BRZ Review/Install Guide for XML2 LED fog lights from Diode Dynamics
 

I really didn't like how orange and dim the stock fog lights are from Subaru, so thought I'd upgrade them to LEDs. After some research, seems like Diode Dynamics had the best reputation around here, and they answered my question really fast, I bought in on a pair of their new XML2 6000K LEDs. Review below~

I am a newbie when it comes to modding cars, so when I say this is easy to do, this is SUPER easy for ANYONE to do! Thought I'd include some photos of my journey in case it helps others.

First some product shots, I thought it was pretty neatly packaged, and safe:

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_001.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_002.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_003.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_004.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_005.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_006.jpg

To install, just turn the wheels in so you have room to work with:

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_007.jpg

You want to expose these tab, just lightly turn counter-clock wise and it should pop out. Then just pull them out with your fingers. (Washing your car first will make the installation a bit cleaner, ha ha):

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_008.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_009.jpg

Use some force to pry open the cover, find this white cable to the fog bulb, disconnect it, then press the top and bottom of the bulb harness to take it out:

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_010.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_011.jpg

Put the XML2 LEDs back in, connect the wires (look for the notches in the harness for polarity), and since the wires were so long now, I just zip tied it to a tab with a hole in it.

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_015.jpg

Even with the ballast in the back, it wasn't touching anything, plenty of room to work with:

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_016.jpg

Then here are some before/after comparison, and other random shots of the LED swap:

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_012.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_013.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_014.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_017.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_018.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_019.jpg

Shots below are taken with the iPhone instead for quick shots:

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_020.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_021.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_022.jpg

http://4honorphoto.com/files/DD_fogs...d_fogs_023.jpg

Pro:
- Quality made
- Easy to install
- Bright
- I got the 6000K version, but they have 4300K and 5000K to choose from
- Light spread is wide, so you see more.
- My car is super sexy now! :D

Con:
- Cost more than regular dimmer LEDs
- Brighter probably means worse in actual foggy condition, but we rarely get fog here
- Could blind on-coming drivers, but then it's really low to the ground
- The factory HIDs are 4300K I think, so these LEDs make them look orange. So plan on spending another $60 to change the HID bulbs to matching 6000K temperature.

Pro on DD:
- Web site is easy to find/use/buy things
- Fast reply to e-mails
- Incentives such as Diode Points, used to redeem for money on future purchase
- Quick shipping

Conclusion: If you got the money, these XML2's are worth it. I would buy again if I had other fogs to replace~

Hope this post helps!

Looks good!

I wish they made yellow LED fogs. Bummer it's just 4300, 5000, and 6000k.

edit: never mind they totally do

They actually do: http://www.diodedynamics.com/store/l...ight-leds-pair

I had thought they just had the yellow ones in the dimmer LEDs, but apparently XML2 option is available too. I'd send them an e-mail to ask.

Oh, they also have the 3000K in HID fogs for $30 more. I just didn't want to mess with all the extra wiring and stuff, so LED was super easy/quick mod.

http://www.diodedynamics.com/images/...s_w_y_3pic.gif

The XP80 is offered in Yellow :thumbup:

Nick C.

Nick,

Any front shots? The glare looks pretty gnarly. I'm doing a bixenon retrofit, and I'd like to run these in the factory high beam location as DRL's with another pair as fogs in the bumper, but I hope it's not too blinding to oncoming traffic. Guess it's not a big deal because I won't be daily driving the car, but more things for cops to pull me over for is never a good thing.

Thanks,

James

Nice writeup.

One word of warning, that zip tie is a bad idea in its current location. If you ever need to pull the front bumper off, you will be putting all the stress on the fog light bulbs/wiring. If you feel that the extra wiring is in danger of snagging just zip tie a loop in the wiring itself.

Indeed. If someone came down the road at me in my truck with those fogs on I would want to run them into the guardrail, they look worse than high beams.

I just looked at their webpage. I thought the XP80 were a step above the XLM2, but it's the other way around. That means that the XLM2's are even brighter than the animated image above??? That isn't at all what the OP's pictures show. In that animated image the fogs are totally overpowering the headlights, you can't even see the cutoff anymore. If that is just fog lights in each picture why does stock have a cutoff and the led's don't?

Hey toast, thanks for the zip tie advice. I don't plan on taking off the front bumper any time soon, so I guess I am ok for now. This is just to show how much I have modded cars, haha!

As for running people over in your truck, I don't think these LEDs are that bright and high above the ground to blind anyone. I always get blinded by those high trucks/SUVs because the 86 is so low, even below their light cut off.

And for the brightness, XML2 > XP80. I am not sure that little animation is showing the lights on an 86, probably another car. But I did notice that maybe because the stock halogen fogs are dim, they don't seem like the spread is a lot. The XML2s are really bright, so all the sudden seems like the whole scene is lit.

I am changing my backup lights to the XP80's at the end of this month, I will do another write up on that and see if I can test the difference.

Yeah, in your pics I don't see any light above the cutoff line of the headlights, so these seem like a good upgrade. That DD pic makes it look like you would blind oncoming drivers.

As far as maintaining stock cutoff, it all depends on the housing they are installed in. Most newer style housings still maintain pretty good cutoff, such as the BRZ, shown in OP's pics. For the animated picture we posted, that's a Jeep, which uses pretty basic housings, and indeed, you get some extra glare up top.

