Denicio Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 I searched this forum but could not find exactly what I was looking for. I am 5 days in to my new 2015 Titanium Edge. The headlights are dull at best. Is there a QUICK and easy improvement that I could do to increase the brightness of the headlights? Not one that requires wiring, harnesses etc. I know very little about auto lingo so please spell out any acronyms you may use. Is there a plug and play option for brighter headlights? Thanks Denicio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinzII Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 (edited) Are your headlights Halogen or HID (High Intensity Discharge (Xenon))? Edited November 30, 2015 by PrinzII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denicio Posted November 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Halogen according to the sticker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denicio Posted November 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Is modifying it from Halogen to HID the better option? Does an aftermarket HID upgrade void any part (or all) of my warranty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knickerbocker Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 First mod I'm making when I pick up my 2016 will be upgrading the standard halogen headlights to premium hologen. I'm thinking GE Nighthawk or Sylvania ZXE for a brighter/whiter shine. Like you, I'm not in to rewiring or fiddling with the electrical on a $45,000 vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinzII Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Although I have a 2011 Limited, the issue is the same. Shortly after I bought it, I upgraded the Halogens to HID (Simple plug and play kit, will not void warranty). Most 35 watt HID kits such as the ones by Morimoto (www.theretrofitsource.com) or Drive Bright (kc300's company) will not have any issues. If you go to a 55 watt kit, you will need a relay that connects directly to the battery. Typically, the light output from these HID kits is 3200 lumens (total) which should be sufficient enough for general illumination. Now, with all of the driving on dark roads that we do in places like Paradise Valley, Queen Creek, Maricopa, or Sedona, I am looking to potentially upgrade from that to LED (Light Emitting Diode) which has the added benefit of lower wattage draw but (with the VLEDs kit) higher output of 4500 lumens per side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denicio Posted November 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 So you have a link to a company that has the LED kits? I suppose if I am going to do this upgrade I should do it right the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzoneOxygen Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 I'm interested in this topic too. I'm currently on third week of ownership of my 2015 SEL (400 miles) and after only recently driving at night for the first time (and also in the rain at night) i'm disappointed with the light output. I've been looking at a HID kit but always wary of cheap aftermarket kits as have had a few that were cr4p to say the least, also interested to see what other people have fitted to get an idea of ease of fitting and performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 (edited) First mod I'm making when I pick up my 2016 will be upgrading the standard halogen headlights to premium hologen. I'm thinking GE Nighthawk or Sylvania ZXE for a brighter/whiter shine. The Silverstar zXe bulb is more for appearance (bluer). The Silverstar Ultra is a better bulb for seeing. (The zXe was designed to mimic the color temerature of HID and the intense blue actually reduces your seeing ability - blue focuses at the wrong part of the retina than redder light). I put in Ultra's for both low & high beams, well satisfied. Like to see a comparison between the Ultra and the Nighthawk's however. Here's a link where Ford discusses night vision and lighting: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Public%2520Meetings/Presentations/2004%2520Meetings/Farber.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwiSyIb-9rnJAhVC6CYKHeCSCsIQFggbMAA&usg=AFQjCNEkCvk-AIEvinLfYIhAF2z7TUbFGA&sig2=Xyzt857Q7T2IUV5iu2g3dA Edited December 1, 2015 by enigma-2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denicio Posted December 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Many of the reviews on Amazon on the Premium Halogen lights say they burn out very fast. The GE is reported to have a life expectancy of only 125 hours but reviewers are saying they don't last that long. Sigh~ I am thinking about upgrading to the HID thing but need to find the least offensive color to on coming traffic with the maximum benefit to me. It seems the LED kits are prone to produce more heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knickerbocker Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Thanks enigma-2, that's good info! I've tried the Silverstar Ultras and Nighthawk Platinums in my old Honda Civic and found they last 9-18 months, which is reasonable. The ZXE are more for the DRLs for the non-yellow halogen look. The lowbeams I'm leaning towards the Nighthawks since they are relatively cheap ($70) and are an easy swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 I drove in front of a Titanium last night that had the halogens. Didn't like the fact they have a color difference between the LED Fogs (or whatever they are considered) and the headlights. I have the same issue with my mustang. Big fogs between the headlights are halogen while my headlights are HID. I need to get some bulbs for my Fogs that will match the color of my HIDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinzII Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 (edited) So you have a link to a company that has the LED kits? I suppose if I am going to do this upgrade I should do it right the first time. I am considering the kit from VLEDs that is 45w and 4500 lumens per side. I think it's the LMZ Platinum. For you: Low beam is H11 http://www.vleds.com/bulb-type/headlights/h11-h8-h9/h11-ultra-lmz.html High Beam is 9005 http://www.vleds.com/bulb-type/headlights/9005-hb3/9005-ultra-lmz.html Edited December 1, 2015 by PrinzII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denicio Posted December 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Just ordered from Dave at Drive Bright. Nice guy, super informative. Getting HID replacement kit and new puddle lights too. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzoneOxygen Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 Just ordered from Dave at Drive Bright. Nice guy, super informative. Getting HID replacement kit and new puddle lights too. Please do a write of of what the kit is like and how you installed them, i may also purchase this kit based on your recommendation of it. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Halstead Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 I am thinking about upgrading to the HID thing but need to find the least offensive color to on coming traffic with the maximum benefit to me. Color has nothing at all to do with blinding oncoming traffic. The blinding comes from you putting HIDs into a halogen based reflector that has a cutoff shield made for a halogen bulb. When you install HID/LED you have changed the way the light is projected and thus you have the blinding light for oncoming traffic or people in front of you at a red light. This setup is not as bad in most halogen projectors but still throws light at others. halogen reflectors require halogen bulbs, HID reflectors require HID bulbs and LED bowls require LED bulbs. Just like your Transmission takes Transmission oil and your Engine takes Engine oil. putting LEDs into Halogens is the same as putting Transmission oil in your Engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWizard Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 You keep making that oil comparison and unfortunately it's just wrong. Yes, putting a different light source into a halogen reflector is wrong and will cause light scatter and glare (although LED design is improving rapidly and we should have LED bulbs that exactly mimic the position and orientation of the halogen filament before too long). But projector lamps are generally not a problem because the light is focused by the front lens rather than the intricate mirror bowl used in reflectors so the exact position of the light source is not nearly as important as the projector tube and lens design. I have done numerous HID and LED conversions in projector lamps on a variety of vehicles (I have the LMZ LEDs in my Mustang) and they have all produced a well controlled beam pattern with no more light scatter or glare than with the original bulb. But you don't have to believe me... ask Dan (or any of his customers) how well his HID kit works in Edge halogen projector lamps. In the case of upgrading halogen projectors, a better oil comparison would be replacing conventional oil with synthetic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWizard Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 It seems the LED kits are prone to produce more heat. Actually they don't. They produce less heat than the other bulb types but their circuitry is also more sensitive to that heat so the more powerful ones (like headlights) have cooling fans. LEDs themselves produce almost no heat which is why they are so efficient at creating bright light with little power. However, the circuitry behind the LEDs that is necessary to control the power fed to the LEDs does produce heat. Not a lot of heat mind you, but enough that the sensitive circuits have to be cooled. You can grab the business end of an LED bulb while it's on and hardly notice any heat. When you grab the back end of the same bulb you'll notice that it is quite warm but nowhere near enough to burn your hand - unlike a halogen bulb which gets very hot. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrinzII Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 As previously mentioned, the power draw from these LEDs is much lower which will result in less heat. I still want to check out how they hold up in the AZ heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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