| Author | Message | ||
     Zacks |
I remember reading something here on the topic. Search isn't finding it for me. So, question for the collective hive: I do NOT like the headlights on my '15 F150 and want to upgrade. But there's ~48,372 different options. What has anyone done here and what works well? | ||
| Crusty |
 I couldn't resist... (Message edited by Crusty on December 06, 2018) | ||
| Ourdee |
auxiliary lights. LEDs. | ||
| Court |
I Ent with 6 Super Nove LED in the new F-250 Super Duty. Very happy with them. https://headlightrevolution.com/2017-ford-f250-f35 0-super-duty-led-headlight-bulbs-upgrade-kit-4-bul bs-supernova-v-4/ | ||
| Pwnzor |
Spend some time on the Ford Trucks Enthusiasts' forums... it's been a huge help to me with all my trucks over the years https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/index.php | ||
| Zacks |
Thanks John. That will surely help in those drifting races I get into...  Court/Pwnzor - thanks I'll check those out as well. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I don't know if they're projector lights, or reflector-style lights. My Grand Cherokee has projector beams and I hated them - high beam was worthless. I added an 11" LED single-row, 10 degree beam, 30w light bar to the bottom of my license plate (same width, just makes the plate look taller), toggled to high beams. MUCH better. My 2001 Ram is reflector-style. I put DDM 35w hi/lo HIDs, 4300k, in the hi/lo position. The separate high beam bulbs, I put in some 3500 lumen (each) LEDs, forget the name. Personally, I (my eyes) still like the light quality of an HID over the quality of an LED. Somehow, lumen for lumen, my eyes just "see better" with HIDs. YMMV. But for instant-on high beams...LED is the way to go. (note: the hi-lo HIDs are constant on, they physically move the bulb when you switch to high beam through use of electromagnets). | ||
| 99buellx1 |
I didn't like the stockers in my '15 either. I put SilverStars in, they were the simple way to go. It was a great improvement. Note, getting them swapped out was a major PITA. I have an '18 now, and the lights are just as bad as the '15 was, but I haven't wanted to deal with changing them. (Message edited by 99buellx1 on December 10, 2018) | ||
| Ratbuell |
Careful with the SilverStars - they burn bright, but don't last nearly as long. If they're a PITA to get to, best bet is to go LED or HID just for the combination of bright plus longevity. Stock headlights have gone downhill lately. Designers are more concerned with "looking sexy" than actually putting light on the road where it can be used. And, high beams have stopped getting brighter than the lows, and started simply opening a shutter to make the light taller. | ||
| Torquehd |
HID's get my vote. I've had them on 3 of my vehicles and been happy with all of them. Silverstars are generally better than stock but HID's are still much, much better. Please, for the love of anyone over the age of 30, take the time to align whatever headlights you end up going with. It's one of my biggest pet peeves. I wish someone would give me the legal authority to pull people over and write tickets for blinding oncoming traffic. | ||
| Ratbuell |
AMEN! If all you do is replace bulbs, you should: 1 - park the truck pointed at the garage door from about 20' away, and turn on your lights. 2 - put some tape in the brightest spots on the door 3 - ideally, replace the bulbs without moving the truck, but if you have to move the truck put some tape at all four wheels' points on the pavement, so you can park it in the same place after install. 4 - check the bright spots after installation and adjust as needed. People driving towards you on the road will thank you. You should also do this anytime you put on a "leveling kit" (I still haven't figured out why people bother with those...) or any other suspension work like full-on lift kits. And for God's sake, DIM YOUR LIGHTS when you see other traffic. I don't know if it's just a local thing around here, but more and more I'm finding people coming towards me with their brights on, and despite my flashing mine, giving up, and just leaving them ON until they pass...they just leave them on bright. And yes, these are the brights - I can see the inboard lamps are lit as they go by, in addition to the outboard ones. Don't be "that guy". Please. | ||
| S1owner |
Please what ever you do aim your lights correctly! If you lift or level your truck adjust the headlights! And dont be an idiot running a dusl light mod with driving lights also!!! Almost drove head on into a truck as I was blinded | ||
| Ratbuell |
