I have HID 4300k low beams and 3k fogs. wayyyyy better then stock and im ont blinding anyone with how i have them aimed. PIc is from the drivers seat with my camera phone.

NYPathfinder,

Are your 3k fogs HID as well?

NYPathfinder: You are using the stock housings correct? Is the pic highbeam or lowbeam? It appears to be shining some light fairly high on the utility poles...which is something my stock housings do not do.

It doesn't appear there are any projector options for the 2008+ so HID may be my only choice. It just seems the pattern cut-off and only having one bulb for both low/high beam really limits the stock system.

CRXguy wrote:NYPathfinder,

Are your 3k fogs HID as well?

Yes HID lowbeams and HID fog lights.

skinny2 wrote:NYPathfinder: You are using the stock housings correct? Is the pic highbeam or lowbeam? It appears to be shining some light fairly high on the utility poles...which is something my stock housings do not do.

It doesn't appear there are any projector options for the 2008+ so HID may be my only choice. It just seems the pattern cut-off and only having one bulb for both low/high beam really limits the stock system.

Yes stock housings. It really doesnt shine the light up the utility poles. Crappy picture for some reason makes it look bad. I never get flashed so I know there aimed correctly. Ive also had a friend driving my truck behind me while i was in his subaru and wasnt really getting blinded either. No worse then other trucks that i have seen. The kit im using i dont have high beams. But in all honestly i have never used them.

Theres a guy on clubfrontier then does projector retrofits in the stock housings so you keep your low beams and high beams. Your gonna spend $6-700 to get it done though. For the cost of HID kits I decided to go that route. I had looked into the ebay projector lights for my 07 and changed my mind. I would have just changed the projector to something a lot better then the crappy one it comes with.

High beams is what I need and I don't care about blinding anyone on high...that's why you can turn them down. The roads I'm driving...I can run 20 miles and maybe pass two other vehicles. I've just never had a vehicle that the highbeams had such a low cut-off.

Here's my low beam (top) and highbeam from the drivers seat and my phone. Very dark road and obviously the camera isn't capturing everything, but you can see the low cut-off of the highbeams in the trees. If I'm in my wifes Odyssey, you would see a huge tree at the end of the drive that the PF isn't even hitting. That tree sits about 10' past where the PF highbeams end. About 90' down the drive.

wow. Yea the stock lights are absolutely horrible. Your wifes odyssey has projector headlights correct? that why there so much brighter then yours. I work nights so i constantly drive on main roads with no other lights besides my own.with the HIDs i have absolutely no use for the high beams on dark lonely roads. my low beams shoot far enough up the road and are bright enough that i dont see everything. Before i bought the HIDs for the headlights and fog lights i was going to buy a bull bar/push bar and mount two hellas on it, or figure out another route to add a bracket to add lights on the front.

Also here's a pic of the back of the projector I bought showing the connections. I think this would have worked out great if it would have fit. Courtesy parts shows different part numbers for the headlamp assemblies between 2005-2007 and 2008 and up. Very small differences but if it doesn't fit....

The problem I have with the cut-off of the low (and high with the stock assembly) is when going up/down hills. Going down one hill you can't see UP the next at all with these lights. If that's the case even with the HID I don't think I'd be happy with them. I was following my wife one night and her Ody was shining clear up into the trees and going through some of the hills it was very obvious how much better hers was shining. Thats why I was sure the projectors would be a big improvement...if nothing else having a separate bulb for the high beams wipes out the cut-off you need for low-beam.

Okay, I guess headlights are far from my forte. Skinny, bummer that they don't fit. I've run across lots of parts that have different part #s with the 2008 semi-redesign. Since you guys appear to know what you are talking about, here are my concerns & needs.

1. What's the point in getting projectors if they use the same bulbs? I'm not seeing a benefit to that, so I obviously must be missing something. The only projectors I've seen are all a tad too bling-filled for my tastes, but I can live with them if they work better than OEM.

2. I simply require more light. My low beams are absolutely dismal, and my high beams are more like a low beam.

3. I'm also on the verge of adding a light bar, but would rather just have headlights that work. If I go with a light bar, I'll probably mount 2 small HID driving lights & 2 large off road lights.

4. If my best option is HID, then what is the best kit? I need links. I've also read that the HIDs aren't exactly suited for our OEM reflector assemblies.

