Just added some TYC Lighting style headlight assemblies and it sure changes the look of my 2002 Supercrew.

Purchased about a 100 dollars worth of Ultra SilverStars to go along with the change and I couldn't be happier with the results. Ultra's for headlights, SilverStar ambers for corners and SilverStar 9145 for fogs.

About twice the output over OEM lights and bulbs.

What do you guys/gals think?
"Photo album marked: TYC HeadLights"

 

Keith
Headlights look very cool! I've got the TYC headlights too but not the Lightning style.
Now you just need to paint your grille insert black. That mod will look a lot better. I've got pics in my gallery of my headlights and painted grille.
Again, lights look very cool......and so does the truck!

Mike

 

Keith,

I had problems with my TYC Lightning style headlights and Silverstar ULTRA.
The result was shorter beam pattern with hot spots. can i request a shot of your beam pattern and your opinion of length covered?

If you are interested in my findings, I have a post called "headlight woes".

 

Imacreative,

I took my truck to the Ford Dealership yesterday to have the headlights aligned as they seemed to have a short beam and I could clearly see that one was higher than the other. Kinda disapointed with the high beam output as it also seems to throw a short distance but are still very bright. I'll try and get on one of our many dark country roads here and take a shot of the beam length when it stops raining.

Did you revert back to your OEM light bulbs after trying SilverStar Ultra's. Was their a differance? I upgraded from regular SilverStars to the Ultra's but maybe I will try my OEM bulbs just to experiment with.

 

Keith,

I also got the same alignment thru a ford dealership. the left light will be lower than the right so it won't shine much on incoming traffic ( fomr the opposite side of the road).

I've had much trouble with these headlights and bulbs.

This is what I posted before:
https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=260566

These were my findings:
https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=261281

 

Well, Happy Thanksgiving to all who read....

I have not been able to take pictures of my light beam pattern yet as it is still raining here in eastern PA. But will take pictures with different lightbulbs asap.

I have to consider the shorter light pattern may be caused by the fact that my truck is higher at the center of the lights than a stock F150. With cranked torison bars and size 285 tires my headlight centers come to around 41.5 inches measured from the ground to center of headlamps. The short pattern may have been adjusted by the dealer this way and I don't think they set it up on a rack for proper aiming because it would have cost more than the $24.00 I paid.

Instructions that were enclosed with the TYC Headlights gives a diagram on how to aim the lights. They mention having your truck parked on level ground, 25ft. away from wall to bumper. Measuring from the ground and up to the center point of your headlights, make note of measurement and draw a horizontal line on the wall that your lights will shine upon with this same measurement. Then it says that the bright spot from your headlights should be adjusted just below the horizontal line that you made from the measurement from ground to center of lights.

I would have to drive around to find a level spot around here with a building that I can park and shine my lights on to do this. Just my luck, some Cop would propbably come along and think I was trying to break in or rob the place. I'll check these light adjustment measuremnts whenever I find a good place and post my findings.

 

Keith, First of all, Happy Thanksgiving!

I initially balanced the headlights before I went to the dealership. I have a 4x4 F150 and I also thought that it was because of my ride height since lightnings were lower.

Based on my findings, it was the headlight. But I am very curious to see if you can find a solution. Good luck and please do keep me updated!

 

