THE BUD MAN

I saw a thread here awhile back about replacing the fog light bulbs with either a low beam or high beam bulb...... does anyone know what type of bulb the fog light uses....... they don't even show it in the owners manual. I was thinking og either the cool blues or starbrites(??) but can't find which bulb number to use.

Lawman31

I replaced mine with Syvania Silver Stars. The main difference is that the stock bulb is about 45 watts and the replacements are 65 watts, or there about. I did notice that they are definatly brighter.
The physical housing of the new bulb was a little bit thicker and didn't want to twist into place very easily, but I was able to secure it to my satisfaction.

THE BUD MAN

was there a particular part number for the bulb you used?

nascosta

Has the lens discolored or warped slightly due to the higher heat produced (someone mentioned this in another thread)? Does it look the same white color or is it more blueish like the regular headlights? Thanks!

Lawman31

I went down to my garage and got the Sylvania box, I don't want to give bad information here. First off, the bulbs sit back at least 3 inches from the lens, so there is absolutely no possibility of the lens suffering any type of damage what so ever. I did look at mine again just to confirm this and, no problems here at all.
The package is a blue bubble pack and the package says Sylvania Silverstar "High performance lighting" #9005 ST. The enclosed documentation on the bulb says, "9005 1700 Lumens Max70 Watts Color J578 White Silverstar. The bulb itself says that it is 65 Watts.
These bulbs cost me $20.00 each.
The factory bulb that I pulled out is a GE bulb 45 Watts 9145U H10. Keep in mind that the bulbs are a single part; they come out by twisting counterclockwise 90 degrees.
The entire job shouldn't take much more than 5 minutes per side if you’re doing it for the first time, very easy.
Turn your wheel so that you can access the false panel that is held on by about 5 removable and reusable grommets. Remove panel, Reach in, unplug the bulb, twist and pull straight out. Reverse this process to install and you’re done. Keep in mind that these new bulbs have a little thicker base on them and I wasn't able to turn them the complete 90 degrees when installing them, probably about 80 degrees, but they are snug and I don't think they will ever come loose on their own and am not worried. You will never be able to tell. I guess you could grind on the small plastic part and get them to go in a little easier, but that would be a lot of work for nothing, they really do fit OK as is.

THE BUD MAN

Thanks LAWMAN...... GREAT response, I appreciate your effort..... I am going to get the new bulbs and take care of that today!

nascosta

Yes, thanks Lawman. I am driving my C6 down to So. Cal for the Thanksgiving holiday. Family lives in Dana Point. You should bring your car to the Sat. Morning (around 7:30) to the Crown Valley/PCH Monarch Beach weekend car show held right near the Starbucks in Monarch Bay Plaza. I know two other people in Laguna Niguel who also bring their C6s there.

Thanks again!

Lawman31

Sounds like a good possiblity, I am off the 241 toll road and Oso by Coto De Caza, so this is very close for me.
Are you talking about Sat the 27th?

THE BUD MAN

WOW...... I just put in the Sylvania bulbs....... it really was easy. The hardest part for me was discovering how the reusable pop rivets worked! It only took about 10 minutes..... I can hardly wait for it to get dark so I can go try them out. You could tell the difference in the garage... I had one new and one old bulb in and it was quite a contrast...... Thanks again LAWMAN for your help.

Lawman31

No problem..... I just love this new family of brothers/sisters we all share here.

richbell

This thinking unfortunately isn't correct. Distance of the lamp to the lens is just one of many considerations.

First there is the switch/relay wire harness power consideration.
45 watts at 12 volts = 3.75 amps x 2 lights each = 7.5 amps
the substitution you mention is 65 watts
65 watts at 12 volts = 5.40 amps x 2 lights each = 10.8 amps

Most automotive relays for the original load of 7.5 amps would be a 10 amp relay. If you now run 10.8 amps through the relay you will greatly shorten the relay life. Plus it is very possible that all the connectors and wiring in-between are not rated for 10.8 amps and you will have an early failure.

Next consider that the energy from the lamp is directed to primarily pass thought the lens. The position of the lamp (distance to the lens) is only a small factor in the heat load of the acrylic lens. If more light passes through the lens more heat will be generated by the ambient temperature of the fixture housing and by the absorption property of the lens itself. In fact if the filament structure of a substituted lamp is different than the OEM hot spots within the light formed and projected though the lens can be the starting location for the lens failure.

