Upgrades for 2002 Ford Explorer XLT

[kaichu dento]

Virgil, what is the brightest bulb available that will have the same appearance as halogens and not any of the piercing cold tint that I keep seeing more of these days?

 

[-Virgil-]

Those are pretty good headlamps, optically speaking; among the best (if not the best) on a Ford-branded US-market vehicle in 2002. Of course, that depends on them being real Ford headlamps (not aftermarket junk) and in perfect condition (no lens degradation). If those two conditions are met, then use the Vosla HIR2+30 in your low beams and the Philips HIR1 in your high beams, bulbs trimmed as per this diagram. No blue glass or other silly gimmicks, no change in light color, no damage to the beam pattern's focus or distribution, just a stinkload more light contained in the beam pattern (and more light than can be obtained by any brand of HB4/9006 and HB3/9005). The lamps have to be aimed correctly, of course. And given Ford's rather lousy/lossy/minimal headlamp wiring, you would get a further large boost by putting in relays properly.

*Note this recommendation, especially for the low beam, is not, as some vendors claim, universal to all 9006 headlamps. It really is on a case-by-case basis; it happens the '02 Explorer headlamps, if they are real ones in perfect condition, are a well shielded, low-glare design easily capable of handling the extra light from the new bulbs without causing new problems.

 

[kaichu dento]

Those are pretty good headlamps, optically speaking; among the best (if not the best) on a Ford-branded US-market vehicle in 2002. Of course, that depends on them being real Ford headlamps (not aftermarket junk) and in perfect condition (no lens degradation). If those two conditions are met, then use the Vosla HIR2+30 in your low beams and the Philips HIR1 in your high beams, bulbs trimmed as per this diagram. No blue glass or other silly gimmicks, no change in light color, no damage to the beam pattern's focus or distribution, just a stinkload more light contained in the beam pattern (and more light than can be obtained by any brand of HB4/9006 and HB3/9005). The lamps have to be aimed correctly, of course. And given Ford's rather lousy/lossy/minimal headlamp wiring, you would get a further large boost by putting in relays properly.

*Note this recommendation, especially for the low beam, is not, as some vendors claim, universal to all 9006 headlamps. It really is on a case-by-case basis; it happens the '02 Explorer headlamps, if they are real ones in perfect condition, are a well shielded, low-glare design easily capable of handling the extra light from the new bulbs without causing new problems.

LoL!

I wanted to swap bulbs and you gave me a project (although it does look pretty easy). Just ordered the high beam bulbs but wanted to ask you about the lows. I've been really happy with the low beams, both for brightness and tint, not to mention beam pattern, but it's the high beams that have been good at times, but too short on throw most of the time.

Let me know if I'm wrong, but my assumption is that by adding the Vosla bulbs I'd be making it all that much harder on the eyes of other drivers. Since I've been happy with them, can you think of any reason that I should still consider ordering the low beams as well?

Thanks for the links and all the associated information!

 

[-Virgil-]

Re: Philips "Vision" vs "VisionPlus" vs "X-treme Vision"

Low beams, even if they seem good, are severely inadequate a large enough proportion of the time that it's a good idea to make them as good as can be without introducing new problems (glare, etc). With proper aim, the HIR-bulbed low beams will still be very far below the worst offenders in terms of glare production to other drivers. Of course, if you regularly carry or tow heavy loads with your Explorer, you'll either have to manually aim the lamps down when you do so and back up when the vehicle's empty, or keep to lower-power bulbs.

 

[kaichu dento]

Low beams, even if they seem good, are severely inadequate a large enough proportion of the time that it's a good idea to make them as good as can be without introducing new problems (glare, etc). With proper aim, the HIR-bulbed low beams will still be very far below the worst offenders in terms of glare production to other drivers. Of course, if you regularly carry or tow heavy loads with your Explorer, you'll either have to manually aim the lamps down when you do so and back up when the vehicle's empty, or keep to lower-power bulbs.

Virgil, thanks again for all the proper information and I'm really looking forward to having better high beam at the start, and then looking into the Stern mods for maximizing efficiency.

Just one more question, do you have a favorite backup bulb? That's almost a bigger problem for me, not being able to see when backing up.

 

[-Virgil-]

There is no bulb that will improve the factory reversing lamps enough to be really noticeable. If you need better light when backing, Get a pair of these particular lamps and these grommets. Mount them as far apart as possible, either by cutting holes in the rear bumper face or by using brackets like these.
This will give you lots of well-focused, widely-spread light. They take very little current so there's no call for a relay or heavier wiring. And they're totally waterproof.