Best halogen bulbs

[Littlebeefy]

I'm upgrading to halogen headlights and I'd love to hear recommendations for the best bulbs. I'd like a somewhat natural white light (not bright white or blue) that has a reasonably long life expectancy with good brightness. I don't need anything so bright that I can freeze deer from a mile out, but I'd like to see some real benefit from the upgrade. I checked the forum and the latest discussion on this goes back to 2017 I think, so I'm hoping to hear some current opinions.

Thanks
Chad

[Gary Lewis]

The Lighting Upgrades thread itself goes back to 2017, but the last post was in March of 2020 so should be fairly well up to date.

I'll get back with Daniel Stern tomorrow to see if he has any updates and update that thread if so.

[FuzzFace2]

I think what needs to be done is define "halogen bulbs".

I run halogen headlights in my 81 F100. Its a sealed bulb you can pick up in any auto parts store.
And yes it is marked halogen on the glass lens.
I also have a relay kit installed and think they work great. Way better than my 02 Durango.

The other is a light that has lens type bulb but the light bulb gets installed in the rear of the lens.
Some of them are not DOT rated so should not be used on road.
Some also have a bad light pattern so don't work that good on helping you see down the road and blind on coming traffic.
Dave ----

[Littlebeefy]

I tried to follow the bulb test results link in there and got this message:

Sorry. The administrator has banned your IP address. To contact the administrator click here

I've never been there before. I just figured it was an old link. Maybe I'm the only one having that problem?

[kramttocs]

That referenced thread is a good read.
If talking about off the shelf halogens like Dave is referring to, the 86 came with Silverstars put on not long before I bought it. Really liked them as they were really bright and I like the whiter beam.
But, as is common with these, they burned out quickly.
I ended up replacing them with ultravisions as more of a longevity compromise. Not as bright and more yellow so I won't say I like them as much but just hoping they last linger to make up for it.
I would be all for another option but since the headlights are such a prominent visual on these trucks they need to look like factory for me to bite.

[Gary Lewis]

The link here works for me: "Bulb selection matters a _lot_ to how well you can (or can't) see at night. Please see bulb test results posted by my colleague Virgil at http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?392498-Interesting-headlight-bulb-test-results"

As for Daniel Stern, I just sent him this email at Consult Daniel Stern Lighting <[e-mail]>:

Daniel - We've talked and typed to each other several times, the last of which appears to have been back in March according to this post on the Bullnose Forum.  But a guy on the forum is now asking questions in this thread that I'd like you to answer.

And that has to do with the latest on halogen headlamps.  Back in March you said "Cibies are no longer made in this size. Koitos are excellent and I will eventually have them in stock, but not for multiple months yet. The best pick that can actually be bought is one particular, specific unit made by Hella (they make several different ones in this size, all of decent quality materials, but only one of them is well enough focused to be worth using): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002M9QRE/?tag=2402507-20."  Do you now have the Koitos?  They'd be for the 1980 - 86 Ford trucks that take the H6054's.  Or is there something better?

Similarly, what is the latest on the LED headlight front?  I've gotten my '85 on the road and am ready to upgrade the headlights, but am thinking I want to go halogen as I don't like the looks of the LED's I've seen.  But what would you recommend?

Last, would you consider being a member of the forum and answering the questions yourself?


Regards,
Gary Lewis