New Headlights for Big Blue

[hdpwipmonkey]

I came out of work a couple of days ago and saw my passenger side headlight lens was just hanging by the rubber strip.  I've been wanting to get new headlights but with all the choices I've been a little overwhelmed.  I know I didn't want just cheap Amazon lights (no offense to those that went that route) and I wanted more than just new housings with the same bulbs.  Do I get sport headlights?  Do I pay $$$ and get retros?  Well, with this new development I guess I didn't have time to debate the issue any longer.  My new lights have been ordered and should be here soon.  Stay tuned to find out what I got and how they work... I'm so excited 

[Evan]

Cant wait to see.

 

I guessing sport hausing with dual mementos 

[hdpwipmonkey]

36 minutes ago, Evan said:

Cant wait to see.

 

I guessing sport hausing with dual mementos 

[dripley]

[Doubletrouble]

Waiting, I need new headlights as well. I know what you mean, soooo many choices 

[Mopar1973Man]

Lets say I've got fresh clear lens headlights and SilverStar halogen bulbs and they SUCK. This is my 1996 Dodge. Halogen bulbs are just a mere 860 lumens. 

 

Now as for my 2002 Cummins I've got $1,000 worth of lighting. Those light are so good I can see everything like its daylight. The PIAA LED driving lights are 4,000 lumens. The Morimoto D2S HIDs are a bit less at 3,000 lumens. 

 

There is no other way to get quality lighting. I've tried relay kits, sport headlights, etc. All junk. 

 

 

Edited January 25, 2020 by Mopar1973Man

[hdpwipmonkey]

1 hour ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Lets say I've got fresh clear lens headlights and SilverStar halogen bulbs and they SUCK. This is my 1996 Dodge. Halogen bulbs are just a mere 860 lumens. 

 

Now as for my 2002 Cummins I've got $1,000 worth of lighting. Those light are so good I can see everything like its daylight. The PIAA LED driving lights are 4,000 lumens. The Morimoto D2S HIDs are a bit less at 3,000 lumens. 

 

There is no other way to get quality lighting. I've tried relay kits, sport headlights, etc. All junk. 

 

I guess you get what you pay for...

 

Unfortunately, I didn't pay that much for my lights but I'm sure they'll be a much better headlight than the crappy yellowed ones that are on there now. 

 

New ones are supposed to be here Monday but I don't have a day off till Wednesday. 

 

$1000, YIKES! 

[Doubletrouble]

 $1000 is a lot of money wrapped up in lighting. They look awesome in the pic, I'll give you that. I don't have that kind of coin to spend on it for now. Maybe down the road. They look extremely bright though. Nice work!

[dripley]

I put clear housings and LED's in mine that are working fine. I have the beam adjusted fairly low but they still reachout better than the halogens. The reflector in them is only wrapped around the sdes and back with nothing on the bottom. Thought that would help wit the glare is see from other ones. Seems to work but I want to try some different LED's in them to.

The yeild sign is about 150' out and I have tweaked the aim on them from this picture.

 

[Dieselfuture]

3 hours ago, hdpwipmonkey said:

$1000, YIKES! 

If you do it yourself and only the headlights, you can do it a lot cheaper. I did mine with d2s and it was more time consuming then anything. Now that I have them I wouldn't want anything else. I believe I got around $400 total in them with housings that dripley has. You can find deals when hey go on sale too. Buddy of mine got an older version of hids from retrosource for $150 and retrofitted his jeep, he already had clear lenses. Works just fine.

[hdpwipmonkey]

6 minutes ago, Dieselfuture said:

If you do it yourself and only the headlights, you can do it a lot cheaper. I did mine with d2s and it was more time consuming then anything. Now that I have them I wouldn't want anything else. I believe I got around $400 total in them with housings that dripley has. You can find deals when hey go on sale too. Buddy of mine got an older version of hids from retrosource for $150 and retrofitted his jeep, he already had clear lenses. Works just fine.

I actually had every intention of getting clear housings and building my own retros but with this new development I'm kind of in a bind and need to get something that was an all-in-one kit and/or a ready to install kit.  A lot of decisions went into this choice but time and ease of install were 2 of the biggest now.

[Mopar1973Man]

7 hours ago, hdpwipmonkey said:

$1000, YIKES! 

 

Ordered my headlight full assembled from RetroShop. The upgrades like the D2S lens and rush shipping added to the price. Then the PIAA 530 LED Driving lights where at the time I bought mine was $349 IIRC.

 

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

 

http://www.piaa.com/store/p/187-LP530-3-5-LED-Driving-Light-Kit.aspx

[hdpwipmonkey]

Guess what the FedEx man brought me today? 

Too bad I have to wait till tomorrow to install them... and then you all can see them  

[Doubletrouble]

That's just mean

[LorenS]

Is it tomorrow yet? Looking forward to seeing your setup! I expected my D2S shipment by now, kinda bummed.

[Mopar1973Man]

I'm so glad to be back to driving my Cummins with my Morimoto D2S lens. Comparing now between 1996 with Silverstar Halogens with crystal clear lens and the Morimoto D2S is huge difference. Morimoto D2S cast light much wider and farther down the road. The SilverStar halogens are scattered and very dim even on hi beam. 

 

So funny people will spend thousands for turbos, injectors, injection pumps. But when it comes to lighting. OMG!!! spend some serious money on lighting that just too expensive for lighting. Yup, it's true there is $1,000.00 worth of light on my 2002 Cummins. I'm still learning you can spend the 70 bucks for new headlights and fancy Silverstar bulbs. Lighting still sucks and weak at best. You can spend the money on sport lights with four SilverStar bulbs and relay kits and still suck for lighting. There is nothing in the halogen playground that will even come close to a HID lighting period. My 1996 is going to get a change up... Driving at night with that truck is dangerous.

 

 

[hdpwipmonkey]

Life is cruel.  I think I finally lost the Flu-Roulette game that was going on at my house. 

 

Here are the headlights I got.  Sorry, no install pics yet. 

 

 

I decided to go with the Retroshop kit because I wanted ease of install and by the time you figure in the prices this kit isn't too far off from retro fitting your own or even the sport upgrade.  $575 for the basic kit that I got, no extras and only the H1s, compared to...

 

New housings from Amazon - about $100

HID parts - about $300

Time and effort to retro fit the bulbs/projectors - ???

 

or

 

Sport Upgrade package - $190

harness and relays - $150

 

I don't know, for me, I think its worth it to spend the extra coin to get a complete set that you know is going to work great and without having to put in the extra effort to make something work.

 

When I emailed Retroshop and asked how long to get a set made he said 2 weeks.  I debated just getting some housings and a HID kit and doing my own but decided just to order these and hope my headlight lens lasted.  I ordered the kit on the 21st and 2 days later to my surprise I got an email that my order had shipped .  I emailed Jeremy back and told him thanks for getting them out so fast (I had told him I was kinda in a bind with mine falling apart).

 

Now, I'm going back to bed. 

 

 

[Evan]

Love it

[LorenS]

@hdpwipmonkey thanks for sharing, get well!

[Mopar1973Man]

He's going to love them...