Keith and Creative,

I am also experiencing the the problems that yall are. I originally used Silverstar Ultra bulbs which created hot spots. I have also tried Sylvania Xtravision bulbs which cut down slightly on the hot spots, but they are still visible. I actually almost prefer the Xtravision look over the Silverstar's. The Xtravision bulbs are slightly more yellow, but seem to spread out more on the sides. As yall may have noticed also, the TYC lights with Silverstars provide limited light to the extreme left or right of the truck.
With all of that said, I am still having difficulty aiming the stupid things! I have seen pictures of how the dealership "aims" them and they are NOT aiming them correctly. A friend of mine has a 2004 Expedition with the oval lights in a clear housing. The oval part of that headlight produces a VERY similar beam pattern as our TYCs do. The stock aiming of his lights is significantly higher than how the dealer wants to aim the aftermarket lightning ones. However, I am off at school right now and cannot line mine up with his. I know approximately how high they should be, but cannot remember the horizontal part. I have noticed on our lights that there is a spot that looks like a 'D' that is flipped to the right 45 degrees. It produces a clean line when aimed properly. However, there are 2 HOT SPOTS just before the 'Ds.' Those two hot spots are the same on each side and are below and to the left of each 'D.' So, I can't decide if it is correct to center the "hot spots" or the 'Ds'!!! When the Ds are centered, the hotspots are aimed way left of center and when the hotspots are centered, the Ds are aimed way right. I am very frustrated at this point.
I probably cannot post pictures of what I was talking about for a while since it is raining right now and will get really cold and snow here in the next few days (yes, I know us Texas boys are scared of temperatures in the teens and a quarter inch of snow). So, I hope I added atleast some insight into our problem, but I probably just confused everyone more. Let me know what yall think or if you have any questions.

 

I have been looking at purchasing the same TYC headlights for my 02 Screw. I guess I will have to wait and see what you find out before I make the decision. I really like the way they look on the truck though! Big difference between looking good and seeing good though. Keep us informed and Thanks!

 

ahh looks badass! like the lifted version of Patmans truck lol, I wish the OEM lights didn't have those lines, I have a set of OEM Lightning lights on my truck, with the sylvania bulbs in heads & fogs, I kinda wish I had a longer beam though, for low & high, I'm going to do the fog lamp mod evenutally.

 

TXTech: I don't think vertical position is the issue. Believe me, I tried all this-including the "lighting a wall while my truck was on a level surface..." bit.
I don't think the TYC lightning style headlights are well designed. Either that, or that is the beam pattern on Lightnings and one just lives with it. I sent mine back after 2 weeks of playing around with those headlights and different bulb combinations.

ronkartz72: after my experience with TYC Lightning headlights, I wouldn't sacrifice performance to something cosmetic. I strongly suggest just changing bulbs. Check out your local WALMART for 9007 GE Nighthawks. They have the brightest:furthest light throw ratio I've seen.

 

Well, I've adjusted my TYC Headlights after the Dealer had them adjusted and seem to have gotten better results by following directions from TYC. They only give basic instructions for vertical adjustment and not side-to-side horizontal adjustments that I need. I have a more projected beam than before but am experiencing dark spots on the road, just ahead of my truck that is annoying me. I attribute this to either the design of the TYC lights or horizontal adjustment that may need to be tweaked or both. This is turning into quite a project just to get these lights adjusted correctly!

I have not been able to find the GE Nighthawks at any of the "Auto" stores but will try Wal-Mart next time I'm there as indicated by Imacreative. I also took some pictures of the light pattern using SilverStar Ultra's, but they do not look the same as viewing with the naked eye. Need to do some camera tweaking before posting pictures.

Will keep you informed as I continue adjusting and swapping out bulbs....

 

Ok, I think I have figured out the best solution. However, I think these after-market lights will never be as "smooth" as OEM Lightning lights.

For the driver's side light:
The height of the D (turned 45 degrees right) should remain at about the same height as it is when the truck is around 5 feet from a wall. The light should then be adjusted slightly to the right (so you wont blind traffic coming towards you... this is very similar to the stock non-lightning lights).

For the passenger's side light:
The height of this light should be EQUAL to the height of the driver's light. This light should also be aimed slightly to the right.

If this is done correctly, you will have a clean line of light in front of you and slightly to the right. To the left of center, the light will drop off a few degrees. Again, I assume this is to eliminate blinding traffic coming towards you. It actually looks similar to a stock HID system on a more expensive vehicle.

The process of finding all of this out took me forever! I also left in the Silverstar Ultras. There is still come choppiness, but it has been greatly diminished now. A pair a Nighthawks or something similar MIGHT make the light even more smooth, but nothing is for certain with these lights! Anyway, this is the best alignment I could come up with. Let me know what y'all think. Hope this helps.

 

Keith & TxTech: Looking forward to pictures

 

ahh you dont have the Lightning style headlamps anymore?? Are you gonna get another set? or stick with stock?

I still haven't got those nighthawks yet, still searching.