Looking to install a pair of these in the factory fog light holes in my '03 TS.
From the searches I've done here, I've found that some of you have successfully mounted these lights into the factory location.

I can't find a close-up of the FF1000 mount system. Can the mount bolts be set up to point straight back? I was thinking of just finding a flat piece of aluminum or steel, drilling the three holes for the factory bolts, then one hole in the middle for the Hella light. Would this work, or would the mount bolt pointing straight back make the light stick out too much?

Anyone have a close-up photo of the Hella FF1000 mount system?

That angle bracket design is the same design as the Kartboy brackets which can be used with Hella 500's and PIAA XT80's. Some people say Hella 1000's will fit in the stock location...but I have not seen it personally done very well (the one I saw had the lights angled out)

I was under the impression that you would have to modify the kartboy bracket to make them work.. You can get a close up picture of the lights at rallylights.com. I just ordered a set from there and will post my experiances with the instal after I get them next week.
Jason

Originally posted by DDMan
That angle bracket design is the same design as the Kartboy brackets which can be used with Hella 500's and PIAA XT80's. Some people say Hella 1000's will fit in the stock location...but I have not seen it personally done very well (the one I saw had the lights angled out)

The Rallye 1000's might use the same angle bracket mount as the 500's, but the FF1000 use a different mounting setup. The bolt is attached to a plastic cup shaped mount, which cradles the back of the light. The mount can swivel and rotate all the way around, so the mounting bolt can be pointed straight back. But when it's pointing straight back, the bolt is almost sticking out from the middle of the back of the light, not down at the bottom like the 500's. I think the Kartboy brackets would still work, but you would need to drill another hole in them higher up than the one that comes pre-drilled. Daz's idea of a flat sheet of aluminum is basically what I did. It's cheaper than the Kartboys also. I cut my own brackets from a scrap of 3/16" sheet that cost me $5. I used a jigsaw with metal cutting blades.

Khail

Khail - That's exactly what I wanted to know; thanks. I should have no problem fabbing up a plate to make them work.

Are you able to get the Hella covers over your FF1000's, or is there not enough room in the fog light holes?

Any photos of the Hellas in your RS?

Any updates or pics on your guys' install of these lights? does the bolt indeed swivel all the way back? FYI, the Prodrive Halogen Driving lights utilize the FF1000's but they have a really badass canitlevered mounting bracket.

I just did this with the Hella FF1000 and the "WRX" conversion plate from Hella...i assume that we (WRX=RS=TS) have the same fog light areas dimensionally.

As described before, the 1000's mounting position is not directly behind the "dome" of the light. i would say the mounting point is about 45 degrees...or between the bottom and back of the "dome". that is hard to explain quickly...anyway, the light is tight, but it does work. the bracket points the light a little too high, making it hit hard on the top inner portion of the fog light hole...i took the bracket off and stood on it, twisted it with a crescent wrench and reinstalled it. this created a more equal gap in the hole, and allows me to aim them properly (and use the covers). they do stick out more, that is for sure. i dont think that they look bad...but that is subject to taste. i prefer function over form. anyway, with the slightly modified brackets i can install the hella covers on the lights. BUT, it is pretty tight and the light usually wiggles when doing this, so it is not ideal. i may be able to post some pics so you can decide on the aesthetics. and i am not sure if i just got a bad set of brackets of they are all angled incorrectly.

i will see what i can do about pics...

Kev

That would be great if you could take some pics of the lights, the mounting bracket, and how the bolt can be positioned.

I'd also heard of this WRX mounting bracket but have never seen one. Very curious to see how it works.

I really don't care about aesthetics, I just want some quality light but in the stock mounting positions.

You can email me pics directly to: arnie@frustmag.com

Susquehanna has a complete kit for $107! There are also clear stone shields available for $11 each.

actively begging for camera....:lol:

i am at work so the best i could do is show them installed...and probably sketch you the bracket from hella. Susquehanna is where i got my brackets from. about $47.

also if you look at the hella site, there is a pdf file of the catalog. this shows rough dimensions of the light and should give you a clear understanding of how they mount to various brackets (they also sell a "heavy duty mount")

kev

but this should give you an idea...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid73/p047d1bdb67f4e5084428b1c5520ea093/fb73f348.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid73/p9b815cb256e884377c1f0dd95acd5adc/fb73ed6c.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid73/p4a22fd23d4ebf23689192b7d61a41fa9/fb73edb7.jpg

kev

thanks kev! they look good to me. I'm going to order a set and put some 100W bulbs in there as well!

