- Joined
- Sep 2, 2019
- Posts
- 160
- Reaction score
- 170
- Location
- Arkansas
- Ram Year
- 2021
- Engine
- 5.7 Hemi (no e-Torque)
I got some new LED headlight bulbs for my Dodge Quadcab truck. :good:
Several months ago, I bought some LED headlights for our Scat Pack at the recommendation of someone on one of the Charger forums. They have been outstanding. Even though I installed new headlight housings and Sylvania Silver Star bulbs in my truck several months ago, the headlights still aren't that good and never have been. The 2002 thu 2004 Dodge truck headlights just weren't designed well to begin with and Daimler-Chrysler redesigned them in 2005 to be much larger.
I researched these 9007 LED's extensively and I believe I've found the best bang for my buck. These have a very high rating on Amazon and have been measured to be about 20% brighter than most better LED headlights while only pulling about 50 watts per bulb. They are advertised as having 6000 lumens per bulb. But that's just theoretical based on the wattage. Actual brightness will depend heavily on the bulb's chip, bulb design, reflector design and the technique used to measure brightness. And the "quality" of the light will be just as important as brightness. These are 6000K like most of the factory LED's in new cars. The CSP chips and bulb design are reported to give very sharp and well defined lines. But I will have to judge that for myself.
I ordered some for my truck's fog lights as well. They are less expensive and not as bright but use the same type of chip. They also don't need fans which would be exposed to lots of water and mud inside my trucks bumper. They are 4 stars instead of 5 due to the fact that you have to know to reverse the plugs on some cars.
First, I found that the shields on the bulbs throw a strange shadow with the lights on dim.
Of course, here in Arkansas, we always find a way and it usually involves power tools.
The cut down bulbs turned out pretty nicely. It's amazing what you can do with a Dremel tool.
I didn't have any issues with the fog light bulbs except I had to tighten up the set screws. The o-rings made the bulbs fit very tightly. But that was okay.
Together, these bulbs are MUCH brighter than the old halogen bulbs. For comparison, look at the right fog light with an original bulb still in place.
The pattern looks pretty good after some adjustment. These LED's give a much sharper light even in reflector headlights like mine.
But the proof is in the pudding as they say. Here's a video of me driving at night in a light rain. Before, I always had a hard time seeing in rainy conditions like this, even when the truck was new. :good:
The music for this video is my own arrangement of "All the Wrong Places". It's just a couple of repeating lines I took from a midi and then expanded it with some additional instruments.
*** BEST VIEW IN FULL SCREEN MODE ***
If I had to do this again, I'd get some LED headlight bulbs without the shields. They make plenty of them. You live and you learn. :dance2:
Several months ago, I bought some LED headlights for our Scat Pack at the recommendation of someone on one of the Charger forums. They have been outstanding. Even though I installed new headlight housings and Sylvania Silver Star bulbs in my truck several months ago, the headlights still aren't that good and never have been. The 2002 thu 2004 Dodge truck headlights just weren't designed well to begin with and Daimler-Chrysler redesigned them in 2005 to be much larger.
I researched these 9007 LED's extensively and I believe I've found the best bang for my buck. These have a very high rating on Amazon and have been measured to be about 20% brighter than most better LED headlights while only pulling about 50 watts per bulb. They are advertised as having 6000 lumens per bulb. But that's just theoretical based on the wattage. Actual brightness will depend heavily on the bulb's chip, bulb design, reflector design and the technique used to measure brightness. And the "quality" of the light will be just as important as brightness. These are 6000K like most of the factory LED's in new cars. The CSP chips and bulb design are reported to give very sharp and well defined lines. But I will have to judge that for myself.
I ordered some for my truck's fog lights as well. They are less expensive and not as bright but use the same type of chip. They also don't need fans which would be exposed to lots of water and mud inside my trucks bumper. They are 4 stars instead of 5 due to the fact that you have to know to reverse the plugs on some cars.
First, I found that the shields on the bulbs throw a strange shadow with the lights on dim.
Of course, here in Arkansas, we always find a way and it usually involves power tools.
The cut down bulbs turned out pretty nicely. It's amazing what you can do with a Dremel tool.
I didn't have any issues with the fog light bulbs except I had to tighten up the set screws. The o-rings made the bulbs fit very tightly. But that was okay.
Together, these bulbs are MUCH brighter than the old halogen bulbs. For comparison, look at the right fog light with an original bulb still in place.
The pattern looks pretty good after some adjustment. These LED's give a much sharper light even in reflector headlights like mine.
But the proof is in the pudding as they say. Here's a video of me driving at night in a light rain. Before, I always had a hard time seeing in rainy conditions like this, even when the truck was new. :good:
The music for this video is my own arrangement of "All the Wrong Places". It's just a couple of repeating lines I took from a midi and then expanded it with some additional instruments.
*** BEST VIEW IN FULL SCREEN MODE ***
If I had to do this again, I'd get some LED headlight bulbs without the shields. They make plenty of them. You live and you learn. :dance2:
