ARB fog light housing replacement

Hey @paranoid56, I literally just finished the install of my DD. I purchased the DD SS3 fog pods in the pro version. You are correct that the brackets wouldn’t work with the Slee ARB inserts. As user @ardrummer292 pointed out to me a little modification to the bracket proved with the DD kit and .44 cents in a bit bigger washer and she went right in. I ended up tilting the fog light as far forward as I could so it’s angled more towards the road and not at drivers. I feel like I might need to bend the bracket on the Slee insert (where the fog light mounts to) a little up to get more tilt. I’ll be checking this out tonight and evaluate what I need to do. As far as your question, here’s a link that @ardrummer292 sent me regarding his install. I mimicked it as best as possible, results were positive.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/a-non-enthusiasts-tacoma-build.667560/page-3#post-
24169871

 

Big thanks to both @ardrummer292 for his help and guidance with where to find the parts I was after, as well as fielding my questions. Also a thank you to @crashnburn80 for his insight and posting his detailed write ups on the Diode Dynamics lights I went with. This forum is great, and I’ll be posting pictures of the truck soon.

Next on the to do list, is figure out why the ABS and traction control lights are on ‍♂️. In the 8 years I’ve owned this truck, this is the first time any dash lights have come on. It’s got just about 167,000 miles. Not too bad, Toyota’s rock!

 

I’d wai to see where the foglights are pointing before bending the Slee bracket. Method I used to aim my foglights here:
https://www.hardworkingtrucks.com/how-to-align-aftermarket-fog-lights/

 

Nice! I gotta ask, did you parallel your DD bracket with the Slee bracket? I did and the fogs seem like they have a slight angle out to them. It might be how they’re sitting in the Slee housing, but they look like they could be turned in to be more straight on. I’m going to go for a short drive tonight and test them out, and adjust as needed.

Also, I’ve searched on here, but have had no luck in looking for a way to run the fog lights independently (I might be not searching th correct key words). Seems like it should be a possibility to do and still utilize the factory fog toggle.

 

nice, I ended up just making new brackets lol.

 

@gardengnome, getting the fogs properly aimed left-to-right is kinda tricky. The pattern is really wide, and there isn’t much of a hot spot to use as an aiming point. I advise covering one up with cardboard so you can aim them one at a time. The front faces of mine definitely aren’t parallel with the bumper, if that’s what you’re asking.

 

@paranoid56 those look pretty much identical to the DD brackets after they had been modified. Nice job!

 

Hole-lee-mother-effing jeez oh petes, @ardrummer292 those fogs are insane, absolutely insane. Wide beam pattern, bright enough to turn day lights saving forward another hour, and they absolutely over power my head lights! After running the fogs, just at a standstill for 2 minuets then turning them off, I feel like my headlights are just these cute little nightlights for driving and the fogs are now the driving lights haha.

I’ll take that into consideration when getting them aligned left/right. The updown seems ok. But some tweaking to be done. God dude those are crazy bright, and I got the yellows, I can’t even imagine the clear/white lights you have, bonkers man

 

What if I told you your headlights could make those fogs seem just ok, because the headlights overpower the fogs. Follow this:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

 

So @crashnburn80, what you’re saying is I don’t need to worry about any fancy aftermarket headlight housing (I do need to replace the factories however)? I’ve read a bit of this thread before, my concern is driving in the winter conditions in Montana, with the strain on the eyes from the lights hitting the snow. I found that with the factory lights, my eyes were constantly strained under those circumstances. After switching to a LED light called Boslla ( https://www.boslla.com/product/boslla-bullet-h8-9-11-the-worlds-first-4-color-led-headlight) I found that it seemed to help a bunch. The downside however, was that the factory headlight housing was not designed to be used with this light style, and therefore is pissing off other drivers, can’t blame them.

