Suggestions on brighter lighting
12-01-2023, 01:21 AM
#1
New Truck Owner
Thread Starter
Suggestions on brighter lighting
Hi all
i have a 2017 xlt f-150 and was looking for suggestions on better headlights for my truck. As it’s winter the dark is coming earlier and I’ve been struggling to see the roads in some areas due to my poor headlights.
can I just get LED bulbs for my OEM headlights or do I need a new kind of housing for my headlights/bulbs? Or is there a better/cheaper alternative?
i have a 2017 xlt f-150 and was looking for suggestions on better headlights for my truck. As it’s winter the dark is coming earlier and I’ve been struggling to see the roads in some areas due to my poor headlights.
can I just get LED bulbs for my OEM headlights or do I need a new kind of housing for my headlights/bulbs? Or is there a better/cheaper alternative?
12-01-2023, 05:58 AM
#2
Aluminum Can Connoisseur
You can go brighter incandescent or swap in some LED projectors.
The proper solutions will cost some loot for example installing some factory LED headlights & associated harness
https://www.f150forum.com/f83/
The proper solutions will cost some loot for example installing some factory LED headlights & associated harness
https://www.f150forum.com/f83/
12-01-2023, 06:49 AM
#3
Senior Member
For the safety of others, make sure you get bulbs that are approved and make sure that they are adjusted correctly. Maybe you just need new OEM bulbs.
12-01-2023, 08:55 AM
#4
Senior Member
I went down the road of swapping in LEDs into my stock halogen housings. I went with DDM Sabre Pro V2 after a bunch of research. The output pattern was very similar to OEM, with minimal scatter (minimal, not "none"). They were quite bright straight in front of the truck, but had minimal spread. Living in downtown Houston, it's never really "dark" with all of the ambient light, so it wasn't a huge concern. At the same time, I swapped my fog lights for OEM LEDs.
After doing more reading and research, I decided to pull the LEDs and swap in H9 to the low beams, 9011 to the high beams, and the OEM 9005 high beam bulbs into the OEM fog light housings. I just did this Monday, and have been on vacation all week so my driving in the dark has been limited to one trip to dinner. I can say that in that trip, the halogens have a far better light spread than the LEDs and are quite a bit brighter than the OEM halogen bulbs. I can't say they are brighter than the LEDs right in front of the truck, but if you drive on any truly dark roads, you would appreciate the spread from the halogens as it would allow you to see better to the sides of the road. I'll have a better idea of how they are after next week when I go back to work (I leave home at 5:00am). Overall, I'm happy with the halogens. Truth be told, I was happy with the LEDs as well, I just like the larger blanket of light with the halogens. As I do prefer the color temperature of LEDs I eventually plan to upgrade to projectors, but for now, these are more than sufficient. If I could find LEDs that were closer to 5000k than 6000k, I would be very happy as that is what suits my eyes best.
For the money, I think you would be better served doing the upgraded halogen swap, unless you want to spend around $1000 on LED projector housings. I paid $300 for the two sets of LEDs, plus the $300 for OEM LED Fogs. The upgraded halogen bulbs were $61 total for the H9 and 9011, and I already had the 9005.
After doing more reading and research, I decided to pull the LEDs and swap in H9 to the low beams, 9011 to the high beams, and the OEM 9005 high beam bulbs into the OEM fog light housings. I just did this Monday, and have been on vacation all week so my driving in the dark has been limited to one trip to dinner. I can say that in that trip, the halogens have a far better light spread than the LEDs and are quite a bit brighter than the OEM halogen bulbs. I can't say they are brighter than the LEDs right in front of the truck, but if you drive on any truly dark roads, you would appreciate the spread from the halogens as it would allow you to see better to the sides of the road. I'll have a better idea of how they are after next week when I go back to work (I leave home at 5:00am). Overall, I'm happy with the halogens. Truth be told, I was happy with the LEDs as well, I just like the larger blanket of light with the halogens. As I do prefer the color temperature of LEDs I eventually plan to upgrade to projectors, but for now, these are more than sufficient. If I could find LEDs that were closer to 5000k than 6000k, I would be very happy as that is what suits my eyes best.
