Exterior headlights

[Dominique Williams]

Looking to change out my headlights on my 68 fury 3 fast top has anyone done this recently before? Looks like i would have to cut some pieces out for it to work or modify that section

 

[CBODY67]

Here's ONE thought. LED headlights might look good behind them (to the driver), but their total beam pattern seems to be "everywhere" rather than focused down the road as E-code lights tend to be. So while we get into the feeling of safety as they are so bright near the car, seeing well down the road for safe high-speed driving at night is not there, by observation.

As a point of refence, next time you're somewhat alone on a two-lane or Interstate highway at 60mph, with the lights on low beam, look for the fartherest reflected item you can see. Then count the seconds until you get there. 60mph = 88ft/second. Do the math. Then compare that to the stopping distance from road tests for your vehicle (found online, as at www.wildaboutcarsonline.com). This is for "reflected" items, then look for non-reflective items (which might be a street sign or animal near the road's shoulder. That will be a shorter distance. End result is that if traffic density was not what it can be, such driving would be far worse than driving with the old 1960s sealed beams at 55mph at night, on a low-traffic road.

One other observation, from my own experiences, is that as people age, their tolerance of what I term "high contrast light situations" decreases. It is one thing to be blinded by an oncoming vehicle's old aimed-too-high sealed beam high beams, but quite another for a normal LED or "daylight" spectrum brighter normal headlight beam at night. Whether oncoming traffic or approaching your vehicle from the rear. Especially in a more rural setting! In many more-metro settings, there can be enough ambient light at night to dull this situation a bit, but not completely nullify it.

In any headlight retrofit, it's BEST to find lights which fit into what you now have, rather than having to modify the mounting hardware of the vehicle. Due to the existence of the native mounting and aiming mechanisms of the vehicle. Realize, too, that LED lights (for all of their efficiency), DO generate a good bit of heat (hence the heat sink dissipating vanes on them. Even a normal H4 halogen bulb's wiring gets hot, just as a matter of course.

So, as neat as some of these aftermarket headlights might seem to be, they can cause others on the road more grief as they innocently drive down the street. Best to "cause no harm" than unintended consequences, to me.

I might be a bit biased as I've experiences these things myself, as a normal driver that didn't ask to be placed in these "blinding" situations, fwiw.

Having noticed these things about 10-15 years ago, I've sought out and actively use eye nutritional supplements, which have helped AND I've learned to dodge those situations when possible. But when a new F-150 came up behind me in my 2005 Impala (which is NOT a low-to-the-ground car by any means), with all SIX forward lights on (the headlights and the fog lights all had higherpoower bulbs in them!) on a semi-dark city street, at a stop sign. Suddenly, there were all sorts of crazy shadows, made by the lights with my car in front of that pickup truck. The headlights were at the same level at the inside rear view mirror, which did not help anything either! So with all of the light level contrasts and shadows, I had to carefully look past the distracting shadows before I pulled out from the t-intersection.

Just a normal 2wd F-150, lifted with wide wheels and such. Looked nice, but that was when I noticed the level of many late model pickup trucks' headlights in relation to my inside rear view mirror's height. In casual conversations with friends who are younger than myself, they have noticed some of the same things. So this is nor an isolated situation, by observation.

I'm not against better headlights, but LEDs and projector beams are not a part of that mix, to me.

Sorry for the length, but I feel this is an evolving situation for many drivers.
CBODY67

 

[Sluggo]

I've purchased some, along with a wiring harness (with relays) from Daniel Stern. Good quality, not cheap but they work and don't anger oncoming traffic. Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

@cbarge can advise you here.

 

[Dominique Williams]

@cbarge can advise you here.

Thank you I just messaged him

 

[sprice]

Here's ONE thought. LED headlights might look good behind them (to the driver), but their total beam pattern seems to be "everywhere" rather than focused down the road as E-code lights tend to be. So while we get into the feeling of safety as they are so bright near the car, seeing well down the road for safe high-speed driving at night is not there, by observation.

