Does anyone have a recommendation for aftermarket driving lights? I have no desire to spend $350 on Toyota® factory lights unless they're worth it. I do want a perfect fit though...

Hella's Optilux 2500 driving lights fit in the fog light holes, but you have to hack the bumper in order to mount them. There are other brands that fit too...they are all the same size (3.5"? 4"?). The Koito OEM fog lights have special mount points that allow them to snap right into the bumper...

I'm curious too, what brand of lights has everyone put in for their fogs, and how do they fit? Will any standard 4" round foglight fit or is there a lot of work to be done to get them in?

I'm curious too, what brand of lights has everyone put in for their fogs, and how do they fit? Will any standard 4" round foglight fit or is there a lot of work to be done to get them in?

I'd like to really compare these lights and know the quality of each of them as well. i think i am also going to take off that panel under the foglight and see what possibilities there are for mounting something. i have been looking today on the net and the prices range from $20-$450. Keep me informed as to what you find out. My luck, I would melt my bumper because i didn't install them properly.

The opening looks to me as if it were 3.75" :shock:

OEM lights are not worth it if you can find a nicely fitting aftermarket set. The beam pattern is barely visible, and I'd be surprised if they did anything in the fog. . . they are mainly for show.

Yeah, I agree with djct_watt. I only got the OEM fog lights because I got a deal on them. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have even gotten fog lights. I live in Florida and we don't have much of a fog problem. I bought it for "looks." It kinda gives my car a little bit of an aggressive look. I rike it. :D

Also, here is a pic of the fog light hole
http://www.mikochu.com/car/foglights/DSC02402.JPG

Then what company manufactures good aftermarket ones?

im waiting for a set of halo driving lights to arrive in about 2 weeks. i dont care what i have to do to make them fit, because they look sooo good

details!!!!!!

anybody with the OEM ones got a problem with em cracking? For some reason, both lenses are cracked, and there is no evidence or a rock/debris hitting. . . I wonder if warrantee will cover this?

they are 3" rounds. gonna see if i can mount them in the holes when i put the lip kit on. that should also arrive in a week or two. im starting to take the "before" pictures tomorrow

anybody with the OEM ones got a problem with em cracking? For some reason, both lenses are cracked, and there is no evidence or a rock/debris hitting. . . I wonder if warrantee will cover this?

AHHHH! I'll check mine...

it's much easier to tell with the fogs on

OEM fog lamps just arrived at my door yesterday. Gonna install them this week if weather permits and I bet it will dress up the car pretty good :)
Maybe I should invest in some stoneguard thingy then, to protect my investment...cracking sucks

yes. . . I would if I were you.
The only other possible explanation I could think of for BOTH my fog lenses cracking, is the brushless car wash I go to. . . but even then, they should not crack from just that.

I have had the OEM fog lights for at least a year, and hav never had any cracks.

BTW, I was thinking of replacing the bulbs with the Sylvania siverstars (9006ST), does anyone know if these will fit in the OEM lenses.

Also, how hard would it be to replace the foglight bulbs and the ones for the headlights? I am ingnorant in the ways of mechanics!

The 9006 should fit no problem. Both the headlights, foglights, and license plate lights were changed to white as for me. Headlights are pretty simple, but for fog bulbs, you will have to pull the fender liners to reach for the connectors/bulbs. The license plate ones were a PITA. Remember that there are also the city lights, which if you change to any other color on the low/high beam you may want to change those as well.

Thanks for the info! Only thing, I don't understand what you mean by the fenders. I am going to have to find a post that explains it. Sorry for being a dumba$$ when it comes to this.

Off the subject. Did anyone see the brawl at the Pistons /Pacers game! Wow! The players where brawling the fans! :shock:

nobody knows everything, so don't feel bad. Fender liners are the plastic wheel well guard that's directly in front of your front tires. You have to pull that semi-out to stick your hand inside the lower bumper to get the bulbs out.
Actually I have the instructions with me :)

Ah! I understand now. I guess that would make sense wouldn't it. :P

Could you, if you can (or don't mind), post the instructions, that would be great for people like me! Thanks, again, for the info!

The 9006 should fit no problem. Both the headlights, foglights, and license plate lights were changed to white as for me. Headlights are pretty simple, but for fog bulbs, you will have to pull the fender liners to reach for the connectors/bulbs. The license plate ones were a PITA. Remember that there are also the city lights, which if you change to any other color on the low/high beam you may want to change those as well.

what size od the bulb does oem foglights use? is it 9006?

Ah! I understand now. I guess that would make sense wouldn't it. :P

Could you, if you can (or don't mind), post the instructions, that would be great for people like me! Thanks, again, for the info!

Nice color choice, btw. . . it's not all that hard, just grab and pull carefully. . . just don't pull as hard as you can. It will give some, so just pull enough so that you can fit your hand through. Easy as pie.

That's what it looks like. I checked the sylvania website, looked up the xA, and it said the foglights were 9006.