Now tell me a little bit about this bracket. Does the mounting bolt secure itself to a cantilevered tab like Prodrives? http://www.shopatmastro.com/product.asp?0=233&1=234&3=51

Or is it a flat plate like kartboy's, and the bolt has to swing back and mount perpendicular to the light?

Just got a pic from Susquehanna of the bracket. Perfect. Similar to the Prodrive. Just placed my order. Thanks for your help kev!

sorry i didnt get back to you, i took friday off. you will be happy with these lights i am sure...i am, and that is at 55W. i have two more FF1000s i am mounting on a small light bar, and want to try 100W bulbs in those (pics to come)...but i am not sure what the alternator can handle.

One thing i would recoment, i would definitely wire the relay power to the high beam ground (like posted in a few threads). because they are just way too bright to accidentally shine at other cars, at least if they are aimed correctly. other than that, good luck :)

Kev

Thanks for the tip. I will definitely be using the high beam set up for this. I'll need to find those threads about wiring this properly. I'm wondering if the STi mesh fog covers could fit over these lights? they look like they just might fit even though they are peaking out a bit there. I know the position is low for driving lights but I've had driving lights on my RS and it wasn't too bad. Still helped tremendously. any chance of you taking a night picture of the road with these lights on? Am curious as to what the pattern and spread look like at night. No need to take pictures of the car. I find pictures that people take of their cars with their lights on worthless. I'm interested in light on the road, not how cool the car looks.:p

all lights look equally bright when you point a camera at them at night ;)

...i am gonna take some night pics with the lights (aov style), but was waiting to install the other two before doing it. so maybe later this week. as for mesh covers with the Hella's, i am not sure. i have never had any, but i would be surprised if they fit.

i personally like the Hella covers...there were some ricers meeting yesterday (sunday), and i drove through the lot looking at a 'few' nice cars...my car was filty and muddy the only faces i saw consisted of :huh:

Kev

:banana:

Great, can't wait to see them. Not sure how you will wire them up but if you can get individual shots of each set of lights (lower set on, then with the upper set on) that would be fantastic. yeah, shot like AOV would be perfect. Might want to get a tripod to get a nice crisp shot. I've also seen decent photos from a few feet behind the car including the rear tail lamps. it made comparing consistent exposures easier because you could see that the tail lights were the same brightness but the light cast down the road was brighter. Sometimes I wonder if some companies that show road shots just give a longer exposure and say the light is brighter!:)

I posted some pics of the ff1000 light output with 100 w bulbs a while ago. If you do a search for ff1000 it should come up. Also this past weekend I ran an all night tsd rally with the ff1000 with 100 w bulbs and a set of rallye 4000 lights. We had them on most of the night on my brothers obs and had no problems with the amp draw, so i would immagine 4 ff1000 lights would be fine electricaly speaking.
Jason

Thanks for the heads up. The pics are indeed crappy but they give me a pretty good idea, relative to the other light outputs, what these are capable of. Can't wait to get them in. Hella just has such great quality compared to other companies.

Nice to see this thread resurrected.

I mounted my FF1000s using a piece of aluminun road sign (compliments of previous house owner). Took a couple tries before I got the mounting holes right. A bit more 'popeyed' than the stock fogs, but I expected that.

I didn't use the Hella covers that came with the lights, rather, I bought the clear covers that Susquehanna Motorsports sells. They snap right over the light housing and just barely fit on the lights in the stock fog holes. At $11 each, it's cheap insurance and I don't have to remove an opaque cover each night.
I have the lights tied into the hi-beam circuit and I bought an OEM fog switch and wired it as a master switch. VERY happy with them, but I am curious as to how a 100w bulb would work with this light.