Explorer Sports 2015 Headlight Upgrade

[Sunny32_1967]

So has anybody used an LED 9011 bulb in the stock headlights?

There isn't really any LED 9011 bulb with enough wattage to give you meaningful light in the night driving conditions. Yes, they are good for DRL..but nothing more than that.

Check out if you can find any LED's 9011 with at least 2300 lumens? I bet either you will not be able to find one or the folks selling LED's will not disclose it.

 

[LukerDooker]

So I put in the new HIR1/9011 Bulbs. What a difference. It is absolutely the best stock upgrade one can perform. The light is so much more. Amazing difference.

So overall, -brighter than ZXEs, & you an see well enough or better than with the ZXEs?

I have ZXEs as well and will try the 9011s, but was waiting for this exact comparison.

 

[Sunny32_1967]

So overall, -brighter than ZXEs, & you an see well enough or better than with the ZXEs?

I have ZXEs as well and will try the 9011s, but was waiting for this exact comparison.

ZXE i guess is 1350 lumens (estimate) whereas 9011/HIR1 are 2350 Lumens. Big difference however do not get bluffed due to whiter light of ZXE's. That tricked me too thinking that HIR1 were not as bright as ZXE. Took it out for spin in the night. The volume of light thrown is amazing and I found that I liked the angle of HIR1 also better than ZXE's.

 

[mayher]

Installed a set of HIR/9011 bulbs today took the Ex out for a ride tonight. All I can say is WOW. There is a huge difference between the new 9011's and the 9005's they replaced. The old bulbs were not much brighter than a couple of D cell flashlights taped the the fenders. Drove down some of the same roads as in the past with the old bulbs. Bulbs are most definitely far brighter. The road in front of the car is brighter as well as further down the road. Lighting off the side of the road and street signs is also way better.

Why Ford does not supply these as OEM is beyond belief as the 9005's are terrible. Hard to imagine that Ford has to cut corners on costs so much that they are selling cars with inadequate and in some situations dangerous headlights. Wish I would have known about this easy fix earlier

 

[Sgt1411]

Installed a set of HIR/9011 bulbs today took the Ex out for a ride tonight. All I can say is WOW. There is a huge difference between the new 9011's and the 9005's they replaced. The old bulbs were not much brighter than a couple of D cell flashlights taped the the fenders. Drove down some of the same roads as in the past with the old bulbs. Bulbs are most definitely far brighter. The road in front of the car is brighter as well as further down the road. Lighting off the side of the road and street signs is also way better.

Why Ford does not supply these as OEM is beyond belief as the 9005's are terrible. Hard to imagine that Ford has to cut corners on costs so much that they are selling cars with inadequate and in some situations dangerous headlights. Wish I would have known about this easy fix earlier

What about heat and amp draw on wiring?......no issues?

 

[74d34h]

I'm waiting on these LED fogs to be in stock. They are H11 with fans built in, plugnplay install.
Brightest are 1420 lumens,
their 510 lumen fog are listed as similair to OEM lumens, so 2 times brighter should be a difference worth trying.

http://www.diodedynamics.com/store/led-bulbs-1/listed-by-vehicle/ford/explorer.html?application=206

I have also seen the site regarding notching the 9011 bulb and using those instead of 9005 in the headlights,
with minimal heat difference I may try this.

I have Sylvania ZXE 9005s, they are 2 or 3 times brighter but not really a big improvement overall for the price-(Autozone $58-but no hassle returns ...)

-in sh*t weather all the light still gets washed out completely and cant really see with other traffic and rain.

-in normal driving they always get washed out by all other vehicles and streelights, and these streetlights are yellow/orange and oh so lame...

I have the Diode Dynamics XP80 510 Lumens fog.Below is a front picture. They are very bright. The XML2 1410 Lumens are too large to fit. The passenger side hits the washer fluid tank I believe. They are massive, and now I think would be far too bright. The XP80s compliment my HIDs, not outshine them. Here is a picture of just the fogs with my parking lights, how I drive during the daytime.

 

[Sunny32_1967]

What about heat and amp draw on wiring?......no issues?

Sgt, I have been running HIR's. No issues whatsoever since i had been keeping an eye on the housing. BTW since the bulbs are 65W, I do not foresee the issue happening. They are working perfect, as others running HIR's will vouch for it.

 

[mayher]

9011 / HIR1 bulbs

What about heat and amp draw on wiring?......no issues?

I have had no issues at all with the 9011's, but have only been in use for a day. Simple modification on the tabs, and installed in less than 15mins. Will let you know if anything changes.

 

[Sgt1411]

Why doesnt somebody just make an LED bulb to replace the crappy OEM headlight halogen?

