Has anyone installed the optional fog lights on their tsx? i went to the dealer for an estimate and it would cost $500 to put fog lights on. that's hella expensive. do you think its worth putting fogs on the car? i had them in my 6th gen accord, but i didn't have xenons.

 

$500???????????

Geese, that seems really steep, especially since you can buy them here http://www.hondacuraworld.com/Mercha...gory_Code=ATSX for prob. $300 shipped, if your too intimidated to install them yourself, you might see what a local custom shop would charge, I'd think it would be less than $200....

Is this from the same dealership you purchased your car from? If so, wow sounds like they are trying to stick it to you, might talk to your salesman to see if he can cut you a deal...

As for needing them, I had them thrown in when I bought my RSX, I use them all the time, granted I do not have H.I.D.'s, I think I still would have opted for them, they sure light up the pavement right in front of the car very well, which is very usefull to me since my RSX is lowered and since most of the roads here in Oklahoma are in very poor condition...

 

My Euro Accord has them from the factory and they work very well (especially in fog !)

I remember wanting to fit them to my 5th Gen Prelude and they worked out real expensive.

Ernie
www.eazi-k.com/car

 

I paid $510 for mine (list price.)



I really like how they look.

 

Think they cost me about $256 plus an afternoon and less than $20 for the fasteners, etc. that I broke. Was the $500 estimate just for labor? If so, it seems awfully high. I installed them because we live near the ocean, and it sometimes gets very foggy. They do seem to throw some more light to the sides vs. the Xenons, but if we didn't have as much fog as we do I wouldn't have bothered.

 

I bought them with the car since I like the way fogs light up the road directly in front of you. But the xenons do this just fine, so in retrospect I might not have gotten them (though I like the look). The fogs themselves are not xenon and don't have that blue tinge, which irritates me for some reason. I think fogs in most HID-equipped cars have the same issue.

 

That's the average cost of foglights from a dealer. The question is do you need them or do you want them?

I got them on mine because I thought they looked good. We also get lots of fog in the fall and spring because of the many large rivers and man made lakes in this area. I watched the service tech install mine. It took him about 3 hours. I wouldn't want to do it myself but I have respect for the few on this site who did.

Negociate

 

still thinking about putting fog lights, not sure yet. i noticed on the new TL there are no holes on the bottom area so i don't think you could put fog lights on that car.

 

They are in the headlamps. It's a standard, integrated feature.

 

I wish they also thought of putting the fog lights like that in the TL on the Tsx.

 

Fog lights are meant to be very close to the ground to prevent glare, putting them in the headlamp housing is actually a very dumb idea.

 

You dont seriously think that when they have the fog lights in the headlights that they are pointed out like headlights do you?

Not sure how honda savy you are, but the first gen. legends have them in the headlight area, so do some 2nd gen integra's, oh and I'm pretty sure the vigors did, and if I'm thinking correctly, so did the 1st gen tl. Surely honda/acura and the other car manufacture's that have placed them in the headlight area would have thought about how "dumb" that would be..........

If you put them in the headlights, and point them down at the ground, like most foglights are, then you havent cluttered up the front of the car with a bunch of lights all over the place.......

Check out some slightly older lexus' too, 1st gen GS I think and that last gen LS, I'm pretty sure had them in the headlights...

That being said, I personally think they look better in the lower part of the bumper, I personally dont like them being in the headlights, or in the headlight row, but they do work when placed up in the headlights, maybe not as well if it were done on an SUV or a truck, but works just fine on most cars.........

 

I believe the Mazda6 has these integrated fog lamps as well, but you can still get the separate kind I don't know where I got that impression from.

 

It's not a matter of which direction they point, it's the volume of space being illuminated by the lights. The more fog being lit up by the foglights the worse ground visibility you will get. Have you ever driven in dense fog or snow on mountain roads?

 

And FYI, manufacturers really don't care how foglights perform, and most of the consumers don't care either. People just like more lights and think that they look good.

 

Its not a matter of which direction the fog lights point???????

So if I were to adjust my foglights to point up on my Rsx, then they would illuminate the ground just as well as if they were aimed properly? That just doesnt seem to sound right. I live in Oklahoma, so no mountain fog here, but we do get some really dense fog every now and then, I'm sure though that weather the fog lights are in the headlights poiinting somewhat down, or if they are towards the bottom of the bumper pointing out, that your visibility would be increased by using either system, if not, why would they engineer/design the headlights with the fog lights in them, you cant tell me that Honda/Acura follows form before function, we all know thats not true, but personally I like somewhat understated vehicles...

I do agree with you though, that I do like the look of the fog lights being down in the bottom of the bumper and I somewhat agree that they may preform better. How much better though being maybe 6 inches lower than if they were integrated in the headlights? I'm not sure they are even that much lower on my Rsx, so I really dont think I'd be able to tell the difference, maybe someone could on a different car, but I'm not sure how much lower they'd be on the Tsx, since my GF hasnt bought one yet. But some automanufacture's prob. design the car to integrate the fog lights into the headlights to make the front look less cluttered, which actually makes some sense, I'm sure not everyone likes the down low in the bumper like you and I do....

I think we've gotten off topic here, but maybe we understand each other a little better now...

 

It does not matter because all foglights point down. The difference is that by putting them in the headlamp housing, you light up about twice as much fog, so it's about half as effective.

When you are driving at night in dense fog, on roads where the only light you will ever see is your own, you will know what I mean. The fog that is lit up is not transparent.

