2010 headlights/foglights

[TobyU]

Headlight adjustment on the wall is the correct way to do it! 25' is the closest distance! 2-3" down from the center of the bulb or projector lense at 25'. Not sure about your state but every inspection station in Massachusetts has a headlight alignment board. Depending on how high the vehicle is determines whether its 2 or 3" down. That will give you proper coverage on the road.

This isnt stuff im making up and guidelines set by DOT.

Here is where I think you are focusing too much on the "rules" or standards or the way things are supposed to be.
That's just not always the case in application.
I have known the book method of aiming headlights since I was 12. Got it right or of a thick blue Motor Repair Manual. That's been a while and the DOT procedure hasn't changed BUT
I have certainly tweaked a few cars after the wall adjustment on the street and usually it's 2-3 tweaks until I'm happy with what I see shining down the road.
I'm just saying that several of those terrible cheap leds could be adjusted to not be so bad. But then compare it to one of the best brands you have mentioned and I'm sure most people would decide to spend more to get them.

Correct isn't always best.
Also people should adjust light more often - most never do.
They get bumped and changed and any lift kits or tire size changes or even just Springs settling over the years throws off a perfect adjustment.

 

[CaptOchs]

To put this to rest, here are a couple pictures I took last night of my 2010 Charger's beam pattern. To be clear, I do not have projectors in them and I don't claim to have as good of a cutoff as projectors. That's not possible in a refractor housing. The beam shape is similar to halogens in the refractor, but brighter. You may notice a little extra light scatter near the top. I forgot to turn off the fog lights. My beams look nothing like any LEDs in that sales video. I have them properly aimed and adjusted to the refractor. I've never been flashed for being too bright. The range and brightness is far superior to stock halogens.

My experience with these LEDs is they don't flicker when started (compared to every HID ballast I tried.) They get to 100% brightness instantaneously, (unlike HID.) I've never had to cycle the headlights because one failed to fire, (unlike HID.) I'm out of the ballast guessing game. Higher priced ballast don't always last longer. I don't have to pull out my multimeter and trace electrical faults. Bad connection? Bad ballast? Bad bulb? So yeah, I've been pretty happy with the LEDs and I'd go back to halogens before I ever go HID again.

In case you're wondering:

Headlights: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078GM1Z2B/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Fogs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D2MNS4C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[gixer2000]

To put this to rest, here are a couple pictures I took last night of my 2010 Charger's beam pattern. To be clear, I do not have projectors in them and I don't claim to have as good of a cutoff as projectors. That's not possible in a refractor housing. The beam shape is similar to halogens in the refractor, but brighter. You may notice a little extra light scatter near the top. I forgot to turn off the fog lights. My beams look nothing like any LEDs in that sales video. I have them properly aimed and adjusted to the refractor. I've never been flashed for being too bright. The range and brightness is far superior to stock halogens.

My experience with these LEDs is they don't flicker when started (compared to every HID ballast I tried.) They get to 100% brightness instantaneously, (unlike HID.) I've never had to cycle the headlights because one failed to fire, (unlike HID.) I'm out of the ballast guessing game. Higher priced ballast don't always last longer. I don't have to pull out my multimeter and trace electrical faults. Bad connection? Bad ballast? Bad bulb? So yeah, I've been pretty happy with the LEDs and I'd go back to halogens before I ever go HID again.

In case you're wondering:

Headlights: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078GM1Z2B/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Fogs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D2MNS4C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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The argument is not whether projectors or reflectors so there no need to stress over having reflectors. The cutoff on a reflector won't be as sharp and pronounced but it still produces a cutoff.

Every issue you described about HID are known issues for cheap equipment with the exception of warm up time! On good quality ballasts the warm up is only a few seconds.

As for the pictures.. If the fogs are on then of course the pictures look nothing like yours. I see glare city so if you'd like to try again with the fogs off that would be fantastic. I'm am truly interested to see the heads alone and don't want the fogs to cause any confusion on my end.

