Best, cheapest LED headlight on Amazon WITHOUT flicker

[pacofortacos]

High quality halogens. Blasting a bunch of uncontrolled glare in the near field may seem "brighter" but all that's going to do at driving speeds is blind you to distant objects and blind oncoming traffic.

The best place for retrofit LED headlights is up the ass of whoever thinks they are a good idea.

I agree 1000%, even if aimed (which in all honesty is very few) the light given off from LED's is just hard on oncoming drivers eyes - whether aimed correctly or not.

 

[kurek]

I worry less about someone, like me, that has LEDs, than the kid next to me with their face in their phone while driving.

It's not like a football game where even if both teams play badly one still wins the game by being slightly less bad.

 

[Graygoose]

It's not like a football game where even if both teams play badly one still wins the game by being slightly less bad.

I understand your stance, but I have mine. All good.

 

[canadiankodiak700]

You're mistaking candela for lux.

Lux is what you want from a forward lamp not candela.

Since that data isn't published by OEM's ( they can tell you what the emitter produces but not what the reflector does with it) we can compare apples-apples with whole assemblies sold by the aftermarket. For example KC is kind enough to publish lux information on their lamps... A LED powered Flex for example offers 500lux at 10 meters for the spot pattern and 350lux at 10 meters for the spread pattern. Meanwhile a halogen kc daylighter measured and quoted by the same company delivers 2796lux at 10 meters for the spot version and 1962lux for the spread pattern version. Also costs half as much.

Calling halogen dangerous is just ridiculous hyperbole.

LED has good applications and when engineered as a whole assembly can be good but in retrofit they are all just a fashion fad and produce lower quality light that seems bright to people who think headlights are best admired on instagram and don't seem to care that lux, lumens and candela are not interchangeable properties. But nobody is ever the bad guy in their own story so I'm totally sure you're the one exception who somehow figured out non-garbage retrofit LEDs :

Listen genius, before you go calling out everyone on their misuse of terms (lux, lumen, etc) take a look in the mirror.
Simply replacing stock halogen with led or HIDs is not a retro fit as you call it buddy. A retrofit is the disassembly of the headlight assembly and installing a projector into a reflector housing.
It's not just for looks or likes on fb or Instagram. That is done for a true performance gain. A true retrofit will be the far superior light here with no glare.

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[JoeCo]

Personally I would say you are in the minority as far as aiming after installation.I believe that most just slam them in and say **** everyone else.I drive about 20 miles to work and I pass a few blinding vehicles a day and if you look they're usually some old lump that has been retro-fitted.Saying that though I've passed some factory units that look like they should be aimed different.

I'll 100% agree that if they are not aimed correctly then it is a problem, but that's also a problem with halogens, so blaming the bulb doesn't make sense to me. Halogens can be blinding and glaring too if not correctly aimed and I see that once in a while too. In terms of how many we see that aren't properly aimed will vary of course, around my area I see equal amounts of poorly aimed lights as I do people driving around with their high beams on. However, I do still see a good amount of properly aimed non halogen setups and they do not have blinding or glaring qualities.

 

[Graygoose]

I'll 100% agree that if they are not aimed correctly then it is a problem, but that's also a problem with halogens, so blaming the bulb doesn't make sense to me. Halogens can be blinding and glaring too if not correctly aimed and I see that once in a while too. In terms of how many we see that aren't properly aimed will vary of course, around my area I see equal amounts of poorly aimed lights as I do people driving around with their high beams on. However, I do still see a good amount of properly aimed non halogen setups and they do not have blinding or glaring qualities.

I RARELY get flashed, I have them down enough not to blind, yet I see way better than halogens.

 

[blackbeautyhemi]

I thought this was a headlight thread and not a democratic debate on cnn thread? If you don’t like LEDs then don’t click on a link asking for people’s opinions who like LEDs. Not what this forum is for.

 

[JoeCo]

I RARELY get flashed, I have them down enough not to blind, yet I see way better than halogens.

