I'm tired of the h11 bulb run-around.. Every bulb that has matched thus far has emitted almost zero light. They pretty much just make the stock projectors look like they're glowing.

Anyone know of a fog light kit that would fit in the preexisting mounting holes of the stockers on a california special front bumper?.. I think the v6 premium bumper has the same lights but I may be mistaken..

Thanks!

 

Try a search for Diode Dynamics LED replacements for the 13-14 Cali Special fogs. There is a real good review of them on this forum.

https://themustangsource.com/forums/...rranty-522681/

https://themustangsource.com/forums/...review-534495/

 

Thanks Mike!

 

You could abandon the fog lights and go with the brake duct kit instead, just sayin'

 

Don't bother with any of the LED drop-in units. None currently on the market are going properly use the housing and emit a proper pattern (that includes Diode Dynamics no matter what they say).

Some people may be fooled by "bright white" output, but the pattern & distribution will not be right.

The pics in the review threads may look OK, but look more closely and you'll see dead spots in the LED pattern that are brighter in the Halogen output.

If you are talking about the small projector fog lights that came on certain-year California Specials, then your best bet is H9 bulbs (minor trimming to a tab in the bulb's connector-end) -OR- 35 watt H11 HID kit (technically speaking, the HID kit won't use the housing as accurately as the stock H11 bulb, but it will work better than any current drop-in LED and still be brighter output and typically have an acceptable pattern/distribution).

Don't put any LED or HID in any reflector headlight or fog light. The beam pattern will be altered and glare other drivers.

Either way, you don't want too much light pooled directly in front of the car because it will reduce your distance vision since your eyes will focus-on/adjust-to the brighter spot in front of the car and the distance will seem darker. This is why headlights have a bright spot top center that fades darker towards the bottom.

 

Good advice^ I just got these in, after removing the upper grille fogs on my car. Im running the XP80 DD bulbs and they're useless in the stock fogs. I have an email in to The Retrofit Source to see if any of the projectors they offer can be used as a fog light (wide beam). If not, they also sell replacement LED housing lights for some cars, including the Focus ST and F-150, so I might see if that Morimoto kit will fit our housings. I know it's bigger than the projectors that are stock, but if it's a minor difference, I was thinking of taking a holesaw and trimming the stock fog trim piece to fit...we'll see what they say tomorrow when they get back to me.

 

What year Mustang? Which fog light housings are you using? The large "GT/V8" ones in the grill or the small California Special projectors in the lower bumper?

I know you said you removed the upper grill fogs, but I got lost on which fogs you are currently using and not not satisfied with.

The 2013-2014 Mustang GT same with LED Fog Lights in the grill.

If you are talking about the California Special projectors, try H9 bulbs or a 35watt HID kit.

I have bought the F-150 version of the Morimoto LED Fog housings and made a bracket to install them on my Firebird.

http://ls1tech.com/forums/appearance...-housings.html

 

Ah sorry that was confusing huh? I removed the stock upper GT fogs and added the California Special lower fascia fogs, with Diode Dynamics H11 XP80 bulbs. I never tried it them with the stock halogen bulbs, but the XP80 bulbs are supposed to be "similar brightness to stock" so I figured the output would have been close. It's non existent. The stock lower fog projectors just aren't well designed. The beam is SO narrow. I don't want to do HIDs for the fogs. I had them in my Escape and I was always worried about getting water or mud on the ballasts.

I might be trying out one of those Morimoto LED replacement housings, once I measure the CS fog opening and see how involved it would be to mount anything else in that location.

 

The problem isn't the projectors. The problem is the DD LED Bulb. Replace them with H9 Halogen Bulbs.

From outward appearance, the California Special Fog Projectors look like the previous-gen Ford Fusion Fog Projectors and people liked those. It is possible that they might be the same ones or at least a similar design. I don't have experience with either one, but i was thinking that they may have similar output.

When you say narrow, do you mean width or height? They should be wide (width) but have a short height to the beam.

 

It's hard to say, as I haven't ran the halogen bulbs that came with them and I removed the housings altogether now lol. I'll look at some H9 bulbs. They do appear to be the same projectors as my dad's 2008 Fusion SE has. I was thinking about trying the Nissan figment Morimoto LED housings though, as they're offset at a very similar angle to the C/S housings.

 

this is what I was worried of... All this work for something as trivial as functional fogs.. I'll be the first to admit that I'm ''that guy'' who drives with them on day or night.. I think it sets off the front really well.

I'm going to try that h9 modded bulb idea.. I saw a youtube video where they clip the tab on the inside and something else minor.. Is the result more usable light? or just brighter?

 

H9 bulb is noticeably brighter than H11 bulb.
The fog lights will produce a brighter beam.

 

Just a heads up, the Diode Dynamics XP80 LED bulbs really don't even compare to the newer Diode Dynamics Cree XM-L2 based LED fog bulbs in the above linked review. They utilize a lower powered older generation LED chip which is not good for more than show/accent lighting. XM-L2 LED chips are what are used in the latest tactical flashlights and what not. They absolutely put out useable light and are far brighter than the stock H11 halogen bulbs that came in my 2014 California Special.

Are they brighter than the headlights? No. But that is not the purpose of the fogs. They light up the road immediately in front of the car. The Diode Dynamics XM-L2 LED fog bulbs also provide excellent fill light off the front corners of the car and onto the shoulders of the road. They are brighter than the stock halogen units by far. I notice a huge difference turning the LED fogs on/off on dark roads, so I just leave them on all the time.

Also due to the nice projector housings the Cali Special comes with, you get a perfect cutoff and no annoying glare towards oncoming drivers. The bulbs are also plug and play unlike a HID fog kit. I am fully satisfied with them; there's not much more I can ask for in a LED fog bulb.