Newbie Has a Headlight Question

[John Boyd]

So I just put a downpayment on a very nice 2017 Ram Limited that should be arriving in 7-10 days. I am assuming the projector bulbs that come stock are halogens, correct?

I really like the new LED headlights I see in the newer Rams, and since I live quite remotely, having great lighting in front of me is critical.

I do NOT want to blink oncoming traffic, so I'm looking for the best bang for my buck without having to have PhD in electronics.

I currently drive a 2002 Avalanche (that I'm selling when my truck arrives from Vroom) that has LED fog lights and switch back turn signals but I can not run LEDs or HIDs in the front.

What brands and type of bulb have people had luck with? If you have made the switch, knowing what you know now, would you still do it or consider something different???

I thank you in advance for your patience with this Ram newbie and if you have pics or videos to recommend, that's great! I'm not at a total loss when it comes to upgrades (I upgraded my 2007 BMW to full HIDs years ago and even made a video!)

 

[OnSale]

So I just put a downpayment on a very nice 2017 Ram Limited that should be arriving in 7-10 days. I am assuming the projector bulbs that come stock are halogens, correct?

I really like the new LED headlights I see in the newer Rams, and since I live quite remotely, having great lighting in front of me is critical.

I do NOT want to blink oncoming traffic, so I'm looking for the best bang for my buck without having to have PhD in electronics.

I currently drive a 2002 Avalanche (that I'm selling when my truck arrives from Vroom) that has LED fog lights and switch back turn signals but I can not run LEDs or HIDs in the front.

What brands and type of bulb have people had luck with? If you have made the switch, knowing what you know now, would you still do it or consider something different???

I thank you in advance for your patience with this Ram newbie and if you have pics or videos to recommend, that's great! I'm not at a total loss when it comes to upgrades (I upgraded my 2007 BMW to full HIDs years ago and even made a video!)

Either put a real HID kit into the stock projectors (Morimoto or Hylux are nice ballasts too).

Or retrofit your stock projectors with some nice LED projectors like the Morimoto MLED 2.0 or a pair of NHK LED Projectors.

Or you can buy a beer set of headlights with LED projectors, AlphaRex has some really nice ones and Morimoto has a very expensive set but a lot of people regret buying the Morimotos as they are riddled with issues but the AlphaRex have great reviews, I myself have a set.

There’s a few other options but those are your 3 best bets.

Please don’t install LED bulbs into your stock projectors. They are not designed for LED bulbs and you will blind oncoming traffic, aswell as actually decrease your light output.


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[MADDOG]

^^^This^^^

An HID upgrade kit doesn't require higher education to install. Just don't go cheap on the kit.

Look for "CAN bus" compliant kits. I've used Morimoto kits on three Ram pickups with no issues. There are other brands available that also work well.

 

[mjscharlotte]

Congrats on the purchase you will love it. I bought a 2017 Ram 1500 Limited a couple of months ago and love it. You're correct - you will have halogen projectors. I had my truck for about 3 weeks and decided I needed brighter headlights and I looked at Morimoto and Alpharex but I couldn't justify spending $1400 for the headlights and another $300 for the fog lights. I bought Auxito LED bulbs from Amazon and LOVE them. They are soooo much brighter than factory and cost me less than $300 for everything. It took about 30 minutes to install them and I have had not one issue with them - flickering, dashboard lights etc..

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WCSJQYC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (Headlights)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WCS6GN1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (Fog lights)

 

[John Boyd]

Thank you for your replies. I see the LED headlights keep all the "guts" inside the lighting housing (no need to cut through the backer). Is it the same with the HIDs? In my old Z4, I had to cut a hole for the wiring harnesses to come out. Thanks for the suggestions though!

Would I just be better off installing some new headlight housings with the upgraded bulbs?

 

[Badger 13]

There is a lot of great information on this site about lighting, and you could spend a day reading about different options. I think with projector, HID in the low beam is better, LED would be fine in the high beams and fogs. Check out Headlight Revolution's web site which has great informational and install video's. Congrats on the new Ram.

 

[John Boyd]

Thanks everyone. I guess I have a few days to make a decision as my car delivery date with Vroom is 10/11/2020!

 

[Cwils80]

Morimoto 2 stroke 2.0 leds are what I have, and they are brighter than stock brights..

 

[John Boyd]

So after being referred to headlight revolution, I was shocked to be told by them that there are NO (none, zero, zilch) street legal LED bulbs for my 2017 Ram Limited with projector headlights that originally came with halogen bulbs. That the only way to put LEDs in my new truck is to buy a complete headlight unit (around $1300+).

They even showed me the regulation. I find it hard to believe that I can't put LEDs in my projectors. Anyone shed any light on this (yes, bad pun intended).

 

[superjoe83]

So after being referred to headlight revolution, I was shocked to be told by them that there are NO (none, zero, zilch) street legal LED bulbs for my 2017 Ram Limited with projector headlights that originally came with halogen bulbs. That the only way to put LEDs in my new truck is to buy a complete headlight unit (around $1300+).

