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Steve M.
Samba Member
Joined: July 30, 2013
Posts: 6814
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fl.
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 Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2020 9:34 pm Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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| kguarnotta wrote: |
I finally got my fog lights replaced. The original were Bosch - but they had a cracked lens, and one of the bulbs was burnt out.
I picked up a new pair of hella fog lights, along with their yellow stickers - I like that look, and I think it may be better function.
I don't quite understand the idea of the white protective caps for the lights - seems like a lot of planning or else stopping on the road. IE when I'm driving - I don't necessarily know when there is going to be fog or snowy conditions. I don't think I'd want to stop (in a foggy situation, where other cars may not see me) and get out of car, and pull the white caps off.
I'd rather just leave the white caps off all the time.
Am I missing something here?
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Well it is a seasonal thing. The white caps protect the glass from the perfectly aimed ill timed stone thrown up from the highway.
These are fog lights. How often during the year do you actually use them?
I say protect them as much as possible during the off seasons when the weather has no need of them and then have them ready when the weather turns foul.
I do caution you in being gentle when removing the covers as I broke off one of the tabs at the center bottom of the light housing. I was able to glue it back on and it has stayed because I'm more careful in removing it. I have the same light housing, but with the driving light lens.
The jack placement is in the way of the beam pattern and since the jack is dead weight when not off roading it might be best to remove it.
I like the corner lights you added. It's good looking Syncro.
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Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22633
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2020 4:30 am Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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| kguarnotta wrote: |
I finally got my fog lights replaced. The original were Bosch - but they had a cracked lens, and one of the bulbs was burnt out.
I picked up a new pair of hella fog lights, along with their yellow stickers - I like that look, and I think it may be better function.
I don't quite understand the idea of the white protective caps for the lights - seems like a lot of planning or else stopping on the road. IE when I'm driving - I don't necessarily know when there is going to be fog or snowy conditions. I don't think I'd want to stop (in a foggy situation, where other cars may not see me) and get out of car, and pull the white caps off.
I'd rather just leave the white caps off all the time.
Am I missing something here?
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I’m surprised someone doesn’t make fake fog lights since 99% of the people who buy them use them only for bling
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Steve M.
Samba Member
Joined: July 30, 2013
Posts: 6814
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fl.
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| Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2020 6:05 am Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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| Abscate wrote: |
I’m surprised someone doesn’t make fake fog lights since 99% of the people who buy them use them only for bling |
I'll sell you a pair without bulbs in them. 
(Since there're bling I'll double the price.)
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kguarnotta
Samba Member
Joined: April 01, 2004
Posts: 1160
Location: Woodstock, NH
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| Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2020 8:12 am Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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| Quote: |
| These are fog lights. How often during the year do you actually use them? |
I guess the cracked lens on the old pair - is evidence of the need for a cover. Then again, my regular headlights don't get covers, and I've never had one crack.
As far as use- in the winter, I'm often driving into snow that I don't necessarily expect - so I'll leave the covers off in the winter. Then I get fog at other times when driving up to the mountains of NH (something I do most weekends year round).
I guess I could keep the covers on during the week in the city, but do I really need another task to remember? I imagine if I put them on, I'd leave them on, and realize I want them off when I'm driving...then have to think about finding a safe spot to pull over to take them off.
So - best practice I'd leave them on except when needed. In reality - I'll leave the covers off all the time.
As far as bling - yes I do like the look of the yellow lights.
And for the Jack - yeah, my van has a few items that I don't think I'll need (3 spare gas tanks on back too), but I'm doing one thing at a time...the jack probably does interfere a little with the pattern a little. I've got to dig through the van - and see if it has any jack at all. I think the original jack is in there. The van has been lifted 2"and I've got bigger than stock tire and I"m not sure if the stock jack will work. So until I have time to test this out, I'm leaving the bigger jack on.
One thing I'd like to do next - is adjust the lights for proper beam aiming. I need to find a level place where I can park 25' from a wall.
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Lincoln, MA
'86 Triple Knob Syncro w/EJ22
'78 Westy
'69 Single Cab
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joetiger 
Samba Member
Joined: January 27, 2005
Posts: 5076
Location: denver
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| Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2020 9:29 am Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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| kguarnotta wrote: |
I guess the cracked lens on the old pair - is evidence of the need for a cover. Then again, my regular headlights don't get covers, and I've never had one crack.
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Your van looks great.
During a wet, heavy snowstorm on I-70 in the mountains, an oncoming snow plow shot a giant wall of water/snow/ice across the road and hit me dead on...There was either a large chunk of ice or a rock in there that knocked a 1 inch hole in one of my headlights.
I had also had Hella 500 fogs on that van and used the plastic cage things to protect them. I liked that they were still useable but at least somewhat safe. $25 or so.
I'm not sure if it constitutes bling as I only used them sparingly, but the lights were surprisingly effective in low-visibility conditions.
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Joe T.
