What are good/bright headlight bulbs?

[SOLISIMO]

And no I dont want the HID crap. What are good bright bulbs. Im looking to change my setup. Is it possible to run a higher wattage bulb on both headlights and fogs?

 

[tallsville]

look up sylvania silverstars

http://www.f150online.com/forums/appearance-products/335986-brightest-bulbs-without-going-hid.html

but id say go with the HID crap and 4300k

could also try toshiba hir headlights
http://www.hirheadlights.com/

they are 9011 9012 bulbs and need to trim some plastic on bulb
http://shnu.us/HIR Trimming Stock.htm

here are some pics from a subaru
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?16970-Osram-Hyper-and-Toshiba-HIR-bulbs!-(PICS!!!)

 

[ELVATO]

He won't be able to use the HIR because he has dual filament H13/9008 bulbs. We're lucky to have the dual bulb headlights

You might be able to get away with slightly higher wattage bulbs in the headlights, but I wouldn't do it in the fogs. They look to be the same size as the F150 ones where people have melted lenses from putting in 9005 bulbs.

Also, I don't believe they have Ultras in H13. Not that it matters since the Ultras are pretty much just normal Silver Stars with added lifetime.

 

[jjbusa]

How come you don't like hidS

 

[WHOISMOOTOO]

100w "off roading" light bulbs work great and there about $10/set but as mentioned it will melt ur fogs I had that setup for about 8 months before I went hid. My fog housings melted slightly at the base of the bulb nothing too bad though. Didn't have problems with the wires or nothing like that and they were hella brighter than the silverstars.

Sent from space using taptalk

 

[SOLISIMO]

How come you don't like hidS

Well I have a hate for them bc of the glare. Hids is a bright light but it needs to be projected. Our headlights are not projectors which means they just scatter the light and in reality you loose visability, it just appears that you have more light bc of how bright it is in front of you, but for them to work properly (they need to be guided to longer distances) ie projected.

A read a really good article about lights over on f150online. Basically alot of these bulbs you see (halogen) are not DOT approved. Those that say its a 55w bulb but it comes out at 85w are scams. If you notice all these bulbs have a coating to give you that bluish look that many like but in reality take away from the light output. Even the Sylvanias are guilty of this and have short life span. I ended up going with some H13 Phillips Xtremes which have the longest life and brightest beam out there. A little pricey but they arent gimmicks. For the fogs I went with a 9145 bulb which is 45 watts, 5 watts higher then factory. To those that have the round fogs 45watts is the highest you can go safely, without melting the case. The square ones you can up to a 55 watt bulb.

As far as a higher watt bulb for the headlights it is recommended not to. I read plenty of threads in which people did the swap and it fried the wires.

Remember the higher kelvin temp. you go the more light/visability you are gonna loose. Anything over 5k your shorting yourself.

 

[tonydiv]

I put hids in my new lightning style housings and couldn't be happier with them.

The most important thing if you just want to put higher wattage bulbs in your existing housings is to use a heavy duty relay and wire kit that pulls power directly from the battery. That way you'll get the most out of them.

 

[sgtowing]

Well I have a hate for them bc of the glare. Hids is a bright light but it needs to be projected. Our headlights are not projectors which means they just scatter the light and in reality you loose visability, it just appears that you have more light bc of how bright it is in front of you, but for them to work properly (they need to be guided to longer distances) ie projected.

A read a really good article about lights over on f150online. Basically alot of these bulbs you see (halogen) are not DOT approved. Those that say its a 55w bulb but it comes out at 85w are scams. If you notice all these bulbs have a coating to give you that bluish look that many like but in reality take away from the light output. Even the Sylvanias are guilty of this and have short life span. I ended up going with some H13 Phillips Xtremes which have the longest life and brightest beam out there. A little pricey but they arent gimmicks. For the fogs I went with a 9145 bulb which is 45 watts, 5 watts higher then factory. To those that have the round fogs 45watts is the highest you can go safely, without melting the case. The square ones you can up to a 55 watt bulb.

As far as a higher watt bulb for the headlights it is recommended not to. I read plenty of threads in which people did the swap and it fried the wires.

Remember the higher kelvin temp. you go the more light/visability you are gonna loose. Anything over 5k your shorting yourself.