In short I would not recommend using any lamp that is rated at twice the heat (watts) than the factory OEM. Watts in this case is not directly related to light output anyway. You take the chance of damage to the wiring harness, the reflector and lens combination and the relay system and socket.

cam30era

richbell is correct. I have reviewed many warranty returned lamps which were severely damaged (warped lenses, and some times, burned internal components) which were damaged by installation of bulbs with more light out put (and hence, more heat out put) then they were designed for.

Lawman31

All very valid points and should be taken into consideration before you change anything. I for one need more information at this point. Are we only assuming that the relay and entire circuit for that matter are only rated for the 45 watt factory bulb? Or have they taken into account that end users might upgrade these bulbs and have accounted for this proactively.
Perhaps someone can review the wiring diagram for the C6 and give us all a definitive answer on the capabilities of the circuit so we can all make educated decisions with all of the information set forth.
No matter what, this is all good information.

richbell

Lawman,

I find it extremely unlikely that GM would produce the wiring system so that people could upgrade lamps in the fog lights to a higher wattage. Everything is usually calculated to save weight/copper/cost but to get the job done correctly. However you could get lucky and the circuit could maintain an increase of 50% more power but I would doubt it. Also depending if you run around all day with your moded fog light on depends how long the components well hold up.

A wiring diagram does not tell the entire story unfortunately. You can bet that the design of the fog light assemblies were designed to only handle the lamp wattage as specified.

My suggestion would be to run PIAA lamps if they have a match. PIAA are the only color corrected lamps (and yes you pay for them) where the coating is actually more of a dielectric. If you get an increase in color temperature maybe you will be happy and not require the 65 watt lamp.


http://www.autosupermart.com/shop/br...pc=4&cat=bulbs

stanleyp

http://www.intakeone.com/Light_bulbs...icWhiteH10.htm

Makes a helluva lot more sense!!!!!

Gearhead Jim

FWIW, one of my first mods on my C5 was to replace the wimpy stock fog lights with slightly higher wattage bulbs. I don't remember the details but it was something similar to the 45-65 upgrade being discussed here. The tech at the dealer said he had done it before with no problems. That was almost 4 years/54,000 miles ago and my system is working just fine. I use the fogs fairly frequently in conditions dim enough that I want to be seen a little better, but not enough to legally or practically require the full headlights. Reduces my radar signature...

THE BUD MAN

Thanks to everyone for the responses to this thread.... it has been helpful. Rich Bell..... what does it mean on the PIAA website when it shows a bulb (I am considering either 9006 superwhite or xtreme white) as 50W = 100W or 51W=115W? Do you think either of these bulbs would represent a "REASONABLE" risk to upgrade the fog light bulbs to? I put in the Sylvania 65 watt bulbs but based on your input agree that they are probably too much...... cost is not an issue for me.

73VetteMan

You mention 9006 bulbs which are low beam bulbs for pickups, Yukons, Tahoes etc.

The 50 watt = 100 watt etc implies that the special Xenon filled bulbs will supply almost twice the amount of light as a standard halogen bulb.

richbell

Bud Man,

I have to look but I believe they refer to the fact that the extreme halogens perform better. For example the 50W performs like 100W.

What is the OEM part number of the fog lamp for the C6?

In my 66 Corvette I have modified my head lights to run Hellas. In the Hella fixtures I experimented with the Sylvanias blue coated lamps. The bluish coating evaporated after about 1 month. The PIAAs while costing almost 3 times as much use a better process where the coating is applied by a sputtering process like when semiconductors are manufactured.

If PIAA has any extremes for the same comparable wattage and filament location of the same lamp type as the OEM you should try them. I would be you would be very satisfied.

Lets start with the OEM part number?

richbell

I haven't looked myself but one of the members says that PIAA does not yet have a lamp for the C6 so he used the Sylvanias at 65 watts.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...light=Sylvania


Again I would not recommend going from 45 watts to 65 watts. The fog lights and wiring are completely different in the C5 and C6. It might be OK but it is too risky for me with long term concerns over my wire harness. I’m one of those guys that will run with my fog lights on just for show. If PIAA comes out with a replacement at the same wattage I would use it.

Sorry...I don’t want to be a kill joy but that’s my opinion (and I design complex lighting for a living).