'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32
"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron
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Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present
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old_man
Samba Member
Joined: June 19, 2018
Posts: 1381
Location: Newfoundland
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| Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2020 11:18 am Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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Morimoto LEDs as the main. Decent.
Fogs are old made in Sweden Bosch Pilot 160s. Nice flat fan beam pattern. I find they compliment the LEDs. Yellow seems to help with rain and snow conditions. Pattern helps with peripherals. I don't use them much in the city.
Spot lights are even older made in Sweden Bosch driving lights. I think I have 130w bulbs in there. On a dark highway it helps make sure the space station can still see me.
This is the pattern of the fogs.
Pattern for the spots and LEDs. They haven't been aimed yet.
I hope this helped someone. |
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IdahoDoug
Samba Member
Joined: June 12, 2010
Posts: 10248
Location: N. Idaho
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| Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2020 9:50 pm Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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Old man. Beautiful setup for lighting there. Lots of choices to handle whatever the road and conditions need to help you drive safely.
On the white covers. I agree it sometimes happens that I'll hit unexpected weather and think "crap, when we stopped for gas I knew sunset was 2 hours away and that we were headed over a pass". So if there is a safe spot I will pull off and remove the covers. I keep a large freezer bag around to toss them in if they are wet/dirty. I have 3M protective film on mine and tend to leave them uncovered more since I installed that.
One company from Japan I believe, had an automatic cover that retracted when you turned on the auxiliary lamps. That was a great solution but I have not seen one in decades.
Doug
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jimf909
Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2014
Posts: 7455
Location: WA/ID
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| Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2020 11:09 pm Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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PIAA fogs mounted below the bumper in the vents in the air dam. My #1 use of them is for lighting while driving through a campground after dark. I can turn off the headlights and not annoy other campers. They have a flat and low cutoff so they work well in fog but I don’t find myself in fog that requires fog lights very often. They also look awesome on the I-5 commute in Seattle (and fit in well with all the Outback drivers running their fogs on sunny days  ).
photo credit: purplepeopleeater here on thesamba
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| Abscate wrote: |
Do not get killed, do not kill others.
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Current: 1990 Westy Camper - Bostig RG4, 2wd, manual trans w/Peloquin, NAHT high-top, 280 ah LFP battery, 160 watts solar, Flash Silver, seam rust, bondo, etc., etc.
Past: 1985 Westy Camper - 1.9 wbx, 2wd, manual trans, Merian Brown, (sold after 17 years to Northwesty who converted it to a Syncro). |
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Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22633
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2020 7:53 am Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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| Steve M. wrote: |
| Abscate wrote: |
I’m surprised someone doesn’t make fake fog lights since 99% of the people who buy them use them only for bling |
I'll sell you a pair without bulbs in them.
(Since there're bling I'll double the price.) |
marketing man!!!!
Twice the price because they are street legal
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kguarnotta
Samba Member
Joined: April 01, 2004
Posts: 1160
Location: Woodstock, NH
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| Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2020 9:14 am Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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I guess if you had fog lights mounted below bumper - a lot more rocks kicked up in that area, so covers would be warranted.
I found that retracting cover fog light - very cool.
https://bringatrailer.com/2018/01/14/rare-retractable-fog-lights-toyota-auto-cover/
Another rabbit hole you guys have sent me down....also great idea using these at campgrounds at night, I'll have to try that. I'll also look into getting the hella cage thing to mount on mine.
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-Kevin
Lincoln, MA
'86 Triple Knob Syncro w/EJ22
'78 Westy
'69 Single Cab
'65 Kombi - EZ-Camper |
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elizer
Samba Member
Joined: May 02, 2016
Posts: 1461
Location: Northern Virginia
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| Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:00 am Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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Mine came with bosche 8352 fog lights. I like them a lot.
Is it worth changing to yellow bulbs? The originals worked really well but hard to tell what they were. |
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bluebus86
Banned
Joined: September 02, 2010
Posts: 11075
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| Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:11 am Post subject: |
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| WestyBob wrote: |
| IdahoDoug wrote: |
| Just to clarify, Americans tend to call any auxiliary light "foglights". |
Bingo Doug ... it boggles my mind that so many (in US) don't know the dif. between fog, driving, aux. headlight, flood, array, etc. lighting.
But to the OP ... for fogs only ... and on vanagons ... prefer/favor the older Projektzwos which are NLA but can be found used mostly in Europe.
Then some are using various types of aircraft fog lights which can also put out a brilliant but non-annoying beam if aimed correctly.
Terrawagen makes their TerraPodz's which are LED and seem to be a cross of daytime/driving light but I don't how they'd handle real fog.
You could also try PIAA's that are usually of good quality, and even less expensive ones at the local flaps that are less illuminating but functional.
I have used or am using all of these above on my rigs except the TerraPodz of which I just bought a set today  |
Of course Americans do know how to drive on the Moon.