They even showed me the regulation. I find it hard to believe that I can't put LEDs in my projectors. Anyone shed any light on this (yes, bad pun intended).

Technically it is not legal since the headlight was tested and certified using the original bulb type, once you put in any other type of bulb it goes out of compliance.

 

[Oilfieldman]

I have a 2018 2500 with quad headlights that were terrible from factory. I bought led bulbs from headlightexperts.com and I couldn’t be happier! The bulbs are designed to be used with the reflector headlights so they keep the shape of the factory beam but WAYYY brighter. They have kits for your projector headlights also. I just couldn’t get myself to spend over a grand on headlights so I put $200 into the bulbs. I live in the country so I had to have better headlights.

 

[John Boyd]

So for all of you experienced RAM 1500 owners, what did you put in your headlights? Now I'm leaning towards the Sylvania Silverstar Ultras.

 

[John Boyd]

Well, there seems to be the general idea that, "Yes, HIDs and LEDs are illegal for use in onroad headlight conversions" with the added caveat that "but it's such a small thing that it's not generally enforced."

So with that said, based on my research, I am looking at the Morimoto 9005 2Stroke 2.0 for low beams, and 9006 high beams and LEDs. I know they are expensive, but from my perusals on the Internet, they offer the best beam pattern and longest life and least complex switch over.

Unless someone has had better experience? Thanks again for all the advice.

 

[superjoe83]

Well, there seems to be the general idea that, "Yes, HIDs and LEDs are illegal for use in onroad headlight conversions" with the added caveat that "but it's such a small thing that it's not generally enforced."

So with that said, based on my research, I am looking at the Morimoto 9005 2Stroke 2.0 for low beams, and 9006 high beams and LEDs. I know they are expensive, but from my perusals on the Internet, they offer the best beam pattern and longest life and least complex switch over.

Unless someone has had better experience? Thanks again for all the advice.

Have you looked at the gtr ultra 2? Seems like it does pretty well with the ram projectors, ive heard mixed reviews of the 2-strokes

 

[co-pilot]

I can't give you info on stock projectors but i can say that the Sylvania Silverstar Ultras. are a waist of money!

 

[John Boyd]

OK, a couple of updates. First, my truck arrived 3 days early (YAY). But it had two large scratches on it from the shipper that we have to deal with (boo).

Stock headlights are really yellow, and I'm surprised by this as my wife drives a 2014 Ford Fusion and it has similar projectors but they are much brighter and crisper.

SO....long story longer (sorry): Seems like the best rated halogen bulbs are the Sylvania Silverstar Ultras. I've had them before and they do put out a nice beam of light. According to Sylvania's website, low beams should be a 9005, high beam a 9005, and fog should be a 9006 as well. But Amazon's algorithm says these are the wrong bulb sizes....want to make sure to order the right ones!!

Are these the correct bulbs for a 2017 Ram Longhorn Limited?

 

[crash68]

According to Sylvania's website, low beams should be a 9005, high beam a 9005, and fog should be a 9006 as well. But Amazon's algorithm says these are the wrong bulb sizes....want to make sure to order the right ones!!

Are these the correct bulbs for a 2017 Ram Longhorn Limited?

Those are the correct bulb sizes for a '17 1500. Just an FYI, '13-'15 projector headlights use a 9012 low beam, starting in '16 they changed to a 9005 for the lows.
Amazon's part suggestion can be wrong, don't believe it.

 

[John Boyd]

OK, it's the newb again....I keep going back and forth on this and don't mean to beat this topic to death, one more question--anyone had experience with Fahren LED bulbs? Top rated on Amazon, and a full set of bulbs for low beam, high beam and fog lights is only $119 with free two day shipping. Looked a the GTR Ultra 2s and the full set will run about $750.

I like the factory housings and don't care for the Morimoto XBs. Alpharex are similarly styled and I don't care for the 4 bulb design either. And then I saw the Alpharex Pros which have an LED upgrade available....which makes me wonder if I should just save the money and use factory projectors.

Sorry for all the questions. Just want a quick and simple fix to get some wattage on the road. And not blind oncoming traffic....

 

[NJMOPAR]

I'm running Fahren 9005s in my high beams, they have a nice white light, a small quiet fan & the wired-in resistor is compact. I like the adjustable base to get the 3-9 position right.
Fit under the dust cover on my quads.

 

[TheColt69]

Not saying it’s the best way to go... but I just got done going through this (which OnSale is a huge help and I know I bothered the crap out of him) but I ended up getting the alpharex pro series with the 2stroke led upgrade. Had problems with the led working with my ‘15 Ram... after a few harnesses and a big fear of Alfaobd, I thought I was doomed to just halogens forever lol

I just went to the dealership and they changed the bcm to allow for leds. They went ahead and installed the bulbs* (not the housings, I already had em in) and it was only $55 bucks. I’m a car dealer (small guy used car lot) that may have helped with the price a bit but I thought it was worth it! Super good cutoff and I recently went to a local cruise and asked some of the people if I was blinding them at all and they said it looked good and didn’t bother them a bit!




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