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Fog light ideas


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Howdy,  

 

Now that Oktoberfest/PVGP is over, I've started to make improvements to my white '74 02.   While I was at the show, I saw some awesome ideas and wanted your thoughts on one of them: Foglights.   Both of my current 02s have late model bumpers and I'm not going to be deleting them. Niether car has fogligts.  My old tii (that I owned in 1977) also had late model bumpers and I had the foglights underneath where they are "supposed" to go, with one of those square steel guards around each light.  Still managed to break 3 or 4 lenses because they are just too close to the road.  I saw several cars at O-fest that looked A-MAZE-ING with old style round Hella headlights mounted directly on top of late-model bumpers..  I guess you would call that "rally style".   Here are a couple of images of cars at the show  so you can see some of the options.  If any of these are your car, awesome car, BTW!  

 

Traditional square foglights underneath, no guard.  

SCH_6815.thumb.JPG.ee1cfe4e9b01cd40c856faf3377f34ae.JPG

 

Here's one (white one) with the guard installed. 

SCH_6753b.thumb.jpg.524d893d83d523f0d046c97f43400147.jpg

 

Here's a good example of the "rally" style on a late bumper. 

SCH_6774.thumb.JPG.f6790c064990fb1fe5042f02dc34f895.JPG

 

Here's another one. (Niced polished bumper, too!) 

SCH_6767.thumb.JPG.f71fdc1ba45f41e5b4b8b31c4a28fa46.JPG

 

And here is one more with yellow lights, which are probably very functional.  

SCH_6826.thumb.JPG.adb67c0c81f63a6a38d09ea4f5a4d465.JPG

 

I'm not sure why, but I really love the "rally" look fog lights on these cars even though that style was not often used on late-bumper cars in the 70s.  Other than having to drill holes in the top of my bumpers, can anyone thik of a good reason why I would NOT want to install round, rally-style foglights on my 02s?    I do recall seeing one car with a clamp-on light-bar but I don't have an image of it.  Has anyone used one of those on a late bumper?   

 

Ideas, agreement, disagreement, are all welcome!   

 

Thanks!  

 

Scott

 

 

 

 

Edited by Hodgepodge
  • Like 1

Current: '74 2002,75 2002, 88 E28 M5(2), 92 E34 M5, 02 E39 M5, 01 E39T M5, 08 E93 328i, 08 E61 535i, 09 E93 335i, 09 E91 328ix, 12 E70 3.5i  '67 Alfa Romeo Spider; '69 Alfa Romeo Spider, '08 Dodge 1500 SLT. Past BMWs: '74 2002tii, '74 2002, '76 E12 530i, '78 E12 528i, '85 E28 535is, '93 E34 528iT, '94 E34 528i, '99 E36 328ic (2) '99 E39 528iT, '03 E46 330i convt., '07 E90 328i

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Is it specifically fog lamps you want or driving / spot lamps?

 

typically fog lamps are best mounted low down and work with your headlights on low beam and spotlights are mounted higher and work with high beam. 

 

Of course on your car you can mix it up how you choose. 

rtheriaque wrote:

Carbs: They're necessary and barely controlled fuel leaks that sometimes match the air passing through them.

My build blog:http://www.bmw2002faq.com/blog/163-simeons-blog/

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Pretty sure you want driving lights that work with the high beams unless you live in a fog prone area.

 

rallylights.com

rogerstii.com

 

 

IMG_6023.jpg

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Andrew Wilson
Vern- 1973 2002tii, https://www.bmw2002faq.com/blogs/blog/304-andrew-wilsons-vern-restoration/ 
Veronika- 1968 1600 Cabriolet, Athena- 1973 3.0 CSi,  Rodney- 1988 M5, The M3- 1997 M3,

The Unicorn- 2007 X3, Julia- 2007 Z4 Coupe, Ophelia- 2014 X3, Herman- 1914 KisselKar 4-40

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I like the round hella driving lights.  I had put a pair on my old ‘73 Tii with the mounting brackets that clamp to the bumper so I didn’t have to drill holes.  Both the lights and the brackets looked great....clean install.  

'03 BMW Z4 3.0i

’89 BMW 325is

'80 Mercedes-Benz 300SD
'20 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT

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I’ve crunched a lot of auxiliary light lenses over the years. Surprisingly, the above-bumper location has been more susceptible to damage — I parallel park often and lots of vehicles are taller than even my stock-height ‘76. Here’s where I’m at now, after 45 years of ‘02 experience (first photo).

 

The fogs, Cibie Series 35, are intentionally small, so they tuck up close to the bumper. Because they are fogs, they are deliberately mounted low, under the bumper. I’ve mounted them closer together than past “exercises”, again an attempt to minimize damage. Lastly, they’re mounted through holes drilled close to the rear edge of the bumper.

 

The driving lights, Cibie Series 45, are mounted with through-the-grille brackets to keep them well back from the leading edge of the front bumper. The Series 45 work well with through-the-grille brackets because the lights are extremely shallow, despite their 7” diameter.

 

The fogs work only with low beams. The driving lights work only with high beams. Both take advantage of the switched power leads provided by the factory on all square taillight cars (round taillight cars only had a single switched power lead).

 

What can I say? It’s been a couple months and I haven’t crunched them yet!  ?

 

And, yes, the headlights are Cibie, as well: Z Beams.

 

The second and third photos, taken April 1977, shows the first auxiliary light “exercise” undertaken on the ‘76. Marchal 950 amber fogs. It ended badly, time and again, even after I installed large steel guards (fourth photo, taken August 1983).

