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Best halogen headlight bulbs, 9005 or 9011?

Ok so my base model has LED low beams but halogen highs. Those halogen highs suck, not bright at all.
 



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Ok so my base model has LED low beams but halogen highs. Those halogen highs suck, not bright at all.
Welcome to the Forum.:wave:
I have the same setup on my Platinum. I was tempted to change the bulbs in the high beams but there is very limited space in which to work and I actually find the halogen high beams to do a very good job. As mentioned in the Forum quite a while ago, the only reason some changed the halogens is to have the same coloured lights on High and Low. More of an esthetic reason that functional. I do quite a bit of country driving and have no issues with the high beam light output.

Peter
 






Hello All,
New to the site and just traded our 2015 limited for a 2017 sport. I poked around on this site some and saw some conversations about the high beam halogens on the sport and how the colors don't match.

Our plan was to just buy a higher end halogen bulb like the sylvania silverstar ultra or the zxe. We don't use the high beams much, but it looks just silly with it being so yellow. I'm also not interested in dinking around with a LED bulb or HID bulb - I've had my fair share of issues with both in the past, so we'd be content with a simple halogen, but closer to color matching.

Anyway, from what I can tell, I need a 9005 (the right angle one), not the 9005XS (the straight one).

I did have one other thought - is the platinum the same setup? Or are the high beams different and maybe one could purchase the platinum bulbs to drop into the sport?

Thanks and looking forward to being part of the group.

Andy
 






Welcome to the Forum Andy.:wave:
Your thread has been merged with this existing one. I believe post #17 is a good one to check out.
The Platinum has the same set up. I thought of perhaps changing the bulb like you but given the tight area in which to work I decided to leave it. I am very happy with the high beams and travel country roads quite often. The only reason I can see for changing them is for aesthetics.

Peter
 






I put the Philips 9011 HIR bulbs in my 2016 and they are brighter than the 9005 they replaced. Its my wifes vehicle and she said she noticed a difference in brightness.

Sidenote - why does one care if the high beam color matches the low beam color? Other drivers should never see them on at the same time.....
 






........Sidenote - why does one care if the high beam color matches the low beam color? Other drivers should never see them on at the same time.....
I somewhat agree with you. When the high beams are on I don't get to see them side by side anyway as I'm in the cabin. In fact I find the halogen light more pleasing/soothing to the eye if that makes any sense.

Peter
 






Of course that makes sense. Spend some time over at Daniel Stern lighting and the whole wavelength/color spectrum issue is explained time and time again. The most useful light is in the 4300K range. No LED is that color unless a filter is used.
 






Summers - agreed on the color, but it bothers the wife and I, plus we got pampered with the nice white light while driving and the canary yellow halogen high beam just irritates us. I think we'll just play it safe and shell out a couple extra bucks to get the zxe's. I'm totally capable of modifying the 9011 and such, but we have less than 200 miles on the new ride and I'd rather just toss in a stock replacement.

As a side note, we traded in our 2015 limited for this 2017 sport. Not sure if the limited had LED or HID (I suspect HID), but they were projector style and we loved the pattern and the looks of the housing - why did Ford go away from these style lights? Seems like a ton of new cars have projector style, then suddenly the explorer shows up with these.
 






Summers - agreed on the color, but it bothers the wife and I, plus we got pampered with the nice white light while driving and the canary yellow halogen high beam just irritates us. I think we'll just play it safe and shell out a couple extra bucks to get the zxe's. I'm totally capable of modifying the 9011 and such, but we have less than 200 miles on the new ride and I'd rather just toss in a stock replacement.

As a side note, we traded in our 2015 limited for this 2017 sport. Not sure if the limited had LED or HID (I suspect HID), but they were projector style and we loved the pattern and the looks of the housing - why did Ford go away from these style lights? Seems like a ton of new cars have projector style, then suddenly the explorer shows up with these.
 






Oh - and thanks for the welcome to the forums. My wife rolled her eyes already when I told her I joined an explorer forum the day we bought it. Hey, thats how you share best practices (or worst haha) and learn things!
 






.....As a side note, we traded in our 2015 limited for this 2017 sport. Not sure if the limited had LED or HID (I suspect HID), but they were projector style and we loved the pattern and the looks of the housing - why did Ford go away from these style lights? Seems like a ton of new cars have projector style, then suddenly the explorer shows up with these.
Hi Andy. The 2015 Limited had Halogen headlights as standard equipment but the HID were an option that you could order. They did not have LED. I am not certain but I believe the 2016/17 models still use projectors for both the LED low and the Halogen high beams.
More and more manufacturers are switching to LED headlights. What I find curious is why did Ford go with the Halogen/LED combination on the Explorer instead of the LED low and High beams that are offered on some Lincoln models? I think that Laser will replace the LED in the not too distant future.:)

Peter
 






Peter, my 2016 Limited uses reflectors for the LED low and halogen high, not projectors.
 






mine too. when I first saw the new models I thought "what the heck? they go back to regular composite/halogen setup?"

The wife loved the projector pattern. Plus she thought it looked cool because it said "explorer" on it. we are easy to please people I guess haha.
 






Thanks guys. I haven't really looked at mine closely. Well if that is the case, perhaps they should have used reflectors on the halogens in the earlier models if the amount of light that the high and low beams throw out is any indication of what reflectors can do.:wave:
 






No projectors in 16+ units, the LED's are possibly projected behind the defuser panel but not projectors as we've had from 11-15's
 






Also, for the highs, for law enforcement use and the "WIG-WAG" for the highs the market really dictated they go back to a separate high beam (non-projector/shutter style)
 






Well this has been an 'enlightening' morning. ;) Thanks everyone.

Peter
 






So, spoke with the boss (my wife). Since this is brand new, our main vehicle and the family vehicle, we're going to just go with 9005 replacement bulbs. I'll report back here on how it turns out.

As a side note - would one think the silverstar ultra or the zxe would be closer to the LED color? I have the ultras in my harley and they seem ok, but I chose these due to longer life (motorcycle light is always on, even in the day). I worry the zxe's might be approaching a blueish/purple tint.
 






I installed the Philips 9011's the other night. Definitely a difference from the stock 9005.
 



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