Headlights?

[737tdi]

Ok, get your mind out of the gutter, truck headlights, not female anatomy. :shock: :shock: :shock:

I would like a little advice from y'all. The one gripe I have about my 08 F350 is the headlights and the amount of light. It is very poor IMO. I would like y'alls responses to which aftermarket light kits are the best. I don't want the blue/green/weird colored things. Just a good replacement for stock that puts out more light, particularly on low beam.

Thanks

Karl

 

[speedsixman]

737tdi,

Have you adjusted the height of the lights ?
I found that some trucks have them adjusted too high if there is any weight on the truck. Try cranking them down a bit to see if it helps.

Myron

ETA: I had a truck at work that was pretty good at lighting up utility poles and treetops, but about zilch on the road. It had a tool body installed that skewed the attitude of the truck down in the back and up in the front.

 

[737tdi]

Myron: One of the problems is the grill guard I have on the front. The headlights are diffused a bit.




Karl

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

Karl, a buddy's had a couple of F-150s he wasn't too pleased with from the lighting standpoint (loved 'em otherwise!) He installed Sylvania SilverStar bulbs in both and was much happier. There are reports on the Interwebs of short life expectancies with those bulbs, but he got several years on the set in the first one, with a lot of night driving. Not so sure how long he's gone on the second one, cuz I think he just bought it a couple of years ago, which is probably more like 4 or 5!

Wagner has a line of lights they call BriteLite. I've been pleased with their sealed beams--best sealed beams I've found--and they make 'em in all the popular plug in head light bulb sizes as well. If you can't find them locally under the Wagner name, you might want to check NAPA before going to an online vendor. My sealed beams came in NAPA boxes but what came out of the box said Wagner.

Rick C

 

[737tdi]

Thanks Rick, I am just looking for something easy, peazy. Plug and play kind of. I have the notion that I will end up buying something but I just want to hear from the greatest guys here on the fourm. Like you.


Karl

 

[sfhogman]

I've used the Sylvania bulbs that Rick mentioned and they work very well. It might be worth going over to Jalopnik.com and reading their comparison of premium halogen lights and the new LED "bulbs". The halogens actually performed better! And as far as service life goes, it hasn't been an issue, at least for me. Gotta get some for my new Subaru....

Jeff

 

[Dan in MI]

Keep talking guys. I 've wondered this myself. The Silverstars were on my list.

 

[Mobuck]

The old Chevy crew cab I bought a while back has the " blue/green/weird colored things."
I don't like them, either. They do make a difference in long distance illumination but seem to make the short range fuzzy and they have a terrible amount of reflection off road signs.

 

[wwb]

Hi,

Karl, a buddy's had a couple of F-150s he wasn't too pleased with from the lighting standpoint (loved 'em otherwise!) He installed Sylvania SilverStar bulbs in both and was much happier. There are reports on the Interwebs of short life expectancies with those bulbs, but he got several years on the set in the first one, with a lot of night driving..........

Yup. The Silverstars will amaze you. I typically get about 2 years out of a pair (when one goes, I replace both). Sylvania has an intermediate bulb as well.... brighter than stock, but not as bright as the Silverstar bulbs. Sorry, don't remember the name.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Myron: One of the problems is the grill guard I have on the front. The headlights are diffused a bit.

Karl

Good point, Karl. I suspect this is why we frequently see auxiliary lights mounted on such bumper arrangements. Probably more of a hassle than you want to employ, but if the guard does in fact block the lights to some degree I'm not sure making them brighter will help as much as you'd like.

Good luck. Let us know.

:mrgreen:

 

[Rick Courtright]

Yup. The Silverstars will amaze you. I typically get about 2 years out of a pair (when one goes, I replace both). Sylvania has an intermediate bulb as well.... brighter than stock, but not as bright as the Silverstar bulbs. Sorry, don't remember the name.

Hi,

Excellent advice to replace in pairs, as the life expectancies can be remarkably similar. "Change one this week, next week the other goes out" kinda thing!

Those other Sylvanias are the XtraVision series. IME, the sealed beam version is better than stock, but not much. I've used them in a couple of plug in headlight assemblies and they're enough better than stock to warrant a try. Not like the SilverStars, though.

Rick C

 

[mohavesam]

Myron: One of the problems is the grill guard I have on the front. The headlights are diffused a bit.
Karl

Around here we call those "training bumpers". For teens, Wal-Mart shoppers, etc.

Used to have a couple sets of Flamethrowers. Had a pair on my Roadrunner, but NYS made them illegal (of course) for on-street operation. As close to aviation landing lights as you could get... and they got HOT! But if someone got goofy in front of me I could flick a switch and burn their retinas out!
Ford F-series headlight lenses are a "super-critical focus" design so anything mounted in front will of course deflect or obscure the super-focused beam. Kind saw that one coming (pun NI).

 

[Ballplayer]

Plastic lenses get sandblasted easy from road dirt and turn milky....try polishing the lense with a good headlight polish.

 

[737tdi]

Myron: One of the problems is the grill guard I have on the front. The headlights are diffused a bit.

Karl

Good point, Karl. I suspect this is why we frequently see auxiliary lights mounted on such bumper arrangements. Probably more of a hassle than you want to employ, but if the guard does in fact block the lights to some degree I'm not sure making them brighter will help as much as you'd like.

Good luck. Let us know.

:mrgreen:

If you look close at the bottom of the bumper inside those little grills there are driving lights that I installed but of course those are quite diffused as well.

As far as the lenses being hazed/crazed or yellowed they aren't. They actually are very clean and clear.

I think I may follow Rick's advice and go for the Silverstars. Going to check and see if I can get them from Amazon.