Now I can tell you a lot about foreigners that drive with their high beams on all the time, or how they suck at driving skills. Lots of imported people around where I live, their driving skills are a often a joke, and they do not dim their lights for on coming traffic, even when flashed.
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bluebus86
Banned
Joined: September 02, 2010
Posts: 11075
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| Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:16 am Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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| old_man wrote: |
Morimoto LEDs as the main. Decent.
Fogs are old made in Sweden Bosch Pilot 160s. Nice flat fan beam pattern. I find they compliment the LEDs. Yellow seems to help with rain and snow conditions. Pattern helps with peripherals. I don't use them much in the city.
Spot lights are even older made in Sweden Bosch driving lights. I think I have 130w bulbs in there. On a dark highway it helps make sure the space station can still see me.
This is the pattern of the fogs.
Pattern for the spots and LEDs. They haven't been aimed yet.
I hope this helped someone. |
them I like, high ,mounted above the bumper to protect them from debris. With the off road travels in the van, low mount lights under the bumper will get bashed.
Bug On!
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tjet
Samba Member
Joined: June 10, 2014
Posts: 3533
Location: CA & NM
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| Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 2:57 pm Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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Vintage Per-Lux #36A fog lights on front bumper. Painted flat black and modified to accept H3 bulbs
Last edited by tjet on Fri Jan 31, 2020 5:22 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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4Gears4Tires
Samba Member
Joined: October 08, 2018
Posts: 3004
Location: MD
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| Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 4:57 pm Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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Man that looks beefy. More info? Pics?
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Steve M.
Samba Member
Joined: July 30, 2013
Posts: 6814
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fl.
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| Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 6:17 pm Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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| tjet wrote: |
Vintage Per-Lux #36A fog lights on front bumper. Painted flat black and modified to accept H3 bulbs
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Vintage rules ! I have old CIBIE's modded to fit mine.
But...what are the rear vs. front tyres on your beast?
And those little twinkling stars above the windshield?
And...and...and front bumper?
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IdahoDoug
Samba Member
Joined: June 12, 2010
Posts: 10248
Location: N. Idaho
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| Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 6:22 pm Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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What does the beam pattern look like after you changed bulbs?
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader |
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tjet
Samba Member
Joined: June 10, 2014
Posts: 3533
Location: CA & NM
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| Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 10:15 pm Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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The PerLux fog lights were made in the 50's-70's. There were 2 round models: the smaller 4" 36A & the larger 5.5" 200T units. I have the smaller 36A model. This light takes a 35w sealed beam bulb, which is p/n PAR36. These lights have internal fixed louvers to redirect the pattern & cover the bulb hotspot. You can see them below. They look similar to Hella Black Magic lights.
36A
200T (missing outer glass)
I removed the original seal beams & installed aircraft PAR36 H3 reflectors. Here's where I got them.
http://duckworksav.com/Upgrades.html
I bought 1 flood for the left side & 1 spot for the right side. I installed 55w Osram Nightbreaker unlimited H3 bulbs. These are what I have in my high beams, along with the same brand H4's in my low beams.
| Steve M. wrote: |
But...what are the rear vs. front tyres on your beast?
And those little twinkling stars above the windshield?
And...and...and front bumper? |
The tires are 31x10.5x15. The front wheels are 15x7, The rear wheels are 15x10. They look much bigger, but the height is the same. I have 35mm spring spacers & 2" lift springs.
The lights on the roof are Rigid Industries D-Series Pro hyperspots.
https://www.rigidindustries.com/d-series-pro-d-series.html
The mounts are from VanagonLife. They are designed for a lightbar
https://www.vanagonlife.com/vanagonshop/vanagonlife-lightbar-brackets
The bumper was made by canasync. Here is his thread. Under the bumper you can see the GW skidplate (with cooling slots). If you look closely, there are 2 more Rigid LED "Ignite" lights on either side of the skid plate
https://www.rigidindustries.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=ignite
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0
Doug - throws a great pattern. I still need to adjust the right lamp. I will get some pics |
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Steve M.
Samba Member
Joined: July 30, 2013
Posts: 6814
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fl.
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| Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 10:32 pm Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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I thought it was a canasync bumper. His website is down so now I think unobtainium.
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valvecovergasket
Samba Member
Joined: October 10, 2018
Posts: 1491
Location: pnw
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| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2020 10:39 am Post subject: Re: Fog Lights- Who is happy with theirs, looking for the best! |
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as its getting darker here again, heres my fairly inexpensive setup
hella 700ff with yellow laminx
mounted through the bumper cover (theres enough room between the bumper inner frame and the cover for the standard hella mounting hardware). no additional brackets or fanciness. plenty of tilt/swivel adjustment in the normal horizontal hella adjustment bolt.
i think the fogs were ~$70 for the pair, and another few bucks for the laminx.
i used a second defrost switch to trigger the relay so the dash isnt cut.... until i can find a good van/porsche fog light switch
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