Making my Magnum Perfect.

**RAMIFICATION** · 02-07-2005, 12:08 PM

Ahh As the up-grades continue. So far the Magnum has received a C.A.I. that pulls air FROM the front of the grill. A K&N air filter to filter the smoggy air in southern Massachusetts.
The head lights are now fitted with the Silver Star bulbs and alighted. Just this morning I finished customizing the fog light housing to except a H-3 Bulb instead of the pen light H-10 girly bulb.
The suitcase muffler has been replaced with the Magnaflow 14468 Keeping stock tubes and resonators.
Come spring time around here I am going to peel off the crome strip going down the side but leave the rest of the badges.
I am wanting to put on better Performance tires because these Conties are bad.. Very bad. What are people finding that are equivalent height as stock but 1" wider? I am wanting to keep on the stock wheels because I just love the stock wheels.

**gn300** · 02-07-2005, 12:50 PM

Ever thought of putting a h-4 bulb in the fog light to give a fog and driving light? also they are available up to 180/100 watt but relays are needed over 80/100 watt

**RAMIFICATION** · 02-07-2005, 02:12 PM

It was difficult enough to get the H-3 bulb in there. the Fog lights alone are very close to the same brightness as the low-beam headlights alone.

**44MAGNUMHarry** · 02-07-2005, 03:29 PM

Is the wiring and fog light housing capable of burning the h-3 or h-4 bulbs for extended periods without melting/burning something? I'd love to put a brighter bulb in to use as a driving light. The only fog I see where I live is when I first wake up in the morning and can't focus!
-Harry

**DawsonMagnum** · 02-07-2005, 06:19 PM

I'm with you, Tommy...sort of. I have never been bothered by anyone's fog lights that I can recall, but people with misaligned headlights REALLY annoy the crap outa me. They come around a curve and BLAM! You're blinded! Then they turn their brights off and...it doesn't get much better...then you notice their drivers side headlamp is pointing up and across the road! GRRR!!! Shoot 'em, I say!

Only *slightly* less annoying is the twit that gets behind you w/ one of his headlights loose so it has that strobe effect in your mirrors. GRRR!!! (slightly less grr-ish than the first grr).

**bipto** · 02-07-2005, 09:11 PM

Originally Posted by TommyC

This thread really bothers me. People who drive with their foglights on all the time are bad enough, but making them even BRIGHTER and using them as full-time driving lights is just plain WRONG. :x

When one of these selfish yahoos with really bright fogs pass me going the other way, I'm completely blinded for a few secs, even when I divert my eyes to the right. Yeah, sure, THEY can see better, but everyone else is blinded.

Fog light are NOT DIRECTIONAL or AIMABLE like headlights; they spray light everywhere and make the road unsafe for everyone else!

There oughta be a law... Am I the only one who hates this?

LOL, I just relaced my stock H10 fog lamps with brighter 9005 SilverStars over the weekend - Yahoo! :lol:

FYI TommyC, given that I am indeed concerned about blinding people like you, I checked this mod out thoroughly before deciding to stick with it. I did this by facing the car toward a concrete retaining wall at a distance of about 30 - 40 feet on level ground. I was very reassured by what I saw. The fog lights on the Magnum are aimed such that their light signature never rises above the signature of the low beams - not even close. As a matter of fact, it appeared to me that about 2/3 of that additional light is dead on the ground before it even reaches that distance. So it should put your mind at ease to know that my 9005 fog lights and I pose no danger to anybody.

And another thing - I can't speak for everybody, but some of us "bad people who ride with the fog lights on all the time" do so to improve their peripheral vision. Living in deer country and driving on narrow, wooded roads as frequently as I do, I can tell you that improving my vision on the sides of the road, as these lights typically do, can mean the difference between a deer narrowly missed vs. one riding in the front seat with me. :lol:

One last FYI - the fog lamps on the Magnum do appear to be aimable - the adjustment screws are accessable after removing the splash panel underneath the front end.

**Old Navy** · 02-07-2005, 11:12 PM

Originally Posted by RAMIFICATION

Ahh As the up-grades continue. So far the Magnum has received a C.A.I. that pulls air FROM the front of the grill. A K&N air filter to filter the smoggy air in southern Massachusetts.
The head lights are now fitted with the Silver Star bulbs and alighted. Just this morning I finished customizing the fog light housing to except a H-3 Bulb instead of the pen light H-10 girly bulb.
The suitcase muffler has been replaced with the Magnaflow 14468 Keeping stock tubes and resonators.
Come spring time around here I am going to peel off the crome strip going down the side but leave the rest of the badges.
I am wanting to put on better Performance tires because these Conties are bad.. Very bad. What are people finding that are equivalent height as stock but 1" wider? I am wanting to keep on the stock wheels because I just love the stock wheels.

On the K&N filter if you have really selected it for better cleaning of intake air then you have made a mistake or fallen victim to sales hype, as they do not clean the air as well as OEM filter. This has been proven on several ocassions by oil testing results, the silica (dirt) greatly increases. It was about a 1000% increase in silica for my Jeep Cherokee the wife use to drive, needless to say I returned to OEM filter and everything was back to normal after next oil change.

What are the wattage on the OEM H-10 compared to H3, you may be increasing the heat or amp's enough to be in danger of overheating stock housing (melting) or melting wires or both. I've seen both happen more then once.

Fog lights on without low beam headlights or running lights without highbeam lights is against the law in the US, any light putting out more then 65 watt's is not street legal in US either, but is not too strictly inforced. Mainly used by local police for probable cause with young drivers.

