My night vision is very poor and even worse in the rain at night. I'd really like to add some auxiliary driving lights somewhere in the front. I don't have any bull bar or brush guard. I'd also like to keep the stock grill. Has anyone had any success mounting them anywhere? I thought about making a bracket behind the grill and positioning the lights through the spaces in the grill. I also thought about mounting them under the bumper through some factory holes on the bottom. I don't want to drill any new holes. Any suggestions? Or pics? I'm thinking about just going with some good ol fashioned rectangular ones.

 

Before adding auxiliary lighting, I would upgrade the headlights. There are quality replacements available that make a world of difference. Adding relays to the headlight circuit also makes a tremendous difference, since the headlights receive full voltage.

 

Do you recommend any specific headlight replacement? I looked at some comparisons and the Sylvania SilverStar Ultra seem pretty bright.
I never heard of adding a relay to the headlight circuit. Aren't the headlights already on relays?

 

NO, the headlights are NOT on relays.

I would do upgraded bulbs and a relay harness. You would be amazed at the difference

 

The Silverstar Ultra bulbs make a noticeable difference. Do the relay mod as well, and you'll see a tremendous difference. The relay mod also takes the burden of the current off your headlight switch, making it last longer and reducing the chance of an electrical fire.
If your headlights are old and cloudy/scratched, replacing the assembly with fresh units will also make a very noticeable difference.

 

Being night driving in the rain is especially troublesome try amber lens fogs. It makes a significant difference for me.

 

I have seen this mentioned numerous times but never how to do it. I ran HIDs for a bit but they were junk.

 

Easy. Just get some relays that are properly rated for the job and have them provide power directly the headlight bulbs from a fused, high-current power source. You can tap off the battery or starter solenoid with an inline fuse holder. Use 2 relays, one for both low beams and the other for both high beams.

The stock headlight wiring is used to trigger the relays.

 

This sounds easy enough, but is there a writeup somewhere with instructions on what wires to tap and where, along with what relays to use.

 

Whiter Whites, Brighter Brights - Ford Trucks

You can also buy a ready made harness from LMC Truck. There may be better and cheaper sources.

 

I read through that write-up several times last night. Doesn't seem too difficult. I'm going to try and tackle the relays first and see what kind of increased light output I get. Then I'll upgrade my lights to the Silverstar Ultra's. Thanks for the info gentlemen.

 

I had this problem I just decided to get new headlights/bulbs w/ relay harness. later put on the led bar and cubes. I have the cubes angled down so they illuminate the entire road without blinding anybody else. I don't use the led bar unless I don't see anyone else on the road though

 

That LMC harness is only $30. Has anyone installed it and can comment on ease of install vs buying the relays, fuse holder, and wire to make your own? If it's just plug and play vs cutting factory wires, it may be worth it.

 

I've never used the LMC harness, but from what I've read here the quality is just ok. I believe it functions just as well as anything you could make, so for the $ and convenience it's hard to justify making your own. When I made mine, I used four relays since I have two sets of headlights. (Plow lights) I bought a set of ten relays with the plug/pigtail off of ebay pretty reasonable.
Before I did the relays on my 86 f350, I did a little test to see how much brighter they'd be by sticking a wire into the back side of the headlight plug, then running it to the battery. I turned the headlights on then connected and disconnected the wire from the battery and there was a very noticeable change. I don't think it would be easy to do this on the newer trucks because of the different plug and access.

 

I have a set of yellow-tinted HID fogs mounted on the top of my bumper just below my grill, you can see in my avatar. Aim them too low and they're useless, aim too high and they're illegal, but aim them just right and they're super helpful.