1 positive I do see is a very intense hot spot which is great for distance but like 90% of leds on the market you lose light in other areas its needed.

 

[CaptOchs]

Yeah, I tried the DD kit. It was better than the cheap stuff, but I wouldn't call it a success. A few seconds is not instantaneous. That's why I never installed HID in high beams.

The fogs fill in the area above the center beams. In truth they are a rather weak bulb because fog light wiring isn't as robust as headlight wiring. That's why I bought the 9006 bulbs specifically for fog lamps. I took my other car down the street and looked at the Charger oncoming. It is not blinding or glaring. I get annoyed with blinding aftermarket headlights too, so I specifically did not want that. I do want extra light for my trips to my property in the country. Need to see those deer.

I've been real cool with this, but no. I'm not going to drive around take more pictures. I'm not moving cars around my driveway just to satisfy your opinion. These pictures show two very hot centers. The light is pretty uniform. I took the picture from 25' - 30' away.

Wow, I guess I'll take that compliment. Are the 90% LEDs on the market truly ineffective or are they not installed right? If you check out the Amazon link for the headlights, one picture shows the 9006 fitting is a separate piece from the bulb. It's designed so you can rotate the LED to hit the refractor to get the beam straight. When I first installed the LEDs, my beams were firing off to the sides too. There was a very weak light in the center. I was going to return them! Then I figured out they just need to be rotated until the beams lined right up center. I could imagine some older versions may not have had this adjustment. Maybe the tabs prohibited movement so you were stuck with the light you had. Another possibility is they were just installed without adjustment and automatically given a negative review because they were never rotated to fix the beam. Make sense?

 

[TobyU]

I personally don't care too much about a sharp cutoff. As long as people don't flash me every night I'm out...
I have noticed with my 03 Navigator (hid I think but have no idea if reflector/projector etc and forget from the videos if both are even possible) that it has not only the brightest/whitest with blue tinge) sharpest upper cuttoff I've ever had.

Ford trucks have had great lights since the new f150s came out in what 94?? Too good if for some.
People complained a lot about getting blinded by them but you could SEE the road. When you look at them today (still have a 2000 exp with sylvania standard halogens) they look yellow in comparison to my navigators.

 

[gixer2000]

Yeah, I tried the DD kit. It was better than the cheap stuff, but I wouldn't call it a success. A few seconds is not instantaneous. That's why I never installed HID in high beams.

The fogs fill in the area above the center beams. In truth they are a rather weak bulb because fog light wiring isn't as robust as headlight wiring. That's why I bought the 9006 bulbs specifically for fog lamps. I took my other car down the street and looked at the Charger oncoming. It is not blinding or glaring. I get annoyed with blinding aftermarket headlights too, so I specifically did not want that. I do want extra light for my trips to my property in the country. Need to see those deer.

I've been real cool with this, but no. I'm not going to drive around take more pictures. I'm not moving cars around my driveway just to satisfy your opinion. These pictures show two very hot centers. The light is pretty uniform. I took the picture from 25' - 30' away.

Wow, I guess I'll take that compliment. Are the 90% LEDs on the market truly ineffective or are they not installed right? If you check out the Amazon link for the headlights, one picture shows the 9006 fitting is a separate piece from the bulb. It's designed so you can rotate the LED to hit the refractor to get the beam straight. When I first installed the LEDs, my beams were firing off to the sides too. There was a very weak light in the center. I was going to return them! Then I figured out they just need to be rotated until the beams lined right up center. I could imagine some older versions may not have had this adjustment. Maybe the tabs prohibited movement so you were stuck with the light you had. Another possibility is they were just installed without adjustment and automatically given a negative review because they were never rotated to fix the beam. Make sense?

Since I have no good image without fogs to judge I'll still call it glare city and be done with it.

I underatand how important bulb seating and rotation is but led/filament placement takes a lot more that rotation and angle. Let's not forget depth into the reflector, angle the led projects, thickness of the PCB its mounted to.

