Look up omlet on here, he replaced his lights with ones from an 08+
They have a gap under the lights that need to be addressed.

Otherwise you can retrofit some projectors in the headlights you have now.

Google retrofit headlights, there are tons of how to's out there.

 

Best/easy are the Phillips HIR bulbs, HIR 9012 for the low beams, HIR 9011 for the high beams (I also put these in my fogs). I got mine on Amazon.

According to pics here on the Forum, the HIRs are about halfway in brightness between the stock Halogens and the HID (Projectors).

My uninformed impression of the Projectors is that they can be real princesses, a lot of trouble and very costly, although they are the best-looking (and brightest). The HIRs are VERY easy, they pretty much jump into the housings, with a slight trim to one of the tabs (don't worry, it will be obvious).

 

Best/easy are the Phillips HIR bulbs, HIR 9012 for the low beams, HIR 9011 for the high beams (I also put these in my fogs). I got mine on Amazon.

According to pics here on the Forum, the HIRs are about halfway in brightness between the stock Halogens and the HID (Projectors).

My uninformed impression of the Projectors is that they can be real princesses, a lot of trouble and very costly, although they are the best-looking (and brightest). The HIRs are VERY easy, they pretty much jump into the housings, with a slight trim to one of the tabs (don't worry, it will be obvious).

This is a great thread, I'd like to upgrade all of my bulbs in my 2005, can you explain the cutting tab thing ? Do the more powerful bulbs harm/warp the lenses in anyway ? :thumbsup:

 

@johngreen are you running 9011s or 9012s in your fogs? i'm looking to change bulbs soon as one of my highs already went out. ironically, amazon's site shows those bulbs to not be compatible with my '10 WK.

 

I have been running the high beam bulb in my fogs, the 9011, for about a month or so. In that time no one has flashed their lights at me or otherwise freaked out, and when I pull up to store windows the fogs do not look overly bright compared to my lows (9012).

I spent some time walking around the car at night, and while the fogs DO have a hot center, it does not seem blinding in any manner. In fact the lows seem worse, if you stand where they are pointed.

So, I have 9011s in my highbeams, 9012s in my lows, and 9011s in my fogs, which I use as daytime running lights in concert with my lows.

 

Regarding the high- and low-beam bulbs (9011=high, 9012=low), these bulbs seem to have been extensively tested in this mod, at least by users here on the forum. I have found no issues with them.

Regarding the 9011 bulbs in the fogs, I heard about it here on the forum but I don't think it has been nearly as well-tested, so I'm probably one of the guinea pigs. I've been using them constantly during daytime driving (~2k miles/month), and I have seen no issues. I frequently inspect my lights (both on and off), and I have seen no problems. YMMV!

 

Just looking for some new headlights for my '05 Limited WK, something that both looks good and performs beter than stock.

Projectors look pretty cool, but heard various opinions on them on reliability and how bright they actually are. I know my dad has a '11 grand cherokee overland with the HID's, and I really like those. Other than that, I'm not too sure on what else is out there.

Also, will the SmartBeams still work with other headlamps?

Long story short, what is the best option out there?

As kebkid mentioned I have a build thread documenting how I installed a set of the '08+ HID projector lamps into my '05. I took it a bit farther than a basic swap, because I opened up the housings and did some painting. But if you want to just do a straight swap then it's really not too difficult. Here is my thread, give it a read and if you have any questions just ask:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f67/omelets-headlamp-project-1303487/

 

As kebkid mentioned I have a build thread documenting how I installed a set of the '08+ HID projector lamps into my '05. I took it a bit farther than a basic swap, because I opened up the housings and did some painting. But if you want to just do a straight swap then it's really not too difficult. Here is my thread, give it a read and if you have any questions just ask:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f67/omelets-headlamp-project-1303487/

Nathan, I know it's probably in the build thread but what 08+ lights did you use? eBay ones? Did you upgrade the projector at all? What did you make the gap filler from?

 

Haha, yep it's all in the thread! I bought aftermarket lamps off ebay then bought OEM projectors and swapped them in. The gap fillers I used plexiglass then painted them and glued them in.

 

Oops! Sorry I was typing in a hurry! I fixed it

 

Cant wait to try this little jammy my night vision is sucking as I approach 40 !

 

Bought these on ebay.Brighter then OEM,I can see farther down the road and they look good too!!3 led lights above the headlight...very nice piece for less then 200 I believe it was,shipped.

 

Has anyone tried the GE Nighthawk Platinum? The claim is 90% more light than standard Halogen. Just wondering if there's any experience w/ them....

 

Anyone have pics of light output of the 9006 vs the 9012s?
as in sitting in their driveway or looking down the street?

 

There are a couple other threads floating around here on this subject and they have pics. Do a quick search. Or maybe someone will post a link.

 

Yeah... I don't know why I didn't search, I found them

They look good

 

Yeah... I don't know why I didn't search, I found them

They look good

I have them and love them. I kind of wish they weren't so nice bc I would finally do the hid swap.

 

My new headlights on..

They look good at night and visibility is better..

 

Would you say the light is a whiter or yellower color? I'm redoing all my front lights. 9012s for the fogs and headights and 9011s for the brights correct?

 

Are theses phillips still considered the best "regular" bulb upgrade? Going to finally replace all my front lights.

 

If you are looking for a brighter headlight go with projector's I got them for my 2008 http://www.carid.com/2008-jeep-grand-cherokee-headlights/cg-ccfl-halo-projector-headlights-258560.html ive been so happy with them I get compliments all the time and the "H" so you can upgrade to even bright bulbs then the Phillips ones

 

Good to see the different opinions here. On the fence between the projectors/HID or the HIR bulbs.

 

HIR's are good for the money, but they are not nearly as bright as a set of hid's with projector housings. I ran custom hid retrofitted headlights (check my build thread) with HIR fogs and HIR high beams for awhile, and the HIR's couldn't come close to the amount of light output of the hid low beams. I eventually switched my fogs over to 35 watt HID's as well and couldn't be happier! If you can afford to do the hid's the right way, I'd def go that route.

 

If you are looking for a brighter headlight go with projector's I got them for my 2008 http://www.carid.com/2008-jeep-grand-cherokee-headlights/cg-ccfl-halo-projector-headlights-258560.html ive been so happy with them I get compliments all the time and the "H" so you can upgrade to even bright bulbs then the Phillips ones

Do you have pics? I haven't seen these before and I like them, just not sure about the halo piece. Also, are you running HIDs in these? If so, how is the blind spot in front of the vehicle? Notice any melting issues from heat?

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I'll see if I can get some Pics up today. I felt the same way about the halo's but I think they look great on the Jeep nice little touch. and I'm running HID's and no heating issues at all or blind spots.

 

I appreciate it. I could deal with the halos, but I just noticed there are LEDs at the bottom which turns me off a little. I have said it before and I'll say it again -- I wish someone made a 05-07 wk headlight that was projector, maybe blacked out, and left the other stuff off of it. I'm not going for a street jeep look.

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Yea I'm with you there if I could find some black housing projector headlights I would have gone that road but that was the closest thing I could find. At night you can barley notice the Halos the projectors are so bright you can disconnect the LED's pretty easy only one connection.