The headlight lenses on my '98 Dakota are fogged and the amount of light being (not) projected is pathetic. Since we live in a very rural area I end up driving a significant amount of time after dark and am sick and tired of not being able to see the road, let alone anything more than 100 yards ahead, it seems. The low-beams of our 2003 Yukon are literally 10 times better than the Dakota's high beams.
I would like to replace the factory lights with an aftermarket set that throws a better beam pattern. Being an old geezer, big-name brands are not important, neither are halo lights, LED effects, etc... I just want a reasonably cheap (preferably sub $150/pair) option that will light up my life, look decent, will last a few years without breaking and use a standard bulb available at any auto parts store or "x"-Mart store. There are a bunch of options on eBay quite a bit cheaper than $150 such as the Spec-D brand, Anzo and others, but it's difficult to know what's garbage and what's not.
Any opinions?

 

I got these and I'm happy with them. $140 shipped.



Be careful what you get as some are illegal. These are " DOT/SAE certified" and came with a certificate that you can show a cop if stopped. Also, some come with the orange corner reflector that is not curved. Those look a bit cheap and goofy.

Before I installed these. I got some black gasket sealer/silicon and resealed them all around, then let it dry overnight. Didn't want to have to pull them off again because of condensation, etc.





If you want even more light, you could also mount some of those Hella type lights on your front bumper.

 

very similar to the ones I have.

 

Dodgevity I like that set and a good price also I have oem replacements now but they are around 4 years old.

Been thinking on a better simple set like those to jazz my Dakota up some

 

Funny, because that is the exact set of lights I found on Amazon this evening and added them to my wish list as the most likely candidate! So how is the light output (and pattern) compared to OEM? Also, are you able to aim them very easily?

 

I had the same headlights on my 2001 Durango as Dogevity, but not black. They're easy to install and light quality is very good. Take the time to get them aimed properly and you will not have any problems with that set.

 

I didnt have to aim them. I had the front bumper off as I was replacing the radiator at the time. Threw them on and they lined up pretty nicely with good light output. Light cutoff is a bit jagged but thats because they are so clear, there is little diffusing. They use the stock bulbs and come with new bulbs. I will say this. Bcause they are one piece, it will be more difficult to replace bulbs. I will be using the longest lived bulbs I can find when the time comes.

 

So, how DO you properly aim a set of headlights if you do not have a shop with the equipment to make sure they're angled the way they should be?

 

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=How+to+aim+headlights

 

These ones work well too if you want to keep more of an oem look too. The beam pattern is much better than the oem one too.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-97-04-Dakota-98-03-Durango-Crystal-Chrome-Clear-Headlights-LH-RH-Lamps-/380874057511?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A1999%7CModel%3ADurango&hash=item58addce727&vxp=mtr