5. I have tried 4 different bulbs & there simply isn't anything out there that will make much of a difference whatsoever. The bulbs I have now are the best I've had, but they simply suck.

Any input would be appreciated.

skinny2 wrote:The problem I have with the cut-off of the low (and high with the stock assembly) is when going up/down hills. Going down one hill you can't see UP the next at all with these lights. If that's the case even with the HID I don't think I'd be happy with them. I was following my wife one night and her Ody was shining clear up into the trees and going through some of the hills it was very obvious how much better hers was shining. Thats why I was sure the projectors would be a big improvement...if nothing else having a separate bulb for the high beams wipes out the cut-off you need for low-beam.

your best bet is going to be with a projector retrofit in your oem housings. Theres nothing else you can do to your stock lights that will change the low cut off for the low beams and high beams. Like i had mentioned earlier it cost a few hundred to get it done.

NVSteve wrote:Okay, I guess headlights are far from my forte. Skinny, bummer that they don't fit. I've run across lots of parts that have different part #s with the 2008 semi-redesign. Since you guys appear to know what you are talking about, here are my concerns & needs.

1. What's the point in getting projectors if they use the same bulbs? I'm not seeing a benefit to that, so I obviously must be missing something. The only projectors I've seen are all a tad too bling-filled for my tastes, but I can live with them if they work better than OEM

The problem with the aftermarket projector lights like the one the OP bought is the projectors are absolutely garbage in terms of light output. They usually use a smaller bulb then stock and the projectors them selves are usually crap. If your going to go projectors go with a retrofit in your stock housings. Ive seen them done and the light output is amazing. Only downside is the cost to get them done.


2. I simply require more light. My low beams are absolutely dismal, and my high beams are more like a low beam..[/quote]

Stock lights plain and simple suck.The light output is horrible for the low and high beam. Thats the reason i changed mine not even after a week owning the truck.

NVSteve wrote: 3. I'm also on the verge of adding a light bar, but would rather just have headlights that work. If I go with a light bar, I'll probably mount 2 small HID driving lights & 2 large off road lights..

NVSteve wrote:4. If my best option is HID, then what is the best kit? I need links. I've also read that the HIDs aren't exactly suited for our OEM reflector assemblies..

I've used a lot of HID kits. For the price you cant beat ddmtuning.com. I have never had a problem with there kits in the 4 years i have been using them. ( used them in my previous car and now in my pathfinder) The oem reflector really isnt suitable for HID's but if you align them properly like i have you shouldnt have any problems and can get away with them. Most people just put the HID's in and dont align them which is what you usually see and get blinded from oncoming traffic.

NVSteve wrote:5. I have tried 4 different bulbs & there simply isn't anything out there that will make much of a difference whatsoever. The bulbs I have now are the best I've had, but they simply suck.

Any input would be appreciated.

Without a projector retrofit HIDs are the next best thing. You can order the kits so you keep the high beam. The kit I have only makes use of the low beams. I havent had any use for high beams since i put the lights in. As long as you don't go above an 6k bulb you will have a lot better output then stock. In this case the lower the k rating the better. 4300k,5000k, and 6000k are your best for output. 8k tends to be to blue and the higher the k rating you go you lose light output and just see the color.

Two differences with a projector. One is that you end up with two bulbs...one for low-beam with a typical cut-off to keep from blinding folks...the other is wide open and aimed more for typical high beam use. Projectors also aim the light far more effectively and usually have additional reflectors.

I don't think anything is truly going to improve the OEM housings in terms of distance or wide light pattern. You may be able to increase the amount of light with the HID's but it will still be limited to the OEM housing's limitation of aiming. Most vehicles come with some sort of projector as stock these days...including the Armada.

skinny2 wrote:Two differences with a projector. One is that you end up with two bulbs...one for low-beam with a typical cut-off to keep from blinding folks...the other is wide open and aimed more for typical high beam use. Projectors also aim the light far more effectively and usually have additional reflectors.

I don't think anything is truly going to improve the OEM housings in terms of distance or wide light pattern. You may be able to increase the amount of light with the HID's but it will still be limited to the OEM housing's limitation of aiming. Most vehicles come with some sort of projector as stock these days...including the Armada.

depending on the projector you use one bulb for the low beams and high beam. When the low beam is on theres a "shield" that sits over the actual projector to keep the light low. When you hit the high beams that "shield" retracts lights up everywhere lol.