GoRacer

iTrader: (2)

I tried to clean them with glass scratch cleaner on both sides but it still did not clear up. I can't even see through them, just blurry lights. I beleive those ridges are to widen the beam pattern to fog type because the light itself is a projector.

If the glass cover can be replaced with a clear glass version then these lights would actually be bright and very usefull instead of just decoration. Oh and they are stamped 55w. I know some people beleive they are 35w since like my car that's what it had in there from dealer or previous owner replacement I think. I just stuck in some 70w bulbs but i'm shure they will have a short lifespan. I also have some Hella HID but that's another project for another time and maybe another bumper.

On my F150 it has 55w fog's with a clear lense cover and it makes a very noticable difference with them on. They are a wide fog pattern and not projector though. On the RX7 it makes no noticable difference with them on or off with 55w bulb and those stupid blury lense covers.

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

You can get a new lens from Mazda, but it's HORRIBLY expensive - I had Ray price it for me once. Can't remember the exact figure, but it was comical.

Stock bulbs in the fogs are 35w. 55w is about as much as you really should run with the stock wiring to the fogs, IMHO.

I'll have to find the specs on these, but I got replacement adjustment screws for my foglights from McMaster-Carr. They're just plain full-threaded screws, but if you use them without the springs you can raise the level of the fogs up. Adjusting them, I was able to get real use out of the fogs - they fill in the area between the headlights and the front of the car. With the stock adjusters all the way in, I couldn't even see the fog lights from the driver's seat.

Dale

GoRacer

iTrader: (2)

They are actually stamped 55w and not 35w. I can try and take a picture to show you, if you like. I have no idea why they came with 35w. I allready cleaned them as best as I could. Maybe new ones wouldn't have the bubbles or cloudy look but they would still have those ridges which reduces the light output by probably 1/2. Clear glass may loose the wide fog beam pattern since they are projectors, but it would make a huge improvement with the headlights.

njstreetrx7

its possible to sand/polish the original covers....people have done it to headlights so this should be easier

GoRacer

iTrader: (2)

The problem with that is the ridges on the fog lenses are on the inside and the lense cover is pretty small. Aren't the ridges on the headlights on the outside? Well even if they weren't they are plenty big to work with. I'm not shure if grinding the ridges away would even make it clear enough. A clear plexiglass replacement would be a good choice. It just needs to be weather tight. The projector itself has a glass lense, so i'm not shure if heat would be a problem with plexiglass.

Juan

iTrader: (28)

When I first got my FD my fog lights sucked ***. Everyone on the forum said they were useless because you couldnt tell if they were on or off. I replaced the stock 35w bulbs with some white cheapo 55w bulbs and properly adjusted the fog lights. The difference was huge! My fogs actually projected light onto the road and complemented the headlights nicely. Im sure some quality bulbs would produce better results. You gotta keep in mind these are fog lights not driving lights.

GoRacer

iTrader: (2)

I've allready tried many different expensive bulbs and all 55w (Piia, Razo, Nokya) and Even Hella 80w.

I also tried Piia amber when it was really foggy a few years back. They actually are not fogs, they are projector driving lamps but the stupid glass cover converts them to a fog pattern. I currently have 70w bulbs and they still don't seem bright enough because of the glass cover. When I switch them on the only thing I notice is a color change becuase my 100w headlamps have a slight blue and so it turns white. I had Piia Plasma GT before and those were a clear crystal white but 55w and 55w fogs. I may point them down more since the purpose of fogs is directly in front and sidways as apposed to headlamps several car lengths ahead.

Like I said before on my truck the 55w fog lights are a huge difference and noticable lighting the road one car length ahead and sideways as well as the Piaa fog lights on my CRX. The Piaa's are adjustable but the truck lights are a fixed position.

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

I tried to run some higher wattage bulbs, starting with a 100w and gradually moved down until the wires didn't warm up. I ended back up with 55w Silverstars. They're pricey, but nearly as bright as the standard 100w H3s were, just without the obvious power draw. Still nothing to brag about. If there's a better solution or new tech out there I'm interested.

GoRacer

iTrader: (2)

I am not having problems with the wires running hot with 100w headlights and 70w fog light bulbs. I am going to switch back the headlight bulbs to the Piaa's because the 100w are tinted blue and you loose some light. The real problem with allof this is the system can't handle both fog and headlights together. The fog lights "are" 55w (stamped 55w with cover off) but as far as everyone knows the cars came with 35w bulbs, why? Well i've tried all different combinations of wattage and brands and the problem is when the fogs are on it dims the headlights unless you have 35w bulbs which are useless because the the glass takes away about 30w of light (guess).

Replace crap glass fog lamp cover with clear glass or plexiglass.
Replase oem fog lamps with Hella HID driving lamps or other fog if you prefer.
Retrofit HID in to headlight housongs (kits as low as $200 on ebay).

Juan

iTrader: (28)

I bought a Painless H4 wiring harness for my headlights when I first got it. It pretty much replaces the stock wiring to the headlights with nice beefy wires and relays. You can safely run higher wattage bulbs with this and not have to worry about melting wires. You dont have to worry about your headlights dimming or anything like that with this kit.

I was thinking of getting the same style wiring harness for the fog lights but for the money, an aftermarket set of foglights would be a better choice.

MADDSLOW

iTrader: (11)

Any chance you can purchase a clear glass cover for the headlight housing rather than keeping the stock ones with the little squares in them, commonly found on most older cars? I'd like to buy some HIDs but they don't look very good in the "squares" housing, and the ebay ones appear too cheap...

GoRacer

iTrader: (2)

If you headlight glass has yellowed, Permatex has a kit to clear it up. I haven't bought the clear glass headlight replacement but chances are if made in China, it's cheap crap. There are two vendors for HID on ebay. 1 made in USA. 2. Made in Japan. Both are about $200 or you can go with the group buy (chech gb section), if you prefer a 2yr warranty. There's a couple people that bought some clear glass from Japan but i'm not shure if it's any better then the ebay version.