Brighter Head/Fog Lights?

Does anyone have any suggestions on some really bright head/fog lights for a 08 Mazda3 sport? Ive been looking online but i need some real life experiences. Thanx...

                            Dont get brighter lights, the people driving in front of you (me) will hate you for it.  Unless you're in some really rural area or something?

I had the halogen bulbs for my low beams and then I put in 5000k HID's. There is a significant difference in brightness. The lower the kelvin rating (k) the brighter the output. 5000k's look like OEM HID's, like the HID's that come with the GT (US model). I bought them from this site... http://www.thexenonstore.com/HID.php His name is Devin and he is very reliable and great if you have problems. If you do go with the HID's, also get the relay harness to better protect your car's wiring. This allows the lights to get power directly from the battery. It is a simple install that takes about 15 mins.

As for fogs, some people put HID's in, which I think is a little rediculous. It blinds oncoming drivers, and you have a higher chance of getting pulled over. Also, turning the HID bulb on and off kills its life. If you rarely use your brights then it might be worth it. Silverstars are NOT any brighter than halogens. All they are is a halogen bulb with a blue tint. Putting a tint on a bulb would allow less light to escape. Virgin1 had a good explanation as to why they don't work. He'll pop his head in and give some good advice as well. I recently bought LED bulbs for my fogs. They look good, but they do not project like the halogens did. I did that mod for looks because I never used my fogs, until I got the LED's.

Here are some pics. The first is a pic of the HID's during the day. The second one was taken with my phone so it's not as clear, and the fog lamps are the LED lights. Also in the second pic, the flash was off on my phone and that light on the bumper is the reflection of the headlamps off my garage door. Just to give you an idea that the lights are pretty damn bright.

I am running Silverstar Ultras in all 3 positions on my 07, I was going to put a smart Alec remark here but refrained.
I do see better as well as farther down the road, the white light VS the yellowish tinted light of the Stock halogens is a whole bunch better to see by.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lev

I had the halogen bulbs for my low beams and then I put in 5000k HID's. There is a significant difference in brightness. The lower the kelvin rating (k) the brighter the output. 5000k's look like OEM HID's, like the HID's that come with the GT (US model). I bought them from this site... http://www.thexenonstore.com/HID.php His name is Devin and he is very reliable and great if you have problems. If you do go with the HID's, also get the relay harness to better protect your car's wiring. This allows the lights to get power directly from the battery. It is a simple install that takes about 15 mins.

As for fogs, some people put HID's in, which I think is a little rediculous. It blinds oncoming drivers, and you have a higher chance of getting pulled over. Also, turning the HID bulb on and off kills its life. If you rarely use your brights then it might be worth it. Silverstars are NOT any brighter than halogens. All they are is a halogen bulb with a blue tint. Putting a tint on a bulb would allow less light to escape. Virgin1 had a good explanation as to why they don't work. He'll pop his head in and give some good advice as well. I recently bought LED bulbs for my fogs. They look good, but they do not project like the halogens did. I did that mod for looks because I never used my fogs, until I got the LED's.

Here are some pics. The first is a pic of the HID's during the day. The second one was taken with my phone so it's not as clear, and the fog lamps are the LED lights. Also in the second pic, the flash was off on my phone and that light on the bumper is the reflection of the headlamps off my garage door. Just to give you an idea that the lights are pretty damn bright.

 
What type of LED' are you using for the Fog Lights?

Here's where I got the LED's...
http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/vpid/4810391/vpcsid/0/SFV/32481
 
As for the silverstars, I put them on a previous car and saw no difference. They just had a bluer light and i felt like i saw better with the regular halogens. There was a consumer reports article about the different types of halogens and stated that the silverstars caused more glare to oncoming drivers and did not project like the regular halogens. If you do see a difference and they project better, that's good because they are a shit load cheaper than buying an HID kit.  I bought the silverstars about 4-5 years ago so they might have improved over the years.

I Believe the SilverStar Ultras, what Siber is talking about, is based on newer technology that is more efficient than the std S.St's. More output from the same wattage rating, but far less life since, as the article states, they have to overpower the filament to achieve the safe and legal output.

I love this link and have been interested in lighting tech for some time now... since my days (way back when) that I used to street rally my Volvo sedan and Honda Civic HB.
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/good/good.html

quote:

ORIGINAL: virgin1


I Believe the Silver Star Ultras, what Siber is talking about, is based on newer technology that is more efficient than the std S.St's. More output from the same wattage rating, but far less life since, as the article states, they have to overpower the filament to achieve the safe and legal output.