:lol:

Having been trained in the field of optic's I can tell you the only way to increase your light output of a bulb is to increase wattage, better quality reflectors (inside the bulb & light housing) to reflect light better, better quality reflectors is only thing to increase light without increasing wattage, any coloring to bulb surface decreases visibale light output and that's another light fact In other words if you buy a bulb with the blue coating to make a white light you have decreased the visiable light output and in some cases by as much as 50% or more.

Check with TireRack about what is largest tire you can use on the OEM rim.

Words of wisdom FROM old geezer is over, do whatever fluff's your skirts. :P

**allyn Turner** · 02-07-2005, 11:24 PM

Out here in Seattle we get a bit of rain and my concern with the fog lights is that on a very wet surface the fog lights reflect off the road and double the blinding effect. This is caused by the slight downward aim of the lights which is properly designed to assist vision in the fog.
"Can you see the light"
Elwood

**Old Navy** · 02-07-2005, 11:41 PM

Originally Posted by allyn Turner

Out here in Seattle we get a bit of rain and my concern with the fog lights is that on a very wet surface the fog lights reflect off the road and double the blinding effect. This is caused by the slight downward aim of the lights which is properly designed to assist vision in the fog.
"Can you see the light"
Elwood

That's not a problem with true fog lights due to their defused lens, and it really helps big time in the rain to have a yellow bulb or lens in the fog light as it will make the white lines on the road really stand out.

**gn300** · 02-08-2005, 12:45 PM

I have ran "extra " hot bulbs in a lot of cars if they are aimed properly they will not blind oncoming drivers .100 wat h-3 in my intrepid fogs with no melting. I also painted the inside of my fogs with Fake stain glass paint it made yellow fogs lasted 2 years with 100 wats before deteriorating.

**shiltz** · 02-08-2005, 04:09 PM

the tire size you would want for wider tires with the stock rims is 245/55-R18, they are the exact same dia as the stock tires, just wider, bfgoodrich makes them.

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/asset...ce_ta_kdws.pdf

**RAMIFICATION** · 02-09-2005, 01:05 AM

Holly Smoke!!! This web forum continues to want to beat up other members. Thank god I didn't tell people about cams for the Hemi cause I would be crucified for ozone depletion.

The H-10 bulbs are 35 watts and draw 6 amps of current. The H-3 bulbs are 55 watt and draw 8.75 amps of current. The wiring for the lights is 14 gage and they come stock with a 10 amp fuse. The safe full time work LOAD of a 14 gage wire on a 14 volt service, (Yes, its a 14 volt service in autos and not 12), is 36.25 amps. No need to worry about the car burning up.

As one member mentioned, Our fog lights are adjustable. The aim of fog lights are as follows: On a level surface, back away FROM a wall 25 feet. Measure the distance FROM the ground to the center of the fog light. Measure the wall FROM the ground up to the same hight as your first measure and mark the wall. Turn on your fog lights. The beam is to be set 4 inches lower then the mark on the wall.
Of all the fog / driving lights that are D.O.T. approved, 80% are running the H-3 55 watt bulbs.(figure FROM S.E.M.A.)

If your eyes have a hard time adjusting to bright lights during night commutes, put more Iron INTO your diet. Iron has a direct effect on the responsiveness of the pupil.

Sorry for offending people. Some day I hope the enviorment of this forum changes and it gives its fellow members the benifit of the dought. When that time comes, I will be happy to share other very good performance mods that are available for the Magnum, but this enviorment makes it unenjoyable to do so.

**bipto** · 02-09-2005, 01:26 AM

Originally Posted by RAMIFICATION

Holly Smoke!!! This web forum continues to want to beat up other members. Thank god I didn't tell people about cams for the Hemi cause I would be crucified for ozone depletion.

The H-10 bulbs are 35 watts and draw 6 amps of current. The H-3 bulbs are 55 watt and draw 8.75 amps of current. The wiring for the lights is 14 gage and they come stock with a 10 amp fuse. The safe full time work LOAD of a 14 gage wire on a 14 volt service, (Yes, its a 14 volt service in autos and not 12), is 36.25 amps. No need to worry about the car burning up.

As one member mentioned, Our fog lights are adjustable. The aim of fog lights are as follows: On a level surface, back away FROM a wall 25 feet. Measure the distance FROM the ground to the center of the fog light. Measure the wall FROM the ground up to the same hight as your first measure and mark the wall. Turn on your fog lights. The beam is to be set 4 inches lower then the mark on the wall.
Of all the fog / driving lights that are D.O.T. approved, 80% are running the H-3 55 watt bulbs.(figure FROM S.E.M.A.)

If your eyes have a hard time adjusting to bright lights during night commutes, put more Iron INTO your diet. Iron has a direct effect on the responsiveness of the pupil.

Sorry for offending people. Some day I hope the enviorment of this forum changes and it gives its fellow members the benifit of the dought. When that time comes, I will be happy to share other very good performance mods that are available for the Magnum, but this enviorment makes it unenjoyable to do so.

Thanks, RAMIFICATION - this info pretty much supports my little experiment that I described in a post above. After seeing for myself that the aim / brightness was no big deal, my biggest concern was the added wattage (heat) of the 9005 bulb over the H10. Based on your input as well as advice FROM other members here who have done the same mod, I don't really think that I have anything to worry about there either.

That being said, when you're ready to share, I'd love to hear about some of the other performance mods you have in mind...