SMB Headlight/Bulb replacement

trailsurfer · 10-18-2009, 07:40 PM

I have a 2008 and I can't deal with the standard headlights anymore. I have 6 extra lights up front but they are not exactly legal to use on the asphalt.

Anyone have a good light or bulb replacement that will improve the factory lights?

Thanks for your help.

saline · 10-18-2009, 09:26 PM

I have had good luck with the Sylvania Silverstars. They are double the price of regular bulbs but worth it IMO. They produce a very crisp white light.

carringb · 10-18-2009, 11:33 PM

I went with a Bi-Xenon HID conversion. Since I have a 2000, I had to switch to a clear headlight housing, but you already have that. The Bi-Xenon bulb has a magnet which moves the bulb allowing you to retain high beam.

The Silverstars are certainly better than stock. I had those previously.

**WVvan** · 10-19-2009, 02:47 AM

Mind if I ask what conversion kit company you used? I noticed the usual suspects (JC Whitney, RockAuto...) don't carry them.
Thanks

carringb · 10-19-2009, 11:57 AM

I took a gamble and went with these guys:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bi-Xenon-HID-CON...ht_5374wt_1092

Couldn't be happier with the product. Instructions could be better (lots lost in translation). For the most part easy to figure out, except for one problem. Initially they operated in reverse of how they should (high and low beam pattern reversed), but an email to them got a good answer. It turns out the E-series headlight is wired different from most, so 2 of the wire pins in the adapter (that plugs into the headlight socket) have to be switched.

No, I'm not normally one to go to the made in China stuff, but I couldn't find anything domestic that was the right bulb type with a bi-xenon feature, with a true white color output (most are bluish). As a bonus, the price was right.

I have about 20,000 miles on them now, much of that night driving. Work great. No ballast problems like I've heard about from other China HID kits.

jeff@work · 10-19-2009, 04:08 PM

I wouldn't recommend putting a HID kit or higher wattage bulbs into the stock factory headlights, you'll blind the crap out of oncoming drivers. I imagine the silverstars would be fine as they're stock wattage just supposed to be better quality bulbs from what i understand.

Personally i think the best option is to use the commercial van front end and upgrade the headlights to e-code's and then run higher wattage bulbs with a relay harness. That's what i run on my 04 and the light is 1000x better than stock and i don't blind oncoming drivers, granted my van came with the commercial front end... not sure how easy it is to change that.

I ran one of the hi-low hid kits for about a year before one of the hid bulbs burnt out... i'm pretty sure it burnt out due to moisture getting on it (the rubber boots that seal around the back of the bulb on an H4 light had kinda fallen apart). (so basically this was my fault not the fault of the kit) This was where i ran into the problem... to replace it i had to get a replacement HID bulb from the person on ebay that i bought the kit from... not necessarily a huge issue but sometimes i hit the road for weeks at a time and it would be a bit of a hassle to do that.

With higher wattage H4 halogen bulbs I can replace them for like $6-10 if they burn out or just pick up a normal wattage replacement pretty much anywhere. The other issue is the filament on a HID bulb does not run in the same direction as in the halogen bulbs, this makes the light scatter a little bit but it's still better than DOT approved headlights.

carringb · 10-19-2009, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff@work

I wouldn't recommend putting a HID kit or higher wattage bulbs into the stock factory headlights, you'll blind the crap out of oncoming drivers.

Should not be a problem with the clear leases. Only with the older diffuser headlights.

My HIDs are actually less bothersome to oncoming drivers. I've compared it to stock headlights.

Downside is the cutoff is so sharp, that with low beams on features above headlight level are not well illuminated. This includes street signs without good reflective material.

biggordo · 02-15-2015, 06:08 PM

I found a post in the classified section on the FTE forum from member Redoval his name list is Scott really nice guy,he made me some custom headlights with projectors in them for me,if interested contact him on FTE[photo][/photo]

jage · 02-15-2015, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biggordo

I found a post in the classified section on the FTE forum from member Redoval his name list is Scott really nice guy,he made me some custom headlights with projectors in them for me,if interested contact him on FTE[photo][/photo]

He's actually here as well:
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=15376

moorefc · 03-24-2015, 09:52 AM

5 years ago I went with new headlight assemblies and hella higher wattage bulbs, and the results were pretty amazing....The clear lenses were really significant. The hellas slowly yellowed over time, but I bought a couple sets and am still on the first ones.

A month ago a friend with a ford conversion van replaced hids that were in standard assemblies, with these leds...He likes the leds better..I don't know what kind of hids he had, but he is a bit of a (headlight) addict. The world is headed to leds, and for the price they look pretty attractive, and relatively low power. The only downside may be reliabilty of the power supplies, but hids have a similar problem.....The description is a little vague, but I did send the company an email about 5 year warranty and they promptly responded.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MOR4DEQ/ref ... P8TX&psc=1