brighter headlights?

[fishwish3]

i still seem to be having issuse with the headlights on my 01 sport, they are aimed properly and no fogging of the lenses, i have the silverstar ultras and they look as bright as the "stock" ones that i bought the truck with, is there any way to actually make these brighter by anyway?

 

[Electrohacker]

Polish the lenses

 

[fishwish3]

the lenses were replaced at dealer, they only have over a year on them

 

[smurfxlt]

get H.I.Ds

 

[fishwish3]

too cheap for the conversion and they are not D.O.T. approved without the projectors

 

[BK_89iX]

Are the bulbs receiving full voltage? Voltage drop due to poor connections or undersized wiring could decrease brightness. Just speculating...

BK

 

[fishwish3]

honestly, i dont know, its all stock wiring except for the wiring for my warning lights

 

[aldive]

Have you considered a high performance wire harness?

 

[NYMount21]

Have you considered a high performance wire harness?

I agree, check out SUVlights.com. An easy plug and play hookup for your stock system.

However, I also second HID's. There are HID kits out there for as low as $50 at this point (the price for a set of Silverstars) off eBay that perform great, and HID's are better than any bulb you'll ever find (mine are Bi-Xenon from eBay, and are 3 years old with not a single problem for example). Many will argue over projectors, but I personally don't use them, and not only have I never been pulled over for my HID's, but they're truly not that bad w/o the projectors.

However if you don't want to go that route, then you don't want to go that route, there are certainly other solutions to your problem. Good luck

 

[fishwish3]

as far as the HIDs go, it depends on your local laws and regulations and i know that in PA and my county they are illegal without the projectors and i dont feel like going that route because them i will have to be replacing brand new parts. and i have looked and i have not found a high-performance wiring harness, im just looking for pretty much a simple fix, as i do this on a daily basis as my career.

 

[toypaseo]

Philips Xtreme Power bulbs...

 

[techboj]

1. Silverstars or Phillips extreme would be your best start for OEM replacement and DOT approved. Avoid cheap ebay bulbs or blue colored bulbs as they actually decrease usable light output.

An HID bulb in a reflector lens may work for some but personally I would not want to be inconsiderate to any incoming driver. For those who argue that the cut-off is ok and it's not blinding anybody, I invite them to get their headlights properly checked by an optical beamsetter.

2. The best legal and efficient solution would be an aftermarket wiring harness as Aldive has already suggested above. This allows the bulbs to draw power directly from the battery giving you optimum output from whatever bulbs you have. You can purchase the harness pre-made or you can make your own using your own parts. I did the latter and I think it's worth it.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=266362

3. Aftermarket lenses and reflectors give slightly better output but be wary of quality since a lot of the cheap ones have the lenses yellowing in just a few months. At least one member here, Celly has an aftermarket housing that combines HID and a better housing.

4. The best result and output would be with proper HID retrofits or a custom HID projector housing but check with your local laws. I know that in some places, if your truck did not come oem with projectors-HID then any retrofit or non-oem housing may be illegal.

5. If you go with step 2 above, you can even go with higher wattage bulbs. Arguably some people would say it would discolor the lenses further or burn off the "chrome" like reflector of your oem housing but I know a few people who have gone this way and if the oem housing does get damaged later then the housings should be changed anyway. Granted, higher wattage bulbs may not exactly be street/DOT legal as well, but done properly and conservatively the usable light output would be better.

And the aftermarket harness is also usable with an HID retrofit if you choose to go that way. Not only will it give better light output but it would also prolong the life of the ballast since there would be little current fluctuations becaue of the inline relay.

 

[NYMount21]

...and i have looked and i have not found a high-performance wiring harness...

did you try SUVlights.com like I mentioned? I have a kit from them and it worked great with my stock lights. I simply decided I wanted the almighty HID kit after awhile haha.....here's a link directly to the wiring harnesses section:

http://suvlights.com/index.php?cPath=24_73

 

[celly]

did you try SUVlights.com like I mentioned? I have a kit from them and it worked great with my stock lights. I simply decided I wanted the almighty HID kit after awhile haha.....here's a link directly to the wiring harnesses section:

http://suvlights.com/index.php?cPath=24_73

AGREED

I actually use a Suvlights harness with my HIDs.

 

[XLTmodifire]

did you try SUVlights.com like I mentioned? I have a kit from them and it worked great with my stock lights. I simply decided I wanted the almighty HID kit after awhile haha.....here's a link directly to the wiring harnesses section:

http://suvlights.com/index.php?cPath=24_73

Hey, just wanted to mention you may want to take out the extra: http:// from the link provided.

Good luck to the poster with his problem.

 

[Marty9957]

i still seem to be having issuse with the headlights on my 01 sport, they are aimed properly and no fogging of the lenses, i have the silverstar ultras and they look as bright as the "stock" ones that i bought the truck with, is there any way to actually make these brighter by anyway?

You might try these. I bought a set but haven't had a chance to put them on yet. CARIFEX® Compact LED Headlight Bulb Sets

 

[XLTrunner]

I read where these Carifex bulbs are 400% brighter than oem bulbs. Not to be a jerk, but does anyone care about the blinding effect on other drivers with these types of bulbs? Seems long-time Federal regulations have gone right out the window when it comes to headlight brightness and anything goes these days. Is anyone else besides me tired of the blinding effect of these high intensity LEDs being installed on new (and, older) vehicles?

 

[Fix4Dirt]

I read where these Carifex bulbs are 400% brighter than oem bulbs. Not to be a jerk, but does anyone care about the blinding effect on other drivers with these types of bulbs? Seems long-time Federal regulations have gone right out the window when it comes to headlight brightness and anything goes these days. Is anyone else besides me tired of the blinding effect of these high intensity LEDs being installed on new (and, older) vehicles?

yeah, i dont like em. i have heard that some have like auto high beam where high bemas are on but once light is detected it just gors to normal headlight. imo thats a good idea

 

[J_C]

You might try these. I bought a set but haven't had a chance to put them on yet. C******® Compact LED Headlight Bulb Sets

All LED retrofit (drop into existing incandescent housings) bulbs are illegal for use on public roads.

 

[J_C]

Not to be a jerk, but does anyone care about the blinding effect on other drivers with these types of bulbs? Seems long-time Federal regulations have gone right out the window when it comes to headlight brightness and anything goes these days. Is anyone else besides me tired of the blinding effect of these high intensity LEDs being installed on new (and, older) vehicles?

Yes it's ridiculous. In the case of illegal modded lights, law enforcement needs to start ticketing people and towing vehicles if they can't leave it parked till daytime or swap in legal bulbs on the spot.

It's usually not a matter of high vs low beam. Most are excessively blinding on low beam as well.