Alpharex NOVA headlights installed and review.

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AE5548

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I finally grew tired of the terrible visibility the factory headlights offered so it was time to upgrade. I looked into HID or LED bulbs in the stock housings (I had Quad headlights, not projectors). Using the cheap Ebay stuff was out of the question for reliability reasons. And using good quality stuff would cost $400-$500 and still potentially blind other motorists which i wasn't happy about. So then i looked into buying projector housings as well as HID's and LED's and now i was pushing $1,000 to do it with good quality stuff plus turn signal upgrades. So at that point i started looking at dedicated replacements. I went right to Morimoto since they are so highly regarded but the amount of complaints about their XB Ram replacements was immediately troubling. Lots of melted housings, broken alignment linkages, "they're not very bright" complaints and customer service complaints. Then i saw side by side comparisons of them next to the Alpharex Nova units including drone footage on one YouTube review and i was sold with these. It's not like "these are a little brighter" then the Morimotos. They are easily twice as bright. And they were cheaper too. I paid $1,085 shipped. I couldn't even find Morimotos for less than $1,300.

The install was simple. No wires to cut. The stock headlight plug connects to the wire harness on the new headlights. The turn signal bulb socket is installed into the new housing the same way as stock but you snap a wire connector into the socket. The fit into the socket was snug, so i chose to file down the turn signal bulb connector on the new lights to make it easier. Took about 5 minutes.

The only "wiring" you need to do is the DRL kit. But it's simple. It comes with a harness that plugs into each new headlight housing and then into a control box. You then have three wires to hook up. + on the battery, - on the battery (or chassis) and single wire you connect to a source that comes on with the ignition. I used fuse F66 with a fuse tap.

That's it. I got no error codes for the headlights. But i am getting a "Front parking lamp out" message at startup. Despite changing the Parking lights and Front turn signals to LED on the AlfaOBD app the message continues. Not sure why but ill deal with that soon.

The headlights are SUPER bright. So are the DRL's. In fact the DRL's light up my entire driveway. The DRL's are top and bottom and the bottom switches to yellow sequential turn signals. And when you start the truck, the sequential "dance" is pretty cool.

They fit great, looks great and were simple to install. My only complaints were the DRL connections should have been weatherpak style, not bullet connectors. And the install video on their website should go into detail on aiming them. You use a #2 Phillips but that's not obvious by looking at them.

Pics to follow. Definitely check out JW Montoya's drone footage of them.
 

superjoe83

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Looks good. So it seems like they have updated these lights to have the dual drl's and do they have sequential turns?

Edit: I must have missed it on your post, looks like they do
 

rwhjr

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Get a vid showing startup and turn signals. They do some pretty cool stuff don’t they?
 
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AE5548

AE5548

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Get a vid showing startup and turn signals. They do some pretty cool stuff don’t they?

I'll make one and post it.
 
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In looking at these on the Alpharex Site, I see that the directional lights are not sequential.
Is this correct?

If so, that is a bit disappointing.

RodeoGeorge
 
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AE5548

AE5548

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In looking at these on the Alpharex Site, I see that the directional lights are not sequential.
Is this correct?

If so, that is a bit disappointing.

RodeoGeorge

They are sequential for sure. Not sure why the site doesn't mention it. Maybe you were looking at the Pro version?
 

superjoe83

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How is the high beam performance? I drive a lot of back roads with a lot of deer and good highs are a must have
 
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AE5548

AE5548

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How is the high beam performance? I drive a lot of back roads with a lot of deer and good highs are a must have

It’s great. I’ll take some pics tonight on a super dark road here.
 

JB1

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Very nice review, I've been thinking of getting a set but not sure which design
 
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Ram-in-PA

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Hmm, nice upgrade!

Have you noticed any increase in on-coming cars flashing high-beams at you? Wondering how bright these are to head-on traffic? And, are these adjustable, can be aimed easily?

TIA
 
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AE5548

AE5548

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Hmm, nice upgrade!

Have you noticed any increase in on-coming cars flashing high-beams at you? Wondering how bright these are to head-on traffic? And, are these adjustable, can be aimed easily?

TIA

Nope, none. To make sure of it i parked my truck 25' (measured) and marked arrows with chalk where the tires would be 25' from my garage door the night before and marked with chalk the cutoff line on my garage door of the stock headlights. Then when i installed the Nova's i parked my truck in the same chalk marks and aimed the Nova's to the same line on my garage door. Then i had a friend make some loops around town coming at me to make sure their was no issues. None. Drove to work the other night too 70 miles and never got flashed. So it's all good for sure.

They are adjustable just like the stock headlights. Just a long #2 screwdriver through the factory hole in the fender and you can raise and lower them. It's a super fine adjustment so it takes a few turns with the screwdriver to even see them move.
 
