Installed OEM Fogs on my Mazda3 i Touring

[puredrive07]

These are oem fogs you get a kit from the dealer to install yourself. OEM part = warranty. It's about 300 USD for the lights and 40 for the switch. Or maybe the fogs were $340 and the switch was extra? If your dealer is anything like mine they will either charge an arm+leg for it or do it for free. Go and ask your friendly service department and report back because every one is a little bit different

I think I'll do this for my birthday. yay. Though I'm looking at aftermarket fogs (TYC brand) that appear identical to the mazda ones for 1/3 the price, trying to decide if that's a good idea or not. I don't like cheaping out on things but that is a good chunk of change and honestly fog lights are about 85% cosmetic anyways IMO. Who knows, maybe the TYC brand is even better than the mazda ones? Thoughts/Opinions welcome. The particular part I was looking at is here https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned) It would be especially great if the OP or anybody else who has the authentic mazda parts to chime in

edit again, still have to get the trim rings, looks like those are seperate.

I installed the Factory fogs because I was able to get them through my uncle at cost who still knows someone over at Mazda (when Volvo was still owned by Ford). The OEM fogs are an extremely high quality product; if I'm not mistaken they are made by Stanley like the rest of the lighting fixtures. The glass (plastic) hasn't even chipped/discolored and its been a year of driving through snow, rain, and 85% highway miles. I can't speak for the aftermarket ones, but you might want to just do a little searching for the OEM setup cheaper like through Tasca or eBay.

 

[nutmeg]

I found out that the OEM kit comes with some wiring and a relay as well. So it is definitely worth it so I don't have to jerry rig anything lol.

I tried aftermarket fogs on my old 323 protege they were good hella projector foglights but after 4 years the relay had crapped out so the foglights were on whenever my headlights were on, and the wires had turned super brittle.

the price here seems reasonable, it includes the switch. http://mazdagear.com/foglights-bbm4-mazda34door.aspx

 

[puredrive07]

I found out that the OEM kit comes with some wiring and a relay as well. So it is definitely worth it so I don't have to jerry rig anything lol.

I tried aftermarket fogs on my old 323 protege they were good hella projector foglights but after 4 years the relay had crapped out so the foglights were on whenever my headlights were on, and the wires had turned super brittle.

the price here seems reasonable, it includes the switch. http://mazdagear.com/foglights-bbm4-mazda34door.aspx

This is why I'm a huge fan of OEM parts, they are built properly to last. The wiring harness are insulated very well and actually snap into the bumper so they don't just dangle around.

If you haven't already installed HIDs in your headlamps, this would be a good time to do both of them. I used DDMtuning.com 35w Slim Ballasts 5000k in both; so far so good!

 

[nutmeg]

If you haven't already installed HIDs in your headlamps, this would be a good time to do both of them. I used DDMtuning.com 35w Slim Ballasts 5000k in both; so far so good!

It's something I've looked into. It seems like a good idea at first but then there are several things keeping me from doing it.

1) AM radio reception. "slim digital ballast" sounds like a noisy little bugger to me.
2) reliability/longevity. See above WRT OEM parts vs. aftermarket. For my job I drive for several hours at night and for at least 3 more quarters I will be commuting 60 miles per day to school often at night. So I need my lights to work.
3) courtesy to other drivers / glare. The halogen headlight projector beam is designed to throw a particular amount of light below and above the 'beam cutoff'. If halogens are swapped for something brighter, the amount of light thrown above the beam cutoff will increase. This is illegal and rude to oncoming traffic.
4) around here most cars still have halogen headlights. The trendy blue HID lights stick out like a sore thumb.

I don't have a problem with the stock headlights. They are quite good IMO. maybe it's my young eyes.

Now I will probably put some selective yellow laminate over the fog lights, paint the trim pieces black / dark grey, and add the rear fog lights as well (that requires extra wiring...) I like those LED reflectors for the rear bumper, so long as the reflector part still works

 

[puredrive07]

It's something I've looked into. It seems like a good idea at first but then there are several things keeping me from doing it.

1) AM radio reception. "slim digital ballast" sounds like a noisy little bugger to me.
I haven't had an issue with AM reception with the Slim Ballasts I've been using.
2) reliability/longevity. See above WRT OEM parts vs. aftermarket. For my job I drive for several hours at night and for at least 3 more quarters I will be commuting 60 miles per day to school often at night. So I need my lights to work.
Like I said it's been a year and they haven't even flickered once and my Volvo has them running in the fogs for +2yrs with no issues. Up until about June, I was driving just door to door to my job 140miles round trip and than a boat load of miles all over the state with no reliability/longevity issues. Plus regular halogen bulbs can burn out just as well; that's why I just keep the OEM bulbs in the trunk cargo net or swap over the hi-beam bulbs which are the same bulb size (these bulbs are extremely easy to access and change out.
3) courtesy to other drivers / glare. The halogen headlight projector beam is designed to throw a particular amount of light below and above the 'beam cutoff'. If halogens are swapped for something brighter, the amount of light thrown above the beam cutoff will increase. This is illegal and rude to oncoming traffic.
To be honest this is a projector housing that does not cause scatter as bad as traditional halogen headlamps; I can perfectly look directly into the headlamps without any issues, nor have other drivers complained about the output. My fiancee has the Grand Touring trim with the ABL Bi-Xenons (only difference is they have the ability to turn 30 degrees on turns) and both our cars put out the same distance of lighting and since I used 5000k bulbs (stock is 4300k) they are not blue, but the same white hue color as OEM when the two cars were put side by side for comparison. The fogs are the match the same white color since I used the 5000k bulb and those you can tell are a higher brightness output (traditional halogen housing), but the foglamps are position down from the drivers view.
4) around here most cars still have halogen headlights. The trendy blue HID lights stick out like a sore thumb.
see answer to #3, lol!

I don't have a problem with the stock headlights. They are quite good IMO. maybe it's my young eyes.

Now I will probably put some selective yellow laminate over the fog lights [I didn't do this because I'm not a huge fan of the JDM-look, but that is all personal preference, and by no means does it look bad], paint the trim pieces black / dark grey, and add the rear fog lights as well (that requires extra wiring...) I like those LED reflectors for the rear bumper, so long as the reflector part still works

Here's pictures of when I first got the car and did the comparison of the bulbs:
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123784545-New-2010-Mazda-3-i-touring-owner!&highlight=

 

[nutmeg]

Here's pictures of when I first got the car and did the comparison of the bulbs:

Hmm that is pretty nice. Alright. Maybe I'll look again

The only other thing I really want to do is get some MS3 wheels powdercoated dark bronze. Maybe in the spring.