It would help prevent voltage drop loss since the output of lumens is proportional to the incoming voltage by a factor of 3.4 exponentially. But its not needed.

 

Not too sure on the age of your wiring, my 2006 was not old, and i did not get the before and after lumen output. The wiring change, by SOTP meter, seemed to make a change to things.

 

SCULLY, correct me if I am wrong, but Ford uses 18AWG for fogs and heads, correct?

My truck never came with fogs, so I have 8AWG wires on a direct run from the battery going to 9005s, so they're getting ~.5vDC less than what the alternator is putting out. As soon as I can afford some Catz Zeta halogen ballasts, I'll have 9005s running ~15.5vDC or around 2000 lumens each.

 

The wiring to the fog and headlamps looks like 18 AWG. Hard to tell, I have not seen it called out ( like the wiring in the 7 pin trailer tow adapter ) that I can recall reading.

I made a harness out of 12 AWG 105* automotive wire that is triggered by the factory connector.
I Used the old bulbs to make plugs for the factory harness. I broke the bulb, dremel'd back the filament wire and liquid electrical taped them.

I got the idea from my ZG, where the wire looks like it is 20AWG wire, it is a common upgrade when going to the OSRAM + bulbs ( what are now the SilverStar Ultra bulbs sold in the US ).

 

i have a 06 and didnt read anything about the 9145 bulb melting the lens... dont buy 9145!!! my passenger side is starting to melt but if yall want a blue tint bulb i found these on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PHILIPS-9140...-/160788797696

 

A 9145 will NOT melt your lens. That is stock wattage that comes from the factory. And those blue bulbs do nothing but lose light output.. A stock 9145 will be significantly brighter than what you posted.

 

06 to recent, a 9005-65W bulb will melt the lens. A 9145-45W in place of a 9140-40W is only 5W difference I cannot see it happening unless very cheap bulbs were used. I ran 9005 for 1.5 years before my lenses melted running them all the time. That's 25W over stock, they were philips though.

 

I knocked one pretty hard over a bump a few months ago, and replaced both with 9145s. I have been pleasantly suprised how much more useful the fogs became with the extra 200 lumens and 5 watts. Not bright enough to burn the bulbs or blind anyone, but enough increased light output that it was noticeable at night.

I highly recommend anyone wanting better than stock output to change from a 9140 to a 9145.

 

Thanks for the info in this thread, i'm going to upgrade my fog light bulbs after reading this.

 

The hell they wont... my stock is 9140 and didnt do any reading on it before i bought 9145 and they started to melt my lens. i think i kno what im talkin about here bcuz its on my own damn truck... so if you have the circle fogs DO NOT BUY 9145... THOSE ARE ONLY FOR SQUARE FOGS

 

There could have been any number of reasons your bulbs would have melted. Upgrading a measly 5W wouldn't even change the surface temperature of the bulb but about 20*F (let alone the radiant temp) and out of a bulb that has a surface temperature of >200*F, it would be negligible.

Where did you buy your bulbs from (what brand are they?)

 

what brand and model number did you buy ?

The reason I ask, I am ~5 years on 9145 Silverstar bulbs in my 2006 without an issue. They are on just about any time the headlamps are on.

I am not the only one on the site with them, quite a few went 9145 SS bulbs, few even went 9155 bulb ( 55W ).
The problems typically come up with when the bulbs are changed to the 9000 series high beam bulbs ( 60W ).

 

There are a couple people on here running 65W 9005 in their round fogs. I do as well, but mine are metal and glass

 

I'm one of those people. Although I fully endorse the 9005 bulbs in the rectangular (2004-2005) fogs as possibly the biggest bang for the buck mod anyone can make, I do not recommend this one. I figure it's just a matter of time before I melt something - and then replace these pieces of crap with some real lighting.

But if I've had 65 watt 9005 Silverstar Ultras in my round fogs since the truck was new in 2010, why aren't they melted yet? Well, for one thing I never run them unless the truck is in motion and cooling air is rushing by the lights. And I never just let the truck sit there with them on. Am I playing with fire? Yes, and I know it. But since the factory fogs are so useless anyway, I'm not too worried.

 

I feel the 9005 are too bright for foglamps. I ran them in my rectangular 04 fogs before retrofitting them and I got high-beam flashed constantly. I'd say stick with 9145 in round housings and maybe 9155 in rectangular.