 

[peterk9]

I don't know for sure but I would guess that since the projectors are different for halogen and HID, that an LED bulb would also have a projector specifically designed for it.

Peter

 

[roamingphantom]

I have had no issues at all with the 9011's, but have only been in use for a day. Simple modification on the tabs, and installed in less than 15mins. Will let you know if anything changes.

Maher, did you have OEM HID's with your LTD and then did the mod? Whats the Wattage of the H1R/9011

I got the HID with my LTD and I am considering swapping out the 35W D3S with some 50W. Was concerned about the heat...

 

[jrgoffin]

Maher, did you have OEM HID's with your LTD and then did the mod? Whats the Wattage of the H1R/9011

I got the HID with my LTD and I am considering swapping out the 35W D3S with some 50W. Was concerned about the heat...

The 9011 bulbs replace the OEM 9005's in the halogen housings, not the HID's. That info is in the service manual or found through any internet search. Both bulbs run at 65W.

 

[ieee_raider]

I have HID's in my stock projectors and they are very bright with a very sharp cutoff. I couldn't be happier with them.
Trying some LED's in my wife's camry headlights this weekend... we'll see

 

[binaryman3]

For Led H11 Fogs I bought Vleds.com 3000 lumen LED's. They have a 4500 Lumen LED now that would be 50% more light output. The 3000 lumen has the same light as a halogen but it is white 6000k color and much better than halogen and matches my HID headlights in light color. I would expect the 4500 lumen to be much better in light output over the 3000 lumen. I bought mine on sale so I may upgrade if I get a sale notice on them. The only thing better is to go with HID's. I went with LED's on fogs since I put HID's on headlights. Headlights give me more than enough light and did not see a need for HID's on Fogs.

 

[ObsceneJesster]

For Led H11 Fogs I bought Vleds.com 3000 lumen LED's. They have a 4500 Lumen LED now that would be 50% more light output. The 3000 lumen has the same light as a halogen but it is white 6000k color and much better than halogen and matches my HID headlights in light color. I would expect the 4500 lumen to be much better in light output over the 3000 lumen. I bought mine on sale so I may upgrade if I get a sale notice on them. The only thing better is to go with HID's. I went with LED's on fogs since I put HID's on headlights. Headlights give me more than enough light and did not see a need for HID's on Fogs.

Damn, they are expensive.

 

[LukerDooker]

I have the Diode Dynamics XP80 510 Lumens fog.Below is a front picture. They are very bright. The XML2 1410 Lumens are too large to fit. The passenger side hits the washer fluid tank I believe. They are massive, and now I think would be far too bright. The XP80s compliment my HIDs, not outshine them. Here is a picture of just the fogs with my parking lights, how I drive during the daytime.

Ok nice pic.
They do look bright enough, compared to other Exs you see on the road,
would you say these are brighter by 1 or 2 or ...? times?

Im just looking for bulbs that are a bit brighter than OEM, no need for outshining the headlights.
They're not cheap so I was thinking just get their best one, ...but If they wont fit, thats a deal breaker.

 

[roamingphantom]

Ok nice pic.
They do look bright enough, compared to other Exs you see on the road,
would you say these are brighter by 1 or 2 or ...? times?

Im just looking for bulbs that are a bit brighter than OEM, no need for outshining the headlights.
They're not cheap so I was thinking just get their best one, ...but If they wont fit, thats a deal breaker.

LukerD,

Consider these, I have mine on order and will install as soon as received. The + to this is that its LED and direct bolt on like the OEM.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/led-lighting/morimoto-xb-led-fog-lights-type-s.html#.VNQ9uG-BG9I

 

[LukerDooker]

I did see these, bit more work there...im hoping to just change bulbs.
Also I have yellow Laminx tint like offered for these, the yellow is too pale.
DD has yellow LED fog bulbs also, Im hoping they have a richer color.

 

[breshi]

Damn, they are expensive.

go to ebay. a whole lot cheaper there.

 

[74d34h]

Ok nice pic.
They do look bright enough, compared to other Exs you see on the road,
would you say these are brighter by 1 or 2 or ...? times?

Im just looking for bulbs that are a bit brighter than OEM, no need for outshining the headlights.
They're not cheap so I was thinking just get their best one, ...but If they wont fit, thats a deal breaker.

They are a lot brighter and provide some additional lighting at night. I have passed other SUVs with HID fogs and those would provide more lighting. LEDs have not reached the level of HID output.

What works nice for these Is you pop out the factor bulb put this in. No Ballasts, no extra wiring. Also LED bulbs last a lot longer before burn out.

My purpose for replacement was to keep the lighting consistent bright white, little gain in night lighting but they work awesome along with the parkng lights for daytime driving. They are more noticeable to other drivers then just using headlights from my experience.