For the money, I think you would be better served doing the upgraded halogen swap, unless you want to spend around $1000 on LED projector housings. I paid $300 for the two sets of LEDs, plus the $300 for OEM LED Fogs. The upgraded halogen bulbs were $61 total for the H9 and 9011, and I already had the 9005.
Last edited by bigred90gt; 12-01-2023 at 08:58 AM.
12-01-2023, 10:33 AM
#5
No fart cans allowed
I went down the road of swapping in LEDs into my stock halogen housings. I went with DDM Sabre Pro V2 after a bunch of research. The output pattern was very similar to OEM, with minimal scatter (minimal, not "none"). They were quite bright straight in front of the truck, but had minimal spread. Living in downtown Houston, it's never really "dark" with all of the ambient light, so it wasn't a huge concern. At the same time, I swapped my fog lights for OEM LEDs.
After doing more reading and research, I decided to pull the LEDs and swap in H9 to the low beams, 9011 to the high beams, and the OEM 9005 high beam bulbs into the OEM fog light housings. I just did this Monday, and have been on vacation all week so my driving in the dark has been limited to one trip to dinner. I can say that in that trip, the halogens have a far better light spread than the LEDs and are quite a bit brighter than the OEM halogen bulbs. I can't say they are brighter than the LEDs right in front of the truck, but if you drive on any truly dark roads, you would appreciate the spread from the halogens as it would allow you to see better to the sides of the road. I'll have a better idea of how they are after next week when I go back to work (I leave home at 5:00am). Overall, I'm happy with the halogens. Truth be told, I was happy with the LEDs as well, I just like the larger blanket of light with the halogens. As I do prefer the color temperature of LEDs I eventually plan to upgrade to projectors, but for now, these are more than sufficient. If I could find LEDs that were closer to 5000k than 6000k, I would be very happy as that is what suits my eyes best.
For the money, I think you would be better served doing the upgraded halogen swap, unless you want to spend around $1000 on LED projector housings. I paid $300 for the two sets of LEDs, plus the $300 for OEM LED Fogs. The upgraded halogen bulbs were $61 total for the H9 and 9011, and I already had the 9005.
After doing more reading and research, I decided to pull the LEDs and swap in H9 to the low beams, 9011 to the high beams, and the OEM 9005 high beam bulbs into the OEM fog light housings. I just did this Monday, and have been on vacation all week so my driving in the dark has been limited to one trip to dinner. I can say that in that trip, the halogens have a far better light spread than the LEDs and are quite a bit brighter than the OEM halogen bulbs. I can't say they are brighter than the LEDs right in front of the truck, but if you drive on any truly dark roads, you would appreciate the spread from the halogens as it would allow you to see better to the sides of the road. I'll have a better idea of how they are after next week when I go back to work (I leave home at 5:00am). Overall, I'm happy with the halogens. Truth be told, I was happy with the LEDs as well, I just like the larger blanket of light with the halogens. As I do prefer the color temperature of LEDs I eventually plan to upgrade to projectors, but for now, these are more than sufficient. If I could find LEDs that were closer to 5000k than 6000k, I would be very happy as that is what suits my eyes best.
For the money, I think you would be better served doing the upgraded halogen swap, unless you want to spend around $1000 on LED projector housings. I paid $300 for the two sets of LEDs, plus the $300 for OEM LED Fogs. The upgraded halogen bulbs were $61 total for the H9 and 9011, and I already had the 9005.
Check out the Headlight Revolution Youtube for good LED drop in bulbs.
https://youtu.be/_PEO6DwYeQk?si=V_fjVTK8hF9qfAHA
Last edited by BadAV; 12-01-2023 at 10:36 AM.