This is the primary reason we do not recommend these bulbs for low beam or high beam. You would not want to install LEDs of any type of low beam or high beam, as they would create an insane amount of glare as they are higher-mounted and pointed straight ahead. Unfortunately, there are quite a few sellers who sell and recommend them for those applications. The focal point and actual output of an LED will never be the same as a standard bulb. For fog lights, you usually have them low, pointed down, so glare is not nearly as much of a concern. It's also an auxiliary light, not a critical component such as your low beam, so you can always simply turn them off. That's our reasoning behind offering them for fog or auxiliary applications only.

I need some help regarding these fogs. Just received them last week. Tried to install them during the weekend but the notches dont line up with the plugs compared to the OE bulb. Am I doing something wrong?

Haven't purchased these yet, but plan to eventually get the yellow XML2. Did you go yellow?

I've had these fog lights installed for over a year now, and I've been very happy with them. The installation was very easy, straight-forward, plug-and-play.

You'll probably have to contact Didoe Dynamics if you're having an issue. I have the Diode Dynamics fog light kit for my FR-S, which utilizes an H11 bulb - IIRC the OEM fog light kit utilizes a different bulb size? I believe the XML2 bulbs only come in an H11 sizing, but I could be wrong as it's been awhile since I purchased mine - but that is what mine are, and therefore they might not be compatible with your OEM kit.

@Diode Dynamics can you confirm if there are any fitment issues on the FR-S or any problems with cutoff on the stock housing.

What is the color temp on the yellow version?

Thanks.

I just installed these in yellow!
 

These were super easy to install and they are VERY bright. The ones I purchased are yellow. I had drunk-ordered them and wasn't sure if they would be worth the $120 but the quality is outstanding. Thanks @Diode Dynamics for a great product. I'll be purchasing the kit to replace interior lights.

I would suggest that when installing, be careful with the plastic clips on the bulb housing. On one of my lights one of the clips broke so only one clip is holding it in. I was afraid this wouldn't be good enough but after hours of spirited driving they're holding just fine.

http://i.imgur.com/T3DU3u0.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/BxTyJ0B.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Snqm5On.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1yZsPKc.jpg

So those are the yellow LEDs? The pictures and comments for the yellow made it seem like a very green light. In your photos it looks pretty pale yellow though. Thanks for posting!

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

Yup! Those are the yellows and they definitely look yellow. Really the pictures don't do justice to how bright these are. They look great.

Don't mean to bring back a dead thread but I'm not really digging the yellow LEDs because they look greenish. I want that GOLD yellow JDM look.

Could I just grab a pair of 5K the pure white one and put a tint on them to make it as gold yellow as possible? Has anyone tried that?

It's going to be tough to get a perfect yellow from an LED, you'd have to tint the lens yellow then use a bright 5k white one .

I doubt that an overlay on it's own would produce the color that you're seeking, and it may interfere with the light output.

If you want a golden 'JDM' look, then you'll probably want to purchase a JDM bulb; if you're a quantity over quality type of person, then you'll probably need to go with another solution such as the film you suggested, as importing a product can be expensive.

Before I changed the look of my lighting, I also wanted a brilliant golden fog light bulb. I ended up finding a Japanese brand that seemed to be what I wanted, and I was able to order it through the help of Japanparts as they are willing to make a purchase for you (through a Japanese website, shop, etc - you provide them with the link of the exact item - they charge a small fee for this service, and will do international shipping; the caveat being that if anything is wrong, defective, or undesirable about the item - they can't help you as they are really just facilitating the purchasing process for you.)

Here is an image of the exact product I bought - http://i.imgur.com/qXd9rDh.jpg

Here is what it looked like on my car when I had them installed -

http://i.imgur.com/Hhx7jpJ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/i2pc0LO.jpg

They were very good bulbs and I was very happy with them, despite the fact that they ended up being a bit expensive. This brand in particular even included a tiny allen key that allowed you to rotate the LED for optimal light output, instead of the being stuck with the LED chips on the side, sitting at a random angle inside of the fog light housing (this was something that always bothered me about the Diode Dynamics bulbs that later switched to.)

So yes - you do have options to achieve the look that you want, if it's worth it to you (quality will vary from brand to brand, but for reference the bulbs that I had were rated at 2500K.)

Damn thats EXACTLY the color I want....

The only other option I looked at but its very expensive because the BRZ's fog light housing needs to be changed to glass.

Are the 3000K HID conversion, but I honestly don't know how it would work since the bulbs are PSX24W.....would I need a PSX24W to H11 converter/adaptor or something

The same company (Junack) also makes that same bulb in a PSX24W - (here is a pic for reference - http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minka...t=300133d89af8)

I just purchased the H11 version because I had the Diode Dynamics fog light kit, which utilizes an H11 bulb instead of the standard PSX24W - should be plug and play.

you might also be interested in the TRS fog lights: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/mo...1#.VzlMJWgrKHs

add $15 for the yellow tint. it's the whole housing so you'll get a pretty nice light output since the lens are made for the bulb.

We offer a direct replacement LED housing for the BRZ as well:

http://www.diodedynamics.com/images/...l_6041-2_w.jpg

Nick C.

Does th DRL on the brz turn off the moment you turn on the fog light ?

Not if you install our Always-On Module for the BRZ :D

Nick C.

Hate to bring this thread back from the dead but I have this same question. Plugs don't match, what am I doing wrong?

Hmm... I have a 2014 BRZ, could they have updated the plugs in the later models?

Shoot our team an email, we will make sure you are taken care of: contact@diodedynamics.com

Nick C.