Exactly, to me the halogens are dangerous due to their lack of performance (can't see ****!) so I'm definitely not going to keep them in and drive near blind. After my last LED install I took a quick 5 minute test drive out of the neighborhood and back and got flashed by someone. Got back home and aimed them down a little more and haven't been flashed again since (3 months now) so I know it's not a problem.

I do feel bad for the people that feel they are blinding even if aimed properly, because everyone else is going the opposite direction and most cars are coming with non halogen setups. Won't be long til just about every car you see on the road has LED or HID, I'm just glad next time I buy a ram it will already have adequate lighting, from what I hear about the 5th gens.

As for those saying LED or HID isn't a significant improvement over the awful stock candle halogens, I guess we just see things differently. It's night and day difference to me and I don't understand how anyone can't see the enormous improvement. Was just talking to a buddy of mine about his 2019 classic he just bought, and he was complaining about the dismal low and high beams in them. I offered to take him out for a ride in mine at night to show him the difference, now I'm even more interested to see what he says when we do.

 

[pacofortacos]

Your buddy could just upgrade the halogen bulbs to a different halogen and still have the nice warm light that gives good contrast and depth of field vs. the bright LED white that washes everything out and is hard on the eyes.
There is a reason why almost all indoor LED bulbs now have a soft white version vs. the harsh LED white light that they started with.

Have him try H9 (lows) and 9011 (highs) in his classic and he will more than pleased with the light output.

I do agree the OEM light output on the quads is dangerous, but with the above halogen bulbs is how they should have come from the factory.

 

[kurek]

I thought this was a headlight thread and not a democratic debate on cnn thread? If you don’t like LEDs then don’t click on a link asking for people’s opinions who like LEDs. Not what this forum is for.

The OP stated that his purpose for looking for improved lighting is to improve safety when driving in rural areas. If he gets some garbage glare cannons and lights up the first 20 feet in front of his truck like daylight then his pupils are going to constrict light daylight and then he won't see deer in the road 1000 feet ahead no matter how bright the headlights are.

That's why pattern control matters and retrofit LED bulbs just do not have it in reflectors built around filaments. Not an opinion.

 

[blackbeautyhemi]

The OP stated that his purpose for looking for improved lighting is to improve safety when driving in rural areas. If he gets some garbage glare cannons and lights up the first 20 feet in front of his truck like daylight then his pupils are going to constrict light daylight and then he won't see deer in the road 1000 feet ahead no matter how bright the headlights are.

That's why pattern control matters and retrofit LED bulbs just do not have it in reflectors built around filaments. Not an opinion.

That’s why he asked for the best, cheapest LED not the cheapest, garbage glare cannon LEDs.


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[pacofortacos]

I personally think in the OP's situation that adding good auxiliary lights would be a better option - opens up a whole world of options.

 

[Graygoose]

I personally think in the OP's situation that adding good auxiliary lights would be a better option - opens up a whole world of options.

Could add LED pods that come on with the highs.

 

[JoeCo]

Your buddy could just upgrade the halogen bulbs to a different halogen and still have the nice warm light that gives good contrast and depth of field vs. the bright LED white that washes everything out and is hard on the eyes.
There is a reason why almost all indoor LED bulbs now have a soft white version vs. the harsh LED white light that they started with.

Have him try H9 (lows) and 9011 (highs) in his classic and he will more than pleased with the light output.

I do agree the OEM light output on the quads is dangerous, but with the above halogen bulbs is how they should have come from the factory.

Couldn't hurt to try those as I'm sure it's a cheap upgrade to try.. I'd like to see them in real life, never know what to believe when people post pictures online but sounds better than stock. In regards to the LEDs or HIDs washing things out and being hard on the eyes, again, I'd just have to say we see things differently. The only thing my LEDs do is make me see things better, otherwise I wouldn't repeatedly do the same mod each truck I get, and I'm confident the auto industry in general is shifting to them for good reason.

I actually have some led shops lights in my basement as well, with a bright 6000k over my desk and a much softer 3000k over my pool table. Obviously each one is serving a different purpose but I love the bright 6000k over my desk, doesn't bother my eyes at all but perhaps it would be bothersome to others.

