Field Testing - What's the latest Bulb's for First Gens?

..What's the latest and greatest in Headlight bulb's for the First Gens?

..I still have the 9004's and one just burnt out so I was hoping to put something else in..Since I have the "Crystal" lenses I could put in HID's but before I do I know there are also LED's out there...

..Has anyone used the LED headlight bulbs?

..Is there any other headlight bulb replacement or upgrades out there that's suppose to be brighter, cooler (in heat temp), or something that has you interested in buying but you want to hear from someone else first? (other than the 9007 upgrade)

..I'm needing some soon as I hate running around with one headlight at 5 in the morning...:shifty_ey

 

[focusdmiata]

DO NOT put hid's in non projector housings, you will blind everyone on the road. get some good piaa bulbs and run with em, or OSRAMS

 

[Tbars4]

...Some links to review those items would help..

..I wouldn't throw hids in any ol headlight, I just don't think I want to go that route anymore although I do like the 5k color for night driving..

 

[sirhk100]

gotta ask, when you say "crystal" lenses, what are you speaking of? Some better headlights are on my wish list somewhere for sure. Not sure if that's above or below an Atlas and my rear u-bolt plates off memory but they're on there for sure! LOL

 

[Tbars4]

..The Crystal aka "Diamond Cut" I have on my truck can be found here in this thread..
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239935

..They are cut and have the cup thingy (technical term) to aim the beam rather than it shining all over the place..

 

[DjDom]

LED bulbs don't really offer as much brightness as a filament. Unless you pay around $50 a bulb, for some Cree Q5 x 5 bulbs, which is just a fancy name for a super strong LED.

You can put HIDs in those headlight housings, but make sure to aim them properly, and don't go too powerful. Also, make sure to get HIDs with a Hi/Lo feature. That way, the top of the bulb is sealed in Low beam, and doesn't cause as much upward glare.

However, you could also just get replacement 9004 bulbs. Make companies now make very bright filament bulbs. Sylvania Silverstars are quite a bit brighter than normal bulbs. Sylvania also makes a '5k HID look' bulb, which does shine in a nice blue/white color.
Phillips also has good bulbs.

Personally, I'd stay away from LEDs for head lights and go with standard bulbs. However, with your housing, I would probably get HIDs and be very careful with how I aim them.

Good luck. Hopefully this helps you out a bit. You've helped me out quite a bit on here.

 

[Anime]

The "latest and greatest" headlight bulbs, in terms of brightness, would probably be the GE Nighthawk Platinums. They boast a 90% brighter than regular bulb rating, and seem to have the short bulb life to go along with it.

Philips makes their Hi-Visibility and Vision Plus in 9004, both are quality bulbs that are an improvement over stock.

Sylvania makes their XtraVision in 9004, it's a great bulb, brighter than stock, and they last a looooong time compared to lots of other "brighter" bulbs. These are also still made in the USA.

Most of the rest are just gimmicks or outright junk, including the Sylvania Silverstar, PIAA, and other "white" or blue/color coated bulbs, which ALL produce LESS light than even a cheap stock lamp and have a very short life because the filament has to burn super bright just to get a decent amount of light through the color coating on the bulb.

You can't use "HID" stuff in halogen headlamps and be road legal or safe. The "LED" bulbs are just cheap LEDs all glued to a 9004 base and will be dim, illegal, and dangerous.

If you want HID, you'll need to invest in the projector housings and modify the housings of the crystal lenses accordingly, or use a stock HID lamp system from another vehicle and modify the front end to use it.

LED headlamps would require purchasing the entire headlamp and fitting it to the body.

 

[FIND]

I use the xtravision, love them.

Unfortunately, bright enough LEDs to drive a headlamp require a huge amount of heat sink, so they aren't feasible for bulb replacements. Although, if you want to do what I was doing, and put the European headlight assemblies on the front of your truck, Truck-Lite makes a 5X7 LED headlight replacement that is actually pretty good. I'd say it is easily better than stock first gen lighting, but not as good as the options for HID retrofit or even some of the better 5x7 headlight options out there, like cibies or autopals. They are a bit spendy too, a pair is going to run you around $400 at the best price if you shop around. Plus, the cost of converting to the E-spec headlight assembly... I think it was around $300 plus the cost of shipping when one yard quoted me for the bezels, signals, reflector, bucket and electric adjusters. Not sure if they would mount without the motorized adjusters, probably would just fine, they are just to lower your headlight beam in certain driving conditions. I'm also not sure if they would mount directly to the US header panels, but it appeared that they would. The color for the truck lite leds is in the 5000-6000k range, but they have an amazingly high CRI, so that makes up for the lower light levels as compared to HIDs some. JW Speaker also makes some, and the brightness is up there with the best halogens, and really crisp patterns... but they cost twice as much as the truck-lite ones.

