![]() ![]() Read up on this here and see this informative VW bulletin on how to aim headlamps correctly. Worse, many shops, and even dealers, just randomly crank the lamps up if the complaint is “I can’t see” or down if it’s “I get flashed.” Shining the lights on a wall is a very distant second preference it really can’t get them closer than maybe the same state where the ballpark is located. So first, go find a dealer or shop that has and properly uses an optical headlamp aiming machine and see to it (babysit them as necessary) that the lamps are aimed carefully and correctly. It’s dense and science-y, but the takeaway is that fully half the headlamps that got a “Marginal” or “Poor” grade would have got “Acceptable” or “Good” if they were aimed correctly. Take a look at this analysis by one of America’s top vehicle lighting researchers. ![]() They reason that most vehicle buyers never have their headlamp aim checked, and that’s correct, but it means the IIHS headlamp grades are a composite of how good or bad the lamps are, and how good or bad the aim is on the particular vehicle they test. One thing about those IIHS headlamp ratings is that they don’t check or adjust the aim before testing. It’s a little counterintuitive, but lamp aim - not bulb type or lamp technology - is by far the main thing that determines how well you can (or can’t) see at night. ![]() They both got a poor rating, but for different reasons: the halogens gave inadequate seeing distance (and created some glare), while the HIDs gave excellent seeing distance - much more than what is considered optimal - but created a lot of glare. Don’t just skim, really spend some time studying the results for the optional HID and standard halogen lamps. The problem isn’t just in your head take a look at how the 2017 Edge did in the IIHS headlamp tests. …and luckily for you there’s a man named Daniel Stern. Luckily there was a factory HID upgrade (which I sorta wrote the book on)… Help! I’m almost totally in the dark here!Īlmost totally in the dark with Ford headlights? I remember that feeling, thanks to the tiny low beams with peeling chrome projectors on my 1995 Lincoln Mark VIII: useless after five-plus years of heat cycling. What are my options? Brighter Halogen bulbs, LED Bulbs or an aftermarket HID kit? The projector beam halogen headlights are simply awful, I can’t believe they left the factory this way. I love it so far but there is one glaring issue. I recently purchased a 2017 Ford Edge SEL AWD with the 2.0-liter Ecoboost. If the bulbs themselves will work and are brighter/whiter than the stock lights than it ll be what I go with.Love the column, it’s one of the things that keeps me coming to TTAC daily. The biggest difference is about $75 fror all six bulbs and about $300 for three HID conversion kits. I already looked up the bulbs for our trucks so I know which bulbs/kit I need depending on what I need to do: low=H11, high=9005, fog=5202. Can I even do option 1? Do I need ballasts and wiring kits to use HID Xenon bulbs? What's the difference (brightness wise) between full HID conversion and just swapping the bulbs? I'm not sure what exactly the difference is between the two. Option 2: HID Conversion kit that includes ballasts and Xenon bulbs. Option 1: Replace stock headlight bulbs with Xenon or High Wattage Halogen bulbs. Hopefully someone on here with some experience can point me in the right direction. Problem is I know absolutely nothing about HID/Xenon headlights so I'm having trouble even googling it because I don't really know what I'm looking for.īasically, it seem slike there are two options. I was driving the other night and decided my headlights just aren't bright enough for me so I want to upgrade. ![]()
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