I need to replace my headlights after the deer fiasco. I need to know if it is worth it to upgrade over the factory jobbies. I see LED, projector, xenon and others on ebay. What's best, and why? If xenon, what's the difference between 5000k to 12000k? is that a brightness rating? teach away......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature

The K is basically a color tone. Lower more red, higher number more blue.
Silverstar ZXE are a good lamp that is pretty bright and lasts pretty long, and does not cost an arm and leg. They are available pretty much anywhere like walmart or amazon. There are a bunch of trade offs when selecting lamps, but ZXE are better than factory without drama. LEDs are good for inside lamps and turn signals but generally not good for headlamps yet. Most guys say avoid LEDs, and I find that surprising since I really like LED flashlights, and bulbs for the house.

K is Kelvin color temperature.

Candle light is in the 2000K range, noon sunlight is 4000-6500K, the northern sky (blue) is 8000K.

This is what I'm looking at...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4300K-HID-For-00-04-Excursion-F250-F350-Crystal-Headlights-Bumper-Lights-Black-/191262431527?fits=Year%3A1999|Model%3AF-350+Super+Duty&hash=item2c88211927:g:EcAAAOSwBahU~-Zc&vxp=mtr

according to the chart I found on ebay 4300k is the whitest light.

Yay or nay? I think they'd look good with this replacement grille.....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/99-04-Ford-...53628990?vxp=mtr&hash=item25a944813e

HID stands for High intensity Discharge Lamps. the 4300 will be a whiter light. better then the blue light. Just make sure it is a true plug and play install. I am in the same boat for my 07 Tacoma. The plastic lenses are all yellow now.

Good luck.

Easy fix on the plastic lenses, use wet/dry emery paper very wet. Start with 800 and work on down to 1200. Wash clean and then spray clear polyurethane over the lens.

walmart has a 10 dollar kit that works like a charm on the lenses. Forgot the name but clean it with some 2 sided sanding kit and coat with a chemical treated cloth. easy to use.

I don't give a rip about cleaning busted headlights. They need replaced......

For a better polish, go to an auto body store and get 2000 or 3000 grit for a final sanding.

However, I recently had to replace both headlights on my '04 Pontiac because the insides were totally fogged up and impossible to clean. I found some good aftermarket replacements on Amazon (from Epic Lighting) and they've been very good. They cost a fraction of what stock lights cost.

Just answering a side note. Also watching for info on headlamps.... looking for some myself.

Have tried the silverstar bulbs including the Ultra and while they are a bit brighter and do a better job lighting the side of the road they just dont last long. The last pair I paid 50 bucks for and they had a rebate of 20 I think. One went bad before I got the rebate back and the salesman at Oreilly's response was (yea they are bright but they dont last long) Went back to stock

I went through this and ended up with these:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00480FIEG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_75DmxbCJBEH89

They've been a good choice.

If you decide to go factory, send me your bulb numbers and I'll check the cabinet. I have lots of parts for these Ford trucks and no trucks to go with them.

If you are replacing the whole headlight unit and not just the bulb, seal all the seams on the unit with RTV or silcone before you install them. These aftermarket headlights are prone to leaking.

If you touch the glass, clean it off with alcohol before you install it. The grease from your fingers will get extra hot and reduce bulb life.

I did these:

LED Replacements

Jury is still out on them... they throw a lot of light, but they are not focused. I like them better than stock, but I'm not sure oncoming drivers share that feeling.

Second his opinions. Have also used Silverstars, and they do have reduced life. However I think they add a significant amount of extra light. My use has been with low beams.

One downside I have found is there is more glare in heavy fog while running them as low beams. Moderate fog isn't bad, but really heavy fog is.

if you look at the fine print... the brighter the light, the much shorter the life span of the bulb...

I would stat away from those. HID's are great but are designed to run in projector setups. The projector has a "cut-off" bar built into it that doesn't allow light to rise above a certain point so the light stays out of oncoming traffic's eye's. I'm sure those will throw a lot of light but you'll blind oncoming traffic with them. Done properly they are about the best you can get but they are also expensive.

The LED setups are usually your best bet if you want an upgrade over stock. They throw a lot of light and are usually plug and play.

4300K will look about like your stock headlights. 5000K will be more of a pure white. A lot of people will tell you the 5000K lights are brighter watt for watt and I agree. I also think the 5000K will bring on more eye fatigue and drowned out green and brown colors which is bad.

I replaced the lights on my 03 Tundra with Halogen. a year later one burned out and they were marginaly better then stock.
Then I got some Led's. Wow literally day and night difference. They draw very little juice also. Led's are the way to go imop.

Lefty

This is what I did when I upgraded the headlights on my F-250 Super Duty.
First, and most important, was to upgrade the wiring harness to the headlights, so the lights get a full 12 volts sent to them. This alone makes a big difference.
Next, I removed the fluted lenses and upgraded to the clear projector headlight lenses.
I then added 100 watt high and 65 watt low beam 9007 bulbs. The difference is literally night and day. The lights are bright white and makes the old setup look yellow by comparison.