I had a dual light mod on a Magnum R/T. Done properly, with the right lights, it won't blind. FOG lights, by definition, are a low-and-wide beam, below the focal point of a low beam, specifically to light the roadway immediately in front of the vehicle. NO vehicle sold in the USA is equipped with "driving" lights, which are a narrow-angle, higher-focused beam spread. DOT simply does not allow them. If you encounter "driving" lights on a vehicle - or fog lights that are simply aimed to high (which here in MD is common on the last generation of GM trucks, more than any other I've found) - it is either an aftermarket piece of equipment or a hamfisted-owner adjustment. A "dual beam mod" allows you to toggle to high beams, and have the fog lights (the low-and-wide lights) not go out. Thus, by definition, the "other" lights that simply aren't turning off, would be on anyway when you return to low beam operation. I have done a similar mod on my 2001 Dodge Ram 2500. My lighting mods are: 1. change the single-bulb headlights to factory Sport package headlights, which include 2 bulbs per side - one is a hi-lo bulb, and one is a hi-only bulb. I want to say the hi-lo is 9004 and the hi-only is a 9007. 2. installed DDM 35w hi-lo HID's in the hi-lo position 3. installed LED 9007s in the hi position 4. changed the H11 fog light bulbs to 3500k (amber) LEDs, and wired them direct to ignition source so they are, effectively, DRLs. My fog lights (the amber H11s) are properly aimed for fog lights - low and wide, "under" the headlight beams. And, effectively, they are a "dual beam mod" in that they do not go out when I turn on the high beams. The rest of my lights, despite the change from 2 to 4 lamps, operate as factory lights would - 2 outer beams on low, all 4 beams on high. Since I dim my high beams anytime there is traffic around (either oncoming, or same-direction within my field of view), the only things that are on, are the "normal" lo beams and foglights. With everything properly aimed, nobody flashes me. Ever. And when I'm alone...I can cook deer where they stand with the lumens the truck puts out. But with nobody around, I'm not blinding anyone. My 2014 Grand Cherokee was simpler - factory D1S projector-beam HIDs, with a shutter that creates the hi-lo differential, and a pair of (I think) H11 projector fog lights. I didn't touch the headlights - D1S are a pain in the ass. I changed - again - the fogs to 3500k LEDs, but in this case I left them factory-wired. I ADDED an 11' LED strip under the license plate:  that only comes on when I toggle the high beams. I wired its relay to battery, and the trigger wire is the lead that goes to the high beam bulb. The factory fog lights go out when I flick the lever, and my 3500 lumen LED 10 degree beam turns on. Again - when there's nobody around. If I see traffic, I go back to low beams and factory fog lights, and the LED bar basically vanishes:  And again - I can cook deer where they stand, if I'm on the road alone with no other traffic. Wire them correctly, aim them correctly...and everyone benefits. You can see when you need to. Oncoming traffic doesn't get blinded. And, you don't hit deer or other obstacles. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I may have a correction - my fogs might be 2500k, not 3500k, I can't remember. They're the "standard" amber lighting color if you do an ebay search for lamps. It's late. I did them a long time ago. I can't remember the kelvin numbers. Sue me   | ||
| Zac4mac |
Looks like a good Jeep, Joe. Next time you need tires, try the BFG AllTerrain T/As. Noisy, but not too bad, but the best traction I've found(and great wear). They're on my Dodge Dakota Sport and I have driven around many other vehicles "stuck". Z | ||
| Pwnzor |
BFG Radial All-Terrain T/A's get my vote. Sheds snow and mud quickly and they wear long. Be ready to constantly steer your vehicle though, as the tread is decidedly non-directional and will grab every crack in the road, pulling you towards it. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Had 'em on a Ram 2500 years ago. Hate 'em. Dinged my fuel economy 2mpg (same pressures as OEM tires), tracked all over the road, cupped/serrated wear even with good alignment and regular rotations. I'll never buy another set. As it sits, with the OEM Goodyears, it's flat-out BORING to drive in the snow. Might as well be dry pavement. I don't mud in it; I don't crawl in it. It's strictly an all-wheel-drive luxury car. If I'm crawlin' or muddin', I have my XJ with Kelly MT-R's on it. | ||
| Zacks |
I thought HIDs had issues with reflector design - if I recall a discussion here regarding motorcycle headlights correctly. | ||
| Ratbuell |
You have to get the correct model HID (i.e. H3, H7, H11, H4) for the enclosure. The only real "issue" could be using too hot a lamp for a plastic reflector, and burning the reflector surface. As a rule, I only use 35w in plastic housings/reflectors, and 55w in glass housings with metal reflectors. | ||
| Zac4mac |
