Ideas on new Headlights?

[Stevenbekah]

Mods, posting here to hopefully get more views

So, as many of you do...hibernation time is coming. I took mine out over the weekend and with this time change and the obvious time of year, it's dark early and I honestly can't remember the last time I was out driving at night
Either way, noticed that compared to my other cars (and motorcycles even!) , my Cobra certainly lacks in lighting up the road.

I spent some time searching around our forum and honestly didn't find much new at all so I'm asking here....what's the best set up nowadays?

I looked at our vendor partners to see what's out there and it seems the same ol' options
-New bulbs? And if so, which ones truly make a difference
-New headlights all together (which honestly I could use as my passenger side unit is getting crappy and I'd rather just getting something new as opposed to buffing, etc)
-Projector?
-LED bulbs? Pretty much everything else I own I've upgraded to LED, including nearly a grand for the Harley headlights. The only thing I've seen for the Cobra is just the bulb to go in the stock assembly, does that really make an impact?

I don't mind spending what's needed to improve as it's honestly been so long since I drove at night that I thought maybe I was out a light or my adjustments where off but no, the ol' girl isn't blessed with the brightest eyes

Thanks in advance!

Steve

 

[01yellercobra]

Do you currently have stock style or smoked headlights? I had smoked for awhile. They look good but suck for letting light through.

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[meliskyc]

Steve, I know you’ll get all kinds of different answers on this. Everyone has their own opinion. In my case, I did the LMR clear marker headlights, a set of OPT7 Fluxbeam X headlights/fog lights, and Diode Dynamics switchbacks with a LED flasher relay. I’m happy with this setup. If I were to do it over again, I may (emphasis on may) do a LED projector retrofit from TRS in the clear marker headlights from LMR. I’ve done a few retrofits in my day and you can’t go wrong with projectors (good, high quality projectors).

 

[Huachipato]

I'd second doing the projector retrofit. I've run the with HIDs and the light output is really good. I have a link in my sig on how to do the retrofit.

 

[Stevenbekah]

Thanks all, I'll keep researching.
Is there a way to buy an LED projector setup from that retrofit company then get a housing that you DO NOT have to modify? I'm not interested in a big project, I'm looking for more of a plug and play...

 

[olympic]

https://www.hidretrofitkit.com/headlight-retrofit-service/

I have no experience with this company but there are people out there who custom build headlights to your specifications. It will not be cheap as there is a lot of work involved. I built my own using Morimoto 3" D2S projectors and the light output and pattern is outstanding! I'd contact the above company and see what they can do for you. Don't waste your money on "high performance" bulbs or LED/HID kits in the stock housing as it will either not make a noticeable difference or make things worse.

 

[whitedevil95]

I really like my HID Retrofits.

 

[Comp04svt]

I have HID retro headlamps with D2S projectors by bullseye retros. They are really the way to go. I have the LED retro fogs as well, but no pictures right now. These are the lows only.

 

[Stevenbekah]

Dang, so the retro thing is pricey. I get it, "get what ya pay for" but there's no other decent options?

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[Huachipato]

There is always the option of building your own.

Parts alone can be done on the cheap for about $200 or with quality parts going north of $400. The builds are pricey - but all the projectors mentioned above are not cheap. You can look them up on The Retrofit Source site to kind of price them out. They do provide an amazing light output though.

 

[HudsonFalcon]

I bought these Steve.

https://lmr.com/item/LRS-9904RFP/99-04-mustang-retrofit-projector-headlight-kit

They work pretty good so far. They throw out a good amount of light (much better than OEM) and have a nice cut-off.

I live in the country so being able to throw a lot of light down the road, even as seldom as I drive the car, was worth the purchase. I sealed them good with silicone as instructed and bought the best aftermarket halogen bulbs I could fine since they're "halogen" reflectors.

Like you I couldn't justify the expense of a full conversion since I barely drive the car and I read mixed reviews about led's.

I also purchased some better fog light bulbs and some new fog light housings to increase light output.

 

[2004cobra615]

I upgraded my lighting all last winter. After my ddm tunning 50w hid went out. I wanted to go with led for a more focused beam and piss less people off but not spend all that time making retrofit projector lights.
I tried led ebay bulbs, ddm leds, opt7. Thought the hid I had were much better. So I found a video on you tube
"15 brands led headlight bulb shootout!"
Had good info. Watch it.
So I tried the gtr gen 3 lights. I have them currently. Just as good as my hid lights were. I will be keeping them.

The gtr gen 3 lights are bright. Have a super focused beam. Best led light I tried. Life time Warranty as well.

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[MG2V]

I did an HID retrofit myself using these parts:

OEM Ford headlights
Morimoto Mini D2S 4.0 projectors
Morimoto e46-R shrouds
Osram CBI bulbs
Matsushita ballasts
Morimoto relay harness

Labor wasn't too bad. The results speak for themselves. I had Philips X-treme Vision bulbs in the stock lights, which are about the brightest halogen bulbs available. Output still sucked. A proper projector retrofit is the best way to go.

 

[Stevenbekah]

I upgraded my lighting all last winter. After my ddm tunning 50w hid went out. I wanted to go with led for a more focused beam and piss less people off but not spend all that time making retrofit projector lights.
I tried led ebay bulbs, ddm leds, opt7. Thought the hid I had were much better. So I found a video on you tube
"15 brands led headlight bulb shootout!"
Had good info. Watch it.
So I tried the gtr gen 3 lights. I have them currently. Just as good as my hid lights were. I will be keeping them.

The gtr gen 3 lights are bright. Have a super focused beam. Best led light I tried. Life time Warranty as well.

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Sounds like you've done a few rounds of experimenting and bang for the buck, you like these LED's the best?

 

[2004cobra615]

Sounds like you've done a few rounds of experimenting and bang for the buck, you like these LED's the best?

Yes the gtr gen 3 are the only LED that had output similar to my 50watt HID. With a much more focused beam so other divers are not honking and flashing you.

I wanted high low lights. The issue with many of the leds I had was low beam only lite up half of the housing.

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[Stevenbekah]

Wow, great feedback. Would you mind linking me to the exact one you got that fits in a stock housing? Also, it's literally just plug n play?

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[2004cobra615]

https://gtrlighting.com/gtr-lighting-ultra-series-led-headlight-bulbs-9007-hb5-3rd-generation/

Yes sir very simple to plug in. Anyone can do it.

I did have to remove a piece on the led lights with an Allen wrench to put the plastic light bulb lock over then put the part back on the led light. All I needed was a tiny Allen wrench.

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[Stevenbekah]

Thanks for your help!!

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[SLOWBRA]

LED

Now that’s it’s been a few months since your post can you comment on how the GTR LED bulbs are holding up? Still happy with them? Any other feedback?

I’m going to upgrade my OEM lights and would prefer to get this LED bulb vs changing out the housing.

play?

Did you ever upgrade to the suggested GTR LED bulb? If so, what are your thoughts?

 

[2004cobra615]

Now that’s it’s been a few months since your post can you comment on how the GTR LED bulbs are holding up? Still happy with them? Any other feedback?

I’m going to upgrade my OEM lights and would prefer to get this LED bulb vs changing out the housing.



Did you ever upgrade to the suggested GTR LED bulb? If so, what are your thoughts?

Bad news to report. After a few months of use the lights kept coming unplugged... even when I was driving, it happened twice on the road... I made gtr take them back. I could have modified their connector to possibly make them fit better but I wanted plug and play.

They were bright though! Look at the retrofit source.com Moromoto makes quailty parts and came out with a led light finally.

2004 Cobra 2.9 Whipple