The smart choice would either be to stick with one of the bulbs Anime recommended, or go with a projector retrofit. Granted, there aren't many of my friends who would describe me as smart when it comes to choosing how I spend money on my cars. Not sure if you fall into that category with me, but if you do go broke on lighting, at least you can blame FIND.

 

[Tbars4]

..Thanks for the abundance of headlight info Gentlemen...

..and it's keeping leaning toward the HID's but I will definitely look into the other items before making my choice..

This is for example of the HID hi/lo kit with also a Bi-Xenon upgrade. (I'm not familiar with HIDNation myself)
http://www.hidnation.com/90hilowhidki.html

I couldn't find a direct link for 9004 Hi/Lo from DDM Tuning but here is an example page from them (They are local to me and I've dealt with them before)
http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-Slim-Ballast-35W-or-55W

..I do currently have the Sylvania Silverstars in both my trucks (IIRC)..I haven't been happy with them in my X in normal driving conditions and that partly has to do with my X being a foot taller than a normal X and having my headlights aimed properly..

..I guess I was hoping the LED bulbs had surpassed "Household" technology but it sounds like it hasn't..

..I will look at all of these other bulbs first and if by chance there is some other new technology out there, I hope someone will add it and some links to more info here too...

..But I think you guys were pretty thorough on what is currently available for us out there..:biggthump

 

[Anime]

There are LED headlamps that are great, but they work as a complete assembly, not just as a bulb that goes into any lamp. The same is true of HID as well, though there are of course different replaceable "bulbs" for the assemblies.

If you want "better" lighting, you could get 5x7/6x8 or even round E-codes and adapt them using the front buckets from an older Bronco II, Ranger, etc. without having to go to the expense of getting the kit from a European Explorer. You would also want to use a wiring harness to deal with the additional wattage from the 9003/H4 bulbs and make sure they are getting the power they need.

However, I've actually found the stock lamps to be quite good with decent bulbs, and even better with a wiring harness so the 9004 bulbs put out the lumens they are supposed to. Not sure how well the aftermarket "crystal" lamps would do with the additional light output.

I noticed your posting in the 9007/9004 "conversion" sticky. Using 9007 bulbs is a BAD idea. Besides being illegal, and rude to other drivers, it doesn't give better visibility. If you only used the rig off-road, you could try it, but a better solution to improving the lighting would be to just invest in some good fog/driving lights.

 

[Stic-o]

We use to run those Phillips white bulbs in the Volvo. I liked them and they were cheaper then the silverstars. I plan on upgrading the bulbs in all the cars...but they will not burn out.

 

[Tbars4]

..I'm sure this will bite me in the butt but I can not find this..

I noticed your posting in the 9007/9004 "conversion" sticky.

..A little LED update...This is known to be a pretty good LED company and when looking up LED's for the 1991 X it does not show 9004's but it covers all the other bulbs here..
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/...-bulbs/vehicle/1991-ford-explorer--/20-508--/

..If they don't carry it, it usually ain't worth buying..

 

[Anime]

Oh, whoops, it was actually your clear corner conversion thread.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239935



Even if the best LED company in the world made an LED "bulb" for 9004 applications, or any other "bulb" to replace a halogen one, it'd suck because the two work completely differently and the reflector for an LED lamp would be different than that of a halogen lamp.

With enough testing, sure, you probably could get a decent result on where to position a large enough LED in a halogen housing designed for another bulb, and it'd be safe and technically legal. But it'd probably take hundreds if not thousands of hours of simulations, testing, trials, and by the time you're manufacturing it, or just making the prototypes, you'll be way past the point most people would have just bought new headlamps or a completely different vehicle with HID/LED headlamps already installed.

