Front Headlights suggestions (Assembly and Bulbs)

[YeaImDylan]

Hey all, so I am in dire need of new assemblies and lights. I'm going for usability and not looks or anything necessarily (If I can get something that works great and adds a cool look as well then sure but not necessary at all!). I have LED's in there now that are not stock and they seem to plug in to the original wiring. Will post a pic later from my phone and see what yall think and if I'll have to rewire things . 

[Andyba20]

I haven’t heard of anyone having much success with the plug and play LED’s, but maybe you have something new I don’t know about. Do a search for “Daniel Stern Ram Headlight harness” I went through 3 aftermarket kits that were all terrible before I tried Stern and it’s been well worth the money. The only suggestion he made that I didn’t follow was he recommends ordering Ram sport factory assemblies through Mopar, but I found factory spec assemblies on eBay that have been perfect. I think maybe for a long time the Chinese eBay assemblies didn’t last and oxidized pretty bad, and that’s why he strongly suggests oem through mopar. The ones I got were 1/5 the factory Mopar price. Easy install and a major major improvement over the factory lights. 

[Dieselfuture]

If you're keeping your truck for a long time then get https://retroshop.us/products/2g-ram-hid-projector-retrofitted-headlights

 retrofits and don't think. Otherwise have fun trying things out. You can retrofit yourself if you got time to save few bucks. 

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwkbuKBhDRARIsAALysV7wHF4bqvFCVNuSohpKEOd7aTcOdfqVP7himtVD-i6xsYepsHZPjxYaAlvMEALw_wcB

D2S is what I'd go with

[Mopar1973Man]

The only thing I'll suggest is stepping up to the Morimoto HID's. I did the D2S lens which cover everything in even light compared ot halogen or LEDs in stock housing that tend to do a poor pattern on the light. Then change the turn signal bulbs over to switch back LEDs and now your designed like modern vehicles with halo lights or daylight driving lights. I will say Morimoto D2S are expensive BUT worth every single penny for sure. 

 

 

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by Mopar1973Man

[Evan]

I run morimoto 2stroke 3.0 led bulbs and absolutely love them.

But due to not getting any clear responses from morimoto on having to run the headlights up side down do to high and low being backwords. Aswell as vaque commicatiin from the retro fit source. 

I spent tons of time researching and found out why morimoto runs backwards on our trucks. I also found gtr has bad *** led bulbs with smart drivers that correct wich way the bulbs work and makes them light correctly.

 

Long story short i love my morimoto led bulbs but will not purchase anything in the future with theyre name on it.

Id push gtr led bulbs for plug and play 

 

https://www.gtrlighting.com/gtr-lighting-ultra-2-led-bulbs-9007

 

Prices are up since i was researching 6 months ago or a year.

 

Why im typing all this, i have no idea. Most would never know or care that the bulbs were running upside down to be correct with the high low swich and still work light years better than factory lights.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Evan

[Mopar1973Man]

Be aware LED lighting will snow over in northern state and not clear. The HID can be snowed over but it takes much colder and heavy snow fall to cover over typically. Like my PIAA LED light will snow over being they do not create much heat at all. 

[Evan]

Correct. Even the morimoto led bulbs with fan blowing heat towards the lenses snowed over on me.

[SilverMoose]

As @Mopar1973Man recommends, projectors and HID bulbs are the way to go.  Great light all the time. One of the best mods I've done to my truck. Wiring can be challenging but once done it's worth it.

 

Later

D

[Silverwolf2691]

I've never understood the snow/ice over argument. I've have halogens ice up, I've seen the LEDs ice up, my d2s projectors also have iced up. The projectors have kept a hole about the size of a quarter at the very center of the beam pattern of the lens from icing over but that was it. The smart heat ones are the only ones that for sure wont ice over https://www.jwspeaker.com/products/#application[]=automotive&product_category[]=headlights.

 

I'm happy with my projectors but I have had issues, mostly self inflicted. High beams for the projectors I'm not wowed by. It's a flood type pattern, so everything really close is lit up well but further away you lose a lot of the light. I wish it was more of a driving/spot type pattern that punches out in the distance. The sport edition headlights worked like that. outer set were low beam, nice and wide pattern, switch to high beam and the outer ones switched to high beam and the inner bulbs came on. The outers maintained the wide pattern but brought it up a bit higher, while the inner bulbs cast a centered spot type light that went farther out. I think when people try to start getting the low beam filament of the high beam bulb on when on low or get all 4 filaments in the housing going at the same time is when the pattern gets messy.. I do know that when i went from factory to a set of tyco or tyc housings on my old 1500 that I used to have the pattern wasn't as tight and the high beam was less spot and more wide, but still had a longer range punch.         

 

Kind of want to try a set with the Morimoto mLED 2.0 projector but those are expensive. It would be about a grand for the new headlights with those.. My dream set would be the mLED 2.0 with the LED high beam projector from Morimoto but I don't think there's physically enough room with the way the headlight is shaped. Would need to redesign the back half of the housing and do custom turn signals..

 

TL;DR is if you are keeping the truck get a set of retroshop.us projectors. If not, like @Dieselfuture said, try some of the more inexpensive options and see if you find something you like for the time being. 

[Andyba20]

My Lexus has HID’s and they are the best lights I’ve ever driven with. That said, in inclement weather I really prefer and still keep warmer (3700k) halogens on both of my trucks. It may be my eyes, it may be where I live (great smoky mountains) but to me when it’s raining, snowing, or foggy and pitch black way back on some road in the middle of the woods, the warmer lights just cut through everything better. I have rigid led cubes on my bumper, and switched them to yellow too. I found I just get more use from them that way. And, the sport lights are much better with the stern harness than they are stock (sport or regular) My cousin has factory sport headlights and we compared, it was a huge difference. I run the basic 9004/9007’s for longevity, I have 55w KC flood lights, 100w KC spotlights, and the rigid led cubes if I ever need more light on some backcountry road. It doesn’t get below 10 degrees here very often, but I can’t imagine snow sticking to those 100w KC’s, you could fry an egg on those things.

