Planning ahead.. headlights and fogs
#1
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One of my wife's biggest complaints about her Xterra was the factory lighting. I upgraded the fogs and it seemed to do a little better. We are selling it this Summer and planning to get a '12 JK. I know the wranglers are notorious for bad lighting and after reading here for a few hours I'm still at a loss. ![Thinking](https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/images/smilies/thinking.gif)
I do not want to drop $500 plus on lights at this time. So most of the higher end LED and HID projector conversions seem to be out.
I know HID kits loose their effectiveness and can be dangerous without projector housings. In past cars I've tinkered with all kinds of aftermarket lights, HID kits, housings etc. I really don't want to do my own retro kit and would rather leave it to those more experienced. If I could find a decent price on projector housings I would get the DDM kit and be settled with that.
Does anyone sell relatively inexpensive projector housings or offer retro-fit services here?
If I can't go that route, it sounds like the IPF replacements and some brighter bulbs is a cost effective option. Is there any reason to pay an extra $110 for the kit that comes with their bulbs as opposed to other aftermarket bulbs at a fraction of that price?
Is flickering still an issue by the power-starved oem modules?
For fog lights, how are the stock lights? Is it worth replacing the housing too or just upgrade the bulbs? I've seen some members here went with an HID kit those and wondered if the smaller opening actually makes the kits useful. What other LED and halogen options seem to work really well?
It seems the fogs turn off with the high beams on - still looking into the workaround for that.
Thanks for any help, direction, or links!
![Thinking](https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/images/smilies/thinking.gif)
I do not want to drop $500 plus on lights at this time. So most of the higher end LED and HID projector conversions seem to be out.
I know HID kits loose their effectiveness and can be dangerous without projector housings. In past cars I've tinkered with all kinds of aftermarket lights, HID kits, housings etc. I really don't want to do my own retro kit and would rather leave it to those more experienced. If I could find a decent price on projector housings I would get the DDM kit and be settled with that.
Does anyone sell relatively inexpensive projector housings or offer retro-fit services here?
If I can't go that route, it sounds like the IPF replacements and some brighter bulbs is a cost effective option. Is there any reason to pay an extra $110 for the kit that comes with their bulbs as opposed to other aftermarket bulbs at a fraction of that price?
Is flickering still an issue by the power-starved oem modules?
For fog lights, how are the stock lights? Is it worth replacing the housing too or just upgrade the bulbs? I've seen some members here went with an HID kit those and wondered if the smaller opening actually makes the kits useful. What other LED and halogen options seem to work really well?
It seems the fogs turn off with the high beams on - still looking into the workaround for that.
Thanks for any help, direction, or links!
![beer](https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/images/smilies/beermug.gif)
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Thanks for the tip on Cibie. Those seem to run around $150 if you can find them, which is reasonable.
Thanks for the pic of the Vision X but I'm not a big fan of the metal trim around the smaller bulb for some reason.
Thanks for the pic of the Vision X but I'm not a big fan of the metal trim around the smaller bulb for some reason.
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One of my wife's biggest complaints about her Xterra was the factory lighting. I upgraded the fogs and it seemed to do a little better. We are selling it this Summer and planning to get a '12 JK. I know the wranglers are notorious for bad lighting and after reading here for a few hours I'm still at a loss. ![Thinking](https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/images/smilies/thinking.gif)
I do not want to drop $500 plus on lights at this time. So most of the higher end LED and HID projector conversions seem to be out.
I know HID kits loose their effectiveness and can be dangerous without projector housings. In past cars I've tinkered with all kinds of aftermarket lights, HID kits, housings etc. I really don't want to do my own retro kit and would rather leave it to those more experienced. If I could find a decent price on projector housings I would get the DDM kit and be settled with that.
Does anyone sell relatively inexpensive projector housings or offer retro-fit services here?
If I can't go that route, it sounds like the IPF replacements and some brighter bulbs is a cost effective option. Is there any reason to pay an extra $110 for the kit that comes with their bulbs as opposed to other aftermarket bulbs at a fraction of that price?
Is flickering still an issue by the power-starved oem modules?
For fog lights, how are the stock lights? Is it worth replacing the housing too or just upgrade the bulbs? I've seen some members here went with an HID kit those and wondered if the smaller opening actually makes the kits useful. What other LED and halogen options seem to work really well?
It seems the fogs turn off with the high beams on - still looking into the workaround for that.
Thanks for any help, direction, or links!![beer](https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/images/smilies/beermug.gif)
![Thinking](https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/images/smilies/thinking.gif)
I do not want to drop $500 plus on lights at this time. So most of the higher end LED and HID projector conversions seem to be out.
I know HID kits loose their effectiveness and can be dangerous without projector housings. In past cars I've tinkered with all kinds of aftermarket lights, HID kits, housings etc. I really don't want to do my own retro kit and would rather leave it to those more experienced. If I could find a decent price on projector housings I would get the DDM kit and be settled with that.
Does anyone sell relatively inexpensive projector housings or offer retro-fit services here?
If I can't go that route, it sounds like the IPF replacements and some brighter bulbs is a cost effective option. Is there any reason to pay an extra $110 for the kit that comes with their bulbs as opposed to other aftermarket bulbs at a fraction of that price?
Is flickering still an issue by the power-starved oem modules?
For fog lights, how are the stock lights? Is it worth replacing the housing too or just upgrade the bulbs? I've seen some members here went with an HID kit those and wondered if the smaller opening actually makes the kits useful. What other LED and halogen options seem to work really well?
It seems the fogs turn off with the high beams on - still looking into the workaround for that.
Thanks for any help, direction, or links!
![beer](https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/images/smilies/beermug.gif)
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...ement-Write-Up
P.S. I found them cheapest on ebay with free 2-day shipping!
Nathan
#5
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Pick up a DDM 35w HID kit in 3000k for your fogs. Start with that and see if you still want/need to upgrade everything else.
I did, and I still upgraded to IPF H4's and Silverstar Ultra bulbs. The IPF's and bulbs were 4x more $$ than the HID kit in the fogs and I feel it wasnt worth it.
I did, and I still upgraded to IPF H4's and Silverstar Ultra bulbs. The IPF's and bulbs were 4x more $$ than the HID kit in the fogs and I feel it wasnt worth it.
#7
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#10
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I put silverstar headlights in and it made a HUGE difference! For just $10-15 I would recommend trying these out first and see if they do the trick for you.
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...ement-Write-Up
P.S. I found them cheapest on ebay with free 2-day shipping!
Nathan
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...ement-Write-Up
P.S. I found them cheapest on ebay with free 2-day shipping!
Nathan
![Rock](https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/images/smilies/rock.gif)