[strongarm18]

What's the best to get? The OEM? Ebay? $900+ on eBay but you still have to buy a $200 harness?

What's everyone do?

Anyone have the OEM lights and have a picture looking from the inside out at night?

Is it worth it to buy another headlight (made for HID's) and install some HID kit?

Trying to budget this out.

 

[Pinero61]

Check out our site sponsors Raptor Retrofit. They sell the factory set up. You'll realty like them, and with the projectors you'll get a much better light output. This is an expensive route to take over just installing HIDa in the stock housing though.

 

[akmedic77]

What's the best to get? The OEM? Ebay? $900+ on eBay but you still have to buy a $200 harness?

What's everyone do?

Anyone have the OEM lights and have a picture looking from the inside out at night?

Is it worth it to buy another headlight (made for HID's) and install some HID kit?

Trying to budget this out.

Here you go!


In the rain:



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[Kc311]

If I had the money to spend, I would absolutely get a product from Raptor Retrofit. Their headlights are top notch.

 

[strongarm18]

Here you go!
View attachment 3208

In the rain:
View attachment 3209


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Thank you for the pictures! Those are much better than halogens, as I would expect.
I got with Dawson of Raptor Retrofit and I think eventually (when I get some extra money) I'm going to get the 50w FXR

 

[akmedic77]

If I didn't have the OEM's I would probably have just replaced them with PIAA Extreme Whites. That's what I've had in all my last vehicles. Would have supplemented that with an LED light bar. Retrofits are really neat though!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[outlaw25]

I do a lot of driving in northern Maine's moose country, many of the truckers use aircraft lights. For the cost of the housing which is a tractor light, black rubber and the bulb your in it for about $40 each at NAPA. Yep it isn't HID or PIIA or Hella but it lights up the road for about a 1/4+ mile and from what I've seen of many posted on here it far surpasses those expensive lights. I'm researching a front bar now to add them. As with my other ford the headlights are terrible both high & low beam.

 

[Nasty Wendy]

I do a lot of driving in northern Maine's moose country, many of the truckers use aircraft lights. For the cost of the housing which is a tractor light, black rubber and the bulb your in it for about $40 each at NAPA. Yep it isn't HID or PIIA or Hella but it lights up the road for about a 1/4+ mile and from what I've seen of many posted on here it far surpasses those expensive lights. I'm researching a front bar now to add them. As with my other ford the headlights are terrible both high & low beam.

The mark of a good headlight isn't just how far it shines but how uniform and wide the light pattern is as well. I'm not familiar with the light pattern that aircraft lights put out. Is it a wide even spread of light or is it a long far reaching beam of light?

 

[Raptor Retrofit]

The mark of a good headlight isn't just how far it shines but how uniform and wide the light pattern is as well. I'm not familiar with the light pattern that aircraft lights put out. Is it a wide even spread of light or is it a long far reaching beam of light?

Great Point! Here is a oem headlight vs a retrofit.

 

[outlaw25]

I guess it depends on what your looking for and how much you will pay to get it. The lights I mentioned throw a straight beam a good distance. For me traveling in the middle of no where watching for moose they work. Another thing I've noticed and maybe this is because they are not adjusted correctly but many of the vehicles around here with aftermarket setups have blinding lights. I don't even use high beam when they come at me I just throw on the 100 watt off road lights to give them some of what they are giving me. Very annoying.

 

[Nasty Wendy]

I guess it depends on what your looking for and how much you will pay to get it. The lights I mentioned throw a straight beam a good distance. For me traveling in the middle of no where watching for moose they work. Another thing I've noticed and maybe this is because they are not adjusted correctly but many of the vehicles around here with aftermarket setups have blinding lights. I don't even use high beam when they come at me I just throw on the 100 watt off road lights to give them some of what they are giving me. Very annoying.

Agreed it is VERY annoying. This is the result of putting HID ballasts and bulbs in a headlight designed for halogen lights. Even when properly aimed you get blinding stray light. Headlights DESIGNED to run HID components have whats called a cutoff shield. It keeps the light out of the eyes of oncoming drivers. Don't be confused as this is not a little shield on the light bulb but an integral part of the design of the housing. Halogens don't have that feature. Take a look at the pic 'Raptor Retrofits' posted. It is an excellent example of the width of a well done retrofit and you can see the benefit of the cutoff shield. Notice how no stray light shines above the 'cutoff line'. That keeps the light on the road where it belongs and out of the eyes of oncoming traffic.

 

[outlaw25]

Ya, kind of like putting those aftermarket bulbs in that are 85w low 100w high. Factory bulbs are 55/65 so the low beam on these bulbs is 20w higher then a normal high beam and 30w higher then low.

 

[strongarm18]

Great Point! Here is a oem headlight vs a retrofit.

Which set did you have in the retrofit? FXR's are now on my next list to buy at the top. Can't wait.