Halogen lights. Are they really that bad??

[RamdomOverlander]

I know it's all about LED in this day and age. And that was going to be one of my first mods on my 2022 Bighorn. But the halogen lights are actually growing on me. I think it gives the truck a little more of an edgy look and it separates it from most of the trucks out there.

 

[Badger 13]

If your happy with the light output from the halogen's, stay with them. As for appearance the only time one would notice LED lights is when they are turned on. In most cases people change to LED or HID to see better, not of how the vehicle looks. But, the best part is, it is your truck, so you can do whatever you want with it.

 

[A_mod_too_far]

Phillips night guide platinum halogens easily perform as good as mid grade led lights even though on paper the leds are supposedly brighter. You gotta get to the 25k lumen range on leds to actually notice upgraded light output in my opinion.

 

[bcbouy]

us older guys need all the help we can get when driving at night.don't know where you live but where i am it gets seriously dark.driving with the high beams on dark.my last truck had Hella wide beam driving lights to back up the headlights.without super bright headlights our chances of exploding a deer are better than good.

 

[RamdomOverlander]

Thanks for pointing that out, didn't really think of it in that regard. I live in SoCal so it's pretty bright out here the majority of the time. And yet people are driving with daytime running lights. And some of those LEDs are dang near blinding

 

[crazykid1994]

The problem with a lot of led headlights are the color. Above 5k the light starts turning blueish. Our eyes are not accustomed to blue light. 3500 to 5000 color range are optimal for better visibility. Even the ones I have are 6k which are ice white which has a hint of blue to it. I would buy a 5k led if I could find one. 5k is pure white. Hid can be had in 5k which is perfect. The problem is most people think color equals brightness which is incorrect. If I had projector headlights I would run hid or a custom led projector. My fog lights are 3k yellow led fog lights and are really good for close up lighting in heavy rain or fog.

 

[JJEH]

Halogen lights. Are they really that bad??

No, they are not.

 

[Docwagon1776]

As you get older, they get more important. I never cared for the halogens in my 2012, but I upgraded the bulbs and re-aimed them a bit higher and they were tolerable. The HIDs in my Camaro are so much better at night, and the "bending beam" lights in my Power Wagon are phenomenal. They were honestly the only reason I went for the top trim package. I don't care about leather seats, etc, but I want to see as best I can.

 

[turkeybird56]

As you get older, they get more important. I never cared for the halogens in my 2012, but I upgraded the bulbs and re-aimed them a bit higher and they were tolerable. The HIDs in my Camaro are so much better at night, and the "bending beam" lights in my Power Wagon are phenomenal. They were honestly the only reason I went for the top trim package. I don't care about leather seats, etc, but I want to see as best I can.

DITTO, I will not buy any vehicle now w/o LED's. The only thing I own that does not have LED's is my 2006 Honda Wing, but it does have dual driving lights, BUT I do not hardly ever ride at night anymore. Just a lot harder to see these days. Around here, U drive rural, U gotta watch fer Cows, Goats, DEER, striped cats, armadillos, etc etc, so anything that helps me see better is the way to go for me. All IMHO.....

 

[GRKN]

That's a question to ask yourself, OP. If you can see fine at night and you're comfortable with them, leave them, otherwise good LEDs are huge improvements. But remember headlights are about function over form

 

[JC4041]

The biggest complaint about the early 4th gens was the light output, especially the dauls. I put some base model AlphaRex housings in my '09 Get me to work truck, I was running 10 year old SilverStar Ultras. While the bulbs still worked, I'm not sure if was the their age or the 11 year old housings that were starting to crust over.....but it was time for new all around lol. I'm quiet happy with the halogen bulbs that came in them, especially for being cheap base models.





While they (new lights) are a whole world of difference between my old ones....they aren't to bad compared to my '21 2500 LEDs.

 

[Blue Truck]

In a word, no.

While LED lights look bright, they seem to wash out details for me, even when I had perfect vision. The color temperature in Kelvin is the cause, and I suspect that some of us are more sensitive to this. Aging makes it worse for most people.

Unfortunately, people seem to equate that bluish/whitish (higher Kelvin color temperature) with "better" ability to see when it's actually the more yellowish or "warmer" lower Kelvin temperature lighting that is more effective. I think you can get aftermarket bulbs with lower Kelvin temperatures, but you definitely have to seek them out specifically.

A lot of people just want their lights to look bright and blue and don't care about their own ability to see, let alone how annoying their retina-searing, Wal Mart cheapie, 6K, poorly aimed on leveled truck LED headlamps are for others on the road. Yeah, I'm talking to you I-5 brodozer dude.

 

[A_mod_too_far]

Phillip's night guide platinum halogens in projector headlights, is the first, and axito y13 is the second. The difference is very minimal outside the color pattern and beam pattern. The leds are slightly brighter

 

[znrh]

I changed out my 2021 Classics Tradesman halogens for LED's and that was a huge improvement in the the light output plus they look great head on and when I traded the 2021 for a new 22 Bighorn thats the first mods I did as well but they were too hard for me to get out and I had to hire someone to swap them. Rally great for visibility and again they look way better than the factory yellowish lights. After that it was the wheel well liners then the Yitamotor 6" step boards

 

[huntergreen]

DITTO, I will not buy any vehicle now w/o LED's. The only thing I own that does not have LED's is my 2006 Honda Wing, but it does have dual driving lights, BUT I do not hardly ever ride at night anymore. Just a lot harder to see these days. Around here, U drive rural, U gotta watch fer Cows, Goats, DEER, striped cats, armadillos, etc etc, so anything that helps me see better is the way to go for me. All IMHO.....

Are armadillos that tough on the truck ?

 

[huntergreen]

OP, if the lights you have work for you, leave them. I have just been too lazy to add brighter sux driving lights.

 

[turkeybird56]

Are armadillos that tough on the truck ?

Oh yeah, break off the front lower dam, screw up tires and alignment. Sometimes I chase them with Motorcycle, LOL.

 

[huntergreen]

Oh yeah, break off the front lower dam, screw up tires and alignment. Sometimes I chase them with Motorcycle, LOL.

Did not know that. Seen them in Florida. Just missed one. Had no idea it would cause that much damage.

 

[LoneStarSilver]

I spend 75% of my driving time in the dark and on rural roads and always watching for hogs & deer. I never realized the difference between halogen and LED's until I was sitting next to a similar 2018 Ram, at night, and saw the difference in the dull yellowish lighting of mine next to his crisp white lighting, so I followed him into a resturaunt parking lot and asked which LED's he was using. I found them online and purchased low beam high beam and fogs all in LED and I will never go back to halogen.

 

[turkeybird56]

Did not know that. Seen them in Florida. Just missed one. Had no idea it would cause that much damage.

Depends how U "hit" them. That lower front Dam on the RAMS is low enuf to get hit by a big armydillo, LOL.