OK- I hate to do this. But I gotta get better headlights in my 2009 EXP

[JExpedition07]

If i were to buy the spyder units I’d get the chrome ones, during the day they look very close to stock. Its just at night they look different, i also like the LED strips. But again if the output is crap id rather spend that money on a good projector retrofit.

 

[JExpedition07]

Retros work and cost less than $400 if you do the work yourself. Get a threaded shaft projector and it's easy stuff!

What projector would you recommend for the job and who did you purchase from when you did yours? Im not much of a headlight expert

 

[gixer2000]

There's so many options it'll make your head spin. If you looking for ease of install look at the mini H1 7.0 or Acme Super. All are Bi-Xenon so it'll be high and low beam. These are both threaded shaft so basically open up the 9007 bulb hole a little and they'll drop right in. You'll just have to trim the shroud to fit correctly in the reflector bowl. There are tons of other options and prices go up and so does the labor time. These are just the 2 easiest with great output.

I order from either Theretrofitsource.com
Or lightwerkz.net

Both places have big sales this weekend
Lightwerkz is 25% off everything
TRS is 10-25% depending on how much you spend.

I went with the mini h1 and spent just over $300. Took me about 4-5 hours to install and the lighting is 10x better

 

[gixer2000]

This is what I feel like around here



This is actually the owner of bullseye retrofits

 

[MISTERgadget]

Retrofits are the only way to go.

 

[2009expdude]

Thanks- I think I just have reflectors. I tried the morimoto 9008/H13 kit & ballast and all that BS- won't waste that money again- already did the retrofit source for that attempt. I don't know what I'm doing and don't have the time, so I definitely just want to go plug&play with the whole headlight- not individual pieces. With that being said, what site sells the complete package where I don't have to go into replacing the bulbs, but I can just unscrew the entire assembly and swap in a new assembly?

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Thanks- I think I just have reflectors. I tried the morimoto 9008/H13 kit & ballast and all that BS- won't waste that money again- already did the retrofit source for that attempt. I don't know what I'm doing and don't have the time, so I definitely just want to go plug&play with the whole headlight- not individual pieces. With that being said, what site sells the complete package where I don't have to go into replacing the bulbs, but I can just unscrew the entire assembly and swap in a new assembly?

Lots of options on eBay. Most people are going to say these are junk and they probably are compared to a retrofit with high end components but in your situation this should get you better light than you currently have. I did a search on eBay for 2009 Ford Expedition projector headlights and this is what I turned up:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_od...ford+expedition+projector+headlights&_sacat=0

Most of these are made in China, most are designed for halogens but you can make HIDs work but it can affect the life of the assembly, but that is one of the gambles you have to make with these kinds of upgrades.


These are probably made by the same companies as the one on eBay but just with a different brand name. But at least you have some options.

https://www.carid.com/2009-ford-expedition-headlights/

 

[Adieu]

There are no complete headlight + HID preassembled kits

 

[1111ExpyEL1111]

Retrofitting an 07 Expy? C'mon! Pay ME to retrofit my 12 Expy with projectors and I'll do it. You guys that say a projector retrofit is the ONLY way to go crack me up (somebody has to say it). A properly aimed reflector w/HID's is just fine. I do not have issues with oncoming drivers flashing me as I took the time to properly aim them.

I've got 55W 5000K HID's in both my hi/lows as well as my foglights. I have my foglights wired to stay on when my hibeams are on. On a dark country road they are awesome!

Let the flaming begin!

 

[Allen Miller]

I bought this set of projectors for my explorer. I haven't gotten to install them yet, but they were pretty well recommended outside of amazon's reviews. I've used other iJDMToy products before and they seem to be pretty good quality.

I'm also going to be installing these LEDs that were designed for use in projectors. If they don't perform well, I'll get a full HID kit, but this was the cheapest plug-and-play solution.

This is what I feel like around here

View attachment 22364

This is actually the owner of bullseye retrofits

Bwahaha, preach brother!

You guys that say a projector retrofit is the ONLY way to go crack me up (somebody has to say it). A properly aimed reflector w/HID's is just fine.
Let the flaming begin!

Ok, so you're one of the possibly dozen people that took the time to properly aim their HID-in-reflector setups. Congratulations.