I’d like to continue to use this bulb, if possible only because it’s what I’ve found to work for me. I’ll read more on your suggested thread. I may end up consulting you in the near future about upgrades once I’ve given the thread a thorough read. Let me know what you think of the boslla light, it seems a bit gimmicky I know, but it really has helped, just not always in a positive manner...towards other drivers . Thanks @crashnburn80

 

Bolsa is an awful performing illegitimate and mis-advertised product. In a 2nd Gen reflector it will cause horrific glare to oncoming drivers, far worse than standard LED due to its fundamental design flaws. That product should never be run in reflector headlights on the street, it is a major safety hazard.

Here in post #29 you can see my review in a projector, which eliminates glare but still performance is awful.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/kickstarter-thoughts.579853/page-2#post-19372742

Edit: and to answer your other question, the OEM headlight assemblies are the highest performing units available. Far better than anything aftermarket. They just need to be in good condition. See the headlight thread others have linked for how to get the most out of the OEM headlights.

 

In order to perform the ultimate headlight upgrade, you need OEM headlight housings, upgraded headlight bulbs, and an aftermarket plug-and-play wiring harness. Check @crashnburn80's thread for details. The bulbs I recommended a few posts back have a lower color temperature than most, meaning they appear more yellow and should reduce eye strain. They should also significantly improve the performance of your headlights so that your fogs are less overpowering.

*EDIT*

These bulbs:

 

I’m going to start reading and following @crashnburn80 thread. It would seem a factory headlight unit replacement is in my near future. After I read the thread, I might be coming back with some questions @crashnburn80. Just a heads up.

@ardrummer292 thanks for the suggestion. Like I’ve mentioned before, I feel like a shitty person more and more when I have to run the Boslla headlights, it’s definetly time for that upgrade. Thanks to you both!

 

Good on you for identifying the source of the glare issue and caring enough to fix it. Not enough people realize that such things can cause serious safety issues for yourself and others. A head-on collision with a blinded driver is a very real possibility, one that the ARB may not be able to fully protect against.

 

figured this the right place to ask

what’s the point of spending money on adapter brackets and changing away from stock ARB lights? I understand their halogen fog can burn out and be hard to replace

so I have the lights. Need to wire them. I think the little one is parking and signal. And fog is fog. Better than nothing.

but why upgrade it and to what?
Only one that sounds obviously good is DD Max yellow fog instead.

I’m not sure what changing the little light would do. For example slapping a 2” DD pod in there, to try and function as some sort of non-pillar ditch light. Maybe a flood pattern. If it can even aim that way.

and leave park/signal to the headlights.

I see folks cut holes all over their bumper to put more lights but it seems kind of sketch to give up that metal and safety crash protection for expensive lighting that might not actually do anything

one guy did that and reported the only thing he found actually beneficial was fogs and driving beams. Which, driving beams could simply mount elsewhere on the bumper including the tube bars, without doing any cutting.

TL;DR: what’s the point of messing with it?

 

if you dont use your foglights at all, or have a wish for more lights then yea, its not worth the upgrade. Having used those in the fog i thought they sucked, so i wanted an upgrade. some DD fogs and its amazing. added some ditch lights for offroading and helps see all kinds of things.

but if you arnt needing more light then keep what you got.

 

Nailed it on the head. The stock halogen ARB lights put out a driving pattern, not a fog pattern. Totally inappropriate for foggy conditions.

That’s why people upgrade.

I would recommend a set of DD Elite fog lights in whatever form factor matches the ARB lights best. That way, you can use the stock foglight surrounds and just upgrade the lights themselves. That said, I can’t say for sure which model of DD Elite that would be, so be sure to do some research.

 

even though ARB calls them fogs? Interesting.
Haven’t wired mine up yet so I haven’t seen the output.
Got the halogens to have at least something there and keep it as cheap as possible for now

I’ve heard the ARB LED ones that fit are better and commonly put in, instead of the ARB halogens. Or when they fail.
But idk if those are actual fogs or not either.

maybe one option is retain the ARB slim markers, but put DD fogs




this guy simply put yellow Laminix on his. Looks good but useless if they’re not actually fogs.