Thoughts on some new headlights and tail lights

Aftermarket headlights can actually be a functional upgrade from old stock headlamps that are cloudy and yellow, but beware that the aftermarket stuff is generally cheap plastic and not the greatest quality despite the sky-high prices.

Some people with the 95-01 style lamps have noted better lighting with the reflector and/or projector type over the stock lamps, so it's just a matter of what you like and how much you want to spend.

The tail lenses are ok, they help match the headlights if you get something similar.

Whatever you get, just be sure to use quality bulbs from Sylvania, Philips, or GE (and not the "fake HID" bulbs like Silverstars), including in the tail and signal lamps, as the cheap bulbs aren't as bright and can create safety issues.

Anime said:

Aftermarket headlights can actually be a functional upgrade from old stock headlamps that are cloudy and yellow, but beware that the aftermarket stuff is generally cheap plastic and not the greatest quality despite the sky-high prices.

Some people with the 95-01 style lamps have noted better lighting with the reflector and/or projector type over the stock lamps, so it's just a matter of what you like and how much you want to spend.

The tail lenses are ok, they help match the headlights if you get something similar.

Whatever you get, just be sure to use quality bulbs from Sylvania, Philips, or GE (and not the "fake HID" bulbs like Silverstars), including in the tail and signal lamps, as the cheap bulbs aren't as bright and can create safety issues.

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I am mainly looking for better lighting over style so I see where you are coming from with quality vs price. I also just picke up some of the VHT Nightshade so I can tint the turn signal on the tail lights like paraphoe did.

camaroruletherd said:

I am mainly looking for better lighting over style so I see where you are coming from with quality vs price. I also just picke up some of the VHT Nightshade so I can tint the turn signal on the tail lights like paraphoe did.

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If you want better lighting I'd say look for some decent reflector-type headlights, and still use the quality bulbs in those.



Forum members that have replaced the stock headlighs with these report they are brighter than stock due to the design.

You can of course also get a set with matching style turn signals and marker lights but it can sometimes be a better deal to just get a pair of headlights if they cost a lot less than the set. If the set is just a little more than the headlights themselves then sure, it can be worth it.

If you plan to get projectors or something else you should probably search the 95-01 forum or the lighting forum and see what some of the good aftermarket headlight assemblies are, there may be some brands or types that are better than others, even if they cost more.

Generally for aftermarket replacements like the reflector type, brands like Depo or TYC are better than some of the lesser known brands, although sometimes other brands just sell reboxed Depo/TYC stuff.


The Nightshade stuff actually reduces visibility, too. Might be ok if you just do it lightly on the signal lens only, but I would avoid using it on the lenses for the brake lights.

Anime said:

If you want better lighting I'd say look for some decent reflector-type headlights, and still use the quality bulbs in those.

Forum members that have replaced the stock headlighs with these report they are brighter than stock due to the design.

You can of course also get a set with matching style turn signals and marker lights but it can sometimes be a better deal to just get a pair of headlights if they cost a lot less than the set. If the set is just a little more than the headlights themselves then sure, it can be worth it.

If you plan to get projectors or something else you should probably search the 95-01 forum or the lighting forum and see what some of the good aftermarket headlight assemblies are, there may be some brands or types that are better than others, even if they cost more.

Generally for aftermarket replacements like the reflector type, brands like Depo or TYC are better than some of the lesser known brands, although sometimes other brands just sell reboxed Depo/TYC stuff.


The Nightshade stuff actually reduces visibility, too. Might be ok if you just do it lightly on the signal lens only, but I would avoid using it on the lenses for the brake lights.

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I do like the crystal lights and seems like the best option for me. I am not really a fan of the halo's around the projector lights. Have you used theheadlight restoration kits available? Was gonna give that a shot before spending 150 on new housings.

camaroruletherd said:

I do like the crystal lights and seems like the best option for me. I am not really a fan of the halo's around the projector lights. Have you used theheadlight restoration kits available? Was gonna give that a shot before spending 150 on new housings.

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I've used the Meguiar's PlastX plastic lens polish and UV Protectant, it works ok to remove the yellowing but even with the protectant you still have to polish them every few months to keep them really clear.

You can use just about any headlight restoration kit or even just rubbing compound to remove the yellowing, but using some kind of kit or product line with a UV protectant is a good idea so you don't have to clean them every week.

Sometimes using some 1000-2500 grit sandpaper and wet sanding the lenses can get off yellowed plastic that the polishing compound isn't coarse enough to remove, then use the polish, then the protectant.

If the lenses are just cloudy/milky colored, then using the polish and protectant will usually clear up the lens really well and you can probably just polish them every so often over the years until they turn yellow, which means the factory UV coating has been polished off.


$150 is a ripoff price for housings, you can just get a pair of OE-style housings from ebay for ~$40 if you don't want to spend a lot but would rather have new, clear lights.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Headlights-...ts=Model:Explorer&hash=item1e66d1dc71&vxp=mtr

It's a bit of work to remove the assembly and then replace the housings and put it all back together and re-align the headlights, but it can be worth it compared to paying $200+ for fancy headlights.

I have the black crystal headlights.
Even with the black top and bottom in the headlight, they light output was so much better than stock. They also give the truck a nice face lift in my opinion.

DjDom said:

I have the black crystal headlights.
Even with the black top and bottom in the headlight, they light output was so much better than stock. They also give the truck a nice face lift in my opinion.

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I like how those look. Where did you buy yours from? Have you tried running LEDs in the signal and side marker?

heres my headlights I have the black ones your looking at on ebay along here is a shot of my tails on my 98 Eddie

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ofuvt2dqkjkcrh8/truck.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/th027ause4r7ao7/x 1.jpeg?dl=0

im running hid's in my fogs and headlights as well

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ikqr4llz1rs4kqh/hid fogs.jpg?dl=0

camaroruletherd said:

I like how those look. Where did you buy yours from? Have you tried running LEDs in the signal and side marker?

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I haven't tried LEDs for the parking/turn lights yet. I'm still waiting till they drop a little in price.

Already have HIDs in the headlight housing. They are aimed properly, line up with the low beam filament of a 9007 bulb and do not glare up.