Headlight upgrade

[crash_6906]

Looking to upgrade my 07 sport trac limited headlights. Looking for suggestions on what you guys have and what lights up the road. I'm gonna try to stay away from HID's. I had silverstar's on my mustang and didn't notice a big difference. I've heard PIAA has an awesome bulb. What are you guys running?

 

[BigRondo]

I am running the Silverstar Ultra's and love them: http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/products/automotive/Pages/silverstar-ultra.aspx

Here are some threads about HIR lighting:

Overwattage bulbs for any 9000 series with a plastic base are a bad idea. It's a surprise Hella makes them.

If you want stock lights that blow HID out of the water, you might look into HIR (Halogen Infrared Reflecting) bulbs. They were a pretty new thing a few years ago when GE/Toshiba made them, and seemed like a gimmick, but they are the real deal. 90% the performance of HID without the issues, and a nice price to boot. Of course, the price has skyrocketed over what they were (used to be able to buy them for a few bucks at a John Deere dealer), and they are getting hard to find as the supply dwindles..but they are still worth it.

Original HIR info thread with part #'s:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=173793

Newer thread about Philips HIR bulbs:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=296573


Other than that, your best bet is "plus" halogens like Sylvania XtraVisions, Philips Hi-Visibility, and Philips Vision Plus. These are available at auto parts stores and even Wal-mart/K-mart, so an easy upgrade over regular bulbs at a decent price. But the HIR is what you want for ultimate performance. Keep the regular bulbs as a backup either way.

I recommend the HIRs as well. I was running them before I did my retrofit. They put out a lot more usable light over stock without blinding others. I put them in my wife's '04 Civic and the difference was night and day.

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-HIR1-9011-Standard-Headlight/dp/B00480J5CW

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00480N18G/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00480J5CW&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0KJFQ6XKS1CBCZFR3VB9

http://store.candlepower.com/hirlighting.html

Hope this helps out! :biggthump

 

[crash_6906]

Well unless someone else chimes in with something better and after reading reviews, looks like I'm gonna try the phillips HIR's, looks like I should see a noticeable improvement (hopefully). Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

 

[BigRondo]

I am surprised this topic usually brings them out of the woodwork for a spirited debate.

Good luck with whatever you end up getting. Be sure to let us know how you make out.

 

[crash_6906]

I'm gonna do some before and after pics and I'll be sure to post them. Getting my new front bumper painted now (hit a deer), gonna upgrade the headlight bulbs and put a brush guard on it, (looking like I'm gonna go with aries)

 

[crash_6906]

my next question is, I know you can put a 9012 bulb in a 9006 size with a slight mod. But the sport trac is 9008, is their a better size bulb for better performance, or will staying with 9008 work fine?

 

[JohnnyO]

I haven't tried them myself but GE Nighthawks are supposed to be better than Silverstars.

 

[crash_6906]

I'll look into that as well. Just wanting to get the best bang for my buck. I hate when you buy a new set of bulbs and get hyped up and then find out that there is no noticeable difference

 

[jasons024]

i run hella xb's H13 that are great. nice crisp clean look but the HB's kinda suck. not an issue with aux lights which i suggest. However I seem to have a wiring problem on my pass side. have to wiggle the wire to get light on. Now sure if the higher wattage of the hella's caused a melt but driver side is fine so thinking not.

 

[eppd00]

I used PIAA bulbs. Whiter/brighter light. Very satisfied.