# Headlight and fog light bulbs



## chunkysause7 (Jul 11, 2007)

I have a 1993 Nissan Maxima SE and i want to change my headlight and fog light bubls.
I know that my headlights mount connectors is 9004 and my fog light is H3. What i want to get is really bright bulbs for the headlight and maybe put yellow for my fog lights.


Ok now to the point what does DOT approved mean cause i see a lot of bulbs that says there not DOT approved and some are. Does it mean it's street legal or something??? 


and is there a certain limit on how bright i can have the lights put out?


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## JNCoRacer (Apr 18, 2003)

If you want to make them brighter then you have a couple options for the headlights.
A) Install a plug and play 9004 HID kit. Best output is 4300k-5500k.
B) Convert from 9004 to 9007. There are some modifications for this...You'd have to swap the ground and lowbeam wires on the harness... and use a dremmel to notch the bulb OR grind down the two lower prongs on the headlamp so that the bulb will month flush and not leak. I'd recommend notching the bulb. Grinding the prongs on the headlamp will send a lot of dust into the headlamp assembly.
For the fogs you can get yellow H3 bulbs, or you can paint the lenses(cheap and will chip) or you could get some yellow overlay material. Laminex is one company that makes this.
Hope this helps.


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## JNCoRacer (Apr 18, 2003)

Oh, and as far as the legality of the brightness goes, that all depends on your state or local laws.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

"DOT" is "Dept. of Transportation." Automotive lighting must be DOT approved to be legal for use on US roads and highways.

Rather than do all kinds of converting, why not just pop in a pair of Sylvania Silverstar Ultras? How bright do you really need them?


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## internetautomart (Mar 8, 2004)

1. you can NOT legally install an HID kit into your car
2. if the bulb is not DOT approved (most blue bulbs) then it isn't legal.
The DOT has clarified it's rule interpretation recently to the point where even items marked for off road use only (lighting items only) are not allowed to be sold. You are also not allowed to modify the vehicle to use a non factory headlight setup.
The whole E36 swap is currently questionable in my mind and more than likely no longer compliant with FMVSS


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## chunkysause7 (Jul 11, 2007)

i want to change my headlight bulbs to the PIAA 9004 EXTREME WHITE PLUS that has an output of 65/120watt.

Heres my question. In my owners manuel it says use 9004 with an output of 64/45watt
and i wanted to know if i can use the PIAA 9004 EXTREME WHITE PLUS with and output of 65/120watt? will anything happen if i use a higher wattage 9004 bulb?


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