Brighter XLT Headlight Bulb Replacement?

[subquark]

What a shit show this thread turned into. Best ended with an ignore button for the god of lighting and legalities. Mister perfect satan is calling. You should have been a Normal person.

Okay, I'll be the mature one and steer this thread back to lighting.

I want this for my damper:

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[DHMag]

 

[BiilyJones]

I found mine on Walmart.com cheaper.

 

[TXRangerTim]

I found mine on Walmart.com cheaper.

Can you take a comparison picture with an OEM bulbs in one housing and the new bulbs in the other?

 

[BiilyJones]

Can you take a comparison picture with an OEM bulbs in one housing and the new bulbs in the other?

No. I had that pic when I swapped the bulbs in my 2020 escape, but my Sim card got corrupted and I lost most of my pics.

In my opinion, these are much brighter, I do get flashed sometimes, I do not flash them back. I did adjust them down a little when I put them in. Animal eyes absolutely light up at much further distances, so they are worth it to me. Lots of deer in KY.

 

[TJC]

I have Auxitos in my lows, highs and fogs on my XLT and absolutely love them. Night and day difference (literally) and I don't get flashed.

I went the same route (12K Lumens), but chose yellow fogs - 8K lumens. The cutoff is very clear and distinct in both low and high beam... even the fogs had a sharp cutoff. I lowered the beam in both to meet spec. I did this by simply placing painters tape on the wall before beginning the replacement to mark the beam location of the original bulbs. No one flashes me at all. Auxito did a very good job on these LEDs. I noticed that the filament and LEDs were exactly the same distance from the seat of the bulbs. Even the fogs had a clear cutoff line.

Wife even drove out, turned around and met me head on on a dark 2 lane rural road. No complaints about excess scatter. Her words were that "they were no brighter than other modern cars".

I was so impressed with the outcome in the 2020 Ranger I tried the H7 LEDs in my 2005 Ranger... not impressed! No clear delineation and much too much scatter. Back to standard bulbs in the 2005 Ranger. Testing these horrible LEDS got me flashed constantly... and deservedly so.

- T

 

[OFC Ranger]

I went the same route (12K Lumens), but chose yellow fogs - 8K lumens. The cutoff is very clear and distinct in both low and high beam... even the fogs had a sharp cutoff. I lowered the beam in both to meet spec. I did this by simply placing painters tape on the wall before beginning the replacement to mark the beam location of the original bulbs. No one flashes me at all. Auxito did a very good job on these LEDs. I noticed that the filament and LEDs were exactly the same distance from the seat of the bulbs. Even the fogs had a clear cutoff line.

Wife even drove out, turned around and met me head on on a dark 2 lane rural road. No complaints about excess scatter. Her words were that "they were no brighter than other modern cars".

I was so impressed with the outcome in the 2020 Ranger I tried the H7 LEDs in my 2005 Ranger... not impressed! No clear delineation and much too much scatter. Back to standard bulbs in the 2005 Ranger. Testing these horrible LEDS got me flashed constantly... and deservedly so.

- T

So the key question I have is did you get the ones with the adjustable base so the diode could be orientated in the correct direction?

 

[OFC Ranger]

As much as I would like to have the benefits of LED lights, I've come to the conclusion that it's not going to happen unless I purchase a proper LED light housing. I'm going to go with a stronger H11 bulb instead. I've learned from a few thousand hours of piloting airplanes at night and the years I spent racing dirt bikes in Baja at night that the lighting experts know what they are talking about. Just because a light is bright, it does not mean it's going to provide better vision. I've learned that eye vision at night can deceive you.

If it makes people happy to use an LED bulb in halogen reflector-style housings, then that's great. It's their choice and I don't have a problem with that.

However, I don't understand why people want to dismissively waive off with an attitude all of the third-party information and research that has been performed and written on the subject of why using LED bulbs in halogen reflector housings is not recommended. Only the manufacturers and vendors of LED bulbs support it. You can't find third-party information and research that supports why it is better. If that was the case, automotive manufacturers would be using them instead of providing the proper LED projection housings.

You can find third-party information on why LED bulbs are recommended over halogen bulbs in projector-style housings, but that is it.

I'll take a stab at this.

While the base science may be accurate, it could also be such a large pool of testing possibility it is near impossible to test every variable. I'll explain with an example;

" Will 33" tires fit my Ranger with only a 2" level? "

Common thread right?

The answer? Yes and no. The problem is that one company's 33" is not the same as another company's 33". Back in the day I had 33" Toyo OC AT2 tires that did not require manipulation or removal from the instrusion bars. Other people have 33's that require shifting the bars, while yet others have to remove the bar caps, yet others even still had to cut or modify or remove the bars.

