My dad has a 2006 Ford F550 and theheadlights aren’t too great. I just hada couple of questions on what headlight bulb upgrade to go with and what hasand hasn’t worked for you guys and your experience/opinion on differentoptions.

Thelow beams are ok but could be better. The high beams however are very poor. Youcan pretty much see better with the low beams than the high beams. So we arelooking for a better replacement headlight bulb.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but from theresearch that I’ve done there is pretty much 3 options for headlight bulb upgrades. Better aftermarket Halogen bulbs, Xenon bulbsand HIDS.

Halogen Bulbs: From what I’ve found Sylvania SilverstarUltras are probably about the best or at least the most popular Halogenaftermarket bulb out there. I’ve read mixedreviews about them though. Pretty mucheveryone says they put out great light but most people said that they haveburnt out within a year of installation. So I don’t want to replace something that has never gone out throughoutthe entire life of the truck with something that might go out in a couple ofmonths. A few people have had no troublewith them burning out and have had them for years but most of the things I haveread have talked about them burning out quickly. So I am not sure about going this route. One thing though, is that I don’t really knowany other brands out there that make aftermarket Halogen bulbs other thanSylvania. I’m sure that there’s more outthere but I’ve just never heard of them. I have also heard that they might burn out quickly because they put outmore light. So I was wondering if theregular Silverstars have that much of a difference in light output than theUltras.

Xenon Bulbs: I have not heard many good reviews aboutthese. Most of what I’ve read about themis that people say that they don’t last long at all and are not much brighterif not dimmer than stock lights. I alsodon’t really know of any brands that make them other than Recon, which I havenot heard many good reviews of them either. I’m not really too excited about these but they are an option.

HIDs: This is what I originally wanted to go with but I did some more researchon them and figured out that they sometimes don’t really work too well with thestock headlight housings because they’re not designed for them and HIDs put outlight differently than Halogens do. Istill think that this would be a good replacement for the stock bulbs but I’mnot sure if they will work properly. Idefinitely don’t want them to be blinding to other drivers and I have a heard afew cases where people have said that because of the stock housing they put outworse light than stock. I would like togo with HIDs but I want to make sure that they will work properly and be safeto other drivers. I’m pretty sure that aproperly aimed and not ridiculously bright HID should be perfectly fine in thestock housing but I’m not for sure though. We won’t get anything higher than 6000k and will probably end up withsomething more like a 5000k bulb and will definitely get a 35 watt bulb overthe 55 watt one. We also wanted toreplace the fog lights so that they will match the headlights.

So let me know what you guys think andwhat you think we should go with and anything about your personal experiencewith any of these bulb options. Most ofour driving is in the country with big open fields and dark roads in areas withlots of deer so we need something brighter. We are just looking for a bulb that will be a good deal brighter thanstock, have long life, and be safe to other drivers. Thanks for any help in advance.

 

The truck has halogen bulbs as stock. Silverstar seem to be a slight improvement. Auxiliary lights are probably your best bet, but not always legal.

 

Some GOOD halogen bulbs are the best bang for your buck. First, check your voltage. Make sure your alternator and batteries are good to go. Could just be time to replace those, but bulbs go bad as well.

Halogens are also good, brighter, but have less life. Silverstars are the way to go if this is what you want.

HIDs are generally not legal, but I dont know anyone whose gotten a ticket for them. They are illegal to install in a vehicle not designed for them, for reasons I have illustrated below. They are the brightest, but also produce the most 'unusable' light. The problem with HIDs is if they are installed in a vehicle not designed for them, they shoot light in every direction.





Can you see the difference?

 

Yeah I know the stock lights are halogen but they dont seem to be that great. I have that sometimes Silverstars are only slight improvements over stock. I never really thought about auxiliary lights. Idk if my dad would go for it though. I'll have to chech with him about it.

 

They could just be old. They get dim over time.

 

Yeah I have thought about that they might not be getting enough power, but they have been pretty dim for about as long as I can remember. How long to the bulbs usually last. The truck has about 110,000 miles on it but i know it will depend more on how many of those the lights have actually been used on but I know the lights have never been replace before. Yeah I know Silverstars are pretty good upgrade but what scares me about them is that I have a lot of people say that they burn out quickly. Yeah I also know that HIDs are illegal but like you said I have never heard of anyone getting a ticket for them. And I don't think that you would as long as they're not blinding. But that is also what I have read before is that they put out light very differently than a Halogen bulb would especially in a housing designed for Halogens. Thats what made me not sure about the HIDs. I don't want to be blinding people when driving past them. Yeah I can see the difference and how it could be unsafe.

 

I thought about that but my Dad says that they've always been pretty dim. Do you know how long they normally last?

 

Not 100,000 miles probably. But idk for sure.

 

If your not going to HID's I would uses the halogen with one change.
Replace the plug and add a relay and fuse and run then direct from the
battery wit ha larger size wire.

Sean

 

I originally wanted to go HIDs but I dont want them to be unsafe. I see in your sig that you have HIDs. How do you like yours and have you ever had any trouble with them.

 

Ok. Thanks I'll have to look into it more.

 

I just saw that it was a 550. Are they the sealed beams?

 

No they are not sealed beams. They are the normal composite ones I think they are called.

 

silverstars are the brightest and cleanest i have been able to find. the ultras i have not used yet. that being said, they last about a year. if you reed the product FAQ's, they say to expect a year, so they don't really hide it.

the best compromise i have found is the sylvania XtraVision's. they have a slightly altered filament placement to enhance the light pattern, and are every so slightly brighter than stock. they do tend to last for years, though.

other than that .....
a bixenon kit from HID Conversion Kit, HID Kits, HID Headlight Kits for Cars & Trucks would be about the only other thing worth trying.

 

Or get these and save 20% in fuel costs