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

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Edited by Conserv
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1976 2002 Polaris, 2742541 (original owner)

1973 2002tii Inka, 2762757 (not-the-original owner)

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Regardless of how you mount your lamps (fog or driving) be sure and incorporated a dedicated ground wire from each lamp to a good grounding point inside the engine compartment.  Relying on the lamp housing and brackets (especially clamped-on brackets) to provide a reliable ground is asking for trouble--dim lights, overheated wires etc.  

 

If you have Euro headlights, they do a good job as fog lamps, as they have a sharply cut-off beam (much more so than US sealed beams).  I prefer driving lights to provide additional illumination on dark roads at night (and also to persuade idiot on-coming drivers to dim their lights).  

 

I have my driving lights wired through a double throw switch:  centered, the lights are off; switched to one side, they go on all by themselves (good for emergencies if your headlights fail); switched to the other direction they go on and off with the high beams.  The center terminal on the switch goes to the driving light relay, while one side terminal goes to a hot lead and the other to the high beam switch.  

 

mike

'69 Nevada sunroof-Wolfgang-bought new
'73 Sahara sunroof-Ludwig-since '78
'91 Brillantrot 318is sunroof-Georg Friederich 
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12 hours ago, Brandon said:

I like the round hella driving lights.  I had put a pair on my old ‘73 Tii with the mounting brackets that clamp to the bumper so I didn’t have to drill holes.  Both the lights and the brackets looked great....clean install.  

I added a pic of my former Tii with the driving lights mounted on top of the bumper for reference.  I sold this car to Jim Gerock here on the forum years ago and I believe he has now changed the mounts to be located behind the grilles which is an even cleaner install.

A798EC78-03CF-4245-A451-4FAF937CC5C4.jpeg

'03 BMW Z4 3.0i

’89 BMW 325is

'80 Mercedes-Benz 300SD
'20 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT

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I got some cheap old chrome 'Unity' housings on ebay for ~$40 and polished up a little, put some Wagner sealed beams in them (~$10), and used some generic fog lamp clamps on the bottom of the big bumper, combined with a generic bracket from the hardware store to get them up high enough in proper location.  I wired in a relay and used the rear defroster switch (long dead), which I switch to the factory front fog lamp switch position that only had a dummy knob.

 

Like yourself, I wanted to keep the giant bumpers.  I hit stuff with them, quite a bit actually.  They do their job.  I just wanted something that hides the gap a little and looks vintage, and makes the giant bumpers stand out less.  Probably not your ideal set up for visibility/rally or whatever.  I do use them quite a bit in dense fog, and they're very bright.  I also use them quite a bit to make it easier for other cars to see me at night.  However, on a non foggy night, the bright yellow distracts too much from the regular headlights, and I turn them off.  

I've been using them like 2 1/2 years.

12888761_10101770142497236_7880543875006649002_o.jpg

12419214_10101770142502226_6963527342801336104_o.jpg

Edited by KFunk

Bring a Welder

1974 2002, 1965 Datsun L320 truck, 1981 Yamaha XS400, 1983 Yamaha RX50, 1992 Miata Miata drivetrain waiting on a Locost frame, 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser

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KFunk, nice.  That's exactly why I want to keep the bumpers.   Side story.  I got rear-ended pretty hard by a 2000 Chevy Suburban while driving my 1987 535is.  Cracked my aluminum bumper and permanently compressed one of the bumper struts but did no other damage.  Bumper and strut cost me $120.00 to replace (new at the time would have been about $400).     The Suburban had $2200 worth of damage including paint.  I think it is insanely stupid that car makers have replaced 5 MPH bumpers with styrofoam covered plastic (less dense than the liner of a football helmet) that can literally be pulled off of a car with a good yank.  Cars and parts today are designed to generate a maximum amount of lifetime revenue for the manufacturers.  Overall cars are safer, but car makers regularly make some pretty stupid choices. 

 

Oh, was I ranting?  ?      

Current: '74 2002,75 2002, 88 E28 M5(2), 92 E34 M5, 02 E39 M5, 01 E39T M5, 08 E93 328i, 08 E61 535i, 09 E93 335i, 09 E91 328ix, 12 E70 3.5i  '67 Alfa Romeo Spider; '69 Alfa Romeo Spider, '08 Dodge 1500 SLT. Past BMWs: '74 2002tii, '74 2002, '76 E12 530i, '78 E12 528i, '85 E28 535is, '93 E34 528iT, '94 E34 528i, '99 E36 328ic (2) '99 E39 528iT, '03 E46 330i convt., '07 E90 328i

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Yeah, I wish there were a more aesthetic solution that didn't give up some functionality, but I haven't heard of one.  The hardest hit my front one took was a large doe at around 50mph, and it absorbed most of it, before the body rolled up into the grill and bent the sheet metal a little.  It's nice to just be able to bump into stuff around the garage and not worry too much, as well.  I've got a 2 year old that pilots small vehicles in front of and behind the 02, and not sure if that one can be trusted.  

Edited by KFunk

Bring a Welder

1974 2002, 1965 Datsun L320 truck, 1981 Yamaha XS400, 1983 Yamaha RX50, 1992 Miata Miata drivetrain waiting on a Locost frame, 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser

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I just mounted by Marchal 810s behind the grill and only had to adjust position of the horn to create space. Used existing manufacture holes for securing. This is total aesthetics and not much functionality. I like the look and being a little different. PM if you want more info. 

216524AF-C2B3-46EA-8280-A8E4025943DA.jpeg

Edited by Joesprocket

Series 1, 1969 2002

Instagram: joseiden_bmwerke

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