Danny17
Senior Member
- Joined
- May 26, 2016
- Threads
- 12
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- Location
- Toronto
- Vehicle(s)
- 2016 CIVIC EX
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- #1
So we recently traded in our 16 Civic Sedan EX for a 2020 Civic Hatchback Sport because we wanted something a bit more utility oriented but didn't want to change to a totally different model vehicle. We absolutely love it, and the extra space totally goes a long way.
When we bought the 16 civic one of the things I immediately did was change out those ugly dim stock bulbs for a better aftermarket solution. I had been using HIDs up until earlier this year when one of my ballasts died and I decided to try out the LED market.
https://www.civicx.com/forum/thread...r-x2-laxmas-l2-downgraded-from-55w-hid.46973/
The thread above if you want to read it discussed my experience with Sealight's Xenower X2 bulbs and Laxmas L2 bulbs. TDLR The X2s turned out to be pretty good, with robust build quality, and delivering like 80-85% of the performance my 55W HID kit gave me without the hassle of ballasts and all that stuff.
So naturally when we got the 2020 Hatchback sport I immediately swapped out the lowbeams for the Xenower X2s. However this vehicle also has fog lights so I was even more excited to add some more to the visual look of my vehicle by changing out the fogs to LEDs as well. I did have my old pair of laxmas L2s still kicking around and was going to originally use those for the fog lights however (and good thing I searched too) I read quite a lot of concerning posts on this forum regarding people who had upgraded their fog lights to LEDs and encountering condensation in their housings. The problem came down to the fact that a lot of folks were using LEDs that had fans attached to them to cool down the bulbs. Only problem with this is that with the bulbs sitting so low, moisture can easily accumulate in the housing thanks to the fan sucking it all up and blowing it towards the bulbs and inner housings. Plus there was also the concern about putting higher wattage H11 bulbs when I should be using the lower wattage H8s so as to not damage the factory wiring.
So I decided to get H8 version of the Laxmas L2s which operate at a much lower voltage and more importantly are PASSIVELY cooled, so there wont be any concern for a fan blowing moisture into the housings. However I did also run into my own issues with the bulbs not related to the above reasons.
https://www.amazon.com/SEALIGHT-500...07TRCBS2K/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Now I had never installed fog lights on a civic before or any car for that matter but after looking up some videos and guides I thought "eh seems straight forward I should be able to do this".... NOPE. Some guides showed the user not jacking up the car or anything to get access to the fog lights but when I attempted to do it I just couldn't get my head underneath their at all. I fiddled around for probably a good 30 mins underneath trying different awkward positions, until my neck became stiff AF and I decided eff this I can't do it. Not sure how the others were able to do it, maybe they've got much smaller heads? But I couldn't see anything so I ended up putting it off for a day until I could borrow my friend's jack.
Once jacked up I was able to gain much better access by actually getting my head underneath and being able to see what was where. So the swap was pretty straight forward after that, just a matter of 1 10mm bolt and 2 plastic pushpins, and I got both sides done in about 15 mins. But there was slight problem. The fog lights were slightly different colors. The passenger's side was a 6000K color (a cool white), whereas the driver's side was a slightly warmer white (~5000K),
Here are some closeup shots of the bulbs
Camera exaggerated the effect a little as its not as noticeable but is something I can notice if you try to look for it. But after encountering this issue I was kind of disappointed with sealight's QC, as I was quite impressed with their X2 bulbs which is why I decided to go with these in the first place. But I decided to give them a second shot and had ordered a replacement set. Once the replacement set came in I quickly swapped out the driver's side and....the same thing persists. I then tried the other bulb which came in the same replacement set and the same issue persisted. I thought maybe something wonky was going on with the housing or maybe the factory wiring could have been faulty? but then I decided to take out the bulb from the passenger's side and lo and behold.
The LED chips were completely different between the 2 bulbs. The bulb that was closer to 6000K has some different LED chips compared to the ones that was a bit warmer. This probably should have been the first thing I should have checked instead of fiddling around swapping out the bulbs 3 times.
I found this to be quite hysterical that, even though the bulbs are the same model, packed inside the same damn box, they're using 2 entirely different LED chips which is what was causing the variation in color temp. I have reached out to sealight and told them about my experience but am still waiting for a response.
In the meanwhile I decided I might as well install one of the replacement bulbs in the passenger's side so for now at least the 2 fog light bulbs now match. Its a shame because I did like the look of the whiter bulb but this one isn't too bad and at this point I was just about done with getting underneath the car and swapping bulbs so many times. Regardless they're still a tremendous upgrade over the stock halogens both performance wise and aesthetically.
Here's a pic of my 20 Hatch Sport with the LEDs installed in the low beams and fog lights. Really makes the vehicle look for elegantly pleasing and the light output is fantastic.
We can't forget about the high-beams too. I wouldn't have bothered with the high beams as I never upgraded them in my previous 16 Civic but since this car has the auto high beam function, I thought i'd might as well upgrade them as well. The bulbs I'm using are the Xenower X2 9005s, no issues with these bulbs.
I did drive around in rain a bit and found no condensation in the fog light housings but will keep a lookout in case anything happens, although I suspect there shouldn't be any issues.
