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Hey guys,
Drove my truck to work the other day after replacing the driveshaft u-joints and carrier bearing, all seems well there. On the way home, however, i found the headlights to be way less than desirable for night driving. While I won’t be doing much driving at night with this, they definitely need to be replaced and possibly upgraded. I want to keep the stock look, so I’m not looking for an HID or LED conversion, but I do see that there are lenses which can be used to convert to H4 bulbs, as well as newer versions of the sealed beams that say they are brighter than stock (Sylvania Silverstar, Xtra-vision, and similar). I will be switching to a heavy duty relay system with this, but wanted to see if anyone had experience with this type of project and what your results were. Keeping the sealed beams would be less expensive, but if they are not going to make a major difference, I’d probably just spend the money and do the H4 conversion, which would also allow me to use higher wattage bulbs. Thanks for your input!
Last edited by BMWZ4Mguy; Aug 28, 2025 at 10:18 AM.
Reason: Updated title
Can't help with any upgrade suggestions. All I have is an observation about the stock bulbs. What I've noticed is they tend to slowly dim with age. The change is so gradual, it's not especially noticeable. The only time the difference stands out is when a bulb fails and is replaced. But since you'd typically only replace one at a time, the overall increase is still not especially noticeable.
I happened to notice this after replacing a dead bulb and a few days later I pulled up behind a semi, which had very shiny rear doors. I had a Eureka moment and replaced the other bulb, even though it had not failed. I'm not saying the two new bulbs turned night into day, but there's definitely an improvement.
If you want to go this route, stay away from the cheap bulbs. Can't remember what bulbs I installed, but it was top of the line from a name brand.
I recommend getting some clear housing that use a 9003 style bulb. You can find them on eBay or Amazon for around 40 or 50 bucks. Then use Sylvania Silverstar ultra bulbs.
Adjust them properly and you'll have some of the best headlights on the road
A lot of people are switching to LEDs, but the glare they produce and the color temperature is hard on the eyes in my opinion. I don't recommend them
LED's, even though they sell them, are not DOT legal for the road. They give you a nice bluish dispersed light close to the truck, but you will find your distance vision not very good.
The best upgrade you can do and keep the stock bulbs is to put a relay system on it. It will significantly brighten your stock bulbs.
I am not a fan of LED head lights for the reason DaveF said and just dont look right.
They do make DOT LED's but big $$$$ dont know how the pattern is like.
I went with Sylvania Silverstar or Xtra-vision, cant remember what ones now I went with but I also wired in the relay kit from LMC as I had 2 kits for another project.
I really like the light output and pattern for this setup, other than my wife's 2013 Subaru, it has the best lighting of my 02 Durango & 07 Crown Vic, Crown Vic I also added relay kit and new lenses / bulbs.
I am sure you will like the lighting with the Sylvania Silverstar or Xtra-vision bulbs and the relay kit.
Oh I did a lot of driving of my pickup in the dark between 12am to 3am to work and winter when it got dark early for the drive home.
Dave ----
They say just the relays makes a big difference as the lights are now getting a full 12 volts.
Both my truck and the Crown Vic I did the relays and new lights at the same time so cant say what just the relays would make.
Report back your outcome
Dave ----
Got the lights done, put in the relay harness and upgraded sealed beams from LMC. Old lights Old lights with new harness New harness and new beam on Right Two new beams New beams outside, big improvement!
The old beams had a lot of corrosion and flaking on the inside surface, which I’m sure was a big part of why they were so dim.
Took the truck to work this evening, home at midnight. Lights are so much better! I do need to adjust them a little bit, the low beam pattern is too close on both and the driver’s side needs to move left a bit, but shouldn’t be a big deal to fix, I did put a bit of PB blaster on all the adjustment screws and make sure they were free when I did the installation. I won’t be looking for anything brighter. Thanks for the advice!
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