Well, it's not really like that. Most of the people do not really care about situations like that, because they've never been in one. The foglights will be functioning, just not as well as they could be.

Oh BTW, you can tell most modern foglights are only for looks as they are turned on along with the rest of the lights.

 

Has anyone ever tried to adjust the factory foglamps? I think my dealer adjusted them too much into the ground.
In the factory install manual, Page 9 it shows an adjustment screw.
http://www.handa-accessories.com/tsx/08V31.pdf

I cant find this screw?

2004 Acura TSX/5AT/NAV/FOGS/CASS/Tint/Spoiler
CarbonGrayPearl / Quartz #28904 Since 6/18/04

 

Here's the detail from the install manual.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I keep thinking about adding them just because I like the look.. however I think if i do I will see how much it would be to have the housings painted to match...

 

Search this site for a thread title with "Bosch" in it.

I added yellow fogs and white drivers (model "Compact 100") and the total cost of components was about the same as the cheapest price you'll pay for the Acura OEM set. Unlike the OEM fogs, though, I have independent circuits -- meaning I can put either set on, regardless of the parking lights' or low beams' status. And, also unlike the OEM fog set, I have lights that really illuminate a roadway... easily doubling the HID output.

However... some people here didn't care for the look of my TSX. Visit http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/612737 and judge for yourself. (Our objective was to be able to see better, not "to-be-seen".)

(PS -- if I'd used an outside shop to install these for me, I was quoted two hours at $60. per. You don't need to remove the plastic front bumper but you will want to loosen the grill, and you'll need to be able to drill up into the steel bumper.)

 

yeah installed them myself. it was kind of a pain in the ass, but not too difficult. it took me about 5 hours or so. paid about $260 for the kit off ebay (id: curtis476). well worth my time on looks alone. not sure if it's worth over $500 unless you plan on using them a lot though. i was told about 4-5 hours at about $75-80/hr for mine. see if you can get the service manager to give you warranty rates if at all possible.

sorry jginnane, you've got yourself an english tsx. it's the teeth...... but it looks like you'll be ready for rallying soon. imagine that, a rally tsx. sweet......

 

i had fogs put on mine by the dealership...i had the carget net installed at the same time and it was around $600 for both

 

Five hours is because of the steering column switch, right? Doing the independent thing with a Hella heavy-duty relay is a lot faster. And we had discretion on where to put the switches (right next to the VSA toggle).

Austin Powers: "Yeah Baby Yeah!!! "

Nah. Doing that in a 4-banger -- albeit the most refined, mannered one I've ever driven -- ranks somewhere down in Dante's 8th circle.

Tell you where it's cool. We were coming home on the Parkway a few nights ago, about 3am, and they have these $%^& toll booths every 10 miles or so. Even with EZ-Pass, you have to go through the gate at 15mph. Then everyone gets right back up to 75mph, and more experienced drivers use timing and strategic maneuvers around these booths to move up the string of cars (in the passing lane).

So when you pull out and zap on the drivers, you don't really need to blip your brights at the slow cars in front of you. They see a giant Xray-image of their heads projected on a roadsign 2000 feet away, and figure it's time to move over to the cattle lane. And you've still got highbeams in reserve, should anyone prove truculent. (Always wanted to say that word.

Since the Acura OEM fogs as they sell them are pretty worthless for fog, their stated purpose, I'd suggest you research putting a strobe capacitor inline so you can annoy the heck out of someone in front of you. Or I suppose you could be like the vast majority of people who have them, and just do that poseur thing. :P

 

hond.com has them for $280. It took me less than 2hrs to install. The install was pretty easy. Just follow the installation instructions and you'll be fine.

 

woah.......I guess I can't post hondac__raworld.com

 

Can you have your fogs on without the headlights, say only with the parking lights on?

 

I would recommend getting the fog lights. I find the additional light pattern really compliments the HID. I perfer to travel the back/country roads. As well, I think fog lights are like sunroofs. Once you had them, its tough to go without.
I paid about $CDN 600 for mine (dealer installation included in the price).
At first, I thought the price was really steep.
But, after learning about the quality of the kit and the amount of work that goes into the install, the price started to look a whole lot more reasonable. Everything about the kit is OEM quality such as the wiring harness, the light switch, etc. The installation is quite involved; something that's beyond my abilities. Its no Autozone special.
You might still think the price is steep but I was willing to pay a little extra for the factory fit, finish and look. They look and work great. No complaints.
Hope this helps.

 

For those of you haven't take delivery of your TSX. Just bargain with the dealer, $500 for fog lights just doesn't make any sense. Tell them to throw it on for free, or just get up and walk.

 

The instructions for the Acura OEM kit require your low beams to be on ... defeating any possible benefit they might have in certain fog conditions. (Also, the OEM fogs go off when you put on the high beams. I think this part is the law.)

By routing my fogs and driving lights with a Hella wiring harness independent of the Acura "official" way, I'm not constrained. I can leave my drivers on all day if I like -- sort of super-powered daytime running lights. Replacement bulbs are only seven bucks apiece and you can swap them in about ten seconds, not that I think they'll last any less time than regular H-3 bulbs anywhere.

Practically speaking, the Bosch drivers are just too powerful to leave on when there's any traffic around you, day or night. The Bosch fogs have a diffused pattern, so they're safer -- you won't blind people.

In order for the Acura fogs to be this powerful, they'd have to be mounted to a metal part of the unibody, rather than clipped to the plastic bumper. (This would be so you could aim/focus them more precisely.)