I haven't had the chance to drive out in the darker areas in town, but I'll try to update this thread with some night time shots of the road.
So I thought I share my experience and story of how these fog lights made me question life. Overall I'm loving this car, love the way she drives and now with the LED upgrades she looks even better.
When we bought the 16 civic one of the things I immediately did was change out those ugly dim stock bulbs for a better aftermarket solution. I had been using HIDs up until earlier this year when one of my ballasts died and I decided to try out the LED market.
https://www.civicx.com/forum/thread...r-x2-laxmas-l2-downgraded-from-55w-hid.46973/
The thread above if you want to read it discussed my experience with Sealight's Xenower X2 bulbs and Laxmas L2 bulbs. TDLR The X2s turned out to be pretty good, with robust build quality, and delivering like 80-85% of the performance my 55W HID kit gave me without the hassle of ballasts and all that stuff.
So naturally when we got the 2020 Hatchback sport I immediately swapped out the lowbeams for the Xenower X2s. However this vehicle also has fog lights so I was even more excited to add some more to the visual look of my vehicle by changing out the fogs to LEDs as well. I did have my old pair of laxmas L2s still kicking around and was going to originally use those for the fog lights however (and good thing I searched too) I read quite a lot of concerning posts on this forum regarding people who had upgraded their fog lights to LEDs and encountering condensation in their housings. The problem came down to the fact that a lot of folks were using LEDs that had fans attached to them to cool down the bulbs. Only problem with this is that with the bulbs sitting so low, moisture can easily accumulate in the housing thanks to the fan sucking it all up and blowing it towards the bulbs and inner housings. Plus there was also the concern about putting higher wattage H11 bulbs when I should be using the lower wattage H8s so as to not damage the factory wiring.
So I decided to get H8 version of the Laxmas L2s which operate at a much lower voltage and more importantly are PASSIVELY cooled, so there wont be any concern for a fan blowing moisture into the housings. However I did also run into my own issues with the bulbs not related to the above reasons.
https://www.amazon.com/SEALIGHT-500...07TRCBS2K/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Now I had never installed fog lights on a civic before or any car for that matter but after looking up some videos and guides I thought "eh seems straight forward I should be able to do this".... NOPE. Some guides showed the user not jacking up the car or anything to get access to the fog lights but when I attempted to do it I just couldn't get my head underneath their at all. I fiddled around for probably a good 30 mins underneath trying different awkward positions, until my neck became stiff AF and I decided eff this I can't do it. Not sure how the others were able to do it, maybe they've got much smaller heads? But I couldn't see anything so I ended up putting it off for a day until I could borrow my friend's jack.
Once jacked up I was able to gain much better access by actually getting my head underneath and being able to see what was where. So the swap was pretty straight forward after that, just a matter of 1 10mm bolt and 2 plastic pushpins, and I got both sides done in about 15 mins. But there was slight problem. The fog lights were slightly different colors. The passenger's side was a 6000K color (a cool white), whereas the driver's side was a slightly warmer white (~5000K),
Here are some closeup shots of the bulbs
Camera exaggerated the effect a little as its not as noticeable but is something I can notice if you try to look for it. But after encountering this issue I was kind of disappointed with sealight's QC, as I was quite impressed with their X2 bulbs which is why I decided to go with these in the first place. But I decided to give them a second shot and had ordered a replacement set. Once the replacement set came in I quickly swapped out the driver's side and....the same thing persists. I then tried the other bulb which came in the same replacement set and the same issue persisted. I thought maybe something wonky was going on with the housing or maybe the factory wiring could have been faulty? but then I decided to take out the bulb from the passenger's side and lo and behold.
The LED chips were completely different between the 2 bulbs. The bulb that was closer to 6000K has some different LED chips compared to the ones that was a bit warmer. This probably should have been the first thing I should have checked instead of fiddling around swapping out the bulbs 3 times.
I found this to be quite hysterical that, even though the bulbs are the same model, packed inside the same damn box, they're using 2 entirely different LED chips which is what was causing the variation in color temp. I have reached out to sealight and told them about my experience but am still waiting for a response.
In the meanwhile I decided I might as well install one of the replacement bulbs in the passenger's side so for now at least the 2 fog light bulbs now match. Its a shame because I did like the look of the whiter bulb but this one isn't too bad and at this point I was just about done with getting underneath the car and swapping bulbs so many times. Regardless they're still a tremendous upgrade over the stock halogens both performance wise and aesthetically.
Here's a pic of my 20 Hatch Sport with the LEDs installed in the low beams and fog lights. Really makes the vehicle look for elegantly pleasing and the light output is fantastic.
We can't forget about the high-beams too. I wouldn't have bothered with the high beams as I never upgraded them in my previous 16 Civic but since this car has the auto high beam function, I thought i'd might as well upgrade them as well. The bulbs I'm using are the Xenower X2 9005s, no issues with these bulbs.
I did drive around in rain a bit and found no condensation in the fog light housings but will keep a lookout in case anything happens, although I suspect there shouldn't be any issues.
I haven't had the chance to drive out in the darker areas in town, but I'll try to update this thread with some night time shots of the road.
So I thought I share my experience and story of how these fog lights made me question life. Overall I'm loving this car, love the way she drives and now with the LED upgrades she looks even better.
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