I have a Red 1997 F150 XLT 3-dr 4x4. My factory headlights are extremely foggy. They got to the point i could barely see to drive at night. I got online and looked at bulbs and found the brightest i could with decent reviews and seemed to have a decent lifespan. They were silverstar ultras I believe. I could see to drive with them but definitely not what i had hoped for. So I bought headlight polish and buffed the outside of the lenses. But that was no help at all.
I had only had them between 4-6mo, cant remember exactly, when the first low beam went out. 2 days later the other low beam went out.
I have never been a fan of most of the after market lighting I see when driving around. And i dont want to spend very much money. But i am in much need of a fix.
So I think its time that i bought some new headlight/sidelight assemblies.
Im sure there is much controversy on this but is there a reasonably priced assembly that you would commonly recommend?

I honestly dont know what the laws state in Kentucky but i have heard some people day LEDs, as well as HIDs are not legal. I have no idea myself.

From what i have seen so far i like the looks of this: But not sure how the black would look on my truck.
Here is the chrome alternative:

I also found these and definitely like the price point. And I think they actually look allot better than whats on the truck now:

What are the things i need to look out for when buying new headlight assemblies?
I dont mean to sounds ignorant. But i really just started looking into vehicle lighting.

Thanks in advance for any help

 

First off about those craptastic one piece sypder lights. They don't fit right and have junk output. Plus the LEDs will start going out within the first 6 months.

Yes HIDs and LEDs in PNP form are illegal. Illegal to use and illegal to sell. Plus they have dangerous glare. So unless you wanna spend $200+ plus on a proper hid retrofit stick to halogens.

The best headlight is going to be the lightning or Harley replicas made by Depo. Very good quality and good output.
The other headlight I suggest is the lightning style headlights with the high beam projector in the corner. Also made by Depo. The low beams are good and the high beams are phenomenal.

My favorite and top tier halogens are GE night hawk platinums and Phillips Xtreme vision. The Ultras are good but have a short life span (as you experienced)

 

I will check out the Depo lights. This is exactly the kind of feedback i was looking for.
Anyone else have any comments.

 

I like those DEPOs Crash!
If you get a chance would you mind posting alink to the bulbs that you use

 

What crash posted are the ones that I said had phenomenal high beams.. Very great headlight! .I would use GE night hawk platinum for the reflector and HIR 9011 (not hid) for the projector

 

thanks allot guys. those are prob the route i will go. Is ebay going to be the best place to get the depo headlights?
What about the bulbs who has the best prices on them?
Have u tried the nighthawk sport seems like allot better lifespan than platinum but u sacrifice a little brightness and color.

So now i have to decide what route im going to go with.
From what you all are telling me seems like i have a couple options.

1. Wire low breams to reflector with a 9006/9012
Wire High beams to projector with a 9005/9011

2. Wire Lo/High to a 9007 in the reflector
Wire another switch into the cab with a 9005/9011 in the projector

I dont really need separate lighting for off-road. I am off road allot but where i am at i cant see very far anyways. I spend daily driving in the city to work. On weekends in the late winter/spring/summer/early fall i am towing my bassboat to lakes all over the country tournament fishing. During the fall/winter i am out at my property driving around scouting, running cameras, and hunting.
I spend allot of time driving at night on country roads is why i want better headlights. Anytime i am using my high beams i rarely run into other vehicles.

Knowing this what setup would you all recommend?

 

Hey guys i also ment to add that i just looked at my old headlights. I ended up going with the philips xtreme last time not the SS ultras.

 

Those lights come with all the wiring and relays you need. So 9007 hi/low reflector and 9005/9011 projector hi.

The GE sports will have a bluer/whiter look but yes you will sacrifice output. I had my platinums for 2 years and they were still going strong before I did my retro.

EBay will be best for Depo. And more then likely for the bulbs too. Just watch your seller.. I had good luck with a seller name american racing (I think) will have to look later.

 

Ok now i think i about have it all figured out as far as lenses and wiring.
Lets get down to business on bulbs.
I understand what HID Lighting and LED Lighting is considering i am an electrical engineer and spent about 2 years doing lighting retrofits for commercial/industrial/military buildings. But when it comes down to automotive lighting i havent got the foggiest idea.

* I assume you need some sort of a ballast. How does the HID bulb and ballast mount?
Crash you said you have HIDs in both reflector and projectors. What setup are you using to accomplish this.

* How does the Cost Vs Lifespan of the HIDs compare to high end HIR bulbs such as the GE Nighthawk Platinum?
Say given a 10yr span. Initial cost plus bulb replacement which would win?
Im interested to know if other people are geting at least 2 yrs out of these GE Nighthawk Platinums

* What is the benefit in going with an HID over a High end HIR and is there any benefit to going with LEDs ?

I keep reading the posts online but everyone is either bias or trying to sell you something. I am just looking for the facts.

 

I vote no for PNP HIDs. The life span on them usually suck because they are cheap. Plus you will get glare, that is thrown into oncoming traffic eyes. So you if go HIDs I highly suggest a retrofit with an hid projector.

Plus with an HIR in the high beam you don't have a warm up time for full light.. When you have HIDs in the big beam you have at least 30 seconds of warm up time with the aftermarket HIDs and turning then on and off frequently will end up killing them very fast..

So your best and cheapest route is halogens and HIRs ,,
The best route but now expensive is HID retrofit plus HIR high beam ( which is what I did)
here is a retro I did with my depo headlights
https://www.f150online.com/forums/il...fit-kinda.html

 

What exactly does PNP mean?
I am ordering bulbs tonight So i guess i will go with 9007 GE NH Platinums for the reflector.
For the projector seems simplest will be 9011. But what manufacturer to go with. does anyone have recommendations?

 

PNP = plug N play

That halogen setup sounds great! I think the only brand that makes HIR 9011 anymore are Phillips. Toshiba made the originals but they speed making them..
You WILL have to trim the bulb base of the 9011 to fit into the 9005 socket but it's really easy to do.

Just realized you might need the update header panel to run these headlights. Ford redesigned the header panel post way they 97 I think. So you may want to check your build date to see if you have the new header panel.

 

I have the 97-03 style header panel. The panel changed mid 96 I believe.
My headlights mounted with metal clips. That should also mean its the newer header panel correct?
I thought the HIR design was GE designed. One would think that since it was their design they would make them lol.

 

rockauto.com seems to have good prices on everything. I am ordering brake parts, IAC valve, and probably bulbs too from them. The depos are cheepest on Ebay though, but not by much.

 

Good to hear!
Maybe they are GE it's been awhile since I bought HIRs.