conversion Kits.

Simple solution, buy that ballast and use it with any HID bulbs that fit your Ford for a no-hassle solution! Easy. The Hylux series ballasts come in a 25w, a 35w and a 55w version, you can learn more about these ballasts and purchase them for your HID install here. It is safe to say that ANY of the new Hylux ballasts will work seeing as they all use the same CANBUS module integration. This is great news because for a long time the only good CANBUS ballasts out there were only available in 35w and now you can get a really high quality CANBUS ballast in any power level from GTR Lighting.