Not only the quad, but also the stock projectors are awful. I've had them both over 3 different rams and promptly changed them all so I could see. For our area, back roads were especially sketchy to drive down. There are so many deer in our area, the last thing you want is to see less. The HIDs and LEDs I've had have thrown so much more usable light, I couldn't imagine not having them as an option.

Really miss having a light bar for that same reason, for those back roads where it would throw so much extra light out to the side (flood lights). I agree the OP might be better off just going that route (some kind of aux light) and using them when needed.

 

[pacofortacos]

Yeah, everyone's eyes are a bit different.
That bright white kills me, just gives me incredible eye strain.
I can actually see quite well on a fairly dark night, as well as see well in bright sunlight, but struggle at dusk.

I actually have a lamp on my desk with an old soft white incandescent bulb in it as it allows me to see the best - other than bright sunlight.

I did the H9/9011 upgrade, it is a world of difference without changing the color. The H9's are dirt cheap too and really transform the low beams to a fully usable light - if they came stock with those bulbs in them you would have a lot fewer people wanting to use other bulbs (other than for color).

It really is hard to beat aux lighting though for those back roads without traffic, you can get some really functional patterns to be able to see the beasts roaming beside the road.

Even the stock LED/HID is hard on my eyes at night on many makes/models. So it might be the color temperature more so than the brightness.

 

[pacofortacos]

It's funny on the interstate, when someone comes up from behind with those crazy bright white lights - and for some odd reason they like to come flying up and then just sit on my rear bumper for extended periods of time - I adjust my mirrors on the truck to send their light back to them.
It must work because right after adjusting the mirrors they accelerate fairly quickly to get by. LOL

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

I purchased these on Amazon

I have not experienced flicker, but they were somewhat difficult to adjust to get to the 3/9 position. I have quad reflectors.

My ram is an 11.

These are low beams.

SEALIGHT Scoparc S1 H11/H8/H9 LED... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079KB7QX3?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[89grand]

My stock lights seem to work just fine. I haven't felt that I couldn't see well enough without an "upgrade". I'm pretty sure my Express has the lowest level headlights available.

I see tons of ***** with blinding after market head lights, and I hate those people. Can you go brighter while doing so correctly. Of course, but many morons don't even bother to worry about what is done "correctly".

 

[JoeCo]

Yeah, everyone's eyes are a bit different.
That bright white kills me, just gives me incredible eye strain.
I can actually see quite well on a fairly dark night, as well as see well in bright sunlight, but struggle at dusk.

I actually have a lamp on my desk with an old soft white incandescent bulb in it as it allows me to see the best - other than bright sunlight.

I did the H9/9011 upgrade, it is a world of difference without changing the color. The H9's are dirt cheap too and really transform the low beams to a fully usable light - if they came stock with those bulbs in them you would have a lot fewer people wanting to use other bulbs (other than for color).

It really is hard to beat aux lighting though for those back roads without traffic, you can get some really functional patterns to be able to see the beasts roaming beside the road.

Even the stock LED/HID is hard on my eyes at night on many makes/models. So it might be the color temperature more so than the brightness.

Definitely some fair points, I guess for my friends potential conversion, I will have to ask him what kind of light his eyes prefer. Although my gf doesn't like my bright desk light but loves the LEDs (also 6000k) that we put in her car, so who knows.

I agree that they certainly could have gone with a better halogen bulb, cause I've had halogen headlights that were better than what comes in the rams.

And you may just be right about the color temperature potentially being the issue, some people's eyes seem to be really bothered by them where others aren't at all.

I see tons of ***** with blinding after market head lights, and I hate those people. Can you go brighter while doing so correctly. Of course, but many morons don't even bother to worry about what is done "correctly".

Can't disagree with that, any style headlight that isn't aimed correctly can be a nuisance, at the very least. How about this for laziness, the people that have a low beam out so they "make up" for it by driving around with one low beam and both high beams on for months and months. That's one of my favorites.