Best headlights hands down for 1st gen?

Yeah I like the 95.5-97 and the 98-00, actually not a fan of the 01-04.

 

They are definitely plastic underneath the adhesive covers. I’ll have to read up more on the ultimate headlight thread. Thanks for the advice.

 

+1, A little bit of work but retrofitting a headlight housing and installing an HID kit is one of the biggest improvements I've done on my truck besides suspension. A new clear headlight housing coupled with the crisp, bright light output of the HID's is next level...

 

Also the 98 -2004 have the easiest headlights to retro. The housing is simple with very little curves that warp when hot and trying to pry the lens off. The cheapos on my 98 that I cracked open needed very little effort and most projectors just drop in and are good to go with a little level adjusting once sealed. 95-97 headlights require more work because the bucket is too shallow for pretty much every projector.

 

The 95-97 projector will work with the mini HID, h1 7.0 and is a huge upgrade in light output and I added
the Philips extreme high out put bulbs 100 lums.

BUT it’s a lot of work to get the setup done correctly
I did use glass and metal buckets, not plastic.

 

i just order me the MORIMOTO projector kit, and brand new black housing headlights and side markers and a few other goodies, i shall keep u guys posted in a week or soo.....

 

Depends on your budget and what your intended use is.

If you want good lights for off-roading, don't bother dumping a bunch of money into retrofits and HIDs or whatever. For off road, get a roof mounted light bar, and/or ditch lights mounted on the hood by the A pillar. You'll spend about the same (if not less), and the higher light source projects light farther down the trail and creates fewer shadows. No amount of money spent on retrofit HIDs will give you what a couple of $30 ditch lights will get you.

If you want some sweet looking bro headlights and you don't care how well they work, throw some LEDs in there and stock up on Monster energy drinks.

For street use, I'm not super familiar with the older 1st gens, but search around for the "ultimate headlight upgrade". The OP for many of those posts is @crashnburn80, and he's done a TON of work researching headlights. Most of his posts are for the 2nd gen, but there's a 1st gen version, too. The newer 1st gens (01-04) just use OEM or CAPA certified replacement housings (there simply aren't any "good" aftermarket housings out there), and the Osram bulbs/wire harness from the ultimate upgrade. The older 1st gens with the sealed beam housings can be replaced with something like the Hella E-codes, and when combined with the upgraded wire harness, you'll do fine.

All that said, I've been perfectly happy with the light from my CAPA certified housings (simply to replace the fogged oem lenses), some ~$15 Sylvania bulbs, and the upgraded wire harness. I see no need to spend a bunch of money for a marginal increase in light output. My lights project light more than far enough away for a safe stopping distance at any speed my truck is capable of.

 

Hey Jbrandt, Ive been checking out the ultimate upgrade and am curious if you have noticed a difference in light output with the upgraded harness and stock lower watt bulbs? asking as you seem to be the only stated person using this combo.

 

I'm sure there are others, but it's hard to say for sure. Technically, yes, you should see more brightness since the harness allows more voltage to reach the bulbs, which would make them brighter.

Did I notice a difference? Yes, but I also replaced my housings, so that's likely where I saw a majority of the change... My old ones were fogged.

 

• Thank you Jbrandt. Just replaced my bulbs and housings and will be giving a diy harness a shot.

 

Yes indeed, as I preferred the look of the 97’ grill and headlights, it was a no brainer for me. I went with the Hella E-code H4 headlights and tracked down some metal buckets and mounts. Still need a few minor tweaks-aiming for one thing but love the look and they work great with the ARB:

 

I used this setup for years and it’s a great improvement over stock and easy to do, but the projectors
are far better, but a ton of work to make them fit,

 

do you do a tonnish of night driving?
i try not to so much anymore with my bad eyes and all

 

Not that much, the same as I always have, my eyes are good

 

Reviving this thread. I’m lazy and don’t want to do the work rebuilding the housing. Is there any plug and play that will work better than what I have now? Thanks

 

Did you find anything? I'm open to a project or a complete set.

 

Upgraded to projectors from retrofit

 

Looks good! Do you have a link?

 

These I made myself with the universal retro projectors
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/bixenon-morimoto-mini-h1-stage-3?quantity=1