We just got a 2008 E350 which has the base model sealed headlights (see image below), and no fog lights or driving lights. Driving it home at night, the visibility was miserable even on the interstate. I desperately want to improve the lights at night time. I'm not sure if I'm better off getting some fog or driving lights to add on? Or replacing the lights with the upgraded Ford Lights (see below)? Or going for some after market projection lights?Ford Upgraded Lights:Aftermarket Projection Lights:I would really appreciate any feedback you have on the E350 / E450 lights and what you may have done to improve them.I debated posting this in the Tow vehicle Forum as my vehicle is an E350 van, but I think there are many Class Cs based on the E350 / E450 that experience this same issue. Please move it if you feel necessary.

Right now have done nothing on our 2012 e450, but with the fancy lights you want (OEM) they are nothing to write home about IMO. Have looked but not seen much that are an improvement. There are better sealed beams out there I beleive and a set of LED running lights will make you more visible like the trend in the new imports fancy cars but dont think they will help with illumination much. My son installed projector headlights in his 04 f150 and said they are good lights, but he has been having problems with the ballasts as they dont seem to last.

The LeRoys wrote:I'm not sure if I'm better off getting some fog or driving lights to add on?I'm going to add fogs AND driving lamps to our 2008 Chevy based Class C. I've run Cibie, PIAA and Hellas on my Jeeps and frankly no aftermarket headlamp compares, IMHO, to a well engineered Fog and Driving lamp.

Real driving lights will not be usable in traffic and real fog lights will give you a very low beam cutoff. If those lights are the old rectangular sealed beams, you can find aftermarket replacements that are much better. I know that Hella makes or has made rectangular lamp replacements. One of the Hella offerings is even DOT compliant. Take a look at rallylights.com

Added after market fog lights. I.E. yellow.Makes a BIG BIG BIG difference at night.I added them to my first van and before my first trip with my Class C new fog lights were installed!

What are you comparing the illumination to when making it out to be "miserable"? I haven't found that the lights on my '98 E450 chassis are terrible (nor are they exceptionally fantastic). They seem rather normal and perfectly adequate for safe night driving at appropriate speeds. I certainly wouldn't describe them as miserable, but rather normal or typical.Fog lights are not helpful at all for highway driving under normal conditions. They are designed to only illuminate the area directly in front of the vehicle so you can see the line at the edge of the road when traveling (very slowly) in dense fog such that normal headlights more or less completely wash out your vision. When there is no fog, illuminating this bit of road is generally counterproductive because it draws your attention away from things further down the road, where you should be looking, and the extra ambient light tends to cause the pupils to close down a bit and make everything else less visible.Driving lights, if you mean DRLs (daytime running lights), are intended to make your vehicle visible to others when you don't need the headlights, and generally don't provide any significant road illumination. If you mean off-road driving lights, those aren't generally legal for highway operation, though some do provide very powerful illumination that's blinding to other drivers.Maybe it's a stupid question, but are you sure you had the headlights on, and not just the parking lights and (possibly) DRLs which may well use the headlight filaments at low power? Were the high beams better than the low beams (or was there too much traffic to use high beams)?

Headlight or Fog light performance on E350 | Good Sam Community

carringb
Explorer
May 02, 2015
I like these TruckLite LED headlights the best. We tried several iterations of HIDs on our fleet trucks, and eventually settled on these:

http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&productId=92027

They sell them at NAPA and most other truck parts outlets. The Hella's are good, but still don't match good LEDs for output and uniformity.
pauldub
Explorer
May 01, 2015
If you go with more than 55 watts on the low beam, it's rather painful (blinding) for oncoming traffic. I'm not a fan of the funny colors, read this link. The 100/55 will give you really great high beam lighting, but you'll want to be attentive to oncoming traffic and they might tax your lighting circuit. I went with the 60/55 for my Cherokee but in the long ago past I used a 100/55 on my motorcycle.
jspringator
Explorer
May 01, 2015
Call Daniel Stern. He's an expert.
The_LeRoys
Explorer
May 01, 2015
OK, when I posted this I was thinking I wanted to go to the composite bulbs but I think you've convinced me otherwise. I like the suggestion of swapping the sealed beam for the Hella with H4 bulbs. But when looking at the site, there are a lot of options for which bulb. Does anyone know a good site to compare? Is my factory wiring capable of the higher wattage?

H6054A - 60/55W Hella Halogen

H6054B - 100/55W Hella Halogen +$9.20

H6054C - 100/80W Hella Halogen +$7.56

H6054D - 60/55 Hella Xenon +30% Long Life +$9.76

H6054E - 60/55W Hella Xenon +50% +$17.04

H6054F - 60/55W Hella Premium Xenon Blue +$32.14

H6054H - 75/70W Osram Hyper +$29.76

H6054J - 85/80W Osram Hyper +$29.76

H6054K - 60/55W Hella Yellow Star +$9.68

H6054L - 80/70W Hella Yellowstar +$7.16

H6054M - 110/85W Hella Yellowstar +$19.76

H6054N - 65/55W Philips X-treme Power +$47.80

H6054Q - 60/55W Optilux Xenon Blue +$10.65

H6054P - 100/80W Optilux Xenon Blue +$11.44
garyhaupt
Explorer
Apr 29, 2015
I swapped my '99 lights out for those cold blue ones..mine are Sylvania. Nice!!

I also have a set of Driving Force lights. Yes, very limited usage in many areas, but when they are on..oh yeah, baby.....

Gary Haupt
pauldub
Explorer
Apr 29, 2015
Just walked past a new Ford with the old lights this morning. I'd definitely swap those out for some Hella or Cibie lamps. They both have rectangular headlights that will be a direct fit. I went with Hella for my Jeep Cherokee that had the same lights as your Ford. They are not sealed beams.
DrewE
Explorer II
Apr 29, 2015
coolmom42 wrote:
Could be you need to polish the lenses to remove the surface oxidation. That might make a huge improvement. I've done this on every car I've owned that was over a few years old.

You can get kits to do this at auto supply stores or Costco. Be sure to put on some UV protectant afterwards.

That's great advice generally, but hardly applicable to the glass lenses on sealed beam headlight bulbs. The poster has a different light setup than a typical class C motorhome because most if not all of the class C builders opt for the higher trim level chassis with fancier headlights. I think it may even be part of Ford's standard motorhome prep package for the E series chassis.
coolmom42
Explorer II
Apr 29, 2015
Could be you need to polish the lenses to remove the surface oxidation. That might make a huge improvement. I've done this on every car I've owned that was over a few years old.

You can get kits to do this at auto supply stores or Costco. Be sure to put on some UV protectant afterwards.
jspringator
Explorer
Apr 29, 2015
The sealed beam lights are replaceable with Cibe Ecode headlights that are head and shoulders above the composite lights.

Call Daniel Stern Lighting.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/
rockhillmanor
Explorer
Apr 29, 2015
The first used MH I bought Ford E450 Class C. I had a hard time at night also. The headlight lens (or so I thought it was just a lens) when you looked at it was just a little cloudy and not as clear as they are on a new vehicle.

I went to Ford to buy 2 new headlight lens. Well, they come as a package nowadays! :R

You had to buy the whole headlight assembly to get the new headlight 'lens' part.

For me the driving at night was almost NOT doable the way it was. so I DID buy the complete headlight assembly for both sides.

Well the cost was over $500.00 for both plus installation.

BUT it was well worth it. The new headlight lens' made a BIG, BIG, BIG difference driving at night.