I just ordered a set of Hella 500 fogs, and was wondering if I need to get the Kartboy mounting bracket in order to install them, or if they will fit in fine without it? (this is for a 2002 RS by the way)

I also heard that they are a tight fit behind the mesh fog light covers, so I don't want them sticking out any farther than they have to.

Thanks!

yes you will need some sort of mounting device. the hella's mount with one 1/2" dia bolt i think at the bottom. for me i saved the money by making my own. i bought some galvanized angle bar with holes in it and made my own to fit the stock holes and carefully placed a hole for the fog light bolt. it came out pretty good for $4.

here i found a picture of my brackets. notice the middle hole was opened up slightly to fit the foglight bolt.

ah cool thanks...

any idea how they fit behind the mesh fog covers with the brackets?

they fit behind the grills with no problem. thats the way i have mine. as for the kartboy mounts, I like them. I however made my own, but you cant go wrong with the kartboy ones. very nice work, and a bolt on affair.
Shane

the kartboys are ok. you could make your own. I have issue with them because they are not bolt on. The bolt hole for the Hella 500s was too small for the bolt that was attached to the Hella Lamp. I had to drill it out anyway. The three hole that are suppose to match up to the bolt holes in the bumper, did not match up. I had to file it out so that it would. After looking at and seeing all the extra work I had to do to make it fit, I figure it would be easier to make your own.

are they easy to install in the 02s? I saw the instructions to install them in an earlier model, and it looked a little complicated (I'm a serious car noob)...I'll probably end up taking it into a shop anyways.

Originally posted by quest
are they easy to install in the 02s? I saw the instructions to install them in an earlier model, and it looked a little complicated (I'm a serious car noob)...I'll probably end up taking it into a shop anyways.

If you have tools and any sort of skill you should be able to do it. The wiring is easy, if you want to use the factory harness, a little more complicated if you want to DIY. The mounting is only hard if you don't take all the nubbins that hold the bumper together, otherwise you will do a lot of contorting to get your arms inside the bumper.

but it is doable. :)

RR:D

lol...now i feel like a feeb. It's not so much the wiring as it is dismantling the entire front of my car to get at it. I'll see how I feel once I pick them up tomorrow.

I just drilled a hole through the plastic and metal backing... been working fine since.. and I can also put my hella covers on... is this a bad idea?
-Shane

bump for a reply on my atatement above!
-Shane

no, thats fine, the only problem, is that there is not much holding that light in, and might wable (might)
but if it works, then leave it.
Shane

aight cool.. I was fabricating some custom "bolt-on" brackets out of 3/8's alluminum.. I decided to skip that and just drill and mount.. and tey came out good! I was even pleasantly surprised when I could still use my hella covers!!
-Shane

Originally posted by Rapid_Roo
If you have tools and any sort of skill you should be able to do it. The wiring is easy, if you want to use the factory harness, a little more complicated if you want to DIY. The mounting is only hard if you don't take all the nubbins that hold the bumper together, otherwise you will do a lot of contorting to get your arms inside the bumper.

but it is doable. :)

RR:D

how do you use em with the factory wiring?
i also have HIDs and have the foglight/highbeam indicator problem.

if you go the custom bracket route, will the sti mesh foglight covers fit in place over the ff500?

i heard they do. but it also depends on the design of your custom brackets.

can't say if the dimensions are the same, but I mounted my ff1000's with my own invented bracket and the covers still fit. I keep intending to do a write up of that.. maybe I'll see if I have time later tonight :D

a write up on it would be the coolest!!!

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=478&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

write up for a GC8, still has some great info.

For the people who are in doubt...

the side pic...

what kind of materials are you guys picking up at the hardware store to make the brackets?

Any pros and cons about the ff500 ff1000 and the piaa 520?

I ended up getting an "L" shaped metal bracket (6"x6") from Home Depot with a few holes already drilled in it. Re-drilled the holes to match up with the bolt positions, hooked up the lights to the stock wiring.

If you get the Hellas, and want to use the OEM fog light switch, make sure you pick up the fog light relay as well.

And for anyone wondering...yes, the mesh covers fit over them fine...plenty of room.

I call it "angle bracket" but I'm not sure if that's right or not (most likely it's just a name i invented in my head) :)
http://irregardless.us/HowTo/Hellas/angle_bracketTN.jpg

Same deal, but I didn't have to enlarge the holes, I just cut away a lot of material and bent it from a 90* angle to 45* ... I'll need to draw a diagram to illistrate, what I cut away as my camera ran out of batteries when I was done, and now that it's installed I can't really get a pic. (that picture is of a scrap that was leftover, not the section I actually fabricated the brackets from)
Pros: ff1000's are awesome!
cons: getting stuck driving behind people who don't have them sucks, I get really mad at them for subjecting me to their inferior lighting :mad:

are the ff500, ff1000, and piaa 520 basically the same style foglights?

like say you got the driving pattern version for each one and had them side by side are they pretty much all the same? any difference? is one brighter than the other?

AzSandSlinger,
Could you go into a bit more detail of how yours are mounted? You just drilled through the bottom of the bumper and put he bolt through? Are they in there really solid? Did you need to use a longer bolt, or did the Hella supplied bolt reach?

Originally posted by Davenow
AzSandSlinger,
Could you go into a bit more detail of how yours are mounted? You just drilled through the bottom of the bumper and put he bolt through? Are they in there really solid? Did you need to use a longer bolt, or did the Hella supplied bolt reach?

PM'ed ya...

Here's a cheesy "illustration"..lol..

-Shane

would i be able to mount 500s on my grille using some of those brackets with the holes in em?

Originally posted by AK_2002_WRX
would i be able to mount 500s on my grille using some of those brackets with the holes in em?

you would need to make some sort of bar...here is the thread with mine...

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=470344&highlight=520s