Projector Headlights

You going for that Honda look?

Really haven't thought of it that way. Have any other suggestions? I do nice twisty country roads on the way home at night and need something brighter than what I have which are smoked OEM REPLACEMENTS.

Dave

My neighbor installed Carquest TrueView bulbs. I think they are the same as Sylvania Silverstars. Go back to the stock headlights and install the TrueViews.

Oh, I meant to make a point that my buddy's wife's car has whiter brighter lights with the TrueViews.

Hey, Dave...

I just had the headlights on CFrog replaced, but I went with new editions of the original setup. CFrog had a pretty good case of glaucoma, so the difference now is wonderful. My only complaint is that they seem to point down too far - I'm going to have to adjust them up a bit. The headlights shine where the fog lights would, and the brights shine where the headlights should.

It's a little dark these days driving home from work. I won't blame the misaligned headlights, but I did hit a deer last week (or, rather, the deer hit me). Cost me a left hand mirror, but the car is otherwise fine. Given the circumstances, even having my brights on would not have shown the deer, and the opposing traffic would probably have been annoyed. The thing came out of nowhere and ran through oncoming traffic to slam up against my driver door.

Bottom line, I've got a bad case of deer fear lately, so my joy of night driving has been put aside for awhile.

dwight

In NY more deer are tqken by autos and trucks than by hunters in Syracuse area. :0)

There is a whistle thingamabob (above human hearing range) which helps scare the deer long before you get to where they were. However, once they are out in the traffic and in panic mode... LOOK OUT! They'll do some serious damage including going through your windshield.

It never fails to amaze me..... every year it seems that more than one motorist thinks we left the gate to the forest open on purpose....

I'm not sure what that means, Jim. Around here, deer are a constant presence - they're everywhere, especially where you least expect them. We all know it, and I think we all look out for them. But it's Deer Lottery, as far as contact is concerned. In my case, it was simply my turn.

These are the western suburbs of Philadelphia. We used to live much closer in to the city, and even there we found the occasional deer wandering about (and wondered sometimes just how they managed to get so close in, without being killed earlier). Out here in the überburbs, it's a fact of life.

The squirrels play this game, too. They wait by the side of the road, and the game is to see how little room they can leave as they scramble across the road in front of oncoming traffic. They're usually very good at it, but once in a while a slower squirrel misjudges the gap and pays the penalty. When the squirrels play this game, it's cute. When the deer do it, it's extremely dangerous.

On many morning commutes, traffic gets backed up as a squad of geese walk across a four-lane roadway. Now this just makes no sense at all to me, 'cause geese can FLY. (In fact, they look flat-out stupid when they walk, but somewhat elegant in the air.) But we all wait patiently, because, well, because they're geese. And they didn't earn the name "goose" for no reason.

The deer are a bit sneakier, though. First, they wear camouflage. It's almost impossible to see them coming from the side. Up ahead, you might see their eyes reflecting your headlights, but from the side they are invisible. The first indication is the loud CRASH as they hit your car. In fact, we almost universally say, "It came out of nowhere." Stealth Deer. Even so, more often than not, I will see deer in the road up ahead and take precautions.

When a deer decides to play in heavy traffic at night, there's not much you can do.

dwight

true dat...

many years ago I totalled my '85 Capri RS 5.0 on an 8-point buck that came out of nowhere... Rt 9, Old Bridge Twp, NJ, came off a traffic light, left lane, just knocked it into 5th, when the first I saw it come out of the sunken median it was maybe 5' in front of me. Launched it over three lanes of traffic. Instant death for car and deer. Fortunately for me it hi/low'ed my windshield or else I'd have 200+lb of buck in my lap. And may not have been here to tell this story. They're around all year long around here, though more visible in the fall during rut and hunting season as they get stirred up some.

I live in an area that has some of the largest bucks in the country. Except for draining your wallet....those items DON'T work. My advice: save your money for the damage that it will take to repair your vehicle.

We have spent family vacations in cabins in Wisconsin for many years and we see many deer on the back roads in the late afternoon and evening. One of the first years when my son and family were there, we drove in separate vehicles to a nearby restaurant. I cautioned my son to watch for deer and his reply was "Ya, right, Dad". When we arrived at the restaurant he said "Wow, there's a lot of deer out there". All I could do was smile.

Dick

Not sure what that means... OK.. I can do that...

Let's pretend that it is fall in the great arboreal forest (where I live).... At any given moment, a bear and her cubs.... a doe and her fawns.... a moose and her calves might appear in the road ahead.... Gosh - what a freakin' surprise.... these animals are foraging for the winter that is surely coming and the rutting season they are in.... OMG... what next? Snow????

I've driven these roads for many, many years... and (aside from a few self-induced close calls) I haven't had an encounter with an animal - though as a resuce tech with our fire department, I've cleaned up after a few idiots.... Wildlife on the road? This isn't unexpected - but some folks make it seem that way...

You live where you expect to see deer on the road.... 'expect' is the operative word. If you expect to see deer on the road, there is no excuse for hitting one..... right?

We know it wasn't you personally, but the parts manager....

That's a very idiotic and self sanctimonious view of the situation.

Yes. I've done a LOT of installs and a LOT of comparisons. What I plan to do on my Mustang is go back to stock headlight assemblies and install converted HID lamps. There are some who swear that you can not get correct light throw with HID lamps unless you have projectors, but I've owned both and compared dozens and when driving I find the cars with the projector lenses to be the most uncomfortable to my eyes. I've had converted HIDs in my Titan since it was 9 months old (it's an 05) and I've *never* been flashed or had a complaint. The best part about it is that the HIDs though much brighter only use 35 watts of power. And as someone who once melted his headlight plugs I can say that's definitely a good thing. If I make a change in my lamp assemblies it will be to separate the hi and lo beams to two bulbs instead of one.

Yup, sure is.... My daddy used to call that "youthful immortality" I remember when I was growing up, on Prom night, I knew where the cops were so I could get drunk and go home the "other way" and outsmart them. Somebody else's girlfriend would get pregnant, not mine, I knew how to stop in time, Me wear seat belts? No need, I knew how to drive and avoid accidents. Run out of gas? Nope, I knew how to go all the way down to E without having to push that POS to the Tennoco station ROFLMAO...

Yup, avoiding deer because you're smarter than them and know where they are is about as wise as pulling out just in time..... How many daddies are made that way??? How many orphans are made by knowing what the deer are gonna do????? Hmmmmm

Sure, Jim, that's easily said.

On a Friday or Saturday night, I expect there to be drunk drivers, too. But there really is no defense against a drunk driver.

Expecting to see deer and deer doing the unexpected are two different things.

I suppose that the only real defense would be to stay home.

dwight

I understand the analogy, but it's not quite relevant in this case.

It's more like a huge chunk of toilet discharge from a passing airliner falling to earth as a big piece of ice which slams through your windshield and ends up in your lap. Was there something that you could have done to avoid it?

Not in a million do-overs.

dwight

I've never found brighter bulbs to be much help when put into crappy optics. I tried 100W in both my 92 Explorer and 99 GT. Neither showed noticeable improvement and the Exp socket melted. On the GT I bought PIAA model 1500 driving lights and installed them in the location for the original "fog lights". With a few washers for shims they mount pretty well to the original holes and while they don't completely match the opening shape they look quite acceptable.