promtbr

Hi all,

Newbie here. I DID do searches for Headlight threads first I promise.

But I didn't find any information that would answer specifically my headlight questions.

I LOVE my 2012 Lariat F150!

But I HATE its oem headlights!!!! I did a search initially a year ago and thought the answer was a stronger Lamp. So i replaced the originals with some SuperX 5000 (making that up) that cost me $80 plus. They were no better.

My problem is that I am up in the NW and frequently have to drive at night in deer and larger critter infested roads. Litterally deer dodging in certain stretches. Have a heavy duty Brush guard but still. My families other cars all have head lamps that at least have some periphial illumination. My 2012 has ZERO side illumination. The lamps are so bad, that I don't even get flashed on high beam and prefer low beam anyway. I do have fog lamps but they do little.

A recent scary three hour drive in wintery Montana interstates after dark and I am so disgusted with these headlights that I thought about trading my truck for one with less dangerous lights. Then I remembered this forum and searched and found that one CAN replace the entire Head light (yes, I am that naive). The OEM HID's sound impressive if they are and option for me, and I AM willing to spend what it takes!

BUT do these famous HIDs have improved side or wider dispersion in their illumination foot print? If not, what would you suggest? Its one thing to have a much brighter light, but it matters a hell of a lot to me whether that amazing illumination will reveal those suicidally inclined wild animals on the side of the roadways!

Thanks...Randy

MCDavis

iTrader: (1)

OEM HIDs are a nice upgrade however their beam is slightly narrow. It is much more light though as compared to halogen. It's a great upgrade.

If you really need width then a retrofit would be ideal. FXR and EvoX-R projectors are immensely wide and throw even light. This would be a good option although kinda pricey. Retrofit will cost you about $1400 on the low end.

RES4CUE

Yes!

Do a retro or swap in 2014 OEM HIDs!

http://www.bilinvic-retrofits.com

Look here as a starting point, there are more out there but his work is second to none but you will pay for it. The Hella Evox upgrade will give you so much wide and tall light it will look like a ifo landing!

I've just returned from a 3500 mile trip out to Midwest and most of my driving was at night and it was crazy bright! The eye fatigue was way less also.

The downside is there is a waiting list and it takes a couple months or more to get custom ones. If you want them now there are several pairs in the 09 and up for sale section right now for good money.

Also look into OEM HIDs for sale, they usually go for around a $1000 with harness to make them work on trucks with halogen lights.

promtbr

Thanks for the input! Sounds Like I have some options. I can't stress enough that my prioirty is WIDER dispersion besides the brightness. IF the OEM HIDs have the same light 'footprint' on both High and low beams as my current crappy stock lights, the increased illumination, tho nice to a point, won't help if they are not also iluminating at least 20 degrees off each side of the road. What I ama after, is similar headlamp performance from the (Gasp) recent model Toyota RAV4s. their headlamp performance is insane if you live in deer collision country!

MCDavis

iTrader: (1)

My EvoX-R swap will light up damn near 8 lanes wide. Coming down I-95 through Maryland I was illuminating the 3 lanes across the median. Such great light distribution.

RES4CUE

Watch this

RES4CUE

What Mc said! With a retro it's pretty wide and will cover all three lanes and then way onto the shoulder. My Hellas on high you can see forever.

In low in really dark areas it actually freaks people out because their halogens are crap then I come up from behind and light up the road in front, not blinding them as they are aimed but the light is thrown so good down the road it drowns out their halogens.

Toddman38

iTrader: (5)

Prom, id look for a new or slightly used pair of oem hids! The stock halogens blow ***, I put a new pair of the oem hids in my 12 xlt and love the **** out of them!

The stock oem hids will light up a 8 lane, 2 way highway! Theyre 5x brighter than the halogens. I got mine and the wire harness for 910.00 shipped. I couldn't justify the Long Wait or Higher Cost for slight light output increase for the Retrofit, so I went with the stock oem hids and glad I did!

Some guys like myself love the stock hids, some bash em! You cant make everyone happy! Hell some would bitch if you gave them a new 100.00 bill with a wrinkle in it!

RES4CUE

Yep, OEM will be a huge Improvement over halogen! They are the fastest way to get good HIDs unless you want custom touches, better optics, and brighter output, that takes more money and time.

RES4CUE

Here's a set for sale right now with everything..