diamond clear help (installed) | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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diamond clear help (installed)

I just install black diamond clear headlights and markers. They came with headlight buobs which i did not expect. I used my silverstar ultras which the glass is smaller. My question is if anyone has used bulbs that came with any diamond lense housing. My beams seem to be very scattered not out of aim but blotchy on the road. Im wondeting if its from the bulbs being smaller or its common among the aftermarket
 






The bulbs that they come with are probably just ultra-cheap made-in-china bulbs that have a dark, dark blue paint or coating on there, making them produce WAY less than legal output, and the overall construction is probably horrible. I would not suggest using those bulbs.

The Sylvania Silverstars also have a blue coating that reduces light output, but they are much better in terms of construction and should have legal output, even if they only last a few months to a year to achieve it.

You might also have to re-aim the new headlamps to get a decent beam, but if nothing helps, even with the Silverstar bulbs in there, they are likely just cheap lamps with a poorly designed reflector and you're finding out why cheaply made "black diamond clear" headlights are a bad idea.

There are some aftermarket manufacturers that have decent quality lights (Depo, TYC, etc.), but there are a LOT of others that just produce them for show use, and they aren't very functional (or legal) in terms of being used on the road for driving.
 






Every vehicle ive owned ive used silverstars and ultra and have only had one fail. They are coated blue but shine white and have no hint of blue from the bulb while on or on the road. As far as the lights go they all appear to be made by the same manufacturer but the cheapest i could find was 155 for the set. The factory lights compared to the new had damn near identical adjustment out of the box. I will try to adjust them further to my liking i just dont know why the light pattern seems to be blotchy. Could be poor refraction but at the same time im curious if anyone has run into this and or has an answer if any way to solve it
 






Poor refraction, poor reflection, poor construction.

Aftermarket lights, especially gimmicky ones like "black diamond clear" stuff are NOT made to the same quality specs or using the same materials as OEM headlamps that are made by major manufacturers.

They are typically just made from negative molds of OEM headlamps, or in the case of headlamps where there are no OEM multisurface reflector headlamps (like the 1st & 2nd gen) Explorer, they are just made from similar size lamps without much regard for optics.

If you want quality multisurface reflector headlamps for a 96, I'd suggest going with OEM headlamps from a Mercury Mountaineer, or getting some from a manufacturer like Depo or TYC.
 






They are a really poorly designed reflector, that's why I went to OEM headlamps.
 






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