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AE5548

AE5548

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Very nice review, I've been thinking of getting a set but not sure which design

For the money these are tough to beat. I looked at the Pro model but i decided to spend a little more now and then not be left saying "i wish they were a little brighter"
 

canadiankodiak700

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Personally both the prebuilt morimoto and the novas have horrible output for a hid setup.
I will stick with spending 1/4 of that price ahead do a set of H1 8.0, or d2s 5.0 retro fitted into my quads. Much wider output, and crisper cutoff, not to mention way more output.
My cheap argon bin H1 I installed in my old f150 had better output than these $1000 plus prebuilt.

But I do like the sequential signals, that's a nice feature.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 

rwhjr

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Personally both the prebuilt morimoto and the novas have horrible output for a hid setup.
I will stick with spending 1/4 of that price ahead do a set of H1 8.0, or d2s 5.0 retro fitted into my quads. Much wider output, and crisper cutoff, not to mention way more output.
My cheap argon bin H1 I installed in my old f150 had better output than these $1000 plus prebuilt.

But I do like the sequential signals, that's a nice feature.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
I hear too many people talking about burned our bulbs and ballasts.

no thanks. I’ll take the led reliability and from the looks they put out more than enough light. Don’t need more than what I see in this thread. Plus quads with projectors just don’t look right to me for some reason.
 
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AE5548

AE5548

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Personally both the prebuilt morimoto and the novas have horrible output for a hid setup.
I will stick with spending 1/4 of that price ahead do a set of H1 8.0, or d2s 5.0 retro fitted into my quads. Much wider output, and crisper cutoff, not to mention way more output.
My cheap argon bin H1 I installed in my old f150 had better output than these $1000 plus prebuilt.

But I do like the sequential signals, that's a nice feature.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Huh?? The Morimotos and Alpharex Nova's are not HID, they're LED.
 
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AE5548

AE5548

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I hear too many people talking about burned our bulbs and ballasts.

no thanks. I’ll take the led reliability and from the looks they put out more than enough light. Don’t need more than what I see in this thread. Plus quads with projectors just don’t look right to me for some reason.

I agree with you 100%. That's why i didn't want to go with HID. Unless you buy the premium stuff the cheaper stuff doesn't last. I tried HID's awhile back in my fogs on 11' Ram and the fit was awful and they fogged up. And not a fan of blinding other drivers. Halogen housings are not meant for HID bulbs.
 

MudderRam

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I finally grew tired of the terrible visibility the factory headlights offered so it was time to upgrade. I looked into HID or LED bulbs in the stock housings (I had Quad headlights, not projectors). Using the cheap Ebay stuff was out of the question for reliability reasons. And using good quality stuff would cost $400-$500 and still potentially blind other motorists which i wasn't happy about. So then i looked into buying projector housings as well as HID's and LED's and now i was pushing $1,000 to do it with good quality stuff plus turn signal upgrades. So at that point i started looking at dedicated replacements. I went right to Morimoto since they are so highly regarded but the amount of complaints about their XB Ram replacements was immediately troubling. Lots of melted housings, broken alignment linkages, "they're not very bright" complaints and customer service complaints. Then i saw side by side comparisons of them next to the Alpharex Nova units including drone footage on one YouTube review and i was sold with these. It's not like "these are a little brighter" then the Morimotos. They are easily twice as bright. And they were cheaper too. I paid $1,085 shipped. I couldn't even find Morimotos for less than $1,300.

The install was simple. No wires to cut. The stock headlight plug connects to the wire harness on the new headlights. The turn signal bulb socket is installed into the new housing the same way as stock but you snap a wire connector into the socket. The fit into the socket was snug, so i chose to file down the turn signal bulb connector on the new lights to make it easier. Took about 5 minutes.

The only "wiring" you need to do is the DRL kit. But it's simple. It comes with a harness that plugs into each new headlight housing and then into a control box. You then have three wires to hook up. + on the battery, - on the battery (or chassis) and single wire you connect to a source that comes on with the ignition. I used fuse F66 with a fuse tap.

That's it. I got no error codes for the headlights. But i am getting a "Front parking lamp out" message at startup. Despite changing the Parking lights and Front turn signals to LED on the AlfaOBD app the message continues. Not sure why but ill deal with that soon.

The headlights are SUPER bright. So are the DRL's. In fact the DRL's light up my entire driveway. The DRL's are top and bottom and the bottom switches to yellow sequential turn signals. And when you start the truck, the sequential "dance" is pretty cool.

They fit great, looks great and were simple to install. My only complaints were the DRL connections should have been weatherpak style, not bullet connectors. And the install video on their website should go into detail on aiming them. You use a #2 Phillips but that's not obvious by looking at them.

Pics to follow. Definitely check out JW Montoya's drone footage of them.

How did you get them at that price? On their site the less expensive Nova is $1,150. Is there a promo code? I've been waiting to see if they will come out with a 4th of July discount to get the Pro Series 2500 Gen 5 style.
 

superjoe83

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Do you think the foreground light is too much on these? That is the only thing I would be worried about, too much foreground light will hurt your distance vision since it constricts your pupils
 
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