Replace 164 Fog Lights with Driving Lights.

[shane wescott]

Hi Team

Just thinking about this.

Fog lights these days as about as useless as an ashtray on a Ducati :-)

Back when I was a kid I remember many pea souper trips home to Broady from the city in our family VW Beetle.

Has anyone thought/tried/done a mod where you replace the fog lights with drivers, probably a relay etc wouldn't hurt. You could then switch them on the same way or have them wired in for high beam operation.

Just curious to see if it's viable.

Thanks

Shane

[V AR 164]

Hey mate,

Of course it is possible, however I really don't see the point.

Because they are mounted so low, I think it would only light up a small area right in front of the car. Plus I fear that if you were to change the complete fog light to something like a LED light assembly, it would look out of place and tacky.

If you are keen on brighter lights, I suggest upgrading the bulb in the headlight itself. They are H4 bulbs and upgrades can be bought from retailers like Super Cheap Auto. I suggest the Phillips 4300K white vision bulbs. I had a set and was surprised at how much good bulbs can make a difference. They will set you back around $90.

If you are REALLY keen on lighting, I suggest upgrading to the later 24v 'super' 164 headlights. They are Bosch units and house a projector assembly for the low beam and a separate assembly for the high beam with independent bulbs.
I recently upgraded to a set on my Q and the difference is amazing, plus they give the 164 a good looking facelift.

Just my own opinion, of course it is your car and you can do as you please

Let us know what you end up doing.

Cheers, Andrew.

[Rising Sun]

Hey there,

Nice advice Andrew. Shane, just a thought. If it's better lighting you're after, in my opinion for bang for your buck is to go the proper xenon lights. I do a lot of night driving in my dual cab ute near Loch Sport down the Gippsland lakes and this area is seriously roo central. After skittling a roo and then a wombat, I decided it was time for an upgrade. I went over a heap of options with my auto elec from spotties to bars, to LED globes and Xenon. For the type of driving I was doing and that fact I didn't have a bullbar to mount additional light to, I went for the xenon. While you can get just replacement gloves (which house everything) from the likes of autobahn, this was a kit with globes and separate drivers, relays and wiring. Cost was $600 and being a mechanic, I did the install myself. Yes $600 is a lot, but well worth it. The difference is amazing - seriously amazing. I also made sure the headlight aiming was correct so as not to dazzle oncoming tragic. And I haven't been flashed so that's a good thing. These kits come in all different globe configurations. Mine is H4.

[shane wescott]

Some good advice there so thanks Guys.

To be honest it was more to get around expensive broken fog lamps.

Due to their position they will definitely not be very efficient driving lights.

Love the lighting suggestions for the standard lights so will keep them in mind when i get the Beast back on the road.

Thanks

Shane

[kaleuclint]

Not only is your idea viable, I have this.  The LEDs under the bumper on my Mercedes operate in two modes: DRL (bright) and fog (painfully bright).  When headlights are on the DRLs go into a third less bright mode.

I don't know about ashtrays on Ducatis  , but as it happens I have been in correspondence with Kat Connell who makes LED illumination upgrades for BMW /7-series motorcycles.  What I need is an LED DRL insert for the 'eyebrow' parking light on the R100RS/RT.  She has other projects to pursue, so I am thinking about investing some time in 3D printing and coming up with a conversion based on Mercedes LED technology.