I put HID's in mine without changing to projectors. I can see further with the HID's and it is definitly brighter. I didn't want the higher watt bulbs because when i put in a stero and electric fans, i want the extra electricity the HID's don't use. I hope you like the philips bulbs.

 

[Sierra Lima1470]

Well I have a hate for them bc of the glare. Hids is a bright light but it needs to be projected. Our headlights are not projectors which means they just scatter the light and in reality you loose visability, it just appears that you have more light bc of how bright it is in front of you, but for them to work properly (they need to be guided to longer distances) ie projected.

A read a really good article about lights over on f150online. Basically alot of these bulbs you see (halogen) are not DOT approved. Those that say its a 55w bulb but it comes out at 85w are scams. If you notice all these bulbs have a coating to give you that bluish look that many like but in reality take away from the light output. Even the Sylvanias are guilty of this and have short life span. I ended up going with some H13 Phillips Xtremes which have the longest life and brightest beam out there. A little pricey but they arent gimmicks. For the fogs I went with a 9145 bulb which is 45 watts, 5 watts higher then factory. To those that have the round fogs 45watts is the highest you can go safely, without melting the case. The square ones you can up to a 55 watt bulb.

As far as a higher watt bulb for the headlights it is recommended not to. I read plenty of threads in which people did the swap and it fried the wires.

Remember the higher kelvin temp. you go the more light/visability you are gonna loose. Anything over 5k your shorting yourself.

Thats really good advice, Thanks! I plan on doing that setup this week.

 

[ScottyDsntKnow]

Guy at work has HIDs in his SRT-8 Cherokee. Apparently whenever it rains he can never see a damn thing but they are brighter...

I'd say the BEST bet would be to try to retrofit an actual HID projector from a Navigator that had them as an option. That is if we are talking about a 2nd gen which, now that I look at who is posting, we are not lol. You could always read up on the myriad of tutorials floating around how to mount actual OEM projectors from BMWs or whatever into your stock housing and make it look factory. Need to be halfway handy with fiberglass and have alot of patience but it can be done.

 

[ELVATO]

Does he have that ricer ass blue HIDs? I bet he'd see more if he went with 4300k...

I have no problem seeing in the rain (and they cut fine through the fog) with mine.

 

[ScottyDsntKnow]

He has 4000k blue HIDs I believe. If i ever do them I'm going with ultra white and I still don't understand how he can't see when it rains if he can see way better when it isn't raining as he claims he can.

I have a 2nd gen and I really want to see how much work it would be to modify 2nd Gen OEM HID headlights to fit in an Expo. I'm assuming Navis used a slightly different headlight shape correct?

 

[ELVATO]

Yea, I think they're shorter and "wider.

I'd just go with something like an FX-R or a TL, unless you can get a really good deal on used Navi projectors. Those are pretty good bi-xenon projectors that should be better than the Navi ones.

As far as your friend, if they are in any way blue, the aren't 4300Ks. Hints of blue start at 6000K with really blue being 8000K and 10000K. Depending on the seller, 12000K/30000K can be either very blue or pink. 3000K are yellow.

These are what mine look like. Hopefully the forum resizes correctly:


You can tell mine are plug and play from the hot spots in the center of the road. I don't mind them, and they work pretty well in rain or fog, but I do want to retrofit. Someone gave me a set of E55s, but I haven't had time to finish the retrofit. I might just break down and buy FX-Rs, since they should be a lot easier to retrofit.

 

[smoke0480]

i have the silverstars in my cummins they are pretty bright IMO.

 

[0212353]

You can't beat projectors!

I love HIDs, loved them in my stock lights, but - not best for other drivers. Projectors definitely are worth the $$.

Best part? When you are in there poppin' in a projector, might as well have some fun with the lights. Paint 'em up!

 

[NewbieVet]

Just put some Hella Xenon 9005s and 9006s in my truck tonight. They look pretty damn bright to me and cheap(er) than a lot of the other options

 

[ELVATO]

I bet mine are brighter

 

[NewbieVet]

I bet mine are brighter

 

[brilis]

For Elvato

Hey Elvato,

Which plug and play headlights are you running with? I have a 98 Expy EB and I am just looking for some nice lights to pop in with no other mods. Your picture of the lights looks awesome. Thanks.

 

[megawatt00]

Might be a little to late but you can make up a harness that powers the lights directly from the battery. I did this on my Dually and the difference was very noticeable. I have made a few up for others and they were very happy with them too,