My devils advocate argument; while the core science behind the argument is sound, unless someone has lots of money and a lot of free time, it is realistic not possible for these science people to test every combination of LED bulb on the market in every style of projector headlight. Is it plausible, even if very unlikely, that there are combinations that occur in the wild (so to speak) that work properly?

I'm leery of speaking in absolutes (though guilty from time to time as anyone), but I would never label it "impossible".

There are probably millions of combinations of LED bulbs and vehicle reflector headlight designs out there.

On another note, the worst offender for LED bulbs and reflector housings are usually the older models of head lights (square era ones) that seemingly were designed more like flood lights than driving lights. LEDs in those suck BAD for other people on the road.

 

[airline tech]

Coming from a low riding car and having been right square level with all on-coming headlights, I can tell the difference with factory LED and aftermarket LED coming at me, trucks were the worst offenders. Now on the flip side I had crappy halogens in that car, and I hated them, yes, I had the option to convert to LED but was not cost effective. so, I understand the argument here, if the LED housings were more affordable. then more would do the proper conversion. It's more affordable. to do drop ins and obtain. near but not exact the same light output that a full LED assembly would.
Yes, the light scatters some and looks blotchy and as long as it looks decent to the owner and gets a better light output than halogens then the owner is going to treat it like you are taking his guns from him, that's just the way it is. I was unfortunate in having my LED Headlights deleted from the factory but am fortunate as well as I had the funds available to pay the $2700 to get the truck back to the way is was ordered. Now back up 20 years and that would have been a definite cannot afford and drop in LED may have been my option.
I have never understood why the headlamps housings are not designed to handle drop in LED anyway, a universal Halogen/LED assy.

So, until there is a real affordable LED housing option the (WAR) about Drop Ins will continue, do I like drops in (NO) but I do not own his/her truck and that is the specific owners right to install whatever they choose, they have the data and it's up to them to make their own decision.

 

[TJC]

So the key question I have is did you get the ones with the adjustable base so the diode could be orientated in the correct direction?

My 2020 Ranger suspension and tires are basically stock. I did put Eibach shocks on the rear. It still has the rake.

Re: Did you get the ones with the adjustable base so the diode could be orientated in the correct direction? No.

And they ( Both the Low and High beam aligned up correctly. The tabs matched and they were clocked at 3 and 9. A perfect horizontal cutoff, just as sharp as the filament bulbs. I was mildly surprised. 12K lumens did the job for me. I think anything more is overkill.

The Fogs I had some trouble with as it was difficult to see up in the area and I didn't remove anything to install them.

I sent the H7 bulbs that failed back.

One area the 5G outperforms the 4G is headlight alignment. Much easier on the 5G.

 

[DHMag]

With the NHTSA "judging" headlamp illumination, it surprises me that reflector housings are still used with halogens. I had a 2015 Colorado with factory projectors but with halogens and the illumination was horrible. My Ranger with reflectors and halogens is horrible as well.

I added Hikari LEDs to the fog lamps, which I originally tried in the headlamp position but could not refit the dust covers. I added the JDM Astar 1:1 12k LED to the low beams and Auxito to the high beams back in late 2019. Have not had a problem with being blinding to other drivers or faulty bulbs since install.

It's just a shame that Amazon has really cracked down on options. Seems like you can only get "quality" LEDs for a good price from eBay.

 

[Wes Siler]

With the NHTSA "judging" headlamp illumination, it surprises me that reflector housings are still used with halogens. I had a 2015 Colorado with factory projectors but with halogens and the illumination was horrible. My Ranger with reflectors and halogens is horrible as well.

I added Hikari LEDs to the fog lamps, which I originally tried in the headlamp position but could not refit the dust covers. I added the JDM Astar 1:1 12k LED to the low beams and Auxito to the high beams back in late 2019. Have not had a problem with being blinding to other drivers or faulty bulbs since install.

It's just a shame that Amazon has really cracked down on options. Seems like you can only get "quality" LEDs for a good price from eBay.

Genuine question for those of you swapping fog bulbs or lamps: how are you using them?

If you're running them to supplement the low beams, don't you then reduces illumination when you switch on the high beams?

 

[DHMag]

Genuine question for those of you swapping fog bulbs or lamps: how are you using them?

If you're running them to supplement the low beams, don't you then reduces illumination when you switch on the high beams?

Low beams with fogs for immediate visual, high beams for distance visual.

 

[yamahaSHO]

My proper headlights on my Ranger have more glare than my drop-in LED's on my Jeep.

Enjoy.

 

[Wes Siler]

Low beams with fogs for immediate visual, high beams for distance visual.

Is that enough? The halogens aren't exactly great...

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