Upgrade them PATHETIC Fog Lights?

[D'Hag]

My '03 Tahoe is "new to me." I was wondering why turning on the fog lamps seemed to do nothing. I turned on the park lamps only, then turned on the fog lights. Man, those are pathetic!

When we get heavy night-time snowfall or fog, I will normall turn off the headlamps and run only the fog lights for much better visibility. (Of course, with a reasonable and proper speed for conditions!)

So I pulled the bulb from one of these, and found it was a number 880 halogen bulb. It didn't take much searching to find that these are a monstrous 27 WATTS! :ack: What moron at GM thought THAT was a good idea? :crazy:

The old Ford Exploder that the Tahoe replaced had the same type of round fog lamps, but with 55 watt bulbs, and they were fantastic. (They were the only "fantastic" anything on that poor, underpowered beast.)

So far, I can't find these bulbs (or replacements) at any higher than 32 watts. I'd like to get these fog lamps up to 55 watts minimum. 65 watts would be better.

Anybody know where I can get hotter bulbs? A socket upgrade for the lamps? I'd prefer not to replace the OEM lamps, if possible.

 

[boostaholic]

Piaa xtreme white bulbs can be found on ebay for around $50, yellow is much more visible in poor weather and run $30 of the nokya 2500k bulbs off amazon.com. My denali had the piaas until I wisened up and purchased the yellows for this sweet colorado weather

 

[brdnboy]

Piaa xtreme white bulbs can be found on ebay for around $50, yellow is much more visible in poor weather and run $30 of the nokya 2500k bulbs off amazon.com. My denali had the piaas until I wisened up and purchased the yellows for this sweet colorado weather

Will they fit the tahoe, or do they make few different models? The tahoe fogs are almost rectangular where as the denali is round. Where abouts in colorado are ya? I live in boulder at CU/golden next to fossil trace golf course.

 

[D'Hag]

Piaa xtreme white bulbs can be found on ebay for around $50, yellow is much more visible in poor weather and run $30 of the nokya 2500k bulbs off amazon.com. My denali had the piaas until I wisened up and purchased the yellows for this sweet colorado weather

Yeah, but...
The 880-replacement PIAA Xtreme White bulbs are still only 27 watts!

And don't believe it when PIAA advertises "12V27W = 55W." Not even close! I've fallen for that before. Fool me once.....

 

[D'Hag]

Will they fit the tahoe, or do they make few different models? The tahoe fogs are almost rectangular where as the denali is round. Where abouts in colorado are ya? I live in boulder at CU/golden next to fossil trace golf course.

What year is your Tahoe? My 2003 has round fog lights.

 

[brdnboy]

What year is your Tahoe? My 2003 has round fog lights.

Ah yes i forgot. The Z71 bumper also has the rounds. The regular hoes have a rectangular type housing, but i believe they all (tahoe yukon, silverado, sierra, Z71 or denali) use the same 880 bulb.

 

[z71offroader]

be careful those lenses are made for those low watt bulbs...its a small lamp so if u increase the wattage ull get more head and end up melting the center of ur lenses...my best suggestion is to get some aftermarket bulbs like silverstars or piaas...but the most light will be with some hids.

 

[D'Hag]

Thanks for the input, folks.

I found the #880 bulbs described as 'ANSI cosmetic toy "fog"' on the Daniel Stern Lighting website
(http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/bulb_types/bulb_types.html).

That's a perfect description. It's like the fog lights are there for nothing more than cosmetics.

So, I'll just upgrade the entire lights to something that actually puts out some light. A search of the forums said to check LMC for replacements.

Any other suggestions?

 

[z71offroader]

i forget who makes this but ive seen a while ago a replacement lower air dam that had larger fog lights in them.

 

[D'Hag]

Follow-up

I've done a lot of searching, and come up with pretty much nothing except overpriced PIAA lights. Hard to believe a pair of fog lights can be worth over 250 bucks!

