Is it me or do the fog lights not work well

[codeyell0]

Maybe its the lighting combination all together headlights and fogs.

I'm used to my headlights from other makes hitting the road like 15-20 feet infront of the car and then the fogs would cover that distance
but seems like our headlights shine down 5 feet in front of the car.

I am looking to switch to HID's and do something with the fogs.

I like the look of yellow fogs but do they actuall work well?

what are your experiences/suggestions

 

[codeyell0]

sorry i have a 2008

 

[KBrian]

I like the look of yellow fogs but do they actuall work well?

Yellow fogs can cut some of the glare better than driving lights in actual fog, but throw less illumination than driving (clear) lights IMO.

 

[jimp]

OEM fogs on all Mazda's worthless IMO. I have a 05 Mz3 with oem fogs, worthless, wife had a 03 Mz6 with oem fogs, worthless as well. They look good when on, but provide zero usable light on the road. The 09 Mz5 we have does not have fogs, and don't miss them at all. The headlights are adjustable, or can aim them to suit you. Look in the owners manual, or search the Mz3 section on a how to aim the headlights. HID's would help, but try aiming the headlights 1st.

 

[wmzda5]

Maybe its the lighting combination all together headlights and fogs.

I'm used to my headlights from other makes hitting the road like 15-20 feet infront of the car and then the fogs would cover that distance
but seems like our headlights shine down 5 feet in front of the car.

I am looking to switch to HID's and do something with the fogs.

I like the look of yellow fogs but do they actuall work well?

what are your experiences/suggestions

I have this setup as well.

55 wtts HID @8000k for low beam and 35 watts HID @3000k (yellow) for the fogs.

The fogs are not meant to illuminate the road as what the dealer said to me but rather designed so as to be visible to approaching traffic. This is why I opted to change into HID to light up the road better but it does not in my point of view. In order to improve tjhis you have to retro a projector for the fogs I guess. But not my cup of tea.

 

[codeyell0]

one other issue is why can't i turn on the fogs without the headlights? or can i?
fogs alone make driving through fog and heavy snow easy since no light reflects back from the headlights but having the headlights on seems to defeat the purpose

I was told that fogs are for driving well through fog. since the light is slow it doesn't reflact back to you and seems to cut through the fog so you can see. headlights hit the water vapor and reflect back at you hence all you see it white. same with heavy snow

 

[wmzda5]

I told this same reason to the SA, I also wanted to have an option to turn on fogs only for the same reason. The 5's fog turns on only if your headlight is on not while you are on DRL so for us Canadians, we only have fogs at night (auto headlights on) I manage to talk the service guy at mazda to do a little tweaking and I got the fogs turn on whe the low beams are on even on DRL.

 

[codeyell0]

I have a wireing guy, close friend who owns his own stereo shop. I'll ask him to do this and see if he can't make up some sort of how to.

 

[Silentnoise713]

If you want to improve your lighting, here is the ultimate source for lighting FAQs; you might say the automotive world's light bible.

How to aim your headlight/fog light:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

Bulb color, myths, etc:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/bulbs.html

Fog light:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/lights/fog_lamps/fog_lamps.html


Does anyone know who is the supplier for OEM Mazda fog lights? Take a look at the glass/housing to see if you can identify a brand name. You could look into the upgrading the fog light itself to a better quality brand (its all about housing/reflector design, bulb is secondary). My dad’s Suzuki Esteem, of all things, has OEM fog lights manufactured by Cibie ($200 option but it is absolutely worth every penny)! I’ve had Hella lights on my Miata and they are also very good for the price (but Cibies are better and does not cost much more).

 

[AO928]

one other issue is why can't i turn on the fogs without the headlights? or can i?
fogs alone make driving through fog and heavy snow easy since no light reflects back from the headlights but having the headlights on seems to defeat the purpose

I was told that fogs are for driving well through fog. since the light is slow it doesn't reflact back to you and seems to cut through the fog so you can see. headlights hit the water vapor and reflect back at you hence all you see it white. same with heavy snow

On US cars, you can do a little wiring mod in the engine bay under the fuse panel and get the fogs to turn on independently (well you at least have to have the parking lights on.) The writeup is here somewhere. Wasn't too hard to follow. Mine been working great for 2.5 years.

 

[Silentnoise713]

one other issue is why can't i turn on the fogs without the headlights? or can i?
fogs alone make driving through fog and heavy snow easy since no light reflects back from the headlights but having the headlights on seems to defeat the purpose

I was told that fogs are for driving well through fog. since the light is slow it doesn't reflact back to you and seems to cut through the fog so you can see. headlights hit the water vapor and reflect back at you hence all you see it white. same with heavy snow

This can done quite easily. I would think Mz3 folks have a how-to already. In short, you are looking for the +12v terminal fog light relay wire (should be in fuse box under the hood). Cut this it (close off the other end with electrical tap and a small zip tie) and tap the other end to your parking lights positive terminal wire (corner bulb). Now you can turn on the fogs with either the parking lights, low beam, or high beam yet still maintain the fog light toggle.

 

[AO928]

This can done quite easily. I would think Mz3 folks have a how-to already. In short, you are looking for the +12v terminal fog light relay wire (should be in fuse box under the hood). Cut this it (close off the other end with electrical tap and a small zip tie) and tap the other end to your parking lights positive terminal wire (corner bulb). Now you can turn on the fogs with either the parking lights, low beam, or high beam yet still maintain the fog light toggle.

Yep... this is what I did. I have a pic of the wire you need to cut, but didn't grab one of the one you need to tap into.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Yep... this is what I did. I have a pic of the wire you need to cut, but didn't grab one of the one you need to tap into.

Look at the headlight corner bulb, the parking light bulb, tap into the positive terminal. I believe the Mz5 uses 1157 bulbs so you’ll have two positive wires, one for parking light and the other for flasher –you want the parking light wires unless you want the fogs to flash

 

[tefloncandi]

2009 Mazda5 Fog Light Mod

Without removing the headlight do you know which wire that I will need to tap into in order to power up the fog lights?

 

[tefloncandi]

Without removing the headlight do you know which wire that I will need to tap into in order to power up the fog lights?

 

[J.P.]

I find that the 5 has a happy medium aim on the headlights. We went on a 6500 km road trip at the end of October, and with all of our luggage, and 4 of us in the car, the headlights were very good. If you don't load up your 5 very often, you could easily get away with aiming your headlights up slightly. Just remember if you go on a trip with heavy cargo loads, and a lot of night driving, you will want to aim them back to their original setting.

I just installed my H11 Optilux fog light bulbs (yellow) today. I prefer the yellow beam in heavy fog/snow, but that is the ONLY time I use them.