[Jon]

Anyone know the definitively quickest way to access the Abarth fog bulbs?

 

[Abarth124]

Anyone know the definitively quickest way to access the Abarth fog bulbs?

Most likely from the wheel well plastic.

 

[Jon]

Most likely from the wheel well plastic.

Confirmed. Popping out the bottom 4 push clips at the front of the wheel well is sufficient enough to get in there. Thank god this car doesn't have the 500's side mount intercoolers.

 

[TDPerry]

Now the important question.. is it a REAL H11 bulb, or actually an H16. I know the manual says 55 watt (which would make it an actual H11) but just want to see if anyone else has pulled their's before I order 4 H11's.

 

[Jon]

Now the important question.. is it a REAL H11 bulb, or actually an H16. I know the manual says 55 watt (which would make it an actual H11) but just want to see if anyone else has pulled their's before I order 4 H11's.

Replaced my fogs with H11's.

 

[jleo]

Are intending to replace them with a brighter, more powerful bulb? If so what will you use, and what will be the performance gain?

 

[TDPerry]

I don't know about the OP, but I was looking at replacing them with the Philips X-Treme Vision LED lamps, but some research indicates they are not as bright as regular H11 bulbs - but that might not be as important in fog lamps. I'm still looking at the amber/yellow version of those lamps, but I'm currently going to replace them with the same Philips X-Treme Vision halogen bulbs I have on order.
I was debating using the CrystalVision's, but I am not as concerned about the color as the longer visibility ranges.

 

[Bulldog66]

I don't know about the OP, but I was looking at replacing them with the Philips X-Treme Vision LED lamps, but some research indicates they are not as bright as regular H11 bulbs - but that might not be as important in fog lamps. I'm still looking at the amber/yellow version of those lamps, but I'm currently going to replace them with the same Philips X-Treme Vision halogen bulbs I have on order.
I was debating using the CrystalVision's, but I am not as concerned about the color as the longer visibility ranges.

I am thinking the PIAA amber versions. The LED version would be nice but WOW, they are proud of those!!

 

[TDPerry]

I am thinking the PIAA amber versions. The LED version would be nice but WOW, they are proud of those!!

I've never had good luck with any PIAA I've every paid that premium price for in my motorcycles, so I'm VERY leery of them in a vehicle now. Philips makes some of the better quality products and they are one of the leaders in the LED field. I'm just concerned that I've heard the "around 29% more light output than the H16 bulb"... which with the H16 only being a 19w bulb doesn't even get into the regular H11 55w level.
I'm still likely to get an amber pair just to try out. I may be happy with the bulbs I'm getting for my headlights and decide I want the difference in the colors for oncoming car visibility. I did pretty much the same thing with my old GoldWing and having amber LED shields on the driving lights did make a difference.

 

[Bulldog66]

I've never had good luck with any PIAA I've every paid that premium price for in my motorcycles, so I'm VERY leery of them in a vehicle now. Philips makes some of the better quality products and they are one of the leaders in the LED field. I'm just concerned that I've heard the "around 29% more light output than the H16 bulb"... which with the H16 only being a 19w bulb doesn't even get into the regular H11 55w level.
I'm still likely to get an amber pair just to try out. I may be happy with the bulbs I'm getting for my headlights and decide I want the difference in the colors for oncoming car visibility. I did pretty much the same thing with my old GoldWing and having amber LED shields on the driving lights did make a difference.

Understood, I have had the opposite experiences with PIAA on my motorcycles. But that could be anything really, bike type, terrain, bulb type.....etc etc... .

I think yellow does help as well, and it has been documented. But honestly for me I am doing it for two additional reasons. 1. I like that it is now a little retro and I rarely see yellow fogs anymore. 2. Inline with number 1, I rarely see yellow, which to me is now a visibility advantage from the other side, getting noticed by other cars for safety. Not a bad thing in a small car. (and mine will be silver with the Heritage treatment, so pretty much urban camo..not good)

 

[2naCanDan]

Does anyone have a brand they suggest, and pics, that is closest to OEM color? I'm swapping the bulbs because I hate having 2 different color bulbs on the front of the car. I could buy the led headlamp bulbs from the dealer for $77 each and guarantee the same color, but there must be an aftermarket option available. Bottom line, I don't want to spend money on bulbs to find that they are more BLUE or WHITE or YELLOW then my headlights.

