Hi one and all. I am planning on installing a rear fog light in the rear bumper (duh!) of my KJ Verada. To ensure the fog light sits flush in the bumper, a hole will have to be cut out of the painted bumper.

Is it possible to cut a hole without damaging the paint (ie. chipping, cracking, etc.) around the cut out? Would a body shop be able to do this? Or am i looking at having to respray the entire rear bumper?

Also, do you guys think the fog light would look better placed in the centre of the bumper (like the Peugeot 206) or offset to the right (like the Hyundai Excel)? Both positions are legal in Victoria (confirmed on the Vicroads website).

definately in the middle of the bumper.

one idea for a factory look (that will require re-painting most of the bumper) is finding a car at the wreckers that has one already, and cut around the section that the light sits in, and have that plastic welded into your bumper for a 100% factory look? unless you already have a light that has a flush-fitting surround?

i'm pretty sure using a nibbler(?) they can cut a hole without damaging the paint, similar to what exhaust shops would do to enlarge a standard cutout

Yes i'm thinking the middle of the bumper too for the placement of the fog light.

The fog light i'm looking at comes with a push fit surround. So all that needs to be done is a rectangular hole needs to be cut out into which the fog light can be push fitted and secured with screws. I will prolly get the fog light surround colour coded as well to match the body colour.

There's definately a way to do it, i've seen someone do it before. A panel beater should be able to do it for you, or at least tell you how its done.

Dremel tool will do the job. Just tape (mask) the bumper, trace the light and cut it.

As MagTech said, I think if you put down tape of some sort and actually cut through the tape, the tape will keep the paint together, stopping it from chipping/flaking. Well, that's the theory, can't say I've tried it though.

And again as MagTech said, but expanding on it, you can get cheap (~$30) dremel-esque rotary tools from Dick Smith or Supercheap, a good investment is also the tool pack from Supercheap, ~$20 gives you a heap of fibre-reinforced cutting tools, grinders, etc. The Dick Smith one comes with a few bits and pieces, but I broke too many of them cutting through my door trims.
So $50 will give you all the tools you need.:D

PS. As that gives you everything you need to do it yourself, why not go for the dual foggies?

PPS. And for god's sake don't turn the bloody things on when you don't need them, always annoying driving behind someone in a Hyundai who has no idea they even have a fog light...:rant:

no one has yet mentioned that it will look like ****, or that if you want an annoying fog light buy a Hyundai excel...

and lastly in melbourne we have about 3-4 days of bad fog a year so why bother?

Thanks guys for the tips :)



PPS. And for god's sake don't turn the bloody things on when you don't need them, always annoying driving behind someone in a Hyundai who has no idea they even have a fog light...:rant:
Don't worry i won't have the rear fog light on when there is no fog. I can't stand Excel drivers who do that to me either, although if there is an Excel driver behind me I can always give them a taste of their own medicine lol



no one has yet mentioned that it will look like ****, or that if you want an annoying fog light buy a Hyundai excel...

and lastly in melbourne we have about 3-4 days of bad fog a year so why bother?
The reason why i want to get a rear fog light is because i'm planning to go to the snow a few times this year and there is also a lot of fog in the areas i drive in.

no one has yet mentioned that it will look like ****, or that if you want an annoying fog light buy a Hyundai excel...

and lastly in melbourne we have about 3-4 days of bad fog a year so why bother?


i dont think it would look that bad really, as the surround will be colour coded, and the car is already that sort of red, so woulndnt stand out as much as it would on black or white etc.

I would fit one on each side, make it look a little more balanced.

why not use a router if its plastic
and the right cutting bit
plus the tape on the bumper idea

The paint wouldn't chip if you use a high speed tool that is also sharp. The holes in the
front bumper of my old KS was done by panel beaters using a hole saw attached to a drill.
They drilled a hole that is about 5mm in diameter smaller that the size I was after and then
used a fine-toothed file with water to file it to the size I was after. You can use tape it up
if you want and then draw the square on it, and then use a hole saw to take out a big
chunk and then use dremel tool to get close the the actual size and then use file or sand-
paper to get to the size you want.

The reason why i want to get a rear fog light is because i'm planning to go to the snow a few times this year and there is also a lot of fog in the areas i drive in.Figured that may have been the case.

as long the bar hasn't been repainted and poorly prepared you should have no problems with paintchipping/cracking when making the hole. just make sure you make a hole smaller than you want and use a dremmel/die grinder to enlarge it carefully. if you're unsure any competent smash shop should be able to it for bugger all $$$.
BTW i reckon you should put one either side for symetry as well.

