because of dim lights. It's time to address this issue.

I really don't want to do the '05 light mod. I've read '02+ are clear. Are they direct replacements? OEM seem to be $167ea.

Also, does anyone have any experience with these?
InPro Car Wear Clear Headlights for 99 to 01 Ford Truck and Excursion
Upgraded Headlight Harness for 94 to 04 Ford with 9007 Bulbs
Brite Box
Are those any good? Thanks.

 

I can sympathize , I am running the originals right now and they are pathetic compared my wifes Jeep. They are much improved since I polished them but still not good enough. I am curious to see what you find on these 2 options.

 

If you're gonna do a brite box then I assume you're driving in areas where its safe to use high beams for extended periods of time. If that's the case then just bolt a couple big round xenon driving lights on the front bumper and call it a day

 

02's are a direct replacement. They are a HUGE improvement. Then throw a set of HID's in there. I still would recommend the 05's they seem to have a better light pattern for upgraded lights. Easy to install, just some minor triming and they look a lot better the the older style lights.

 

I put a set of silverstars in (regular ones, not ultras) and the headlights are pretty bright. Are yours yellowed? The 02's should be direct fit since the front end didn't change much.

As for the links, the upgraded harness should make them slightly brighter by providing the bulbs with battery voltage, vs a lower voltage from the headlight switch (voltage loss due to the distance it runs). The brite box is a high beam mod that lets you run both the high and low beam at the same time. Questions have been raised about overheating the light housing with that though. I'm not sure if it really happens though. I personally don't like the crystal clear lights myself, but those look decent.

 

I did the upgrade to 2005 headlights with the Dfuser pigtail wiring harness. Puredieselpower has it for sale and they also have a good description with pics on how much you need to cut out of your header panel. I tried to cut out less and spent about a hour and a half (on one side) and was only able to cut a little less in one corner. Was not worth the effort trying to salvage a little fiberglass. Overall very happy with the upgrade.

 

Yes, they're very yellowed.. Lots of those clear lights tend to look a bit ricer, especially with clear turn signals... How would a new pair of jeweled lights, upgrading the wiring harness and installing superior bulbs compare to switching to '02's?

The 2005 headlights are not an option. I am not cutting away the front clip of our truck to emulate a 6 leaker. It's sacrilege. Honestly, the truck is for my wife's business (which is seasonal and this is the slow time of the year) and I'm trying to go the most cost effective route. It boils down to a smart business decision.

I posted the links because I found them in a search. The brightbox seems pretty cool, but I'm not sure if it damages the bulbs or not.

 

We use these on our fleet trucks FORD F250 F350 CLEAR CHROME HEAD LIGHTS+CORNER+BULBS 4P - eBay (item 390261531137 end time Dec-11-10 16:57:04 PST) cheap and very clear just a thought for you

 

I bought this: Upgraded Headlight Harness for 94 to 04 Ford with 9007 Bulbs

with some silverstars with the '02 lights and it's very nice setup.

 

That's exactly the route I took & very pleased with the results. I was lucky & swapped lights with one of our work trucks

 

I put 02 lights on my 01. Much brighter and better light distribution pattern.

Do you have Daytime Running Lights? I do, so I made my own harness to retain them, and also used a system to have 3 fuses and 3 relays (one for each low beam and one for both high beams) for redundancy. It uses the original harness to trigger the relays.

PM me is you want more info.

 

Don't count out the 03's, their nice too. Don't know if theres a difference between the 02 and 03's. I bought my 7.3 truck new in early 04 and the lenses are like new plus I've never changed a bulb, knock on wood. Plus most of my driving is nitetime so they've lasted great.

 

The '02 and '03 (and for that matter the '04) lights are the same "jeweled" housings and 9007 bulbs. The Gos Racing harness was a HUGE improvement along with the Silverstar Ultra bulbs.

It was a very noticeable difference and I already had the newer housings since I have an '03.

 

Good for you . I installed the '02 style lights and haven't looked back. I'm very pleased with these lights, the throw is so much better both distance and width. Plus, I feel they're the best looking lights out there. I never liked the '05 style.

Keep your eye out in the classifieds, you can find deals from guys with '02 style lights upgrading to '05s. Ford factory lights are the best ones out there anyway. Be patient and a deal will come along. Did for me.

 

I run a Brite Box with Silverstars.

We live about ten miles outside the city limits and my drive into work in the morning is two lane country road through heavily wooded areas. Needless to say, it's pretty dark out there.

I run most of the way with the highs, lows, and fogs on and they light up the road pretty good. The feature I like is how it lights up the sides of the road. That way I can spot deer (and there are lots of them) that are feeding on the grass at the edges of the road. I like knowing they are there before they jump out in front of me.