Just one thing, would I have to change any of the wiring due to installing the silverstars? They seem to be just a bit higher in wattage.

not needed but. it could help in the long run.

yeah. . . sylverstars are DOT compliant. . . you're good.

the Hellas are extremely bright and shine out/up very high.. i get flashed by semi's when i run them..

very good light, but fitment is a pain.. i'd say slightly heating the oem holes would help greatly in getting the hellas in place. getting them aimed out of the sky was a pain too, but i freakin love them! brighter than my headlights!

I just thought I drop a line in regards fog lights...

I did get the $350 lights because I live in a foggy area and commute from Marysville to Sacramento every day...for those who dont know hwy 70, it is real bad.

They look great :D

Do they work? Not Really
Well the only thing I have to say, is that the head lights must be turn on just to get the fog lights on... :roll:

I know if the head lights were shut off and fog lights on they would work better...

I have not yet request Yuba City Toyota for that...

Anyone knows the scoop on this...because my Volvo V40, I do have the option for just fog lights.

Drop me a line if any info...

THANKS!

DJ LLORENS

i can tell you exactly what to do to bypass the lame toyota "headlights first" rule..

find a + ign source. tap that source, and wire IT to your + lead feeding the fog light circuit.

from experience, toyota's foglights are crap. the corolla ones... you couldn't even tell when they were on/off..

Yeah. . . all Toyota fogs/driving lights work in conjunction with the headlights, lameness, yes. Lexus fogs are great. . . too bad they don't throw em on our cars too! I dunno bout the ES300/330 fogs, but the ones on the GS430/400 and the IS300 are great. I had yellow fogs on my LS400(first gen) and they were superb for the fog.
It also sucks they try to pass of these lights as fog lights. IMO, all fog lights should be yellow (to cut through fog). Any other color would just be driving lights.

get HID's!

Yes that would be nice. . . but the OEM lights do surprisingly well for halogens, and as much as I want HID's, I just can't justify the $$ for it. . . I have a hard time deciding whether or not I want to spend $20, jeez. I am such a cheap bastard.

Do they happen to have colored bulbs to put in the fog lights?

Or would that not be legal? I know they have all these "Hyper blues", but it doesn't seem *blue* to me.

yeah, you can get colored bulbs.. get some hella super yellows :) mmmm

I'd rather get blues to match my car...

pfffft, yellow or bust! Then again, CivicEater and I have Polar White xAs... I have Yellow ClearGuard foglight overlays on my xA...Gonna buy Polarg Pure Yellow bulbs for them soon.

yellow equals teh jay dee emm yo!!!

I have Nokya Yellow bulbs, and they work great. . . I don't know about legality, and it depends on each state, but a bulb is very hard to see, especially with the reflector in there. But for a more efficient "mod," the clear guards in yellow are probably more cost effective, as coated bulbs usually burn out faster. . . but the yellow covers are more of a dead give away, and I think, here in CA, any films covering any light that change the color to anything except white on the front, orange for turn, and red for tail, are technically illegal. But since they are fog lamps, you probably won't get any trouble as many cars have OEM yellow fog lamps.

they are 3" rounds. gonna see if i can mount them in the holes when i put the lip kit on. that should also arrive in a week or two. im starting to take the "before" pictures tomorrow

where did you buy your lip kit? I have aftermarket Xa madness

just look for VRD tC fog lights. You might like it.

I finally got around to installing my own fog lights, since fog is a problem around here and I do a lot of night driving.
http://www.competitivetravels.com/xA-front.jpg
I got them from ebay, spent a ton of time figuring out how to mount them and then actually gettting it to hold. I ended up going to Home Depot and getting some metal strips (holes already drilled every inch or so). These were in the duct section. Probably used for strapping around ducts or vents. The strip fits nicely in the insert ribbing. I just bent the strip to fit from the ribbing and go straight out to serve as a mounting surface for the lights. That's where the pre-drilled holes came in handy. I used a combo of super glue and JB Weld to get it to hold onto the plastic insert. I used a dremel tool to cut ovals in the inserts. It wasn't as good a job as I thought it would be, and it took me days to get it all done. A simple project that takes a lot of work and time to get it right.
http://www.competitivetravels.com/xA-lit.jpg
As you can see, the lights are a purpley color when off, which goes well with the UV lighting in my interior, and lights up yellow. These lights were about $25. Totall project cost was about $40.
I sure wish there was something else to mount them to, but that really all there is behind the bumper.
The lights do help plenty in the fog, but aren't anything stupendous in the way of performance. The seller didn't ship the lights in the original box, so I don't know what brand they are. The lenses are actually a plastic ball, so I don't worry about cracking. They are adjustable enough to get them aimed properly, and being all black, the cutouts aren't really visible unless you are staring up close at them.
http://www.competitivetravels.com/xA-closeup.jpg
I purchased separately a Pilot remote system so I can turn them on and off by remote. Handy when I want some extra light when outisde my car and no restrictions of whether the headlights are on or not. Just gotta be careful that you don't leave them on when going to work. You'll have a dead battery when you get out!