If it makes you happy and people don't flash you then have at it but just know you've settled with sub par lighting In my opinion.

 

[gixer2000]

I personally don't care too much about a sharp cutoff. As long as people don't flash me every night I'm out...
I have noticed with my 03 Navigator (hid I think but have no idea if reflector/projector etc and forget from the videos if both are even possible) that it has not only the brightest/whitest with blue tinge) sharpest upper cuttoff I've ever had.

Ford trucks have had great lights since the new f150s came out in what 94?? Too good if for some.
People complained a lot about getting blinded by them but you could SEE the road. When you look at them today (still have a 2000 exp with sylvania standard halogens) they look yellow in comparison to my navigators.

A shape cutoff isn't needed but a blurry cutoff thats found with most reflectors is acceptable. Thats what keep light out of others eyes.

The navi wasn't great compared to available options now but was far better than the old halogen with a fluted lense.

I didn't think the lights on the 94+ plus were great. Still a fluted lense and caused light all directions. I think they started moving the right direction with clear lenses on the 03 lightening then added clear lenses to the 04 f150. I'm my opinion thats when it got better.

 

[JExpedition07]

Sorry but none of you guys know good quality lighting, this is a quality retrofit kit you can buy at Home Depit or Valu. You have to pay to play.....love me a good EverReady retrofit! Clean cutoff with decent intensity. Ditch the crappy oem lighting and expensive hid retrofits for the future:

 

[TobyU]

A shape cutoff isn't needed but a blurry cutoff thats found with most reflectors is acceptable. Thats what keep light out of others eyes.

The navi wasn't great compared to available options now but was far better than the old halogen with a fluted lense.

I didn't think the lights on the 94+ plus weren't great. Still a fluted lense and caused light all directions. I think they started moving the right direction with clear lenses on the 03 lightening then added clear lenses to the 04 f150. I'm my opinion thats when it got better.

Baby steps for me. Maybe one day I'll get to what you call good options now. By then you will no longer be driving yourself and self driving cars will be the norm.
To me my Nav is great. Any more would be daylight.
I already melt paint off of houses with my brights!!!

I'll be one of the fruitcakes probably breaking the law in the not allowed lane or not allowed times driving an old "dangerous" cars you have to drive. I mean, like really man. What's rong with those people.

The 94+ were worlds better than the flat front plastics in like 92s and the glass large single sealed beams they replaced.

They probably scattered light everywhere but a lot of it. You could see a lot better.
People coming toward you coudln't see much.
There were calls for lawsuits to make Ford do something because people hated the blinding. People driving them didn't see (ha ha another funny. I love these lighting threads) a problem.

 

[CaptOchs]

Since I have no good image without fogs to judge I'll still call it glare city and be done with it.

I underatand how important bulb seating and rotation is but led/filament placement takes a lot more that rotation and angle. Let's not forget depth into the reflector, angle the led projects, thickness of the PCB its mounted to.

If it makes you happy and people don't flash you then have at it but just know you've settled with sub par lighting In my opinion.

I suppose you want me to drive to Massachusetts and show you? A picture of light can look different than the real thing due to camera optics.

Alright, look... In my opinion, you have subpar grammar and spelling skills. It's challenging to read your posts because the errors are "glare city" in my mind. Your logic is all over the place from post to post. It shows a clear lack of thought or stubborn single-mindedness in your beliefs. Either way, there's no value in future replies. I don't think you would believe me if I tried to convince you the sky is blue.

 

[CaptOchs]

Sorry but none of you guys know good quality lighting, this is a quality retrofit kit you can buy at Home Depit or Valu. You have to pay to play.....love me a good EverReady retrofit! Clean cutoff with decent intensity. Ditch the crappy oem lighting and expensive hid retrofits for the future:

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That's awesome! Keeping a supply of those large 6v batteries must be difficult. Lol.

 

[Adieu]

Fogs? The stock ones are just fine for me [emoji6]




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Stock fogs suck.

Good with projector LED bulbs... BETTER with replacement sealed LED projector assemblies