[ehechter]

Hello guys, I just ordered some HID fog lamps for my A5. If they turn out as good as I hope, I was thinking about getting some for the Q3 also. (Unless it voids the warranty, then I won't...)

Have you guys done it to yours?
Yes? No? and why?

I'm just trying to pick your brains a little...

I don't really care for the HIDs; I'd just like to have the fog lights match the headlight, or something close to it.

 

[CortinaQ3]

I personally haven't done this, but I think I can safely say that it won't void your warranty (unless something gets wired up incorrectly and it ends up frying some other electronics in the car, which I HIGHLY doubt would happen lol). In my old GTI I installed an LED fog light kit which I loved. It was a lot brighter and matched the OEM xenon lights almost perfectly. Also (supposedly) lasts longer than HID's, but I didn't have the car long enough to test that lol.

TL;DR version: if that's something you wanna do, go for it! it most likely won't hurt anything.

 

[ehechter]

I personally haven't done this, but I think I can safely say that it won't void your warranty (unless something gets wired up incorrectly and it ends up frying some other electronics in the car, which I HIGHLY doubt would happen lol). In my old GTI I installed an LED fog light kit which I loved. It was a lot brighter and matched the OEM xenon lights almost perfectly. Also (supposedly) lasts longer than HID's, but I didn't have the car long enough to test that lol.

TL;DR version: if that's something you wanna do, go for it! it most likely won't hurt anything.

Nice!
It's been a while since I've done any bulb replacements/upgrades and I just stumbled upon some LED "bulbs" (if you will) from PIAA like you mentioned... It definitely caught my attention.

I personally like when the fog and headlight match.

 

[rnlabas]

Hello guys, I just ordered some HID fog lamps for my A5. If they turn out as good as I hope, I was thinking about getting some for the Q3 also. (Unless it voids the warranty, then I won't...)

Have you guys done it to yours?
Yes? No? and why?

I'm just trying to pick your brains a little...

I don't really care for the HIDs; I'd just like to have the fog lights match the headlight, or something close to it.

You really mean "HID look" right? Not real HID fog lamps, that'd be kinda useless, as fogs making too much light (or being too bright) merely reflect light off the fog rather than illuminate beneath it. I have some Hoen HID match on my S5 and while they do match the HID headlights nicely, they're all but useless as real fog lights. Guess it's up to you what you want.

If you like running the fogs all the time and have them match your headlights, that's cool, but don't expect them to be of much value in real fog. If you want real fog lights though, go for some yellow ones like PIAA Ion-chrome yellow, they WORK for fog but are far from matching your headlights...

 

[Tanqueray]

First of all, it will not void your warranty, unless your installed aftermarket parts "cause" an OEM parts to malfunction or break down entirely. I personally wouldn't go beyond aftermarket HID kits, changing to LED bulbs, spring&shock, intakes etc. on still-warranty vehicles. I would even be scared to install new exhausts since a lot of exhaust upgrades require cutting.

I agree with you that matching lights are nice and you can do whatever you want. Like Roger said, brighter fog lights mean less light penetrating the fog. Also, I can't help but wonder, Am I the only one that gets distracted by oncoming vehicles's bright white/blue/yellow fog lights that are shining the pavement? Brighter the fog lights are, more the light is hitting the pavement directly and reflected to the oncoming drivers.

I just hope I don't sound like a picky prick saying this.

 

[ehechter]

Same here, I wouldn't want to mess with anything that would void or at the very least gives the dealership a "reason" to void the warranty. The road surface temperature here is always hot, making almost impossible for fog formation. I have yet to try some yellow fog lights on a foggy day to see what all the fuss is about. My fog lights are as useless as an ash tray on a motorcycle, or as Roger's Hoen HID match on his S5.

 

[Tanqueray]

I have yet to try some yellow fog lights on a foggy day to see what all the fuss is about. My fog lights are as useless as an ash tray on a motorcycle, or as Roger's Hoen HID match on his S5.

Since fog lights are not used as intended where you live, I suggest trying LED bulbs like Cortina said. At least they won't be as intensely bright as HID kits so close to the ground.

 

[rnlabas]

Just so you're aware, the higher temp non-HID lamps are, the LESS light they put out. So the whiter HID-look lamps actually put out less light (lumens or flux) than their 'warmer' siblings ...

and while the yellow ones CAN put out more light, they don't build them that way just for the obvious reasons to use in fog anyway -

 

[Quatto]

Also to note, when it comes to yellow colored lights, depending on where you live, cops might bother you for it. Especially as the month comes to an end, that's when cops really keep their eyes open

 

[rnlabas]

Also to note, when it comes to yellow colored lights, depending on where you live, cops might bother you for it. Especially as the month comes to an end, that's when cops really keep their eyes open

I have NEVER even heard of cops bothering anybody for yellow fogs, since the very first ones were yellow. I've heard of hassled folks for colored headlights and blacked-out tailights, but not fogs...what kind of weird cops you got? They must be bored silly.

 

[Quatto]

New York

I guess with all the tuners here and modified cars they're tough on people for things like that.

 

[ehechter]

At one point, Lexus equipped some of their cars with yellow fog lamps from the factory... Not sure if they still do.

 

[FourCircle]

I thought about doing this as well, but is it worth it? The lamps that come with the Q3 are really good quality. Don't see the point in changing them unless you just want to for personal reasons.

 

[PuroMexicano]

Forget about real HID

y used this:
Philips CrystalVision ultra

not a 100% match, but looks the part...

 

[ehechter]

Forget about real HID

y used this:
Philips CrystalVision ultra

not a 100% match, but looks the part...

Not bad, thanks man.
I see you got Nuevo Leon license plates, are you from Monterrey by any chance? I remember seeing a Q3 parked inside the mall as a show car, this was long before they even got to the US.

 

[Quatto]

I wonder who here will be the first to retrofit the foglight housing with projectors. Always liked projector fogs and its surprising to see we still don't get them.

 

[PuroMexicano]

Not bad, thanks man.
I see you got Nuevo Leon license plates, are you from Monterrey by any chance? I remember seeing a Q3 parked inside the mall as a show car, this was long before they even got to the US.

Here in Monterrey

 

[Ourob0r0s11]

Hey PuroMexicano, love the look with the HIDs, any chance we can get a picture from head on at a distance? I'd like to see the whole front end with those lights.

 

[PuroMexicano]

Hey PuroMexicano, love the look with the HIDs, any chance we can get a picture from head on at a distance? I'd like to see the whole front end with those lights.

Sure, I'll try to do it this week

 

[Ourob0r0s11]

Thanks! No rush at all, a couple follow up questions though. What color bulbs did you get? Do they match well, if so do you have a link to the same ones? If not, and had to do it over, which color would you go with (higher spectrum or lower)? This will probably be one of the first things I do with my Q3 (picking it up this Friday), along with the aluminum pedal covers, then maybe on to the plug-n-play throttle adjust (depending on my financials after this new car purchase).