headlight help please.
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Elder User
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 653
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From: nc
headlight help please.
I searched and searched on this forum and i can find what im looking for. I want to know if it's worth the money to switch to hid lights. I was looking on ebay and found some xenon 6000k's. Are these true hid's or a halogen? And my 9008's are 60/55w . I can get a 90/100w. Will this higher wattage burn up my wiring?
Tuned
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 314
Likes: 16
From: northeast
bulbs
I dont think it would melt your wiring but i would not recomend that high of wattage. I just ordered Nokya artic white H13 bulbs at stock wattage. I think they might show up today so i will install them and report back how they work. Also got matching H10 for the fogs hope they match up well.
Tuned
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 314
Likes: 16
From: northeast
H13 bulbs
Ok here is my opinion. The head lights are much clearer, a clean white, looks real nice. I would not say any brighter, but they are stock wattage so I guess that would make sense. The fogs are 55 watts up from the factory 44 watts. They seem a little brighter. The head lights and fogs match perfect in color. Over all I think it looks real nice. If you are trying to get brighter lights than stock you will need to increase wattage over stock. Like mentioned before make sure they are legal. Blinding people is no good.
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 476
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From: Virginia (Northern)
BWEP, are your new bulbs a blue color? b ecause i hate the blue tint of some of the bulbs out there. I do like the white look though vs the yellowish of the factory lights. Can you send me a link and part number forthe bulbs you ordered?
Senior User
Joined: May 2008
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From: Americas' hat (Canada)
To clear a few things up for the OP's first question, the lights in the picture are not true HID's. A true HID bulb does not have a filament. True HID's also need to come with a ballast which actually ignites the gas inside the bulb, which then produces the light.
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2004
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yeah they say 12v on them too. hid lights run off ac current at really high voltage. anyway though using hid lights in a halogen housing is bad unless its only for offroad use. the best way to go is to use a projector setup. see hidplanet.com for some good info.
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Elder User
Joined: May 2004
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From: nc
after researching and not wanting to install ballast and other electrical components. I went with the silverstars. I wanted the ultras but i couldnt find them anywhere around here in a h13 9008. I had the regular sylvanias in there but boy can i see now!! I also have them in my wifes 06 taurus but they arent bright like mine. What could be the problem?
Senior User
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 449
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From: Americas' hat (Canada)
How old are the bulbs in your wifes car? If they are over a year old, the answer is simple. Old bulbs produce less light than a brand new one. That would be the problem.
If you just installed them, then I don't know. Maybe it's a different bulb style (not an H13 bulb), or maybe it's just how the headlight spreads the light.
I've been running the SilverStars in my truck now for about 6 months and they work great. I've avoided numerous collisions with animals since I could see much better.
Just a fair warning for anyone who uses the SilverStars in their fog lights, don't let your lenses get dirty with the fog lights on. It can melt them. Atleast in the circle style fog light it can. I learned from experience, and then from a few second hand people.
There are 2 other F-150s at my work site, and both have the circle style fog light. Both are also running SilverStars in their fog lights, and both have melted their lenses after the lens got dirty.
If you just installed them, then I don't know. Maybe it's a different bulb style (not an H13 bulb), or maybe it's just how the headlight spreads the light.
I've been running the SilverStars in my truck now for about 6 months and they work great. I've avoided numerous collisions with animals since I could see much better.
Just a fair warning for anyone who uses the SilverStars in their fog lights, don't let your lenses get dirty with the fog lights on. It can melt them. Atleast in the circle style fog light it can. I learned from experience, and then from a few second hand people.
There are 2 other F-150s at my work site, and both have the circle style fog light. Both are also running SilverStars in their fog lights, and both have melted their lenses after the lens got dirty.
Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,195
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From: Sunapee NH
So, JoSHN are you running 9005 silverstars or 9145? Anything over the 45 watts of a 9145 in those small lamp assemblies can be trouble, but you could be the first I've heard of with melting and the 9145.
I've run 9145ST fogs in my 07 for 2 plus years with no issues and my fogs are covered with salt and crap almost all winter long.
FWIW, Silverstar lamp performance is not the same from one lamp configuration to the next. So you may see a big gain when upgrading from a regular 9007 to a 9007 silverstar but you wont see that same level of gain with a H13 or other configurations. Add to that, some lamp assemblies don't offer great performance to begin with. Adding the silverstar to these can be a total waste of money.
