Headlight bulb retainers for aftermarket lenses?

St. Death

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 22, 2020
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2
Hey there! I've gotten myself into a bit of a pickle, I bought a set of aftermarket headlights for my '06 Taurus, aka The Glorious Deathmobile Mark II, from DNA Motoring.
Whilest they use the same 9007 bulb as the stock, they have a completely different retainer. Problem is, I emailed them, and they say they don't sell the ring!
So, I was wondering if, perhaps they copied the design off a different vehicle? Maybe y'all can help me find the right ones. Any help is appreciated.
Link to picture
 
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-Virgil-

Flashaholic
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Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
Welcome to the board.

I bought a set of aftermarket headlights for my '06 Taurus

This is usually a mis-step. The aftermarket headlamps, pretty much all of them, are far inferior to genuine parts (that is, real Ford lamps). Both in terms of quality/durability and in terms of performance/compliance. And that's even for lamps that look like the originals. It goes double or triple or more for restyled headlamps. Sometimes (as in your case) the genuine parts are no longer manufactured, then you have to either go on a hunting trip (Ebay, etc) or accept a second-best outcome by holding your nose and buying Depo or TYC, the two relatively less crappy aftermarket brands. This "DNA Motoring" outfit you bought from is about as far as you can get from a legitimate supplier of legitimate lamps, to the point they can fairly be called unsafe to use and very likely to fall apart fast. Return them if you can and get a better product; your nighttime safety depends on it. And decent-or-better headlamps will usually tend to come complete, including the bulb keepers.

So instead, you'd want lamps like this: one side, other side.

Grab yourself a set of the good Philips X-Treme 9007 bulbs while you're out shopping; they make a large difference. And pay attention (and money, if need be) to the headlamp aim.

(Helpful hint 1: if you see anyone claiming to sell "DOT approved" or "SAE approved" headlamps, they're either lying to you or they don't know what the hell they're talking about and therefore cannot be trusted to make a good lamp. There is no such thing as "DOT/SAE approval". The more reputable companies know this, and so you'll see them talking about "DOT certification" or describing their lamps as "meeting SAE and DOT specifications".


Helpful hint 2: "We didn't make this headlight-shaped trinket you bought in a manner so it would accept the factory keeper ring, and we don't sell a ring that would fit, soooooo we guess you're out of luck, bye!" is another clue that you are dealing with a bunch of con artists).
 

St. Death

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Sep 22, 2020
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While i can't argue with most of your points, DNA is the only one making the particular style I'm looking for (black housing and clear corner). I've already tested them using some good tape to hold the lights in place, and they don't really perform much worse than stock (gen 4 bulls were notoriously bad to begin with)

Now, about them Phillips X-Tremes. They better than Silverstar Ultra?
 

Alaric Darconville

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Joined
Sep 2, 2001
Messages
5,377
Location
Stillwater, America
While i can't argue with most of your points, DNA is the only one making the particular style I'm looking for (black housing and clear corner).
Headlamps aren't fashion statements, they are life-safety equipment.

...they don't really perform much worse than stock (gen 4 bulls were notoriously bad to begin with)
Did you get real testing done with real equipment, or did you just drive around at night, or just shine them up on your garage door or wall? The human optical system is such that you just can't tell if headlamps are REALLY good or bad, just whether you THINK they are good or bad.

Now, about them Phillips X-Tremes. They better than Silverstar Ultra?
Now is not the time to select bulbs, since you have as yet to select real headlamps. These headlamps you have started off bad and can't be made better.
 
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-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
While i can't argue with most of your points, DNA is the only one making the particular style I'm looking for (black housing and clear corner).

The lamps I linked are black-housing items, and the corner park/turn light is as clear as it can safely and legally be. The amber reflector has to be there, even if you'd rather it wasn't. Preventing crashes is more important than what you think looks cool. As Alaric correctly said, these are not fashion toys we're talking about, they're life-safety equipment. Treat them that way.

I've already tested them using some good tape to hold the lights in place, and they don't really perform much worse than stock

There is no way for you to make that determination by eyeballing it -- and you're wrong.

Now, about them Phillips X-Tremes. They better than Silverstar Ultra?

Yes, but even the best bulb cannot "save" a lousy lamp.

If you have legitimate questions and actually want the kind of help an adult would want on a subject like this, here it is. We will not help you make your car into a safety hazard. We also won't argue about it.
 
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