[Silverwolf2691]

22 minutes ago, Andyba20 said:

I run the basic 9004/9007’s for longevity  ok 

I have 55w KC flood lights  not bad

100w KC spotlights nice

and the rigid led cubes sweet

 

So NASA or aliens can track you from outer space with all that.. Not bad..

 

Those 100w spot lights have the nickname of retina burners. 

 

26 minutes ago, Andyba20 said:

My Lexus has HID’s and they are the best lights I’ve ever driven with. That said, in inclement weather I really prefer and still keep warmer (3700k) halogens on both of my trucks.

 

I get this because on my way back from a sled pull that got rained out, I hit a heavier spot of rain while headed home. Couldn't see the lines at all. But I was lighting up the bumper of my brothers truck in front of me and I could see some of the light being reflected off the raindrops.. That had me slightly nervous, not being able to tell what lane I was in.

 

32 minutes ago, Andyba20 said:

It may be my eyes, it may be where I live (great smoky mountains) but to me when it’s raining, snowing, or foggy and pitch black way back on some road in the middle of the woods, the warmer lights just cut through everything better. I have rigid led cubes on my bumper, and switched them to yellow too. I found I just get more use from them that way.

 

I wonder what does this, its either color rendering index (CRI), contrast, or something else. I mean they sell the night driving glasses that are yellow, claiming increased contrast.. There also must be some truth due to racing in multiple forms using yellow/amber lights while night racing.. I know hid goes all the way down to 3000k which is yellow, but just up from that is the 4300k which is "oem white." I wonder how that performs inclement weather wise versus the 5000k that i run in my projectors.. 

[Andyba20]

I always thought the guys racing in the desert at night used yellow to mitigate reflection from all the dust, but I guess snow has a similar effect Bc I couldn’t see anything the few times I tried to use my white led’s in heavy snow.  What inspired me to light up my truck like a spaceship was one night I was headed back to east TN from Nashville, snow storm hit as I was coming over the Cumberland Plateau, and you couldn’t see 2 feet in front of you. We don’t get much snow here, so people drive like circus monkeys when we do. Cars were everywhere, stopping in the middle of the road, off in the ditch, pure mania. Couldn’t see semi taillights either except for one rig that had LED taillights. Went straight home and put the brightest biggest LED tail lights I could find on my horse trailer. It was eye opening to see how quickly snow can block out light just a few feet away. 

[Threadzy]

I have the Retroshop 5000k D2’s. Best lighting upgrade I’ve done. Tried different housing with different bulbs. Same crap view. Some people got lucky with the right combo. Love the D2’s. The only thing I had to do was move the wires around in the factory plug. Low was high and high was low. Shines very well in front and to the sides with an excellent cut off. 

Edited September 27, 2021 by Threadzy
5000k

[Silverwolf2691]

There's a reason that blizzards and in some cases, snow squalls, they tell everyone to stay home. Dry powder snow gets lofted easily with wind combined with 1 inch plus an hour snow fall rates can drop your visibility to nothing. Causes a white out condition. And it can happen in an instant.

 

True fogs (wide and short beam, placed low on the vehicle) in amber or yellow are the best against falling/blowing snow. 

 

Since we are getting to that time of the year, one night when its snowing, try driving with just the fog lights. It's impressive how much better the beam cuts under the snow and how little reflected light gets back to you. The projectors are actually pretty good in the snow because of the cutoff. Less light to bounce off/back at you that isn't helping see down the road.    

[Evan]

Ive heard some places officers hand out tickets if your out driving in storms.

 

I to have had factory halogens ice over and been in snow so heavy it doesn't matter how good my lights are. 

 

The halogen on my snowmile is always wearing a thick layer of ice and its on when the machines running.

 

Technology trends led so thats wherevim going 

[Dieselfuture]

8 minutes ago, Evan said:

Ive heard some places officers hand out tickets if your out driving in storms.

Last winter we had a good snow storm, I was driving to work and ran into a bunch of cars driving 30 in 55 as usual I waited for a safe spot to pass and went for it, first car was a state trooper  I kept on going and he never did anything, my luck I guess...

[Silverwolf2691]

Only have issues if the governor shuts the state down/emergency vehicles only. Im in the fire dept so i get half a pass.. also really small town so there a town constable and 3 town cops.. not a lot of presence..

[Evan]

I always get a pass cause im doing snow removal pushing the massive 2" storms we get. Ok ok sometimes we get 3.

 

Ever 5 years or so we get a few ft storms and town goes dark and shuts down. 

 

We're doing walmart this season. Its been about 5 years since we last did We did get a couple foot storms and pushed for days with no sleep. 

Im getting older now and the excitement of the big push is gone. We have 5 machines pushing but only 2 go around the clock scott and i.

It is fun but id just sume stay pushing the brown stuff

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by Evan

[Dieselfuture]

6 hours ago, Evan said:

It is fun but id just sume stay pushing the brown stuff

I hope you're talking about going four wheeling and not sewer pipes 

[Silverwolf2691]

I think he means dirt.. like a payloader or bulldozer.. I hope..

 

In my life I've only had 2 or 3 storms that stand out. All of them were at or over 24 inches.. Everything else has been in the dusting to just under a foot. the 14-18 inch stuff sucks but still happens at least once a year. We had 2 of those 24" plus storms in one year so roads got really narrow and became hope and pray when pulling into traffic..