HID Headlights?

[bruker]

I'm thinking about getting a late model Edge. Do any models of the Edge come with HID headlights?

[akirby]

Best I can tell only the Limited with package 301a and 302a came with HIDs.  The base Limited 300a did not.  I only checked the 2013 order guide.

[ONEDGE16]

If by late model you mean Gen 2  (2015-2018) , HID option is available on Titanium & Sports model depending on the package you choose. 302A for Titanium and 401A for sport.

you can find the order guides for each year on Blue Oval Forum:

 

https://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/index.php?/files/category/3-edge/

 

[akirby]

Sorry - I keep thinking 2015 was just last year.

[Slowride8g]

We have an 18 SEL. My wife hates the dim headlights, is it possible to swap direct the headlights with a sport or titanium? Maybe I can find a wrecked one somewhere??

[eng45ine]

I agree, the headlights on our 2018 SEL are terribly dim, I'm hoping for a solution.

[omar302]

5 hours ago, Slowride8g said:

We have an 18 SEL. My wife hates the dim headlights, is it possible to swap direct the headlights with a sport or titanium? Maybe I can find a wrecked one somewhere??

 

A member here, @Ghhuff, did the swap on his 2017 Edge (should be similar to your 2018. The HID headlights do swap in directly, but they also require some software changes, using ForScan to change a few As Built Parameters. Here is the thread.

Edited January 15, 2019 by omar302

[ben senise]

12 hours ago, omar302 said:

The HID headlights do swap in directly

 

@omar302 are you saying that no mods to wiring, harnesses, etc. are needed? just pull the old ones out, pop the new ones in and all the connectors match up? i can manage the forscan.

 

i bought better (brighter) bulbs and noticed a small improvement. then i got H9 bulbs and noticed a little bit more light again. they were just the standard ones and i was thinking that if i got the brighter bulbs, i would even get more of an improvement. the advantage of this approach is that it's easy and inexpensive and easily reversible.

 

if factory HID lights are easy to install and i can find a pair cheap, then that might be a good solution.

[omar302]

@ben senise, that is what the OP of the thread I linked to stated. I have not done it myself. Another option is to get some of those headlights from China that have LED DRLs found on eBay & AliExpress. Also I do not have any experience with them. My Sport had HID from the factory & honestly I was a bit disappointed with them, had to realign them, push them in there mounts so they aim a bit away from each other (loosen the screws a bit, move then retighten). Finally bought a set of Philips D3S bulbs with higher output & led level color. Now they are acceptable as HID, but they should have been better as Ford seems to use really bad projectors. 

[rwf78155]

Sylvania ZXE bulbs are awesome replacements

[Nick Halstead]

2 hours ago, ben senise said:

I bought better (brighter) bulbs and noticed a small improvement. then i got H9 bulbs and noticed a little bit more light again. they were just the standard ones and i was thinking that if i got the brighter bulbs, i would even get more of an improvement. the advantage of this approach is that it's easy and inexpensive and easily reversible.

 

if factory HID lights are easy to install and i can find a pair cheap, then that might be a good solution.

H9 bulb hierarchy
Tier 1 (+150): Philips Racing Vision
Tier 2 (+130): Philips X-Treme Vision <-- Osram Night Breaker Laser <-- GE Nighthawk Xenon
Tier 3 (+100): Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited <-- GE Nighthawk Platinum
Basic bulbs: Philips/Osram clear "standard/original". 

you would be better off retrofitting HID projectors into current housings than using fords horrible oem projector.

[ben senise]

1 hour ago, omar302 said:

@ben senise, that is what the OP of the thread I linked to stated. I have not done it myself.

 

ok, thanks. i admit that i didn't click through the link. i should have.

 

1 hour ago, rwf78155 said:

Sylvania ZXE bulbs are awesome replacements

 

thanks for the input.

 

37 minutes ago, Nick Halstead said:

H9 bulb hierarchy
Tier 1 (+150): Philips Racing Vision
Tier 2 (+130): Philips X-Treme Vision <-- Osram Night Breaker Laser <-- GE Nighthawk Xenon
Tier 3 (+100): Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited <-- GE Nighthawk Platinum
Basic bulbs: Philips/Osram clear "standard/original". 

you would be better off retrofitting HID projectors into current housings than using fords horrible oem projector.