The raw light output is not the only issue there. You're losing a lot of the effective beam of the HID to ground that you can't see through the hood (though it's still an improvement over stock halogens, I'm sure). The projectors with the cutoff allow you to put the most effective light further away from you, while providing the cutoff that doesn't blind other drivers. Also, once you aim the housing low enough to not be a ******* to other drivers with your lowbeams, you've effectively lost your highbeams since they are in the same housing and now aimed a ton lower than stock. A projector retrofit lets you keep the stock high-beam aim point.

 

[1111ExpyEL1111]

I bought this set of projectors for my explorer. I haven't gotten to install them yet, but they were pretty well recommended outside of amazon's reviews. I've used other iJDMToy products before and they seem to be pretty good quality.

I'm also going to be installing these LEDs that were designed for use in projectors. If they don't perform well, I'll get a full HID kit, but this was the cheapest plug-and-play solution.


Bwahaha, preach brother!


Ok, so you're one of the possibly dozen people that took the time to properly aim their HID-in-reflector setups. Congratulations.

The raw light output is not the only issue there. You're losing a lot of the effective beam of the HID to ground that you can't see through the hood (though it's still an improvement over stock halogens, I'm sure). The projectors with the cutoff allow you to put the most effective light further away from you, while providing the cutoff that doesn't blind other drivers. Also, once you aim the housing low enough to not be a ******* to other drivers with your lowbeams, you've effectively lost your highbeams since they are in the same housing and now aimed a ton lower than stock. A projector retrofit lets you keep the stock high-beam aim point.

Actually my HID's are fine from a "seeing down the road" standpoint. It's making sure that they are aimed to the right properly. Same with my fog lights.

But people will tell you......"as long as I don't get pulled over I don't care." And I gotta add that there are some vehicles out there with projectors that seem like they're aimed right at me. What do you do about them...chase after them?

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Retrofitting an 07 Expy? C'mon! Pay ME to retrofit my 12 Expy with projectors and I'll do it. You guys that say a projector retrofit is the ONLY way to go crack me up (somebody has to say it). A properly aimed reflector w/HID's is just fine. I do not have issues with oncoming drivers flashing me as I took the time to properly aim them.

I've got 55W 5000K HID's in both my hi/lows as well as my foglights. I have my foglights wired to stay on when my hibeams are on. On a dark country road they are awesome!

Let the flaming begin!

I ran HIDs in my 05 reflector headlights and had no problems what-so-ever. They were aimed so they didn't blind anyone and they shot the light pretty far out compared to the halogens.

 

[2009expdude]

deleted

 

[Adieu]

LED projector foglights, as it turns out, are extremely effective. And fairly affordable.

 

[MISTERgadget]

Retrofitting an 07 Expy? C'mon! Pay ME to retrofit my 12 Expy with projectors and I'll do it. You guys that say a projector retrofit is the ONLY way to go crack me up (somebody has to say it). A properly aimed reflector w/HID's is just fine. I do not have issues with oncoming drivers flashing me as I took the time to properly aim them.

I've got 55W 5000K HID's in both my hi/lows as well as my foglights. I have my foglights wired to stay on when my hibeams are on. On a dark country road they are awesome!

Let the flaming begin!

There it is, the dumbest thing I'll see all day (and I work in New York City, I see a lot of dumb!)

You can't "properly aim" a beam pattern that is no longer a beam, but rather just scattered light reflections. Why does that happen? Any headlight, whether reflector or projector, halogen, HID or LED, is designed to capture light from a specific light source and direct it in a particular beam pattern. In the case of a halogen bulb, all of this is tailed to the cylindrically shaped filament of those bulbs and their specific focal distance from the bulb base. An HID bulb has a crescent shaped arc between the electrodes, again at a specific focal distance. An LED chip directs light in one direction from the diode. Lighting is designed as a holistic system - gathering and directing light from a specific source, and changing the shape and position of that source disrupts how the overall system works.

Now, I know very well what the argument is.... if the kit is built properly, the focal height is taken into consideration, etc... you can manage all this and have rebased bulb plug n play "conversion" that mitigates the impact of a different light source shape, and gives you more intensity with minimal disruption to the beam pattern.