Ford also is known, at least in the ranks of lighting manufactures engineering, to design lighting harnesses that exhibit more voltage drop. This would give lower voltage at the lamp and lower output. Add to the poor design the in use corrosion and you've got the perfect recipe for poor lamp performance. All because there's not enough voltage making it to your lamp.
I've run 9145ST fogs in my 07 for 2 plus years with no issues and my fogs are covered with salt and crap almost all winter long.
FWIW, Silverstar lamp performance is not the same from one lamp configuration to the next. So you may see a big gain when upgrading from a regular 9007 to a 9007 silverstar but you wont see that same level of gain with a H13 or other configurations. Add to that, some lamp assemblies don't offer great performance to begin with. Adding the silverstar to these can be a total waste of money.
Ford also is known, at least in the ranks of lighting manufactures engineering, to design lighting harnesses that exhibit more voltage drop. This would give lower voltage at the lamp and lower output. Add to the poor design the in use corrosion and you've got the perfect recipe for poor lamp performance. All because there's not enough voltage making it to your lamp.
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Elder User
Joined: May 2004
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From: nc
They have been that way since we put them in. If i was to turn my lights on compared to hers you probably wouldnt see hers anymore. We put them in about 6 months ago i believe. We went to a shop around here just to see if they needed to be aligned and the guy told me if they hit your knees then its fine. Anyone ever heard of this?
Senior User
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 449
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From: Americas' hat (Canada)
In response to dixiemudder04, no I have never heard of the "hit your knees" term. The best way that I have aligned headlights, was to park on a level surface about 4-6 feet from a solid wall at night with your lights on. This would give you a good idea as to where the "hotspot" of light is coming out. I don't know the exact specs on where the lights should be aimed, but you should be easily able to google it.
To SVT2205, I just checked with the SilverStar website, and confirmed that i am not using 9005 bulbs. I'm using the 9006 bulb instead. The 9005 was the high beam bulb, where as the 9006 is a low beam bulb. I could not find even a replacement bulb for the 9145, so I decided that the 9006 would work best. As for the wattage, the website claims that the 9006 is a 55 watt light, and the 9005 is a 65 watt light.
Either way, all I know is that after I started using the Silverstars in my fog lights, and read a few warnings from other members about the lens melting, I made sure I checked them almost every day. After 2 months, I decided that they were going to work fine. It wasn't until they got caked with crap that they melted.
To SVT2205, I just checked with the SilverStar website, and confirmed that i am not using 9005 bulbs. I'm using the 9006 bulb instead. The 9005 was the high beam bulb, where as the 9006 is a low beam bulb. I could not find even a replacement bulb for the 9145, so I decided that the 9006 would work best. As for the wattage, the website claims that the 9006 is a 55 watt light, and the 9005 is a 65 watt light.
Either way, all I know is that after I started using the Silverstars in my fog lights, and read a few warnings from other members about the lens melting, I made sure I checked them almost every day. After 2 months, I decided that they were going to work fine. It wasn't until they got caked with crap that they melted.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,365
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From: Ketchikan, AK.
the correct way to adjust your headlights is to park close to a wall, or garage door on a flat level surface. turn your headlignts on, and place some tape on the wall where the light concentrates. then, back up about 25 feet, and adjust your lights so they are shinging slightly below the tape you marked on the wall.
this works for stock, leveled, or lifted applications. it will ensure that no matter how high your trucks lights are from the ground, they wont shine level to the ground toward other drivers' eyes.
this works for stock, leveled, or lifted applications. it will ensure that no matter how high your trucks lights are from the ground, they wont shine level to the ground toward other drivers' eyes.
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 493
Likes: 0
the correct way to adjust your headlights is to park close to a wall, or garage door on a flat level surface. turn your headlignts on, and place some tape on the wall where the light concentrates. then, back up about 25 feet, and adjust your lights so they are shinging slightly below the tape you marked on the wall.
this works for stock, leveled, or lifted applications. it will ensure that no matter how high your trucks lights are from the ground, they wont shine level to the ground toward other drivers' eyes.
this works for stock, leveled, or lifted applications. it will ensure that no matter how high your trucks lights are from the ground, they wont shine level to the ground toward other drivers' eyes.