 

thanks for all of that. i might try to get some of the racing vision that you mention. bulbs seem to be hard to come by here in canada. maybe next time i venture south of the 49th parallel.

i'm reluctant to fiddle with HID in the current housings. if i could see the results IRL then i might consider it.

 

at the end of the day, it's not super critical. i'm always looking for the most cost effective solution (with cost including effort as well as money.)

[Nick Halstead]

3 minutes ago, ben senise said:

 

ok, thanks. i admit that i didn't click through the link. i should have.

 

 

thanks for the input.

 

 

thanks for all of that. i might try to get some of the racing vision that you mention. bulbs seem to be hard to come by here in canada. maybe next time i venture south of the 49th parallel.

i'm reluctant to fiddle with HID in the current housings. if i could see the results IRL then i might consider it.

 

at the end of the day, it's not super critical. i'm always looking for the most cost effective solution (with cost including effort as well as money.)

H9 is best way to go to stay low cost while getting most improvement. you can literally get a H9 for $9. and you gain 90% more lumens. from the 1,350 lumens of the h11 to the 2,150 of a H9 bulb
https://www.hidplanet.com/forums/forum/general-discussion/halogens/1409801-ryan-s-guide-to-halogen-bulbs

I don't agree running the wrong bulb type in wrong projector, So to run HID, I'd be cutting open your oem headlights and installing a HID projector.

Edited January 15, 2019 by Nick Halstead

[ben senise]

1 minute ago, Nick Halstead said:

H9 is best way to go to stay low cost while getting most improvement. you can literally get a H9 for $9. and you gain 90% more lumens. from the 1,350 lumens of the h11 to the 2,150 of a H9 bulb
https://www.hidplanet.com/forums/forum/general-discussion/halogens/1409801-ryan-s-guide-to-halogen-bulbs

 

thanks Nick, that's what i did but i could only find the philips "standard" bulbs and yes, they were quite inexpensive even on amazon.ca. i might see if i can find some of the higher-end bulbs you mention.

 

i think that guide you linked to is the one i used to determine how to mod the bulbs to fit.

 

i did the change in dec 2017 and so far so good.

[Nick Halstead]

4 hours ago, ben senise said:

 

thanks Nick, that's what i did but i could only find the philips "standard" bulbs and yes, they were quite inexpensive even on amazon.ca. i might see if i can find some of the higher-end bulbs you mention.

 

i think that guide you linked to is the one i used to determine how to mod the bulbs to fit.

 

i did the change in dec 2017 and so far so good.

yeah, on my fusion I could only find the basic philips also

[TheWizard]

20 hours ago, rwf78155 said:

Sylvania ZXE bulbs are awesome replacements

 

Only if you find color is more important than actual light output.  These are simply standard halogen bulbs with overdriven filaments (shortening their lifespan) offset by a blue tinted capsule to produce a whiter color output. 

 

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

The Osram NightBreaker Unlimited is 110%, Laser is 150% brighter than standard.

 

The Philips Racing Vision is 150% brighter, so on par with the Laser.

 

[TheWizard]

Yes, but those aren't Sylvania Silverstar ZXE.  The ZXE is advertised as "up to 30% greater visibility" but then the fine print says "compared with worn standard halogen bulbs".  It wouldn't be unreasonable to get a 30% increase by just replacing worn standard halogen bulbs with new standard halogen bulbs of the same type as the originals.  Essentially, the claims for the ZXE bulbs are just marketing hype.  They overdrive the filament to produce more output which actually only compensates for the reduction caused by the blue tinted capsule.  You end up with whiter light that isn't really any brighter and a bulb that lasts only about 18 months on average.

 

The Philips and Osram bulbs use a different design.  Their bulbs don't actually produce more output (measured in lumens) but they have been designed with a different type of filament that concentrates the output in certain very specific directions.  You will notice that they don't have the blue coating over the entire capsule... there are clear sections that are placed to match with the areas of concentrated output from the filament.  Those areas are intended to match with the areas of the headlight reflector that generate the most concentrated forward output.  That makes the lights brighter without actually increasing the output of the bulb filament.  Of course, the effect is dependent on the design of the headlight reflector which is why they say "up to xx%" more light.  Headlight reflectors can vary significantly and some vehicles have been reported actually losing output, especially on the high beams, but the majority will see at least some improvement.

 

The Sylvania Silverstar Ultra is also one of the bulbs using the modified filament technology but the ZXE is just a blue coated bulb designed more for appearance than performance.