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Topic: What's a good & bright light bulb for the 87 TC? (Read 1286 times) previous topic - next topic

What's a good & bright light bulb for the 87 TC?

Looking for a nice bright bulb for my 87 TC to swap out the stock bulbs...

What do you guys recommend?

What's a good & bright light bulb for the 87 TC?

Reply #1 –
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More info on which bulb of the many the car has you are wanting to swap would be nice.

What's a good & bright light bulb for the 87 TC?

Reply #2 –
It's easy to assume that he wants brighter headlights. It's the most common complaint with these cars.

I would go over a few steps before upgrading bulbs.

First, how clear are your headlights? I know most of these cars, the headlights are yellow, the reflectors are worn, and because of this, no headlight bulbs will leave you satisfied. If they're yellowed or hazy, read up on this link:

http://www.coolcats.net/tech/troubleshooting/headlamp.html

The next thing is, the headlight wiring. Before considering a higher powered bulb, you will want to upgrade your wiring. These cars send all of the headlight power through a switch, including the fog lights on a TC. The problem with this is the high amount of resistance in the switch. This creates a voltage drop, causing the lights to be more dim. The next issue is the wiring in itself. The wiring is something along the lines of 18g wiring. It's shamefully thin, which is also a reason for voltage drop. In many cases, long term use of your headlights and fog lights can, and will overheat the switch and/or wiring, causing your lights to do some goofy things. There is a solution to this, while it sounds more complex than it is, its not very difficult, and it works tremendously well. This is a link to the process:

http://www.turbotbird.com/techinfo/installing_headlight_relays.htm

I did something similar on my old Turbo Coupe. Instead of just wiring in relays, I built an entire new headlight harness, and used the factory wiring to trigger the relays. The lights got significantly brighter to where I didn't need higher output bulbs.

I will say, I would never recommend any higher output bulbs on the factory wiring. Where are you in Pennsylvania? If it comes down to it, and you're close enough, you could come down, and I could help you wire in the relays. It was well worth the effort and time.

Feel free to post up any other questions.
It's Gumby's fault.

What's a good & bright light bulb for the 87 TC?

Reply #3 –
Quote from: dominator;273654
????????????????????????????????????????
More info on which bulb of the many the car has you are wanting to swap would be nice.


Headlights...sorry...didn't even realize I left that out.  LOL

Quote from: Tbird232ci;273677
It's easy to assume that he wants brighter headlights. It's the most common complaint with these cars.

I would go over a few steps before upgrading bulbs.

First, how clear are your headlights? I know most of these cars, the headlights are yellow, the reflectors are worn, and because of this, no headlight bulbs will leave you satisfied. If they're yellowed or hazy, read up on this link:

http://www.coolcats.net/tech/troubleshooting/headlamp.html

The next thing is, the headlight wiring. Before considering a higher powered bulb, you will want to upgrade your wiring. These cars send all of the headlight power through a switch, including the fog lights on a TC. The problem with this is the high amount of resistance in the switch. This creates a voltage drop, causing the lights to be more dim. The next issue is the wiring in itself. The wiring is something along the lines of 18g wiring. It's shamefully thin, which is also a reason for voltage drop. In many cases, long term use of your headlights and fog lights can, and will overheat the switch and/or wiring, causing your lights to do some goofy things. There is a solution to this, while it sounds more complex than it is, its not very difficult, and it works tremendously well. This is a link to the process:

http://www.turbotbird.com/techinfo/installing_headlight_relays.htm

I did something similar on my old Turbo Coupe. Instead of just wiring in relays, I built an entire new headlight harness, and used the factory wiring to trigger the relays. The lights got significantly brighter to where I didn't need higher output bulbs.

I will say, I would never recommend any higher output bulbs on the factory wiring. Where are you in Pennsylvania? If it comes down to it, and you're close enough, you could come down, and I could help you wire in the relays. It was well worth the effort and time.

Feel free to post up any other questions.


The headlights are new from ford, but as mentioned by you..they're not that bright.  I'm pretty sure it's all factory wiring, too.

I'll poke around on the links to supplied.

In the mean time...what bulbs do you recommend once the wiring is upgraded?

PS-I'm 104 miles from you.  I'm near Philadelphia.

What's a good & bright light bulb for the 87 TC?

Reply #4 –
To be honest, once the wiring is upgraded, you may not even consider new bulbs.

I sold my black TC with the headlight harness I built, and new 55w bulbs, which are the same as factory, and the new owner put a set of those blue tinted HID's in the car, and my setup with the 55w bulbs was brighter than his HID's.

If I would recommend a bulb once the wiring is upgraded, I would say to just pick up a stock style bulb with a brighter wattage. The "Cool Blue" bulbs and the bulbs of that nature actually hurt visibility. The blue color is more strenuous on the eyes and makes it a bit more difficult to focus. White light reflects the true colors back at you, so you will see more clearly and there will be less strain on the eyes.

104 miles isn't too far, but that's a lot of driving for headlight work.
It's Gumby's fault.

What's a good & bright light bulb for the 87 TC?

Reply #6 –
In my 83 cougar, I have sealed beam headlights. The same wiring issue is true on these too. I wired in a relay and my headlights were so bright afterward I kept thinking my hi-beams were on. Adding the relay will prolong the life of your headlight switch too.

CoogarXR
CoogarXR : 1985 Cougar XR-7

What's a good & bright light bulb for the 87 TC?

Reply #7 –
Don't assume anything,U make an A$$ out of you and me.
Go with the ones eric has on his car and then buy a real hid kit off ebay,should be plenty bright.
Go more white than blue though if you want distance,somewhere between 4 and 6k should be good.

What's a good & bright light bulb for the 87 TC?

Reply #8 –
Quote from: dominator;273702
Don't assume anything,U make an A$$ out of you and me.

But a rude reply with 20 question marks makes an ass out of just you.

Quote from: dominator;273702
Go with the ones eric has on his car and then buy a real hid kit off ebay,should be plenty bright.

Reading the post also helps. He has an 87 Turbo Coupe.

Quote from: dominator;273702
Go more white than blue though if you want distance,somewhere between 4 and 6k should be good.

Going with whiter light is always the better bet. The blue light has a tight wavelength that is more harsh on the eyes than white light. White light only reflects back the color wavelength of the item it falls upon, rather then reflecting back blue light on everything.

Also, you never want to run a retrofit HID kit in a factory headlight bucket. The light scatters so poorly that you will glare off of buildings, trees, and everything, rather than light being directed onto the road an in front of you. These headlight housings were designed for the power levels and luminens of a halogen bulb.
It's Gumby's fault.

What's a good & bright light bulb for the 87 TC?

Reply #9 –
Another thing to consider with those blue bulbs is that they do not get their blue colour by adding something to the light, they get it by filtering something out. Your total light outpout will actually be lower than stock bulbs.

I'd recommend just as Tbird232ci suggested: Convert to a relay setup (not only will you have brighter lights, but it'll be easier on your headlight switch, a known weak spot in these cars, and it'll be safer because the high current part of the circuit is removed from the passenger compartment). You might also consider a BRAND NAME (GE, Sylvania, Hella, etc - not eBay cheapies) superbright bulb that operates at the STOCK wattage. High wattage bulbs can actually melt headlight housings, and regardless the wiring in the car, the actual connector at the bulb can barely handle stock wattage, much less double that (in the case of the 80/130 bulbs).
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

What's a good & bright light bulb for the 87 TC?

Reply #10 –
Thanks all for the replies.  I'm going to try what tbird232ci said.  I've been speaking with him on aim about the issue.  We will get it taken care of!