There is a small difference between halogen and HID - Halogen's light ball is a filament which has different optics than the gas ball of the HID. The shapes are similar but not identical. Different reflectors can mitigate or exacerbate the differences. I have been very happy with HIDs in my 1125R but have seen some really bad beam patterns from other vehicles. Z | ||
| Ratbuell |
Newer HIDs do a good job of emulating the placement of a filament. I've found that cheap HID's...give crappy beam spread because of less-precise source positioning. I've been consistently happy with my DDM HID's - good quality, good consistency, and excellent source placement. HID's are an electrical arc; modern tech is allowing for more precise placement of the electrodes between which the arc...well...arcs. Place the arc in the same position as a filament, make it span the same distance as the length of the filament, and you get nearly an identical result. LEDs are going through the same process, but the catch on LEDs is, they have to be mounted to "a surface" as opposed to being a 360 degree light source. An LED (the single diode) is directional. It only projects light in one direction. Multi-faceted LEDs can mitigate that to an extent, but by adding facets, you (by definition) lose placement accuracy because more facets equal more chips, and you can only put ONE chip in "the right spot". All-LED headlights, if you look closely at some of them (cars or bikes), don't even allow you to SEE the LED chip - they are mounted in a pocket, out of view of the exterior, so their (directional) light can project onto the reflector, and get focused outwards and downrange. Many hi-lo LED lights have a bar down the middle of the lens; the low beam LED is mounted to the upper half of the bar, pointed at the upper reflector, which allows a downward focus; the high beam is mounted to the lower half of the bar, pointed at the lower half of the reflector which allows an upward focus and beam spread. | ||
| Sifo |
I put a DDM HID in my XB12 low beam. Huge improvement over the stock bulb. It did scorch the reflector right above the bulb though. Still much better with the blacked out strip on the reflector. I tried upgrading the bulbs in my Jeep with some LED "bulbs". Those combined with the horrible reflectors on the Jeep were simply terrible. At that point I got some LED replacements headlights that replace the entire reflector. Those are almost as good as the projector HIDs in my truck and Miata. Both of those have really nice HID projectors. All of those are expensive to replace, but are expected to have a long life. A rock could take them out at any time though. It's kind of funny on the F150s. They look like they throw out lots of light from the front of the truck. I guess it must not look as good from the inside though. Style over function I suppose. Their headlights don't look like budget units for sure! | ||
| Fresnobuell |
I would suggest the DDM HID kit. Cheap and effective. I had them on my F-150 and really liked 'em. They replace the stock bulbs and have a couple ballasts that you have to zip tie up in the engine compartment in the headlamp area. Pretty straight forward. I went thru a couple sets and the high beam function was much improved on the second set (the high beam functionality was my only gripe about the first set--it only seemed to make the illumination wider and it didn't illuminate the road in front of me as much as I would have liked). The second set had a much better, more "traditional" high beam functionality | ||
| Zacks |
Fresno - was there a different part number, or just build quality? And when you say a couple of sets, was it due to failure/short life or trying different models? | ||
| Fresnobuell |
I replaced the first set because the ballast or bulb on one side started to fail after several years, meaning that side would not illuminate the first time the lights attempted to turn on. Once the lights "warmed" up for a few seconds, I would have to manually cycle the lights and then the "bad" side would turn on and they would both function normally for the ride. They would never just go out while driving anything like and I found a relatively minor inconvenience. After several months of this, I noticed the "bad" bulb was becoming a slightly yellower shade than the original, whiter shade on the other side and decided it was time to breakdown and install an new set. As far as the build quality or different part number for the second set, I really can't say honestly. It seemed like there were more levels of HID systems that DDM offered the second time around and since years had passed since the first order, I just went with the best one offered. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Yeah the different levels are increases in lumens/watt as well as accuracy of light-source placement. I've had great luck with DDM - I have them in four of my cars and all of my bikes, and thus far have only had one DOA (which they replaced, no questions asked and no drama). |