As a point of refence, next time you're somewhat alone on a two-lane or Interstate highway at 60mph, with the lights on low beam, look for the fartherest reflected item you can see. Then count the seconds until you get there. 60mph = 88ft/second. Do the math. Then compare that to the stopping distance from road tests for your vehicle (found online, as at www.wildaboutcarsonline.com). This is for "reflected" items, then look for non-reflective items (which might be a street sign or animal near the road's shoulder. That will be a shorter distance. End result is that if traffic density was not what it can be, such driving would be far worse than driving with the old 1960s sealed beams at 55mph at night, on a low-traffic road.

One other observation, from my own experiences, is that as people age, their tolerance of what I term "high contrast light situations" decreases. It is one thing to be blinded by an oncoming vehicle's old aimed-too-high sealed beam high beams, but quite another for a normal LED or "daylight" spectrum brighter normal headlight beam at night. Whether oncoming traffic or approaching your vehicle from the rear. Especially in a more rural setting! In many more-metro settings, there can be enough ambient light at night to dull this situation a bit, but not completely nullify it.

In any headlight retrofit, it's BEST to find lights which fit into what you now have, rather than having to modify the mounting hardware of the vehicle. Due to the existence of the native mounting and aiming mechanisms of the vehicle. Realize, too, that LED lights (for all of their efficiency), DO generate a good bit of heat (hence the heat sink dissipating vanes on them. Even a normal H4 halogen bulb's wiring gets hot, just as a matter of course.

So, as neat as some of these aftermarket headlights might seem to be, they can cause others on the road more grief as they innocently drive down the street. Best to "cause no harm" than unintended consequences, to me.

I might be a bit biased as I've experiences these things myself, as a normal driver that didn't ask to be placed in these "blinding" situations, fwiw.

Having noticed these things about 10-15 years ago, I've sought out and actively use eye nutritional supplements, which have helped AND I've learned to dodge those situations when possible. But when a new F-150 came up behind me in my 2005 Impala (which is NOT a low-to-the-ground car by any means), with all SIX forward lights on (the headlights and the fog lights all had higherpoower bulbs in them!) on a semi-dark city street, at a stop sign. Suddenly, there were all sorts of crazy shadows, made by the lights with my car in front of that pickup truck. The headlights were at the same level at the inside rear view mirror, which did not help anything either! So with all of the light level contrasts and shadows, I had to carefully look past the distracting shadows before I pulled out from the t-intersection.

Just a normal 2wd F-150, lifted with wide wheels and such. Looked nice, but that was when I noticed the level of many late model pickup trucks' headlights in relation to my inside rear view mirror's height. In casual conversations with friends who are younger than myself, they have noticed some of the same things. So this is nor an isolated situation, by observation.

I'm not against better headlights, but LEDs and projector beams are not a part of that mix, to me.

Sorry for the length, but I feel this is an evolving situation for many drivers.
CBODY67

I agree, The new Ford 150-350 headlights are annoyingly blinding from my observation. Maybe good to be behind the wheel of that truck, but meeting or rear view mirror experiences are noticeable.

 

[fury fan]

Ordinarily I agree with CBODY67's wisdom and detail, but to comment on what he said.
It's not that LED lighting doesn't have focus - look at some *good* modern OEM LED headlights shining on a garage door and you'll see a very distinct horizontal cutoff.
The problem lies that all (or most) of the retrofit lights are from China, and design parameters and QC will be all over the map, with the sales/marketing specs not being useful/accurate.

The Daniel Stern website has a good reputation, although I don't see Hella lights on there anymore. Perhaps he no longer endorses their quality??? He mentions that the Cibie brand's tooling wore out and the quality diminished, so they are not available.

If you want Hella H1 and H4 lights, those are still reasonably priced on Summit and other places. In my experience, aftermarket H-4 lights sometimes require some minor tweaks to the headlight buckets (YMMV). Any high-wattage halogen lighting should be run thru a relay harness kit to save the ever-getting-older electrics in the car.

 

[Sluggo]

I was working with Daniel to upgrade my existing LED headlamps, purchased from him, so that I could incorporate turn signal function in the outboard buckets. He has some new generation lamps that eliminate the racerboy LED issues.

 

[carrman]

Hella Bi-Focal low beams with LED city light bulbs that I installed in the sockets they come with, and Hella H1 high beams with 100W lamps. Sourced the lights from Mr. Stern.

 

[cbarge]

Video of me driving. High beams first then low beams. Hella's with Putco relay harness.