Well im finally going to going to break down and do the lift kit ive been planning on doing for over a year...

and while I was removing my headlights I figured now would be a good time to replace them with something brighter...this also being on my list of things to do...

Any Suggestions?

I like the Silverstars or the premium equivalent from NAPA. Both have given me great service for about $20 per bulb. The light is nice and white, not the bluish glare of the cheapo bulbs. 

  H.I.D. conversion

I can get the H4's realtivly easly..

But is there an upgrade for the acuall light it self...I.E. something that is more transparrent

Street Glow had some headlights I used, 3 pairs I used, all would blow after about 3 months, at $30 a pair, I was pissed!   At least I got one pair free cus I returned the oldest pair using the not so old pair's receipt    They were the brightest and best light Ive had though.   Im currently looking for better headlights too, but I like the bluish tint to them.

Like 95XL7, I also did the H.I.D conversion kit.   Alot of companies and bulbs claim to be HID, but be careful...Alot of the knock offs are really just blue coated glass with halogen and xenon gas.  They can actually be less bright than stock halogens.... 

True HID is a completely different system that has a separate ballast controller, and ignitor to fire the arc lamp.    The nice thing about HID is that once it's fired, it settles to a 35W draw, versus 55-65 for traditional halogen.    HID puts out about 3x the lumens compared to halogen though, so you get alot more visibililty, and less distortion because the light more closely resembles natural sunlight...HID lamps also last typically 3x as long as halogen..Reason?  There is no filament in the bulb like a traditional halogen, so less likely to burn out.   

Dowside:  The cost...HID conversion kits are significantly more expensive than Sylvania silverstars, or the fake HID bulbs sold at autoparts stores.    They are coming down in price, I've seen them on Ebay for $199-400 depending on what you buy....My suggestion is to purchase one that has a lower kelvin rating...You'll see kits with 4300k all the way up to 12000k....Generally, the lower the kelvin number, the brighter the light....Anything less than 4000k is trending towards a very slight yellow hue, while 12000k is a purple color, that isn't as bright.....  I have a 5000k on my sidekick, and I have 6000k on my F150...They look identical the the BMW/Mercedes, etc headlights....  I have McCulloch HID kits on both of my trucks, and they've been great....Very reliable!   
These kits were plug and play, meaning you take out your old bulbs, replace with the HID bulbs, and then hook your original wiring harness to the HID controller.. The controller then plugs into the bulb....

If you do purchase an HID kit, make sure you point the headlights down a few degrees...The increased intensity of the light, coupled with a reflector designed for halogens can make oncoming drivers blind.....

Hope the information helps! 
 
-Zukisidekick

And it is probably worth mentioning so noone buys an HID kit and gets confused, most HID kits don't' have high and low....just on and off.

Excellent point Toolman....

If you try to run your high beams, often the system will turn off the lights, as it senses an overload.....NOT a good situation....Just remember that unless you buy a bi-xenon kit, which I believe is currently only available for H4 that you won't have a highbeam function.   

US Kicks and Trackers (Pre 99) use a 9004 bulb, while 99+ Trackers and Grand Vits use H4.   Euro Spec'd Vitaras Pre 99 use an H4 bulb and a different reflector pattern from US/North American Versions. 

-Zukisidekick 

All very good point,

spefically the one in regards to no high beams...a very good note.

An additional questions, is there acually another headlight assembly itself..

Meaning one that is more transparent than the stock headlight assemblies?

(I need to replace headlight assemblies to..badly damaged)


I can only imagine what a combo of both could do...

How about these headlight?

i've been using the sylvania silverstars replacement bulbs. they're better than stock, but they only last a year. at $45 a set that's quite expensive. replacement housings though i'd just replace them with stock ones as it's easier to replace if one gets broken.