The good headlights

[portlandareae28]

I am not confident or patient enough to build headlights like Mikes, can they be purchased already built?  If not I am going to have to talk mike into building me a set while he is hanging out in Oregon.  ?

[dripley]

I believe @Mopar1973Man's were prebuilt at about the $700 mark. So yes they come prebuilt but are too pricey for me.

[portlandareae28]

Are there less expensive options?  I realize you get what you pay for, but.....

[dripley]

My wife's 06 Dakota had clear lenses and halogen bulbs with a little cap over them. They put excellent light and had sort of cut off line to them also. I see them like that on the interweb just like that for our trucks. How a like they are I dont know. I am going to get some one day and see how they work. Might take brighter bulb than ours and I dont remember what wattage hers were. I have seen pairs of them for about a hundred bucks, bulbs included I believe. Rock Auto has several as do A1 auto and others I'm sure.

[portlandareae28]

I will look them up. Anything will be better than what I have

[SilverMoose]

Do you want HID's with projectors?  Maybe a Google search will find some for you.  I would caution you that the wiring side of this can be confusing to say the least.  It took me a few trys to get the wiring figured out.  I added HID's and projectors to my truck for about $250 including the light housing.

 

L8tr

D

[dripley]

1 hour ago, SilverMoose said:

Do you want HID's with projectors?  Maybe a Google search will find some for you.  I would caution you that the wiring side of this can be confusing to say the least.  It took me a few trys to get the wiring figured out.  I added HID's and projectors to my truck for about $250 including the light housing.

 

L8tr

D

Did you have to assemble the lights from empty housings?

[Dieselfuture]

In case you change your mind and want to do it yourself this is where I got my kitchen

https://www.theretrofitsource.com

This is where Mike got his

http://shop.retroshop.us/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=2G.RAM.RETRO

To do D2S is harder than Mini H1, d2s puts out more light though but mini h1 is a huge upgrade from what you have now. 

If you're going to get d2s just have them ordered as it is time consuming, if you want mini H1, personally I would just get it from the first link and do it yourself. You'll need to buy a cheap eBay or Amazon clear lens housings either way, if you can find ones that are adjustable it would make it easier it also.

These are the ones I used I'm sure there are better options out there

https://www.amazon.com/Headlight-Assembly-Replacement-Projector-Passenger/dp/B01MYMK6AU/ref=mp_s_a_1_8_sspa?adgrpid=64513136868&hvadid=274732644676&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9018559&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=13583431587111973668&hvtargid=kwd-363897428048&keywords=2nd+gen+ram+headlights&qid=1554982789&s=gateway&sr=8-8-spons&psc=1

[gipperkid]

I know it's not practical for some, but the best option is to build them yourself.

[Mopar1973Man]

HID are the best solution for vehicle lighting bar none. Please do not consider LED headlight unless you willing to do Morimoto LED's where are just as expensive. I got mine from Retro Shop. 

 

https://shop.retroshop.us/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=2G.RAM.RETRO

 

Then I installed PIAA LED's driving lights. Those aren't cheap either but super bright. Brighter than the Morimoto HID's

 

http://www.piaa.com/store/p/146-LP-530-Fog-LED-Light-Kit.aspx

 

Then the front marker lights in a switch back bulb...

 

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/tail-brake-turn/3157-switchback-led-bulb-dual-function-60-smd-led-tower-a-type-wedge-retrofit-car/1916/4478/

 

Now I'm highly visible and plenty of light to see in the worst conditions.

[Me78569]

If you are buy some prebuilt you will pay $700 or more.  It takes a TON of labor to build them.  ~$400 in parts and 4 hours or so

[Mopar1973Man]

12 minutes ago, Me78569 said:

If you are buy some prebuilt you will pay $700 or more.  It takes a TON of labor to build them.  ~$400 in parts and 4 hours or so

 

Still in all having them prebuilt saves you the labor and frustration of making mistakes and starting over to fix the mistakes. 

[SilverMoose]

12 hours ago, dripley said:

Did you have to assemble the lights from empty housings?

Pretty much so.  Remove the lense, modify bulb opening to accept projector & install the projector. Then you install assembly on truck to adjust the cutoff.  Remove assembly to glue lens back on.  Do the final instal. And then the wiring 

 

Would I do it again, he'll yeah.  They are that much better

 

L8tr

D

[dripley]

7 minutes ago, SilverMoose said:

Pretty much so.  Remove the lense, modify bulb opening to accept projector & install the projector. Then you install assembly on truck to adjust the cutoff.  Remove assembly to glue lens back on.  Do the final instal. And then the wiring 

 

Would I do it again, he'll yeah.  They are that much better

 

L8tr

D

Thats where they turn me off. I have no desire for that.

[SilverMoose]

2 hours ago, Me78569 said:

If you are buy some prebuilt you will pay $700 or more.  It takes a TON of labor to build them.  ~$400 in parts and 4 hours or so

I made my using amazon.  $100 headlights, $50 projectors & $60 HIDs.

2 minutes ago, dripley said:

Thats where they turn me off. I have no desire for that.

It was a good brain challenging exercise for me.

 

L8tr

d

 

I just did a quick google for projector assemblies for our trucks and most of what I found was a projector for the low and reflector for high.

[Me78569]

you can do it cheaper, but most builders use morimoto stuff because it generally does well.  

 

D2s setup is ~$300 and some $100 housings.   Gotta make sure you compare apples to apples

[Evan]

I spent 50 bucks on silver star ultra  bulbs and have been impressed. I also polished grunch of factor headlight lense. 

I'm sure they dont compare to 300 dollar lights but made a huge improvement on my truck. 

Now I just need to do mod so lows stay on with the highs.

 

https://www.amazon.com/SYLVANIA-SilverStar-Performance-Headlight-Contains/dp/B000M5UD1E

[Dieselfuture]

13 hours ago, Me78569 said:

and 4 hours or so

If you know what you doing, took me like two days 

13 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

Still in all having them prebuilt saves you the labor and frustration of making mistakes and starting over to fix the mistakes. 

Not unless you like challenges and can't get enough of your truck 

11 hours ago, dripley said:

Thats where they turn me off. I have no desire for that.

It's only for the challenged ones 

11 hours ago, Me78569 said:

you can do it cheaper, but most builders use morimoto stuff because it generally does well

What's this deal with Morimoto ballast not lasting, what I heard

[gipperkid]

13 hours ago, SilverMoose said:

I made my using amazon.  $100 headlights, $50 projectors & $60 HIDs.

It was a good brain challenging exercise for me.

 

L8tr

d

 

I just did a quick google for projector assemblies for our trucks and most of what I found was a projector for the low and reflector for high.

I was wondering what you do about high beams. I have a set of single bulb housings, but the mini H1s are low beams only, right? 

[Mopar1973Man]

High and low beam both. It's controlled by a shutter, not a bulb.