Headlight assembly

[Lizard]

I'm in the market for new headlight assemblies, but not wanting to do tons of work like HIDs or other fabrications. Has anyone tried the Anzo Crystal #111040? The only reviews I can find are on Amazon and most just say that it "looks nice" on the vehicle, and one review states that the light pattern is not so great. I may just go OEM style if these are a bust. Thanks.
--Lizard

 

[pbnj22]

What do you need or want new ones for? Looks? Performance? The originals are dirty?

 

[delexploder]

I have them in 4 second Gen ex's love them, good quality, work better than stock, and good prices

 

[pbnj22]

I have them in 4 second Gen ex's love them, good quality, work better than stock, and good prices

What kind of bulbs do you use!?

 

[delexploder]

Yea do not use the bulbs that come with the lights they suck, I use the $40 silver stars,

 

[c.mike]

Yea do not use the bulbs that come with the lights they suck, I use the $40 silver stars,

I use the same setup- I agree, they are much better than stock and I love them. Look good during the day too which is a plus

 

[Lizard]

Thanks folks. @pbnj22. Yeah, the lenses are now 14y/o and are getting quite dim even with Silverstar bulbs. I detail vehicles so I keep the lens covers polished pretty well, but I can see the weathering inside and the "chrome" reflectors pitting and fading. I have a Limited so I was looking for a better appearance and performance than the generic look of the stock lenses without having to do a ton of mods. I just installed Cibie E codes and a relay harness in my Porsche 944 and the difference is astounding. Guess I'm a little spoiled now. Deexploder, you bought four sets of these; that's convincing enough for me. Thanks for your opinion. I'll be ordering a set tonight.

 

[nugrapeman2]

I have them in 4 second Gen ex's love them, good quality, work better than stock, and good prices

Do you have the chrome or black ones? I thought about buying the black ones for my red explorer.

Bobby

 

[pbnj22]

You detail vehicles? So do I... Do you work for a detail shop? Car dealership?

 

[delexploder]

Do you have the chrome or black ones? I thought about buying the black ones for my red explorer.

Bobby

My first set was black but that is a no no in Delaware so i switched to the chrome and IMO they look better and def work better and the cops and DMV leave me alone,

 

[RM09]

Me too I'm looking at something cool to install on my 4.0V6 Explorer'99 ...

 

[Spartan]

Don't use silverstars, they put out less light than the stock bulbs. Order a set of Phillips X-treme Power bulbs. 80% more light than a stock halogen, and you can find them cheaper than Silverstars.

 

[delexploder]

Don't use silverstars, they put out less light than the stock bulbs. Order a set of Phillips X-treme Power bulbs. 80% more light than a stock halogen, and you can find them cheaper than Silverstars.

I highly disagree, and that is based on my own real world testing, ie swapping the bulbs back and forth in stock headlights and in the anzos, the stock bulbs are in no way shape or form better than silverstars

 

[Lizard]

You detail vehicles? So do I... Do you work for a detail shop? Car dealership?

Yeah, been doing it for about 20 years now. I do it on the side, so not a full time job but seems like it at times. I use Dewalt 849 rotary, and PC 7424 DA and mostly Meguiar's products. I evaluate a lot of different products and keep up with the latest technology at Autopia (dot) org.

 

[masospaghetti]

I highly disagree, and that is based on my own real world testing, ie swapping the bulbs back and forth in stock headlights and in the anzos, the stock bulbs are in no way shape or form better than silverstars

Silverstars give off white light but not MORE light. It's an optical illusion.

If you look up the specs of a Silverstar bulb compared to a stock bulb, you'll see that 1) they produce fewer lumens, and 2) they have very short life. The filament inside a Silverstar bulb is driven very hard because that blue tinted capsule removes a significant portion of the light produced. Think about it: You can't add a FILTER (the blue tint) and get more of what you started with.

You might get better "throw" using a Silverstar bulb because the filament is driven harder and therefore smaller, and can be located more precisely in the headlamp's focal point. But again, fewer lumens. Bad idea.

Silverstar Ultra bulbs have about the same lumen output as a stock bulb.

Just forget about the stupid blue-tinted bulbs and get some high-efficiency, high output bulbs like Phillips X-treme Power Spartan mentioned, or even GE Nighthawk or Wagner BriteLite. These will have improved "throw" like the Silverstars, but with an actual increase in lumen output.

 

[delexploder]

Silverstars give off white light but not MORE light. It's an optical illusion.

If you look up the specs of a Silverstar bulb compared to a stock bulb, you'll see that 1) they produce fewer lumens, and 2) they have very short life. The filament inside a Silverstar bulb is driven very hard because that blue tinted capsule removes a significant portion of the light produced. Think about it: You can't add a FILTER (the blue tint) and get more of what you started with.

You might get better "throw" using a Silverstar bulb because the filament is driven harder and therefore smaller, and can be located more precisely in the headlamp's focal point. But again, fewer lumens. Bad idea.

Silverstar Ultra bulbs have about the same lumen output as a stock bulb.

Just forget about the stupid blue-tinted bulbs and get some high-efficiency, high output bulbs like Phillips X-treme Power Spartan mentioned, or even GE Nighthawk or Wagner BriteLite. These will have improved "throw" like the Silverstars, but with an actual increase in lumen output.

Im not sure what you are talking about cause mine are not blue and as far as how long they last well the ones in my sport are eight yeas old

 

[masospaghetti]

Notice the blue coating? This filters out all of the yellow light, making it appear more white.

Here's more in-depth information. The conclusion from this is pretty obvious.

From this link:
http://bmwz.org/articles/lighting/0506trick/

And now the in-depth tech talk:

Here's manufacturer data for output and lifespan at 13.2v for all the
Osram/Sylvania H1 bulbs. Lifespan is given as Tc, the hour figure at which
63.2 percent of the bulbs have failed. Though I've chosen H1 bulbs for
this comparison, the relative comparisons apply to any given bulb type:

Osram or Sylvania H1 (regular normal): 1550 lumens, 650 hours

Osram or Sylvania H1 long life: 1460 lumens, 1200 hours

Osram H1 Super (if Sylvania Xtravision line included H1, this'd be it):
1700 lumens, 350 hours

Osram H1 Silver Star (NOT Sylvania Silver Star!): 1750 lumens, 350 hours

Osram H1 CoolBlue or Sylvania H1 Silver Star: 1380 lumens, 250 hours

Now, looking over these results, which one would you rather:

(a) Buy?
(b) Sell?

You get the one-two-three punch of having the lowest light output, shortest life, and highest price. Sounds like a winner.

 

[delexploder]

I see all your data but im telling ya real world no matter what the reason every one of my ex's have them and you can definitely see better with them and I've had no issues with them not lasting, and the clear chrome headlights on top of the bulbs allow much better vision at night, if you like a different bulb that's cool but im very satisfied with what I have and in my area where deer are like flies I'll stick with what im comfortable with

 

[masospaghetti]

To each his own, just be careful because the "whiter" light gives the illusion of better visibility without actually providing better visibility.