Experiences with different H11 lighting

[AlienPrime]

hey guys! So i'm interested to get your opinions!

Our cars come with 55w 550 Lumen bulbs in the fog lamp housing

Getting a bit more output, we can throw a hardware store type (GE Nighthawk) 65w or 80w bulb in that will give us 600 lumen and 700 lumen respectively

Now we generally have two options with HID's. 35w solution and the 55w solution (generally)
Both of which can be expensive to get good quality sets..
35w HID's max at about 3400 lumen while 55w sets will output a max of approx 5000 lumen (assuming they are not chinese knock-off brands)

The best in between that's we've seen so far are LED type "bulbs"

KPlayground just released an 11w one which outputs a total of 750 lumen (essentially 100w bulb output without the extreme heat)

There are also 20w LED kits that produce 1000+ lumen and are still relatively cheap to buy.

Here are the 20w LED iJDMToy sells for $55 (supposedly 1150 lumen)

What are your thoughts on alternative lighting in fog lights? Worth going to 55w HID's in fog lamp housing or will higher wattage bulbs do the trick? Or... should LED's be a consideration since they are quite high output while still having low wattage/heat?


Tell me what you guys think!

 

[ethlar]

i think it depends on if youre going for an appearance or actual usable light.

Since the housings are designed for halogen filament bulbs they will provide the best light control, next would be a rebased HID bulb but there are differences in how the light is generated so you do get some light scatter. The worst light control would likely be those LED bulbs you posted since they have LEDS along the entire length of the bulb they are emitting light in areas that are not the focal point of the housing. It will create a bright housing for a picture on the car, but i imagine there is a lot of errant light all over the place and very little of that extra light being directed into the intended fog pattern

 

[AlienPrime]

i think it depends on if youre going for an appearance or actual usable light.

Since the housings are designed for halogen filament bulbs they will provide the best light control, next would be a rebased HID bulb but there are differences in how the light is generated so you do get some light scatter. The worst light control would likely be those LED bulbs you posted since they have LEDS along the entire length of the bulb they are emitting light in areas that are not the focal point of the housing. It will create a bright housing for a picture on the car, but i imagine there is a lot of errant light all over the place and very little of that extra light being directed into the intended fog pattern

ohh ok well that makes a lot of sense! Very true tho! You'd want it all to go forwards.. not sideways

 

[bigbossin]

Hids ftw 3k

 

[bigbossin]

Those are also only 35w

 

[AlienPrime]

Those are also only 35w

still 3400 lumens! LOL!

 

[CivicCanuck]

Like it was stated, if you are going for actual performance, nothing is going to generate a better pattern without hot spots and shadows than the proper bulb. I did bi-xenon 35w HID plug and play kits in my '89 Accord with H4 drop in 6054 replacement housings. While it did generate more light, and was a bit better than the stock halogens, it was far from great. There wasn't much glare though from the caps in the housings over the end of the bulb, I rarely got hi-beamed from on coming traffic, as they were also adjusted properly.

The led drop in will have better color, but it will not have the same range and actual usable light. HID drop ins will be more of the same, more light, but less focused and less even light output, plus more glare for other drivers.

 

[AlienPrime]

Alright thanks a lot guys! Hope you don't feel this is a repeat, but i feel it's valuable info to know!

Thanks everyone