Ready for clear headlights?

[jd4242]

No, I was talking about the reflector design, not the headlight itself. Often time aftermarket headlight manufacturers use a generic reflector or projector that is mass produced to work on a variety of applications. Then they put it in the housing and add a boot and base on the back to correctly align the bulb and hold it in position.

i see how its made now,like you was saying in the other thread this would be easy to mod for the fx projectors.mine is more cone like a stock one

 

[FIND]

i see how its made now,like you was saying in the other thread this would be easy to mod for the fx projectors.mine is more cone like a stock one

Yup, sorry if I wasn't more clear in my description earlier. Luckily, even with your style, they are so square (straight edges) and flat it should still be pretty easy to center everything and mount it all straight.

 

[jd4242]

Cracker, if you want to protect your headlamps, it might be worth it to put a layer of 3M clear bra over the entire lens assembly to prevent rock cracks. After my wife's heep lost a fog light to a pebble on the highway, I went to a local tint/bra installer and asked/begged them for some scraps once I got a hold of a replacement lens (what? I'm poor). I was worried that the heat would bubble and/or discolor the film, but it didn't, and it definitely adds an awesome layer of protection; especially for small high speed debris.

Digression: Of course, a brush guard wouldn't hurt either.

Oh, and jd4242, do you have any pics of your headlamps installed so that we can do a comparison of them on a vehicle? and/or beam pics? I'm on the fence about which of these sets to buy for my Beast, and being able to compare both headlamp assemblies semi-directly would be a great help.

Thanks guys!

if you want to mod them to fit hid projectors than the led ones may be easier to fit a larger projector in,here is a link to what im talking about
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/index.php?cPath=25
and some pics,they are old and i have adjusted them down and apart alittle more now.also i dont run the clear side marker but they do come with them
and im in the middle of painting the truck,so those scoops and flares are not attached yet

 

[jd4242]

Also i forgot to add those beam pic are the 55watt 8000 in stock housing not my clear ones

 

[skater488]

what paint did you use to paint the grill or did you buy the grill like that? and tell me how you like the headlights cuz im thinking about getting some

 

[FL.Cracker]

what paint did you use to paint the grill or did you buy the grill like that? and tell me how you like the headlights cuz im thinking about getting some

I just used some krylon or rustolium flat black on the grill, can't rember which. Of course I did sand and clean it before painting too.

The headlights are working out great, I did get new bulbs, nothing fancy just some cheap 55/65 halogens with a light blue tint. It did defiantly improve the spot pattern, Ill have to take some pics soon. Really no complaints at all though, they look brand new still and a lot of girls like to stare at the bling so....:

 

[Backwoods "X"]

I just showed the two styles of headlights to my wife, since her 94 "X" is needing new headlights, and she likes the one piece with LED style better than the multipiece. Thanks for showing them installed. It made it easier for her to FINALLY decide what she wants to go with.

 

[skater488]

how did you get the chrome off the grille to paint it the flat black? and did you primer it?

 

[Nedwreck]

Well it's very obvious that the filaments are emitting nearly all photons up and down, reflecting mostly off of the upper and lower surfaces of the reflector while a bulb such as the one in the first pic would would have a more even distribution of photons on not only the upper and lower portions of the reflector but to the left and right as well.

Well, since these reflectors make all the light go one way...

Are they photon torpedoes?

(I can hear everyone groaning already. heh)

 

[FL.Cracker]

I just showed the two styles of headlights to my wife, since her 94 "X" is needing new headlights, and she likes the one piece with LED style better than the multipiece. Thanks for showing them installed. It made it easier for her to FINALLY decide what she wants to go with.

Awesome, that's great. Glad I could help. I have yet to see anyone else "sporting" these headlights, defiantly will set your 1st gen apart from the others. I'm sure your wife will like them. Post up a pic when you get them installed.

how did you get the chrome off the grille to paint it the flat black? and did you primer it?

My grille was originally just flat black plastic, no chrome on the sport. I just spiffed it up with a few coats of flat black.

Well, since these reflectors make all the light go one way...

Are they photon torpedoes?

(I can hear everyone groaning already. heh)

No they aren't bad at all, focused where they should be with adequate divergence. Much better than stock.

 

[Naasau]

Awesome, that's great. Glad I could help. I have yet to see anyone else "sporting" these headlights, defiantly will set your 1st gen apart from the others. I'm sure your wife will like them. Post up a pic when you get them installed.

I just ordered a set of the black/smoke/whatever LED housings, hopefully they'll be here and ready for install next weekend. I'll even see if I can get some beam reflection photo's off of a garage door for beam comparison before I do the 9004 to 9007 bulb swap.

Thanks for finding these, btw. I wasn't happy with the old housings and most replacements didn't thrill me. Again, well done!

 

[FL.Cracker]

I just ordered a set of the black/smoke/whatever LED housings, hopefully they'll be here and ready for install next weekend. I'll even see if I can get some beam reflection photo's off of a garage door for beam comparison before I do the 9004 to 9007 bulb swap.

Thanks for finding these, btw. I wasn't happy with the old housings and most replacements didn't thrill me. Again, well done!

No problem, I like the look of the black/smoked ones too. I can't wait to see the bulb comparison. Good luck and thanks for the compliment!

 

[Naasau]

Oops! I was just looking through some of my old stuff and I never did reply that I put my stuff on. Unfortunately I'm a klutz and smashed my old 9004 bulbs while removing them, so no fancy comparison pics... I can post some pics of them mounted though and some comparisons... but I did that over here: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67524&page=7

 

[Sip]

headlights

i don't know if you can tell from this pic but the led's are removable, they each have their own rubber boot you can just pull out by. I have tested them and there alright but I'd like to replace them with some better ones like you mentioned. I would also build a proper linear driver using an LM317 or LM1117 just as I do for my semiconductor laser diodes.

Hey!!! My little led strips lights are not coming on...guess they blowed out and you said they can come out? where at because I have been looking and cannot find where they come out..

 

[Naasau]

Did you check the led's by connecting them directly to the battery terminals? Remember, diodes only allow current to travel in one direction, so try it both ways.

 

[Sip]

Led

Did you check the led's by connecting them directly to the battery terminals? Remember, diodes only allow current to travel in one direction, so try it both ways.

I did try the battery terminal and they still didnt light up...

 

[Naasau]

Yank them from the back. From what I remember, Those little black rubber boots come right off.

 

[Sip]

Led

Yank them from the back. From what I remember, Those little black rubber boots come right off.

Yes, I got them out, but I had tested then still not working. What do you mean by both way?

 

[Naasau]

Diodes (both regular and light emitting), are nifty electronic devices that only allow current to flow in one direction. So, if you put the two wires coming off of the chain on the battery terminals and they don't work, just make sure that you swap the terminals that the wires touch to be sure.

 

[bobthekatt7]

This is so technical... Photons, bulb alignment properties, reflectivity angles... I'll keep reading until somebody tells me to buy "blank" part number from "blank".com

I must complement your Explorer for looking really good with those headlights. I have a brush guard on the front of mine and now I want what you have jd4242.

You have given me a reason to stop being an ass to my wife for a while