How to improve 2017 Ford 350 head light output? See Update.

[Chuck___]

Update 1-23-20 I wasn't trying to start a battle here by not respecting other drivers. I am 63 and have good eyesight. I don't get a rush or laughs by blinding oncoming traffic. Just thought of getting well aligned head lights with better lighting for country back roads while driving at night. This 2017 F-350 dually truck does have automatic dimmer sense for high beams and works very well and fast, sensing far down the road, for oncoming traffic to low beam. If I wanted to a inconsiderate fool I would put on my truck Air Craft Landing Lights at 1 million candle watt power. I don't plan on using this truck for The Baja One Thousand off road racing at daytime or at night.

I have a Ford 2017 350 dually and the headlights and truck at night are not all that great. I am retired 63 and don't do a lot of long night traveling anymore but would like to have better lighting a night. Some of the older LED head light bulbs like "Life Time LED's" cost a lot $150.00 and really do not put out the greatest patter or down the road light. Bought a set of the above brand several years ago and was very disappointed for my 99 dodge 2500.

Think of trying those high output replacement bulb Sylvania Silverstar Ultra at the auto parts store for around $50.00.
Heard that they are 100 percent brighter but have a much shorter life span.

Just maybe they are making newer LED replacement bulbs much better and low cost now days.

[ShinerBock]

FishOnOne wrote:
Here's a video from Headlight Revolution on installing LED lights. As you can see later in the video at around 3:47 the quality of the beam pattern is very similar to a standard bulb. If installed and adjusted properly the light quality is excellent while not blinding others.

Link

And yet none of them are and they end up blinding others on the road all because they don't want to spend another $400-$600 on projectors.

[FishOnOne]

Here's a video from Headlight Revolution on installing LED lights. As you can see later in the video at around 3:47 the quality of the beam pattern is very similar to a standard bulb. If installed and adjusted properly the light quality is excellent while not blinding others.

Link

[ShinerBock]

I find it very difficult to understand how someone can spend $40k on a new truck yet cannot spend an additional $400-$600 on aftermarket projector headlight assemblies so they can run brighter LED/HID bulbs without blinding other drivers. You are basically telling others on the road that you do not have enough respect for them and they have to suffer being blinded just because you are too cheap and do not want to spend the extra money to do it right.

[Tvov]

I would like to thank those who take the time to properly adjust their new high intensity headlights... LED, halogen, etc.

I thought it was just me the last few years, being partially blinded by oncoming cars at night. Then in talking to other people turns out I'm not the only one.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

🙂 Hi, it's darker in Oregon than it was in Southern California. It was difficult to drive at night with my 2000 Lincoln Navigator. I bought new light housings with little to none improvement. I tried a few different bulbs, some even melted the connectors. Still not very bright. Once again, I bought new headlight housings. Still the lights were poor. Finally I found these LED bulbs on E-bay Same size, same filament angle, and they fit in the housings without modifications due to fan wiring. I am very happy now and the cost wasn't too bad. ($41.00) I bought "Auxito 9007 LED's" They fit the same as the Halogen bulbs and now I can see again.

[valhalla360]

Iraqvet05 wrote:
I'll continue to be that jack ass. I don't get flashed, I don't get pulled over (I imagine because 95 percent of LEOs don't know how to interpret the DOT law you provided). I see far brighter LED lights on factory vehicles that my cheap retrofit. Sorry, but you can't convince me that a halogen bulb that has very little directionality is that much different from an LED. Maybe the lumen output is more of a factor with the brightness than the design of the bulb.

Isn't there something about lack of knowledge about the law is not an excuse...works the same even if the LEOs haven't taken the time to learn the law.

Just because you aren't being flashed doesn't mean you aren't bothering people because you headlights are out of spec.

[philh]

Have you been checked for cataracts?

Blinding oncoming traffic is not cool. There are specific vehicle requirements to use HID style bulbs.

[mich800]

Iraqvet05 wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:

Iraqvet05 wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:
LED or HID in a housing made for halogen lights are illegal in all states, and enforcement is sporadic. If you want to put these kind of lights on your truck and stay legal then you would need to spend the coin and buy housing made for these types of bulbs(i.e. projectors) that do not scatter the beam.

I'd really like to read this law from a legitimate source, not "the internet said". I work for a police department...it's not enforced at all here. I've also traveled at night in Kansas, Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Arkansas and passed many police vehicles and I've haven't been pulled over.

As I said, enforcement is sporadic and most new officers do not even know it is illegal. As far as your state, somewhere in the transportation code it will state that a vehicle has to abide by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 49 CFR Part 571 which is what makes putting a HID or LED bulb in a housing made for halogen illegal. You can put an LED bulb in an LED housing or HID bulb in an HID housing, but neither in a halogen only housing.

CFR 49 571.108

Not to mention that it is a j@ckA$$ thing to do. I understand you need to see, but so do others on the road. I don't think they should be blinded just because someone is too cheap to do it right. If someone can afford a $40+k truck, then they can afford to spend the extra coin on the correct housing for the bulbs they want.