I love this link and have been interested in lighting tech for some time now... since my days (way back when) that I used to street rally my Volvo sedan and Honda Civic HB.
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/good/good.html

 
It is amazing that the words of 1 man can put the whole product line down.
I know from my own experience (IE changing the bulbs at night in the same place and measuring the spot where the light ends before the vehicle is moved between the 2 lights) I have a beam of light that can be used to see 28% further down the road, and that was with the Standard Silver Star 9007 .VS the Standard Sylvania 9007 bulb in my F150, and I can see better yet with the Ultras in the same vehicle.
As for longevity, I ran the SilverStars 3 years in my F150, 2/3 of the year I am driving with the lights on 1-1.5 hours a day and the other 1/3 2.5-3.5 hours a day and never had a bulb failure, it wasn't even 6 months before the stock bulb burnt out.
Here is a link to others http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/HighPerformance/Silverstar/Testimonials/
And in Truth, the headlamps do not show as blue either, they are white


Any blueness around the peripherals is the paint on the truck

Well not to stir things up, but I'll chime in.  The Silverstars for me aren't worth the upgrade.  Notice I said for "me". I did a side by side comparasion and only noticed less yellow output with the Silverstars.  Now I did mine with H7 bulbs maybe the others are different.  Now I just put the Ultra's in my wifes car and they were clearly an improvement.  But the majority of actual users I've come across haven't walked away impressed by the regular Silverstars.

quote:

ORIGINAL: FreakinToddles

                            Dont get brighter lights, the people driving in front of you (me) will hate you for it.  Unless you're in some really rural area or something?

 
Not true.  Heck, trucks with normal Halogens blind me more than any other vechicle on the road.  Properly installed HID's will not blind on-coming drivers.  Note I said properly installed HID's.   

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lev


As for fogs, some people put HID's in, which I think is a little rediculous. It blinds oncoming drivers, and you have a higher chance of getting pulled over. Also, turning the HID bulb on and off kills its life. If you rarely use your brights then it might be worth it. Silverstars are NOT any brighter than halogens. All they are is a halogen bulb with a blue tint. Putting a tint on a bulb would allow less light to escape. Virgin1 had a good explanation as to why they don't work. He'll pop his head in and give some good advice as well. I recently bought LED bulbs for my fogs. They look good, but they do not project like the halogens did. I did that mod for looks because I never used my fogs, until I got the LED's.

 
When aimed high they do cause alot of problems.  Also some fogs have projectors in them thus giving them a cut-off which shields on-coming drivers. 

quote:

ORIGINAL: Siber Express

It is amazing that the words of 1 man can put the whole product line down.
I know from my own experience (IE changing the bulbs at night in the same place and measuring the spot where the light ends before the vehicle is moved between the 2 lights) I have a beam of light that can be used to see 28% further down the road, and that was with the Standard Silver Star 9007 .VS the Standard Sylvania 9007 bulb in my F150, and I can see better yet with the Ultras in the same vehicle.
As for longevity, I ran the SilverStars 3 years in my F150, 2/3 of the year I am driving with the lights on 1-1.5 hours a day and the other 1/3 2.5-3.5 hours a day and never had a bulb failure, it wasn't even 6 months before the stock bulb burnt out.
Here is a link to others http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/HighPerformance/Silverstar/Testimonials/
And in Truth, the headlamps do not show as blue either, they are white

Any blueness around the peripherals is the paint on the truck

 
Nothing personal, Ken.  Really!! 
I have learned that everything in the physical world has actions and reactions.  Everything is a compromise.  (<<< NOT an original thought, I know...) Change one thing and it is likely going to affect something else.
 
And again not to stir things up, but the output of the Sylvania SilverStars, or any other quality "blue bulb" appears white at the expense of the natural yellow a halogen bulb generates. The Osram SilverStar's (Sylvania's parent company in Europe) are a different matter entirely.
It makes sense to me that the natural tendency of a tungsten or halogen bulb is toward the yellow light (low temp K) spectrum. That's measured fact, by the experts. If that is compromised, in this case forcing the light through a blue coating (higher K temp,) the output will be less assuming the same filament is used. 
To compensate for that, the filament has to produce a brighter and hotter light.  The only way to do that and keep the same power draw (wattage) is to reduce filament diameter or length, or by reducing the vacuum inside the envelope. Both will have an affect on the life of the bulb.  When you do that, the life of the bulb is liable to be shortened (in theory.)
That's all I'm saying.  It's physics. Theory, based on measured science. 
Daniel Stern is a degreed lighting engineer that's had an affect on the laws our government adapts for automotive headlights.  I have read through the entire site.  Some of it is sooo technical, that it's hard for me to decipher. I remember the days when in order to get good lighting from your cars headlights, you had to break the law and run H-4 motorcycle only DOT approved conversion kits.  We have come a long way to getting to E-spec headlights and Daniel had a hand in that.  Having read his site and experienced a lot of what he is referring to, I respect his opinion.  
 
I still love ya', Man.  Please don't hate me for disagreeing with you on this. It's not worth it, imo.
 

Actually is was not you, it was the Sterns website Richard. Also the comparison I am going on is mine, and not anyone else's. No Science behind it, just where the actual light stopped on both bulbs and the fact that I do see better with the white light over the yellow. Also the Blue Bulbs themselves suck for vision, and are really bad in the rain.
I also was told by a Sylvania rep that part of the difference in the light output was a different composition in the gas and filament in the bulb itself, hence the added expense in the purchase price. But that was a Sylvania rep also.
BTW, the fog lights in my F150 have the European Osram H1's in them now, but that picture was with the US bulbs.