Lighting Help needed on my Gen III Trim V

I tried to post a link to a thread I thought would help you but since I am a newbie too I am unable. It gave me an error that I had to make 5 posts or more before it would let me post URLs. So here it is the long way ...

priuschat.com
forums
gen-iii-2010-prius-accessories-modifications
63356-replaced-turn-signals-fog-lights-high-beams-parking-lights-rear-license-plate-bulbs-29
.html

I had saved it because I was looking to do the same thing. There may be others as well but this should get you/us started.

 

Someone has recommended WLED-xHP5 from superbrightled.com awhile back. Unlike those cheap knock off brands from eBay that easily overheat & mass up your lens. Little bit pricey but well worth it!

 

I'm not sure what color temp the Prius's LED headlights are. Legally they're suppose to be 4300K but compared to a friend's TSX factory HIDs which also suppose to be 4300K, the Prius's LED is whiter.
What's the purpose of you wanting LED fog lights? Is it to match the same type of lights as the headlight? Currently almost all LED replacement driving lights are not bright enough to enhance visibility from the driver's seat because they're only about 50 to 150 lumens. It looks cool from the outside but it's just not bright enough for the driver to tell any difference. Hell, the stock fog lights are barely bright enough for me to tell that they're on. Also pretty much all LED driving lights are about 6000K which will be blue compared to the LED headlights. There are many members here that are not satisfy with their LED fog light replacements. Do you only care about the colors or do you want both color and LEDs because the headlights are LEDs? What about visibility from the driver's point of view? If you care about the color and driver visibility then you should consider HID replacements instead of LED replacements. There's also another alternative. If you want the simplicity of just popping in a halogen bulb but still have the color to match the LED headlights and the brightness of HIDs, you should consider modding an H9 bulb to fit the stock H11 socket. The H11 bulb is 55W and about 1350 lumens. A typical headlight is about 1500 lumens and also at 55W. 35W HID bulb at 4300K is about 2900 lumens give or take. H9 bulb is 65 watts and about 2100-2300 lumens. There are no LED lights that's bright enough to rival HIDs on the market right now that is plug and play. It requires massive heatsinks and it looks like this. 1PCS HIGHPOWER 20WATT WHITE STAR LED 1200 LUMEN 12V USE - eBay (item 290374610819 end time Feb-19-11 09:07:07 PST)
The only LEDs on the market that come close is this one uses a Cree Q5 4 Chip LED. Cree Q5 4 Chip LED at high power is rated at between 200 to 300 lumens. I'm sure you can mod a 7443 bulb to fit an H11 hole.
Super Bright LED Reverse Light Honda Accord Crosstour - eBay (item 300519582164 end time Feb-25-11 19:06:11 PST)
Good luck with your mod and let me know how it turns out.

 

I replaced all the exterior bulbs (except LEDs)--info in this thread:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-parking-lights-rear-license-plate-bulbs.html

I used 4000K fog bulbs, which match the LED headlights very well. My guess is the LEDs are ~4300K.

 

If you swap with HID bulbs, you'll can probably get close with 4300K

 

That's my impression too. I drove a Pilot with fogs: much better peripheral and foreground lighting. By comparison, with our Prius Touring (same fogs as US V model), there is very little difference. I can tell they're on, on a dark road away from street lights. Just...

I think their main purpose is to look better than the plastic blanks.

 

I used mine this morning for the first time since install, was pretty foggy near the creek I drive by. The fog lights didn't do anything for distance, but they definitely widened the light beam significantly around the front of the car, kind of like a bright arc out 50 - 75 feet or so, in the fog. Seemed a bit more pronounced than just turning them on at night for testing. In super dense fog probably this is good, otherwise dims/brights would be fine...the fogs aren't driving lights.