There's a good chance LED "bulbs" or some similar tech (like HIR) will make it to market as a retrofit for halogen applications, similar to the HIR 9011/9012 bulbs, even though those aren't officially a retrofit, but it's probably more than a few years out, and all the companies that would be involved are still more than happy to crank out halogen bulbs for big time profit on old but proven bulb technology.

 

[Tbars4]

..Well...:scratch:..I still didn't find anything and if there is a post by me on 9007 bulbs as a conversion, I never did do it to the X...We can let that rest..

..But since I made it back home last night and I have a turn around tomorrow, I took this thread and went shopping locally for replacement 9004 Headlight Bulbs...

..and after looking at DDM's website, seeing they were closed today (and since they now have an online store that is actually based in Las Vegas now) I wouldn't be able to drive over there (Huntington Beach) like I have in the past and pick up the 9004 HID kit (new policy)..

..And as I'm open minded I wanted to see what I could find off the shelf locally on a Saturday without much trouble...

..I went shopping for these items in this order..

1) GE Nighthawk Platinum
2) Philips Hi-Visibility and Vision Plus
3) Sylvania XtraVision

...PepBoy's, Autozone and Kragen all only have locally in stock on shelves Sylvania, Sylvania Silverstar, Sylvania Silverstar Ultra, and Sylvania ZXE 2 pack simulated bulbs for $59.99..

..I then ran over to our Big NAPA warehouse and found they only sell several different branded "NAPA" bulbs by only 3-4 different small named vendors..

..Without ordering online and if I had to order thru the local stores it was going to be a PITA and you know I would be wanting to price match..

..But as luck would have it I wound up finding a company closer to me which had what I needed for my X so I do have replacements which I will probably have time to install next weekend when I get back, or maybe the weekend after that...Dang work..

...But I did come up with a plan for the Ranger too...Stay tuned..

 

[Anime]

Walmart has the Sylvania Standard and XtraVision 9004's for under $20/pair.

Kmart carries the Philips Hi-Visibility and Vision Plus in 9004.


You'll usually pay lots more at an auto parts store.

 

[DjDom]

Walmart has the Sylvania Standard and XtraVision 9004's for under $20/pair.

Kmart carries the Philips Hi-Visibility and Vision Plus in 9004.


You'll usually pay lots more at an auto parts store.

Wow, Walmart is cheap near you. Here the Walmart wants around $40 for those bulbs.

And at the OP.
If you really want the LED look, run them as the parking lights, not the head lights. It's just not safe to put a cheap LED in..

 

[Stic-o]

NAPA is where I got my Phillips I use have.

 

[Tbars4]

..Well for now I thru in some 5000 HID's and since both my vehicles have after market lenses which accept HID's, I may move them back and forth..

..The thing to also remember when running them in a 9004 socket compared to a 9007 (The HID's are designed for both) You need to have your first gen in "Brights" setting since the wires are reversed in a 9007 bulb setup (which would be normal setting when driving)..

 

[Anime]

It's illegal to use "HIDs" in halogen housings (factory and aftermarket) due to the safety issues mentioned above. Use the correct 9004 bulbs.

 

[Tbars4]

..Thanks for pointing that out..:biggthump

...It appears I posted a bit hastily in my last post and left some very important information out so, before anyone gets their panties in a bunch I want to clear some things up...The HID's are for my personal use offroad only.

..HiD's are Illegal on the road unless installed in vehicles equipped from the factory per the NHTSA period...

...They are accepted in offroad applications and auto shows and the HID's I purchased will be used solely offroad between my two vehicles...Actually, I had to sign a waiver to this affect when I purchased these HID's...

...I will be out near Las Vegas later this month on an Indian Reservation testing not only the HID's offroad but also various LED's but these will be more for rock lights and offroad lights...The ones with a gazillion Lumens...

...But back to this thread...

...My plan is and will be in the future to continue to show what is currently available for our aging first Gen's and with the new lighting technology..I have already scouted a spot to do "Wall Test" of this lamps and have a lighting company and retail store I deal with locally wanting to share the current market items for a test...

...Hopefully this will save other members some money and time shopping and reading reviews from other vehicles which don't even resemble the first gen as they want way to much for these replacement bulbs...

Again...

..HiD's are Illegal on the road unless installed in vehicles equipped from the factory per the NHTSA period...

Fun fact: The first car in the States that came with Factory HID's was the Lincoln Mark VIII..