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i just bought a new 2014 Fx4 last Christmas, it comes stock with the OEM HID's. i been on the fence about swapping the stock projectors with "Evox-r's" for awhile now, the stocks seem decent but of course brighter would be amazing.
my local retrofit specialist wants around 650$ including parts, so the question is, is it worth it to upgrade to Evox-r's? or should i just buy some osram d3s CBI's for around 200$? has anyone upgraded the projectors, what is your opinion?
my understanding is the stocks D3s components (ballast,projector,etc) would be thrown away because they cant be used, which to me seems like a real waste.
i also want to add some led strips as switchback DRL's like in the pic below... thanks for the help
I'm all for upgrading, but I don't see how its worth it IMHO. My 2011 has just the plain old halogens and even so it blows away MANY other vehicles on the road for forward lighting ability.
The stock halogens on these trucks are on par with the candles Dodge had on the front of their heaps up until at least the 09 body change. They work fine if you never drive anywhere that is actually dark... like so many never ending cities these posters come from. The low beams were okay... but highs were so weak that I would have needed to have them turned so low they would have been pointless.
The Hids are decent. When I retroed the stock hids I went with the osram cbi's in the stock projectors to compare to my totally stock FX4's hids. It seems a bit brighter and even the coverage isn't too bad. Guys that retro the projector comment that the spread is better and you have a wider beam of light. I'm happy as is but maybe one day I will change my mind. I drive in a lot of far from the normal world places that stay dark a lot in the winter and with all the animals and snow I haven't felt a need for additional aftermarket lighting so I can't complain!
I'm all for upgrading, but I don't see how its worth it IMHO. My 2011 has just the plain old halogens and even so it blows away MANY other vehicles on the road for forward lighting ability.
Your the Only 1 who feels this way!
I was soo glad to get the oem hids in my 12, it was like driving with no heads at nite with the crumby halogens before doing so...
To op, its worth it if you justify better light output and having the best quility hids on the road!
OP - not sure what you're going for - do you do more city driving or out of city driving. I don't want to assume, but rather just offer an opinion.
I googled 2014 FX4 to get an idea of your grill configuration. The reason I say that is I mounted 2 LED bars behind my grill and it offers a heck of a lot more light than most HIDs I've run across and for less money as well. Granted - I don't use them in city, but more out of town when I'm taking trips to the lake at odd hours of the night. $650 for a retrofit...I can promise you that my 2 LED bars, which including all the extra installation parts, don't come close to $650 and shed a whole lot more light. I did all the wiring and install myself, so that comes into play as well.
I have seen MANY people gripe about the halogens but just never understood it. Have you even driven a 1998+ Crown Vic, or really any of that era Fords with the 9007 bulbs? Or possibly the worst headlights I've ever seen was the factory halogen projectors in 2001 Olds Aurora (they are at least useable after replacing the 9006 with 9012 bulb). Also, I remember owning a couple Camaro's and Firebirds (80's and 90's) that felt like you had glowsticks mounted up front.
Maybe the Philips bulbs really made that big of a difference, though even before that I thought they were just good lights. Is it an aiming issue? I know mine were actually pointed up a little too much from the PO with the leveling kit on the front (which was awesome, but not for other drivers). Now they are aimed a little lower but still work great. Good spread with great throw. Sure, a quality HID is brighter but there really isn't much room to improve without becoming TOO bright around traffic. Now, the high beams are fine and work but they aren't a huge improvement over the low beam- is that what the fuss is about?
I have seen MANY people gripe about the halogens but just never understood it. Have you even driven a 1998+ Crown Vic, or really any of that era Fords with the 9007 bulbs? Or possibly the worst headlights I've ever seen was the factory halogen projectors in 2001 Olds Aurora (they are at least useable after replacing the 9006 with 9012 bulb). Also, I remember owning a couple Camaro's and Firebirds (80's and 90's) that felt like you had glowsticks mounted up front.
Maybe the Philips bulbs really made that big of a difference, though even before that I thought they were just good lights. Is it an aiming issue? I know mine were actually pointed up a little too much from the PO with the leveling kit on the front (which was awesome, but not for other drivers). Now they are aimed a little lower but still work great. Good spread with great throw. Sure, a quality HID is brighter but there really isn't much room to improve without becoming TOO bright around traffic. Now, the high beams are fine and work but they aren't a huge improvement over the low beam- is that what the fuss is about?
If you are comparing to older cars then fine you are probably right, but if you compare recent vehicles (2010+) our lights don't put out much useable light at all, which the introduction of hids on our trucks light output was increased dramatically. So many people complain about our halogen lights, myself included. On my 12 I did a retrofit, on my 14 I have stock hids which are perfectly fine for me and I won't modify them. I won't say I do a lot of country driving but even driving on the highway my stock halogen bulbs barely illuminated signs or the road ahead of me.
All I am saying is that the forward lighting is more than adequate. It might not be industry leading but, at least I, can always see more than well enough to safely navigate at any reasonable and appropriate speed. There isn't too many things that "couldn't be any better" and this is no exception, but to call that bad/poor/inadequate/etc is simply untrue.
07-02-2015, 05:15 PM
Retrofitting OEM HID's...