 

[spilner]

I find that fogs with a slight hint of yellow can really do a lot of good. What you should't do is go for some solid yellow, and coming from the Honda community, those solid yellow fogs are heavily associated with them. While i'm not against them, just aiming for a hint of yellow will complement what an Alfa Romeo should have.

 

[TDPerry]

Understood, I have had the opposite experiences with PIAA on my motorcycles. But that could be anything really, bike type, terrain, bulb type.....etc etc... .

Yeah, that's what slayed me...they were being used in a GL1800, so they weren't getting "rough rode" for sure.
The one I had in my MeanStreak lasted 18 months. Never could get more than 7 months out of them on the Wing.

I think yellow does help as well, and it has been documented. But honestly for me I am doing it for two additional reasons. 1. I like that it is now a little retro and I rarely see yellow fogs anymore. 2. Inline with number 1, I rarely see yellow, which to me is now a visibility advantage from the other side, getting noticed by other cars for safety. Not a bad thing in a small car. (and mine will be silver with the Heritage treatment, so pretty much urban camo..not good)

Yep, the exact reason I'm contemplating it. It's only around $200 for the amber LED's and it's not like they do THAT great a job of additional lighting currently.
I was going to go with the Philips X-Treme Vision's for the headlights but since they are hard to find locally I broke down and just used Silverstar Ultra's. It only takes about 2 minutes to replace each side so it's not that big of a deal if I have to do it again in 8-12 months.

 

[Jon]

I went with Nokya yellows off eBay for $18. I had yellow PIAA H11's on my 500 Abarth, and remember them being a superior bulb color wise. I'm going to order another set of the PIAAs and compare. Attached some pictures taken after a drive home tonight with the Nokyas.


And as to the color of the fogs, I think it comes down to preference. I felt like my old yellow fogs worked really well, but I never drove in inclement conditions with one OEM bulb and one PIAA to compare. Here's a good discussion:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?103509-Foglights-and-why-they-are-yellow

 

[Hapster]

Personally, I'd just swap them for White LEDs to match the headlights. No sense for a 2017 car to still be using halogens.

If anyone has a photo, I'd be interested in how white fog lights would look.

 

[TDPerry]

Personally, I'd just swap them for White LEDs to match the headlights. No sense for a 2017 car to still be using halogens.
If anyone has a photo, I'd be interested in how white fog lights would look.

In fog lights the same issue that effects the headlight would hit the fogs. If the LED bulbs are not designed for use they could result in excess glare to oncoming traffic. That is one of the big killers of the retro-fit HID bulbs that get put into the halogen projectors - they were not designed for that and result in a poor cut-off pattern that blinds oncoming traffic. The newer LED bulbs are better about it, but from all my research they still don't have the "reach" that a good halogen or a HID (manufacturer equipped) has.
The SilverStar Ultra's I have for my headlamps aren't the best bulb out there, but they were a vast improvement over the stock ones. I've got some Philips X-TremeVisons on order to replace the Ultras (tests show a better distance with them) and then I'll probably move the H-11 Ultra's to the fogs and use them until they burn out. By then hopefully Philips will have some 55w equivalent LED's out instead of the H16 type (19w) that they currently have.

I was debating on the PIAA Ion Yellows for the fogs, but decided against them as I've never had really good luck with PIAA's and their marketing of 55w-85w output that they do is extremely misleading.

 

[relayer]

I am going to install the Hella Optilux extreme yellow xy H11 bulbs in my fogs, $27 from Amazon.

 

[relayer]

Now the important question.. is it a REAL H11 bulb, or actually an H16. I know the manual says 55 watt (which would make it an actual H11) but just want to see if anyone else has pulled their's before I order 4 H11's.

Stock fog bulb on my US Abarth is a Philips H11 LL 55W (China).

 

[TDPerry]

Stock fog bulb on my US Abarth is a Philips H11 LL 55W (China).

Thanks.. I had already ended up pulling the fender covers and replacing the headlights and had checked the bulbs and confirmed that they are true H11's. Now I'm just going to wait until Philips develops some true H11 LED 55w equivalents and then put them in and run halogen's for now.
I've decided I'm not even going to go with the yellows in the fog as there is no real benefit other than the "look" you get - in fact, if the bulbs are coated you actually will lose some luminosity and I'm all about MORE light.

 

[Abarth124]

Hella 3000k halogen replacements are the way to go IMO.