As I mentioned, our old Ford Exploder had the same size round fog lights from the factory. The difference was they were fantastic. Light output was terrific and the beam pattern was perfect.

So, while it will pain me to put a Ford part on a Chevy, I'm going to get a pair of Ford fog lights from a salvage and work out how to mount them in my Tahoe. It's been common in the past for auto makers to use a common third party for various parts. Dana axles, for example. I remember "back in the day" when the parts and special tools for Chevy, Ford, and Dodge 4WD front axles were all the same. So I wouldn't be surprised if the Ford fog lights don't bolt right up to the Tahoe's mounts.

I'll report, if anyone is interested.

 

[Rollin Thunder]

I've done a lot of searching, and come up with pretty much nothing except overpriced PIAA lights. Hard to believe a pair of fog lights can be worth over 250 bucks!

As I mentioned, our old Ford Exploder had the same size round fog lights from the factory. The difference was they were fantastic. Light output was terrific and the beam pattern was perfect.

So, while it will pain me to put a Ford part on a Chevy, I'm going to get a pair of Ford fog lights from a salvage and work out how to mount them in my Tahoe. It's been common in the past for auto makers to use a common third party for various parts. Dana axles, for example. I remember "back in the day" when the parts and special tools for Chevy, Ford, and Dodge 4WD front axles were all the same. So I wouldn't be surprised if the Ford fog lights don't bolt right up to the Tahoe's mounts.

I'll report, if anyone is interested.

i am, i need better fogs, as we all know THEY SUCK

 

[MadMedwyn]

Yeah I bought these Silverstar fog-light bulbs, hoping they'd be just as white as the lowbeams I bought from Silverstar also. It turns out I was wrong . But they are whiter and look more normal. Just not as white as I wanted them.

 

[Rollin Thunder]

Yeah I bought these Silverstar fog-light bulbs, hoping they'd be just as white as the lowbeams I bought from Silverstar also. It turns out I was wrong . But they are whiter and look more normal. Just not as white as I wanted them.

mine are whiter, but the output is just as bad. but the silvi on the high beams are very nice. :cool2:

 

[thdrill]

I don't know if it helps but I wound up finding 37.5 watt 899 (compatible with 880) bulbs at autolumination.com. I wound up getting the yellow since I only use my fogs in inclemant weather. They are brighter than the stock bulbs but still not as bright as the low beams.

 

[Getwired]

Put some HIDs in there and be done.

As previously mentioned, you'll do well with some HIDs in the fogs if you want light output. Most HIDs are 35W, and though my truck is a GMT900, the principle is the same... Link in my sig for more info on my setup.

 

[Rollin Thunder]

As previously mentioned, you'll do well with some HIDs in the fogs if you want light output. Most HIDs are 35W, and though my truck is a GMT900, the principle is the same... Link in my sig for more info on my setup.

yea but those are expensive and if someone like me installs it, their not that reliable and explode ( had to get a new battery today, DONT ASK!!!!)

 

[opdenali]

If you are still looking for a fog light replacement, i just installed these in my '04 Yukon Denali.

http://shop.vendio.com/aftermarketdirect/item/928381062/?s=1201519788

It was a pretty easy install and they use a 55W H3 bulb that connects directly to the factory harness. They are projector housings and have a halo ring. Definitely more output than the stock fogs, but i plan on upgrading these to HID as soon as my kit comes in.

 

[cincinnati]

hey, opdenali did you like the new fog lights you installed ? not a bad price either. how is the quality ?

 

[opdenali]

They are definitely an upgrade compared to the stock fogs in both functionality and looks, although thats not saying much. The housing and lense seem to be very good quality; however, the bracket is plastic but is sturdy enough. I had to trim the bracket slightly to fit but it wasn't a big deal.

 

[GTO2050]

Other than bolt in new PIAA's or some other fixture, is there anything that can be changed for a 2002 Tahoe? Mine are rectangular but the hole when removed is big enough for a number of options.