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Thread: Better Headlights

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
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    Rosemount, MN
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    Better Headlights

    What have you guys done for brighter headlights. Brighter bulbs or is there a LED or HID conversion?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Lehigh Valley, PA
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    If you want to do it right, have a projector retrofit done. no other option is a good one.

    I think that "Panther Lights" guy is still doing retrofits, reach out to him.

    https://pantherlights.com/collections/custom-headlights


    2016 Ford Mustang GT PP - Lund nGauge, BMR vertical links, MGW Shifter, BMR CB005

    2004 Mercury Marauder - Eaton M112, Billetflow 3.4, Accufab SBTB + Plenum, T-56 Magnum, 4.10s, Stainless Works LTs, 2.5" Exhaust, Borla Stingers, Ridetech Coilovers + Adj rear shocks, FX-R projectors, Wilwood 13" BNSL6 + FNSL4 BBKs, S55 Gauge Cluster
    440rwhp & 406rwtq Tuned by Adam @ Revolution Automotive
    2063/3214

    (Sold) 2003 Mercury Marauder - Stainless Works LT's, Stainless Works 2.5" Catback, JLT Intake, Mo's Xcal4 Tune
    5377/7838

    2000 BMW M5 - Evolve Intake, Evolve Alpha-N tune, Stoptech ST-40 BBK, UUC SSK, Dinan front STB, Dinan RSB

    1996 Ford Bronco - 4" lift, 35" BFG A/T's, Punisher Valve Body, MH1 Projectors

  3. #3
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    Yikes! That's a lot more than I want to spend. Thanks.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Cape Cod, MA
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    Started & found upgrading the standard bulbs offered little improvement. Few years later upgraded the wiring harness with relays showed a significant improvement. Best improvement will be from a projector. I finally stepped for www.retrofit .
    2004 marauder black purchased new. Sold 9/16 at 297,000 miles. Still ran strong didn't burn a drop of oil.
    2003 marauder black 28,000 miles all stock. Garage Queen.
    2004 marauder red daily driver.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
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    Southwest Florida, Lee County
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    I did an HID 8000K conversion on mine when it was a year or two old. That's when HID lighting was new and EXPENSIVE and I was in the industry and was not the exception. I remember paying nearly a grand for my kit. Mine is bi-xenon and has four ballasts. I also did the foglights and at night it's like driving on white paper even with a tinted windshield. Generally reflector housings are horrible when retrofitting anything but standard bulbs. My light output, spill and horizon all seem to be acceptable and I have driven into my own headlamps and don't seem to have any issues with glare or being blinded. Having said that, now there's hundreds of cheap kits from all over the planet and I cannot speak for them. LED's are the new tech but modification of the housing to install the projector is necessary.
    '04 Silver Marauder w/ sunroof - HID lighting, JL Audio / Eclipse DVD/NAV/iPod/camera, 4.10's, 2" drop, Progard Bumper Baffle, Delete tips, Billet Pedals, BC4E dead pedal, Lidio Tune, Mach1 chin spoiler, K&N CAI, TCE lines, Super40's, tinted tails, SS Inserts, Heinous Control Arms, Real oil gauge, lighted door handles. Currently installing Eaton M112.

    2004 Mercury Marauder
    Born March 2004, adopted October 2005. Sold January 2012, adopted AGAIN January 2016
    2,187 of 3,214
    997 in Silver Birch
    448 with light flint interior
    304 with heated seats
    336 with sunroof

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Waukesha, WI
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    LED will work in both style housing but is meant for reflective (stock) housings.
    HID will work in both style housing but is meant for a projector housing with a cutoff line so oncoming traffic isn't blinded.
    You "feel" the difference because you want to "feel" the difference. Since you just spent money on the upgrade you "have" to feel the difference

    I'm looking to eliminate the double pump process I have to follow right now to get the pedal hard

    2004 300A Procharger #0010 D1X
    2003 300A Procharger #0017 D1SC (SOLD. Last I heard, it was in Washington State)

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
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    I bought these bulbs and the harness, I think they work really great for the price. I went with 6000k, the more K the more Blue they are up to purple. 6000k is a very light blue almost white. If You want no blue at all have to do 5000k.



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Washington State
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    Quote Originally Posted by 03Merc View Post
    I bought these bulbs and the harness, I think they work really great for the price. I went with 6000k, the more K the more Blue they are up to purple. 6000k is a very light blue almost white. If You want no blue at all have to do 5000k.
    What are you using for a bulb dust cover, that will no longer fit?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Lehigh Valley, PA
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    Quote Originally Posted by crouse View Post
    Yikes! That's a lot more than I want to spend. Thanks.
    you could DIY this if you wanted, it isn't that difficult to do on these cars. The last set I did for my 03 Marauder I went from opening the headlights to aiming them in the car in just a few hours.

    https://www.theretrofitsource.com/bi...e-3?quantity=1

    this would be the more budget setup (that morimoto H1 kit used to be 270 bucks for years)

    https://www.theretrofitsource.com/bi...e-3?quantity=1

    Your only other option would be a minor improvement by wiring the headlights directly to the battery, relay kits exist for this. I did this setup on a friends 04 sport years ago and it had a noticeable improvement but you're still working with the factory beam pattern.

    https://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/...2754205&page=1

    PnP HID/LED bulbs (poverty beams) are not the answer, period. Neither are designed to work properly with an old halogen reflector type housing no matter what the Chinese marketing says on the box. Just because it "fits" doesn't mean its correct. How a halogen bulb emits light is different from how a xenon or LED emit light, which is the basis of the problem with putting different bulbs in a housing not designed for them. My advice would be, if you don't want to do it the right way with a projector retrofit, take the easy way out with the halogen relay harness upgrade and live with what Ford gave us.

    Here are the lights on my old car that I put together and installed in the same day






    and the setup I built back in 2012 for my DTR, little more involved since I used replica Infiniti FX35 projectors and had to custom build mounts. This one took me a couple weeks of tinkering, still working just fine after 10 years though




    2016 Ford Mustang GT PP - Lund nGauge, BMR vertical links, MGW Shifter, BMR CB005

    2004 Mercury Marauder - Eaton M112, Billetflow 3.4, Accufab SBTB + Plenum, T-56 Magnum, 4.10s, Stainless Works LTs, 2.5" Exhaust, Borla Stingers, Ridetech Coilovers + Adj rear shocks, FX-R projectors, Wilwood 13" BNSL6 + FNSL4 BBKs, S55 Gauge Cluster
    440rwhp & 406rwtq Tuned by Adam @ Revolution Automotive
    2063/3214

    (Sold) 2003 Mercury Marauder - Stainless Works LT's, Stainless Works 2.5" Catback, JLT Intake, Mo's Xcal4 Tune
    5377/7838

    2000 BMW M5 - Evolve Intake, Evolve Alpha-N tune, Stoptech ST-40 BBK, UUC SSK, Dinan front STB, Dinan RSB

    1996 Ford Bronco - 4" lift, 35" BFG A/T's, Punisher Valve Body, MH1 Projectors

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