Take a stroll with me through the world of these manufacturers...

Add to that the following consideration - HID and LED "conversions" with plug and play bulbs are illegal at the federal level. No ifs, ands or buts. Enforcement at a consumer level at individual jurisdictions may vary, but federal law is clear. No HID kit meets the standards of FMVSS No. 108.





Because of this, you will never see a real Philips, Sylvania, Osram, etc.. kit offered. No reputable or quality manufacturer will make a kit. What is out there to purchase is low quality, offshore (usually Chinese) products. How confident are you in their ability to manufacture and sell you a pair of high quality bulbs, correctly aligned, hitting the focal height properly, and usually with ballasts as well, for the price of what a real manufacturer charges for one capsule? The answer here is "not very". This is how bad it can get a cheap chinese copy of a regular HID bulb fitment, never mind adapting these capsules onto a halogen base. Keep in mind the length of the bulb required for an HID - they don't bother actually correcting focal length, if it can be made to fit in the hole, they just send it.

The unfortunate truth of the matter is that plug and play "conversions" are mostly the domain of lowest bidder offshore manufacturers not interested in bettering your night vision or helping improve your ride, but rather simply getting your hard earned cash in their pocket in exchange for as little investment on their part as possible.

Also, you should reconsider having the fogs stay on with your high beams - it has to do with foreground light making your pupils constrict, and that hurts your distance vision at night. It seem counterintuitive that less light = better vision, but that's a big part of the reason the fogs turn off with the high beams.

 

[deweysmith]

Also, you should reconsider having the fogs stay on with your high beams - it has to do with foreground light making your pupils constrict, and that hurts your distance vision at night. It seem counterintuitive that less light = better vision, but that's a big part of the reason the fogs turn off with the high beams.

Yep. This is why fog lights are actually detrimental in most cases. Lighting up the road directly in front of you is only useful in a handful of situations, which is why they aren't just on all the time, and why your headlights are meticulously aimed down the road a ways.

 

[Muddy Bean]

Laugh all you want. HID’s were designed to be behind a projector. It’s courtesy, safety. I respect that you want to do it differently, but I don’t laugh at you. I guess you and I were cut from different cloths.

That being said, I do know that some (emphasis on some) reflectors seem to be designed with a good solid cutoff. Andy has experimented with HID’s in those type of housings which I would say is probably the best scenario for reflector based HID installs. So many people just pop HID bulbs into any and all reflector housings and I can’t count how many times i was majorly night blinded by HID’s popped into terrible oem housings.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[gixer2000]

Yep. This is why fog lights are actually detrimental in most cases. Lighting up the road directly in front of you is only useful in a handful of situations, which is why they aren't just on all the time, and why your headlights are meticulously aimed down the road a ways.

Last time I made the same argument I was asked if I was an optometrist... . it's a very simple idea. Your eyes contract with more light, fog lights add more foreground that your eyes detect. This shrinks (contract) your pupils and allowing in less light. This makes it harder to see at night.

Fixed because I blew it...

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Last time I made the same argument I was asked if I was an optometrist... . it's a very simple idea. Your eyes dilate with more light, fog lights add more foreground that your eyes detect. This shrinks (dialated) your pupils and allowing in less light. This makes it harder to see at night.

That's not quite right. Your pupils contract with light and dilate with darkness. That's why when you are in a dark room and someone turns on the light you squint because your pupils are too open and it takes a second for them to adjust. So by having bright light your pupils contract, which lets in less light. It is also why you get blinded with somebody with bright lights because your pupils contract and then when they pass your pupils are too small to allow you to see until the dilate again.

 

[gixer2000]

That's not quite right. Your pupils contract with light and dilate with darkness. That's why when you are in a dark room and someone turns on the light you squint because your pupils are too open and it takes a second for them to adjust. So by having bright light your pupils contract, which lets in less light. It is also why you get blinded with somebody with bright lights because your pupils contract and then when they pass your pupils are too small to allow you to see until the dilate again.

Duh... Yeah I know that and just blew my argument.... But I'm not an optometrist... Thanks Andy! Not sure what was going on in my head when I wrote that but oh well you got the idea