I'll continue to be that jack ass. I don't get flashed, I don't get pulled over (I imagine because 95 percent of LEOs don't know how to interpret the DOT law you provided). I see far brighter LED lights on factory vehicles that my cheap retrofit. Sorry, but you can't convince me that a halogen bulb that has very little directionality is that much different from an LED. Maybe the lumen output is more of a factor with the brightness than the design of the bulb.

You answered your own question. The reflectors required for halogens are different than for an effective led light source. Led’s in improper housings can create too focused of a light beam or too disbursed. So if you cannot confirm the housing is led approved all you can do is test with different bulbs to make sure the light is effective for the user and not blinding to other drivers.

[agesilaus]

jfkmk wrote:

agesilaus wrote:


As a semi proof I've found that I can keep my headlights on high and drive around and have never ever been flashed by oncoming drivers..

Brilliant.

I mean as a test and even then they aren't that bright.

[jfkmk]

agesilaus wrote:


As a semi proof I've found that I can keep my headlights on high and drive around and have never ever been flashed by oncoming drivers..

Brilliant.

[jfkmk]

Iraqvet05 wrote:
.....and I had to turn my bucket adjusters down to keep from getting flashed all the time.

This is the problem with the cheap a$$ led bulbs in a housing not designed for them. Not getting flashed is a very poor indicator for proper headlight aiming. I’ve been blinded by idiots with crappy led bulbs before and haven’t flashed my lights. I was too busy concentrating on staying in my lane while being blinded and, besides, blinding them too is a bad decision.

[agesilaus]

I have a no proof theory about these new trucks, Fords in particular. I believe that Ford has intentionally aimed the headlamps lower than they would normally be because if people load up the back of the truck bed that pushes the rear end down and thus the front end goes up. Blinding people. So to counter that they aim the lights low in the first place.

As a semi proof I've found that I can keep my headlights on high and drive around and have never ever been flashed by oncoming drivers.

As for changing the lamps out, I thought it was a major PITA on my 2012 F350 where you have to partly dissemble the front of the truck to get the light housing out where you can work on it. I had one burn out and replaced it with another HID.

[Iraqvet05]

ShinerBock wrote:

Iraqvet05 wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:
LED or HID in a housing made for halogen lights are illegal in all states, and enforcement is sporadic. If you want to put these kind of lights on your truck and stay legal then you would need to spend the coin and buy housing made for these types of bulbs(i.e. projectors) that do not scatter the beam.

I'd really like to read this law from a legitimate source, not "the internet said". I work for a police department...it's not enforced at all here. I've also traveled at night in Kansas, Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Arkansas and passed many police vehicles and I've haven't been pulled over.

As I said, enforcement is sporadic and most new officers do not even know it is illegal. As far as your state, somewhere in the transportation code it will state that a vehicle has to abide by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 49 CFR Part 571 which is what makes putting a HID or LED bulb in a housing made for halogen illegal. You can put an LED bulb in an LED housing or HID bulb in an HID housing, but neither in a halogen only housing.

CFR 49 571.108

Not to mention that it is a j@ckA$$ thing to do. I understand you need to see, but so do others on the road. I don't think they should be blinded just because someone is too cheap to do it right. If someone can afford a $40+k truck, then they can afford to spend the extra coin on the correct housing for the bulbs they want.

I'll continue to be that jack ass. I don't get flashed, I don't get pulled over (I imagine because 95 percent of LEOs don't know how to interpret the DOT law you provided). I see far brighter LED lights on factory vehicles that my cheap retrofit. Sorry, but you can't convince me that a halogen bulb that has very little directionality is that much different from an LED. Maybe the lumen output is more of a factor with the brightness than the design of the bulb.

[BenK]

Posting w cell, so this might work better




file:///C:%5CDocuments%20and%20Settings%5Cjoshi%5CLocal%20Settings%5CTemp%5CWindowsLiveWriter586806914%5Csupfiles2204EC%5Cclip_image9643.jpg

[ShinerBock]

Iraqvet05 wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:
LED or HID in a housing made for halogen lights are illegal in all states, and enforcement is sporadic. If you want to put these kind of lights on your truck and stay legal then you would need to spend the coin and buy housing made for these types of bulbs(i.e. projectors) that do not scatter the beam.

I'd really like to read this law from a legitimate source, not "the internet said". I work for a police department...it's not enforced at all here. I've also traveled at night in Kansas, Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Arkansas and passed many police vehicles and I've haven't been pulled over.

As I said, enforcement is sporadic and most new officers do not even know it is illegal. As far as your state, somewhere in the transportation code it will state that a vehicle has to abide by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 49 CFR Part 571 which is what makes putting a HID or LED bulb in a housing made for halogen illegal. You can put an LED bulb in an LED housing or HID bulb in an HID housing, but neither in a halogen only housing.

CFR 49 571.108

Not to mention that it is a j@ckA$$ thing to do. I understand you need to see, but so do others on the road. I don't think they should be blinded just because someone is too cheap to do it right. If someone can afford a $40+k truck, then they can afford to spend the extra coin on the correct housing for the bulbs they want.