Best headlights for Terminator

[BossMane]

I have a 2003 Terminator that the previous owner installed some sort of HID headlights and smoked lenses on. These lights are terrible! They have no real beam, and do not light up the road very well at night. What are the best headlights to replace these with? I need something really bright for driving on country backroads at night.

I appreciate any ideas or information you can give me!

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

are they stock style lights with HUD bulbs or are they cheap projector style lights? A pic might help if you aren't sure. The best would be a new set of housings with a clear lens and retrofitted with quality projectors and HID bulbs

 

[TerminatoRS]

The problem with installing an HID into a housing made for halogens is that the light output scatters incorrectly. You could try getting a pair of adjustable LED bulbs before you spend any big money. Being able to clock the bulbs is the key for two reasons: 1. you'll focus most of the light where it should be and thusly 2. you won't blind everyone coming at you. Typical LED headlight bulbs consist of a two-sided "stalk" with LEDs on each side. Clock the stalk so that the LEDs point to 12 and 6 o'clock. I know it seems counterintuitive, but I've tried the 3 and 9 o'clock positions and oncoming traffic wasn't fond of it. lol

Edit: I suppose we don't yet know for sure what housings you're working with so my above point may be moot. Could be that the previous owner installed some 12K bulbs and that purple light combined with the tint has made the output pretty useless.

 

[CobraSam]

Same problem here. P/O installed some crappy HID lights and same problems. Basically they suck balls.
I just threw in some Sylvania SilverStar Ultra bulbs. Did all 4. Plenty of light and simple. Was about $110 for all four, somewhere around there.

 

[BossMane]

How can I post pictures on this forum? I can get some quick pictures, since I drove the car to work today.

I really appreciate everyone's help and advice

 

[CobraSam]

Below the box where you type, it will say “upload a file”. Click on that and then it’s pretty straightforward.

 

[TerminatoRS]

I've found that it's much easier via the phone app.

 

[V6&V8SHO]

These folks solid? https://www.sw-lights.com/

 

[BossMane]

Can you tell what I have based on this picture?
Hopefully this works...

 

[BossMane]

Here is a pic of the car....

 

[TerminatoRS]

Factory style housings smoked darker than stock. Good looking car!

These folks solid? https://www.sw-lights.com/

Mixed reviews. If I remember right, pretty decent products, crappy customer service and lead time.

 

[BossMane]

Factory style housings smoked darker than stock. Good looking car!



Mixed reviews. If I remember right, pretty decent products, crappy customer service and lead time.

Thank you! I sure am proud of it!
So, I can just get some good bulbs to put in these housings for now?

 

[TerminatoRS]

Yep. You can do what CobraSam did and see if that solves the issue.

 

[srdigital]

These folks solid? https://www.sw-lights.com/

abysmal, do a quick search here and you'll find some more info . . .

 

[V6&V8SHO]

abysmal, do a quick search here and you'll find some more info . . .

I made my own set years ago but didn’t space the projector right. Im searching for the motivation to home brew another set. The cutoff was spectacular.

 

[olympic]

New, stock replacement headlights are your best option unless you're willing to learn/build you're own set of projector retrofits with quality projectors. Fancy halogen bulbs just lighten your wallet. LED/HID installed in stock housings just blind oncoming traffic.

 

[CobraSam]

I still stand by the SilverStar ultras. I have them in 3 of my vehicles and they’re awesome. Very bright and great coverage. Try them out, you’ll absolutely notice a big improvement.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

New, stock replacement headlights are your best option unless you're willing to learn/build you're own set of projector retrofits with quality projectors. Fancy halogen bulbs just lighten your wallet. LED/HID installed in stock housings just blind oncoming traffic.

I’ll say the new LED bulbs are vastly improved. The diodes are now properly located for the housing, not just having the right connector on the end.

I was finally convinced to try Sea Light brand on Amazon and the output and pattern is very good. I aimed mine and had my dad sit in his car at the end of the street, I drove toward him like normal traffic and he was never blinded or anything

 

[03yllwguy]

I vote to make your own retrofits. Stock lights just don’t get it done. If you keep it simple, you can retrofit for under $400 and have a safe, modern, good looking setup.

Retrofitting is stupid easy. Just a few hours of arts and crafts.

Upgrading bulbs will get you halfway to what a good setup would run, with no improvement.


Sent from my iPhone using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[UncleSAm]

So anyone wanna make me a set? Haha