Headlights on our 99

[inkjunkie]

are beyond toasted. Spoke with a "Lighting Engineer" on another forum & he told me to stay away from any of the aftermarket lights that are available, he made mention of the real cheap ones that are floating around as they are just junk. Anybody used anything that they would recommend?

 

[albi1cnobi1]

Picked up my replacements from rockauto. Reasonable price and good quality. Very happy with them.

 

[blueka]

i have halo projectors on mine, not cheap, but better light output when coupled with an HID kit... depends on your budget.


Si

 

[pbnj22]

do you want just a new bulb? or like an entire new headlight?

 

[toypaseo]

If you want OEM ones, you can scour eBay for a set. I got a pair delivered for under $40, I think..

 

[corkey]

i just added a set of driving lights to mine,

oh yeah, they were already on the winch bumper,,

 

[albi1cnobi1]

OEM replacements. Rockauto, $23.79 each.

These are on my Mounty, but the Ex should be similar.

Edit: 99 explorer- $20.79 ea.

 

[inkjunkie]

do you want just a new bulb? or like an entire new headlight?

New lens.....

 

[inkjunkie]

Probably should elaborate a bit.....we live in a rural area. Nearest street light is 30 miles or so. Gets pretty damn dark.....and we have quite a few of those 4 legged visitors that just love to tear up your vehicle. Will not mind spending the money on a set of lights that is more function than fashion. Case in point, halo lights. Perhaps with the HID option. If they truly light up the road then I am all for them. If not, will save the $$$ and get oe replacements and get a Rigid LED light from my buddies son in AZ. I have a HID light on my bike, and the thing is fantastic. On a dark 2 lane road it will not only light up my lane but the shoulders on both sides. Was well worth the $$ it cost. But last thing I want is something that "looks cool" and just does not perform well. Nothing annoys me more than to see someone with those crappy ass blue bulbs that I see on a vehicles, lot more to good lighting than the tint of the bulb....

 

[bronchole]

I am very happy with my "cheap aftermarket" projector headlights. They are tied for the best headlights out of the 5 vehicles I own. The other one they are tied with are round Hella European pattern H4 headlights on my 67 Bronco.

 

[FIND]

If you don't want to get OEM style headlights, and you REALLY want to light up the road better...

You could get a set of the cheap clear headlight housings on E-bay, and do an HID projector retrofit. There are details on these types of swaps in the Performance Lighting section.

 

[bronchole]

What Find is talking about is really the ultimate in lighting. If you are willing to spend the little bit more coin and willing to do the fabrication that is probably the best way to go.

 

[inkjunkie]

What Find is talking about is really the ultimate in lighting. If you are willing to spend the little bit more coin and willing to do the fabrication that is probably the best way to go.

Aint no way the Boss will let me use her oven for that, she has a restored 1950's O'Keeffe Merritt range....
Have a question about the relays, but I will do some searching before asking. I put relays on our other truck, a 02 Chevy 2500. With just a decent set of bulbs in the oe lens the difference was very noticeable. Have some Hella off road lights on the front of the Cheby as well, and with the headlights on high/low off road lights are barely noticeable....

 

[albi1cnobi1]

Have a question about the relays, but I will do some searching before asking. I put relays on our other truck, a 02 Chevy 2500. With just a decent set of bulbs in the oe lens the difference was very noticeable. Have some Hella off road lights on the front of the Cheby as well, and with the headlights on high/low off road lights are barely noticeable....

I use relays on my truck. With the new housings and good bulbs(I use silverstar ultras) my lights far outshine any other stock(and some after market) configurations I've used. With power coming directly from the battery thru the relays my lights are noticeably better then before.

 

[FIND]

I just got a brand new set of NOS Ford OEM headlights, put in a relay harness like you guys are talking about, and have Sylvania Xtravision bulbs in. I know all about rural driving out here in South Dakota, and I can tell you first hand they work great. The difference with and without the relay harness was actually pretty noticeable. The aftermarket collision repair headlights (I mean the OEM style stuff) also work much better than most of the aftermarket stuff made to look pretty. The aftermarket projectors do make a little more light, but that is mostly because they are using twice as many bulbs.

 

[4rd Xplora]

I use relays on my truck. With the new housings and good bulbs(I use silverstar ultras) my lights far outshine any other stock(and some after market) configurations I've used. With power coming directly from the battery thru the relays my lights are noticeably better then before.

Been using the same set-up for about 7 years (regular Silverstars and then Ultras), no complaints.

 

[inkjunkie]

Have relays and all the wiring stuff in the garage......just ordered a pair of lenses off of Rock Auto. Going to get a second set so I can try making a set of the HID units like someone mentioned. Ernestina, my wife, damn near smacked me when I mentioned I needed a heat source.....but like the wonderful wife that she is she suggested using our gas grill......we have not used it in the 4 years we have been in Washington thanks to our Big Green Egg.....Thanks for the suggestions.....

 

[inkjunkie]

Ended up with new Ford lenses, a pair of relays and Philips Xtreme Vision bulbs....as suggested by Daniel Stern., got the relay kit from him as well. Have yet to drive it, but lit them up in the garage and was very impressed. Nice clean, crisp lights. Very well might go out for a drive later just to see how I can see.....