Thanks

Karl

 

[Ale-8(1)]

I think I may follow Rick's advice and go for the Silverstars. Going to check and see if I can get them from Amazon.

Might as well. Won't know if they do the job unless ya give 'em a try.

 

[sliclee]

Before you spend money, have you check out the adjustment after putting on those front guards. they do block part of the upper
beam. My brother found to out the expensive way, changed the lights first.
I drove vermont mass,conn,ny basically major highway all winter only changed lights to QI beams and had to change factory setting and some wiring.

 

[737tdi]

Before you spend money, have you check out the adjustment after putting on those front guards. they do block part of the upper
beam. My brother found to out the expensive way, changed the lights first.
I drove vermont mass,conn,ny basically major highway all winter only changed lights to QI beams and had to change factory setting and some wiring.

I haven't but I will. Maybe put it up against the shop at dusk and see if I can make them better. To be honest, I didn't like them much before putting the Ranch Hand bumper on. The high beams on it are awful. Granted it is an older truck now but it only has just over 50,000 miles so I think a little upgrade is worth it. I will check on the alignment though.


Karl

 

[RSIno1]

Our new Flex has the HID headlights. Enough light but a sharp cutoff line about 4' high is hard to get used to.

 

[toysoldier]

This touches a pet peeve of mine---headlights with plastic covers. These abominations get hazy and turn yellow. I bought a polishing kit which really helped, but the haze is back in 4 months. What's wrong with sealed beams? They get hot enough to melt off ice and snow, and in 50 years of driving, I can only remember replacing 3 headlights. One of them was a rock impact. I never replaced a headlight on the '96 Toyota Tacoma I drove for 15 years.

 

[Taterman]

This touches a pet peeve of mine---headlights with plastic covers. These abominations get hazy and turn yellow. I bought a polishing kit which really helped, but the haze is back in 4 months. What's wrong with sealed beams? They get hot enough to melt off ice and snow, and in 50 years of driving, I can only remember replacing 3 headlights. One of them was a rock impact. I never replaced a headlight on the '96 Toyota Tacoma I drove for 15 years.

Cheers to that. I'm dealing with that on my wife's 10 year old car now. Wet sand, polish/buff with toothpaste, wax...
Gimme back my sealed beams!

 

[anglertoo]

10 years ago I installed the Japanese 'PIAA' brand 80 watt bulbs in my truck.
Twice the light with no failures.
Just say'n.

 

[Rick Courtright]

10 years ago I installed the Japanese 'PIAA' brand 80 watt bulbs in my truck.
Twice the light with no failures.

Hi,

PIAAs have enjoyed a loyal following over the years. Just remember, though, that going over the factory wattage in SOME light fixtures can cause heat damage to the fixture itself. And since the prices for replacement light fixtures are already up there where the lenses should be made of Swarovski crystal instead of the plastic junk they love, that may be a consideration for some folks...

Rick C

 

[jimbo1096]

Get the halogens, but please please make sure they are adjusted properly. I get blinded by too many cars and trucks that have changed the lamps out and don't adjust, the beam they throw has a different diffusion pattern and they can be way off from where they need to be. Blinding oncoming traffic is a definite problem.

 

[HerrMesser]

I installed Sylvania Silverstars in my 99 Sierra about 15 years ago and they are still going. I installed SYLVANIA H11 SilverStar zXe High Performance Halogen Headlight in my 05 Yukon but haven't had it very long to know about longevity of those bulbs yet.

Rad

 

[737tdi]

I installed Sylvania Silverstars in my 99 Sierra about 15 years ago and they are still going. I installed SYLVANIA H11 SilverStar zXe High Performance Halogen Headlight in my 05 Yukon but haven't had it very long to know about longevity of those bulbs yet.

Rad

The zXe are the ones I am probably going to purchase. Amazon has them for $38.80. The longevity reviews aren't very good though. From what I can tell my truck uses H13s. Will probably order them today.

I'll try and get a before and after picture with them shining on a vertical surface.

Karl

 

[mohavesam]

Changing the headlight bulbs doesn't seem like it will solve the "obstruction" problem of the AM bumper?

- Don't know where you bought the AM bumper but wouldn't a good dealer be aware of headlight interference/model compatibility at the point of sale? That would bug me...

 

[737tdi]

It is a Ranchhand bumper and has been used on oodles of Ford F350s (it's been on it since week one). I'm not sure it really interferes with the beam. To be honest I hadn't driven the truck much over the last few years (Judy drives it most of the time). I drove it last Monday night and was shocked at how little light there was. I'm thinking more that since the original bulbs are over 8 years old it's probably time to change them anyway. I don't mind the $40 just to see if they work better.


Karl

 

[mohavesam]

Makes sense then. I'll endorse the silverstar bulbs as I've used them on wife#1's Navigator. They do get HOT though, so watch for any lens affects like I had to deal with on her car. They get hot enough that snow melts away, not a bad thing but warmer than other cars it seems. As eyes age we need all the brightness available!

 

[exavid]

It's so complicated now. Once all you needed was some carbide and a bit of water and a match.

 

[Rick Courtright]

It's so complicated now. Once all you needed was some carbide and a bit of water and a match.

Hi,

Got one of those for my bicycle! Probably close to 100 years old now, it worked when I first got it about 40 years ago, so I'd imagine it still would. Try to find carbide these days that won't take a second mortgage, though. Used to just go to the welding supply shop and buy a pound for not very much. Today? Heavens!

And while I can't attest to the invigorating smell of napalm in the morning, the aroma of freshly "brewed" acetylene must rate right up there...

Rick C