So I just took my truck, a 2005 F-150 FX4, out at night for the first time. It just so happened that it was also raining. I must say that I am not only disappointed in the headlights, but downright scared by them.

I could NOT see the barrier directly to my left less than 3 feet from my truck on the highway. In areas with street lights they added NO extra light to the road in addition to what the street lights provided. Most of the time I couldn't even see the lane dividers. This was all with the headlights AND fog lights on.

Granted I am new to trucks, but I feel like this is downright dangerous. Is this a known problem with these trucks, is it just a truck thing, or am I just being too damn sensitive?

At this point I'm seeing projectors and HIDs in my VERY near future.

 

Must not be pointed right. I can see everything ahead and next to me with my OEM headlights and fogs.

 

I felt the same about my headlights. I don't have fogs, but it's not like they'd help me see far out even if I did.


Here is my stock heads low beam:




My retrofitted headlights low beam:

 

[QUOTE=sdatrlp23;3115060]I felt the same about my headlights. I don't have fogs, but it's not like they'd help me see far out even if I did.

Tell me about this retro fit. I had to hold a match in front of my headlights to see if they were on!

 

The headlights may need to be realigned. The owners manual shows how to aim the headlights. It is very easy. Plus maybe some new bulbs would not hurt. You can purchase the Sylvania Silver Star Ultras off of Ebay for around $25 a set.

 

I agree with the previous post. I have SilverStar Ultras on my truck. I love them. My truck is leveled also, so the light beam isn't slanted toward the ground, but out in front. If you don't have the money for HIDs or retrofits, these are the way to go.

 

Thanks guys. I'm going to do an alignment and get some new bulbs and see where that gets me. If I'm still not happy I'll look into a retrofit or a projector+HID combo.

 

I was in the same boat as you. At night my headlights were almost a dim yellow. So I tried the Sylvania ZXE bulbs I got at a local parts house. They were a little pricey at $50 a set, but man what a difference!

 

I picked up the Sylvania bulbs last night and gave them a try. Much better but still not as bright as I'm looking for. The stock bulbs on my Scion are still brighter than these on the road.

Time to start saving up for some projectors! Are the HID's necessary, or will the projectors give me more light on the road just with the same Sylvania bulbs?

 

You can use halogen bulbs with projectors, but it almost defeats the purpose since they are designed to work with HIDs. Plus, HID bulbs give off more light than halogen.