[Root]

Just run the mock ups!

 

[centerpunch]

Note that the paper mockup shows the PIAA lights at the level of the bumper bar behind the grille, so they will likely have to stick out a bit if they have any depth to them. There's a bit of foam in front of the beam that might give some more room if you cut it away, but I did not measure it's depth.

The lights are about 3.6" deep, it looks to me like they will just barely fit after removing a chunk of the foam. I would certainly measure in detail before cutting the grill.

Are you planning on getting these extra lights because the original equipment lights don't do a good enough job, or are you doing it more for appearance?

I would have thought the title of this thread would make that answer obvious lol.

I haven't driven much at night, but the lights seem ok.

I just like personalizing my cars a bit (even moved the rear GR emblem!), and certainly wouldn't add anything fake, so if I add lights, they have to work!

 

[snowrx]

@GRJohnny777 Driving lights serve a different function than Fog lights. The OEM are fogs, and give a wide flat low power beam that lights up a little bit of the road, and due to US regulations only work with your low beams.
Driving lights are usually used to supplement your High beams and have a beam with more throw down the road to give you better visibility at speed.
On the GRC as you flip the OEM Fogs on and off, you can hardly notice the difference in lit area. I consider them cosmetic add-ons.

 

[centerpunch]

Fyi these are the 5.2" diameter lights I'm considering, the PIAA LP550.

All their photos show the lights with the fugly snap-on black grill, I actually had to search to find a pic of the lights without that installed.

PIAA | PIAA LP550 LED White Driving Beam Kit #5572

#5572 - PIAA LP550 LED White Driving Beam Kit

www.piaa.com

https://norgeslysas-i05.mycdn.no/mysimgprod/norgeslysas_mystore_no/images/52198_PIAA_Japan_PIAA_LP550_LED___Sett_1.jpg/w600h600.jpg

They also make 3.5" ones, the LP530, which would probably fit better, but seem too small to me. That size is available in driving or fog (white or yellow), I guess I might upgrade the oem fogs to those though.

PIAA Round LED Driving and Fog Lights

LP Series Round LED Driving and Fog Lights

www.piaa.com

 

[GR_Johnny777]

@GRJohnny777 Driving lights serve a different function than Fog lights. The OEM are fogs, and give a wide flat low power beam that lights up a little bit of the road, and due to US regulations only work with your low beams.
Driving lights are usually used to supplement your High beams and have a beam with more throw down the road to give you better visibility at speed.
On the GRC as you flip the OEM Fogs on and off, you can hardly notice the difference in lit area. I consider them cosmetic add-ons.

Thanks, and yes I know all about "driving lights vs fog lights."
I added Piaa driving lights to one of my vehicles because the stock lights just didn't give me enough lighting for Dark twisty Canyon roads.
Every cars lighting is different, my 2005 Boxster had HID's which were quite good, although they would have been much better if they swiveled with the steering, while my Veloster N had I believe LED's, but they were not very good, in comparison to other cars I've owned.

 

[snowrx]

I went looking for electrical or lighting spec's for the PIAA lights, and curiously found none. I did find this quote (typo?) in the FAQ's under bulb failures "Anything over 13.6 volts would be considered a spike". I don't think any of my vehicles do an initial charge after a start at less than 14.x volts before tapering off to a float voltage. I hope they don't think their lights are that delicate!

 

[centerpunch]

My guess it that's just boilerplate for their halogen bulbs as an excuse not to replace burnt-out ones.

Obviously, the LED lights have built-in power supplies that reduce the 12-15 volts from the car to what the LEDs need.

 

[landyman71]

See, I’m looking to put massive rally lights à la Groupe B on my car. And yes they will be entirely unnecessary

 

[Squatting Pigeon]

I wonder if some Baja Designs S1 pods would tuck in there nicely without cutting anything 🤔

 

[JimsGarageToys]

I personally have no problem cutting into the black grill plastic to do a nice integrated light upgrade. That grill will certainly be a readily available replacement part if you ever wanted to go back to stock.

Here are a few more versions, and a closeup of the grille. 5.75 is a standard headlight size, used on many older cars with 4 headlights.

JW Speaker makes some very high quality lights in many sizes. Not cheap though. Products – J.W. Speaker
.

View attachment 5398

View attachment 5399 View attachment 5400 View attachment 5401

I really like the 4" size, 3.5" after that. It would be so cool to see an aftermarket grill be available with lights like the old VW Rabbit had available. My buddy had one and I loved that look. I'm not sure about cutting up the OEM grill as it might look bad.