I vote one on each side too..:)

Ok you guys have convinced me...one on each side it is :cool:

i vote for none at all haha! I don't think Australia has enough fog to need a fog light on your car! But if you insist on having one, I would double check with the appropriate authorities to make sure there's no laws against having two - i'm sure there are reasons why cars only have one on them as factory.

i vote for none at all haha! I don't think Australia has enough fog to need a fog light on your car! But if you insist on having one, I would double check with the appropriate authorities to make sure there's no laws against having two - i'm sure there are reasons why cars only have one on them as factory.

There are plenty of cars with two rear fog lights from factory. Remember the Hyundai Sonata?

ah well.. i stand corrected then! :redface:

my car has 2 from factory... zuki vitara..

What you could do that some cars have from factory is mod your reversing lights. Put a red globe in one of them and wire it so that when in reverse the left white one comes on and when in "fog light mode" the righthand red one comes on. Or even just mod one of the reverse light mirrors with another globe inside it that comes on when you hit the "its too foggy for the car behind to see me" button.

What you could do that some cars have from factory is mod your reversing lights. Put a red globe in one of them and wire it so that when in reverse the left white one comes on and when in "fog light mode" the righthand red one comes on. Or even just mod one of the reverse light mirrors with another globe inside it that comes on when you hit the "its too foggy for the car behind to see me" button.
Hmmm this is a good idea as well, especially since the Vicroads website states that as a minimum only one rear reversing light is required. I have noticed this sort of setup on the Subaru Impreza. An led globe that emits a bright red light should suffice.

Hmmm this is a good idea as well, especially since the Vicroads website states that as a minimum only one rear reversing light is required. I have noticed this sort of setup on the Subaru Impreza. An led globe that emits a bright red light should suffice.
Turns out that a bright led globe does not suffice. Does anyone know of a really bright red wedge base globe that would fit in the reversing light of a KJ Verada? I can't seem to find one anywhere.

Failing that, i think the 2 small round tail lights could be modded to run as rear fog lights only. Anyone know what sort of globe goes in the small round tail lights (cbf going out to check now).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/mohit/Verada/rearfoglight01.jpg

Basically, i've changed my mind now and i'm looking at a rear fog light solution without having to cut up the rear bumper and add additional lights.

Wouldn't having the rear fog light that high up defeat the purpose of it? After all, its not going to cut through under the fog like they're suppose to if its at the top of the tail light.

Wouldn't having the rear fog light that high up defeat the purpose of it? After all, its not going to cut through under the fog like they're suppose to if its at the top of the tail light.
This is true if the fog is really really thick but it will still be brighter than the tail lights. Many European cars have fog lights built into their tail light assemblies. Also, rear fog lights can be used in a heavy downpour as well.

Thats a fair point. If you wanted to you could get some H4 sockets from a magna headlight and fit H4 headlight globes into the tail lights somehow. They'd be bloody bright, but it'd achieve the purpose.

i vote for twin rear foggies, but if you can help it do not cut holes in your cars bumper to mount them!

i think the 'in the tail lights' idea is the best, as the top circle light in that pic really is only a marker of sorts, not the brake light.

could you put a dual fillament globe (like the red stop/brake tails in the larger section) in there, so that those lights come on as normal tail lights, but then push the foggy button, and they go into super bright mode?

could you put a dual fillament globe (like the red stop/brake tails in the larger section) in there, so that those lights come on as normal tail lights, but then push the foggy button, and they go into super bright mode?
Not sure as the only dual filament globes i've seen have a bayonet base. I think the globes in the small circular tail lights have a wedge base but i won't be 100% sure until i pull it out and have a look. I don't think i've ever seen dual filament wedge base globes?

Not sure as the only dual filament globes i've seen have a bayonet base. I think the globes in the small circular tail lights have a wedge base but i won't be 100% sure until i pull it out and have a look. I don't think i've ever seen dual filament wedge base globes?
Ok, i just pulled out one of the tail light assemblies for a closer look. The small circular tail light is lit up by a small 5W wedge base globe. The reversing lights in the boot lid have always looked pretty bright so i pulled out a globe from one of them and it turned out to be a medium 18W wedge base globe. It fit perfectly in the socket of the small circular tail light and obviously was a lot brighter.

So i should be able to get a medium 21W wedge base globe which i've seen before and this should be plenty bright to work as a rear fog light. All i'll have to do is get it wired up to an illuminated rocker switch in the cabin.

Oh, and now i have seen a dual filament wedge base globe...it's used to light up the larger circular tail light on the Rada.

Hmmm this is a good idea as well, especially since the Vicroads website states that as a minimum only one rear reversing light is required. I have noticed this sort of setup on the Subaru Impreza. An led globe that emits a bright red light should suffice.


the impreza rear looks like crap IMO, one red circle and one clear one in the same spot on the tail lights :nuts: looks cheap i reckon.

Full stealth FTW, failing that; Symetry

my 2c

Kieran

Full stealth FTW, failing that; Symetry
Going for both by using the small circular tail lights on both sides :D