Anyone using the PIAA airdam

Burbman · July 6, 2006

Hi guys,

Short story is that I am thinking about upgrading to the PIAA airdam and new foglights. I searched here and several folks have talked about the PIAA but didn't see anybody actually using it.

Posted this under the Suburban/Tahoe thread and no takers. Not sure how much crossover there is between "platform specific"forums on this board.

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5Alive · July 7, 2006

I'm not sure how much "crossover" there is either, but I'm in the same boat as you Burbman, with a 2500 Suburban/YukonXL we are a hybrid of both forums... and therefore I try to read both, and never noticed your post on the other forum.

Do you have a link to the PIAA airdam?

For what I can only guess to be the cost of the entire PIAA airdam and lights, have you considered the factory Escalade foglights? I understand that they are HID, and they have the same oblong shape as the stock halogen foglamps on the Non-Z71 burbs.

Burbman · July 7, 2006

5Alive,

Thanks for the info. Here's the photo from the PIAA site:

I hadn't thought about the Escalade lights, I'll have to look into that. The PIAA air dam is available from a few sites on the web for around $200, then figure another $150 or so for a set of lites, plus shipping, etc., I figure I'm looking at around $400, which is do-able.

The thing that makes me hesitate is that the outer lites that fit this are 6-11/16" in diameter. That's huge! On the one hand, I would like the extra foul-weather visibility, but I'm not trying to build a killer off-road machine either.

Do you have a prt #for the Escalade lites?

ABQFirefighter · July 10, 2006

I have one on my HD. It is one of the best front end accessories out there. I have the PIAA 510's on the outside with no lights on the inside (like PIAA's pic).

Burbman · July 10, 2006

ABQFirefighter, nice rig, I see you have the same CIPA towing mirrors as I do.

How do the 510's compare to stock fog lights for brightness and visibility? Do have them with driving lenses or fog lenses?

Did you run the OEM wiring directly to the new lights, or use the OEM wiring to power a new relay?

Thanks for the info!

ABQFirefighter · July 11, 2006

ABQFirefighter, nice rig, I see you have the same CIPA towing mirrors as I do.

How do the 510's compare to stock fog lights for brightness and visibility? Do have them with driving lenses or fog lenses?

Did you run the OEM wiring directly to the new lights, or use the OEM wiring to power a new relay?

Thanks for the info!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry, they are 520's. They are the driving (white) light so they add some nice clean light at night compared to the yellow headlights. The OEM lights don't compare at all. I spliced into the OEM wiring for the PIAA relay. It uses the OEM switch and works flawlessly. The PIAA's have their own relay and fuse, so the OEM switch is only needed for the relay power. I love my CIPA's, the best towing mirrors for these trucks.

5Alive · July 11, 2006

I hadn't thought about the Escalade lights, I'll have to look into that.
Do you have a prt #for the Escalade lites?

Sorry Burbman.... I've searched but I cannot find where I read that the Escalade ESV Platinum Edition had HID fogs. The 2005 brochure I have confirms that there are HID low beams, but no mention of HID fogs. In the absence of my being able to find where I read about HID fogs, I think it is safer to assume that I was in error, and no such HID fogs exist.

Burbman · July 11, 2006

5Alive, no problem. I did so,e looking at Escalade lights and they look identical to the Chevy ones. I think they just make the airdam nicer.

ABQ, thanks for the add'l info. Plan right now now is for 520's with fog lenses on the outsides, and as buget permits, I'll add the driving lights on the inside positions.

Will post pics after it's done/

Burbman · October 31, 2006

UPDATE:

Well, after 2 months of trying to order the custom airdam from various online retailers, I find out from PIAA that it's been out of production for over a year due to low demand. I decided to go ahead and mount my new PIAA 520 fog lights anyway.

I looked at getting a mounting bar that attaches above the license plate frame, but I also installed a front mounted hitch receiver so that I can add a fishing cooler rack next summer, so didn't want the lights blocked by that. Plus, I wanted fog lights, not driving lights, so they would be better if they were low to the ground like the factory lights.

I took off the airdam and removed the factory fog lights and brackets. There was a nice 1/2" hole in the bumper where the factory light mount installed, so I used that to mount the PIAA's. With the lights in place, I held the airdam sort of in place and traced the outline of the lights. Then I used a utility knife to trim the airdam. The piece is very soft plastic and cuts easily.

Here's a few pics of what the new PIAAs look like in place of the factory fogs:

I would heve preferred the custom PIAA airdam because the lights have a more recessed and custom look, but this works well. The visibility at night is 1000% better than the factory lights, and really helps on unlit rural highways and in the rain/fog.

For the wiring, I did the same as ABQFirefighter and used the factory switch to power the new relay, since these lights draw more wattage than the OEMs. Works like a champ.