 

[snowrx]

I'm kind of wishing I had gone for the pricy Max version of the SS3's. ( At $500 maybe call it the $$3?)The Pro's do some good fill, but I'm still wanting more light and throw for dark highways. Any other added option now will probably cost as much as the Max upgrade would have initially.
I was thinking the Spot optic would give me a distracting hotspot, but I might swap one lens and see if it helps.

 

[black86]

I wonder if some Baja Designs S1 pods would tuck in there nicely without cutting anything 🤔

all that work for 2320 lumens... probably same output as stock 😅

 

[Squatting Pigeon]

all that work for 2320 lumens... probably same output as stock 😅

But…. The bro points…. 🥲

 

[Cooper276]

View attachment 5441

I'm a big fan of lights

Did you build or have a shop build the mounts for the lights? That setup hits good.

 

[snowrx]

So I finally went back and incorporated the factory fog light switch. I put in another diode protected tap to the wires at the steering column switch; this time to the light grey (white?) wire shown here:

If you're not sure which wire, its the one that goes from 5 volts to zero when the column fog light switch is on. Same deal as the high beam switching, the ECU sends 5v to the switch, which grounds that output when the switch is in the on position (pulls it to ground).

I ran a wire from this tap up to the front of the car and used it on the coil of another relay. The other side of the coil is fed from the headlight unit power wire, so when the switch is on, the new relay passes headlight power to the drive lights power relay coil, turning on the lights if the high beam switch is on. There's probably a simpler way to wire up the OEM switches for the CAN controlled lights, but this worked for me. (Pardon the Paint graphics, I'm a Mechanic)

I wanted switched high-beam-only operation of some bright driving lights. If you're just trying to wire fogs, you could just snip the fog switch wire and use the switch side to ground a relay coil.

 

[snowrx]

I did throw a spot lens on the drivers side later, and it did not give me a noticeable hotspot when used with the driving lens on the passenger side. But, the spot lens may not be DOT (SAE?) approved for highway use.
My main complaint on this setup is that the lights are so close to the ground, wish there was a clean place to mount them higher.

 

[wheelhaus]

I did throw a spot lens on the drivers side later, and it did not give me a noticeable hotspot when used with the driving lens on the passenger side. But, the spot lens may not be DOT (SAE?) approved for highway use.

Considering how 1 out of every 5 cars on the road just drives with their high beams on on all the time now, I doubt it would ever be enforced.

 

[JimsGarageToys]

So I finally went back and incorporated the factory fog light switch. I put in another diode protected tap to the wires at the steering column switch; this time to the light grey (white?) wire shown here:
View attachment 22624

If you're not sure which wire, its the one that goes from 5 volts to zero when the column fog light switch is on. Same deal as the high beam switching, the ECU sends 5v to the switch, which grounds that output when the switch is in the on position (pulls it to ground).

I ran a wire from this tap up to the front of the car and used it on the coil of another relay. The other side of the coil is fed from the headlight unit power wire, so when the switch is on, the new relay passes headlight power to the drive lights power relay coil, turning on the lights if the high beam switch is on. There's probably a simpler way to wire up the OEM switches for the CAN controlled lights, but this worked for me. (Pardon the Paint graphics, I'm a Mechanic)
View attachment 22635
I wanted switched high-beam-only operation of some bright driving lights. If you're just trying to wire fogs, you could just snip the fog switch wire and use the switch side to ground a relay coil.

On my 2009 Corolla S I was able to to have independent fog light control through the factory switch on the stalk. Someone figured out which wire to cut or de-pin that allowed this to occur. I'm sure there is a way to do the same thing on the GRC but nobody has chimed in with the solution.

You seem to know a lot about the fog light wiring doing this mode, do you know which wire would be the key?

 

[JimsGarageToys]

They're fugly, but I adore the look of the body-molded light pods:

View attachment 5494

Looking back through this thread and I'm surprised that nobody has designed a grill that would accommodate some larger light choices or an additional set of lights. Then I saw this picture and it's exactly what a friend of mine did to his 2010 Corolla for his drive from Key West, FL to Alaska. It's insane driving it with those lights!

 

[DaytonGR]

Looking back through this thread and I'm surprised that nobody has designed a grill that would accommodate some larger light choices or an additional set of lights. Then I saw this picture and it's exactly what a friend of mine did to his 2010 Corolla for his drive from Key West, FL to Alaska. It's insane driving it with those lights!

Reminds me of my dad's rally car from the 70s/80s. 1974 Opel Manta Rallye where among other things he added 4 big Cibie lights on the angle iron bumper he made, plus replaced all 4 regular bulbs with Cibie bulbs. That setup turned night into day.