upgrading headlight

[jvs]

I have been checking around a few places to upgrade my headlights for my

2009 Ford Ranger.

Checked on the net and watched some videos on Youtube.

Totally confusing and many different opinions.

I am not really happy with the lights i have and would like to upgrade

but does not have to be led.

I understand getting the wrong ones just costs money and actually can make

things worse,also for oncoming traffic.

Any ideas?

[tifino]

 

yeah! aftermarket LEDs and HIDs will make it worse, for the oncoming traffic

 

with halogens - it is all about the 'where' the bulbs come from:

from asian manufactured sourced stock, the filament coils are created with larger diameter coil, than the Euro stock.

This causes more glare (flare), due to the vertical spread being more exaggerated because the focus point of a good quality reflector requires the more refined, smaller diameter of a 'Hella' or 'Philips' etc bulb

It is the bulb which maketh the better beam

 

 

[vinegarbase]

That is the problem with most of these upgrade kits, they are so bright they can act like high beams because the lights glares so much in all directions. I don't know what it is about car lights in Thailand but when you hit a heavy rain on a dark road you can't see anything. I upgraded to some Xenon bulbs and to keep the glare from going so high and blinding oncoming traffic I added a small metal cutout piece so that it blocked the light from going up so high and it works perfect. Just remember that most bulb upgrade kits are not going to be worth it unless they have a ballast kit with them because those are needed to get the extra power these brighter bulbs need. 

[tifino]

... and the lack of auto-levelling technology, that only comes with the original lights.  OEM stock lights pretend to to the job of the origninal stock on the vehicle at manufacture

Edited October 23, 2018 by tifino

[fredob43]

I fitted LG Xenon's bulbs on all 6 lights on my last Tuna without a problem. Were they any better than the original you had better believe it. On dark roads it seemed like daylight. Never had a problem with oncoming traffic. Only thing that was a pain was the price.

New Tuna has LED they are excellent so not going to change those.

 

All depends what your light set up is as to what you can go for.

 

Edited October 24, 2018 by fredob43

[dreytom]

HID retrofit is your best option. You can buy the kits online and install them by yourself. There are also shops that can do it for you.

[Sam Lin]

The best output will come from a retrofitted projector with bi-xenon HID, where they physically open up your headlight and cut it to fit a full projector housing. DK Xenon does this in BKK, you can find them on Facebook and see some examples of their work. I'm unclear what projectors they use, they aren't as good as the Morimoto units I use in the US, but are still a huge improvement over any reflector light. The last time I had this done they charged ~13000thb.

 

A HID swap itself is only 2-3000thb, but the beam pattern generally sucks. You have much better chances of at least decent output if your factory headlight is a projector headlight (look for the round glass lens inside, if it has one it's a projector, if it's all reflective shiny facets it's a reflector). Some cars with factory projectors give great results with just an HID bulb swap. Others require a lens change, keeping the factory projector housing. Oddball cases still require the full projector be replaced.

 

Sam

[NanLaew]

A problem with YouTube videos are a lot are from the US where their locally assembled Ranger may have had a different type of filament bulb to the ones assembled in Thailand. I found this disparity when shopping in the US for brighter headlights for our CRV in Thailand. Same model car but completely different light bulbs.

 

AFAIK, your PK Ranger has the same H4 style light bulbs in the headlights as the subsequent and current PX and PX2 here in Thailand. The OEM light bulbs are made by Osram but are not Osram's best; I changed them on my last and current Rangers. If you have a chance to track down a set of Osram Nightbreaker II globes, they'll fit like bought ones and will be noticeably brighter. I bought mine in the UK and a mate coming on holiday brought them over. He worked as a fleet mechanic and was ribbing me since his shop reckoned Osram bulbs were rubbish. He was gobsmacked when he saw the 'chalk and cheese' difference in illumination between the factory fitted Osrams and the ones he brought over.

 

There's a UK car lighting outfit that ships internationally, if I come up with the name, I will post here. That would probably be the quickest (beyond the delivery time) and cheapest option versus HID, projectors, LED's and all that stuff.

Edited October 25, 2018 by NanLaew