Comparison of various headlight upgrade options (HID retrofit, LED assembly, etc.)

[The Critic]

Headlight comparison stock vs others

By trial and error I kept on looking for the best, non glaring to oncoming traffic I could find. I took all these photos in the same spot give or take...

www.4runners.com

Was considering a LED headlight upgrade for my RAM until I stumbled across this comparison thread. The poster purchased popular HID and LED options and compared them to the output of the OEM halogen setup. The various LED options appeared brighter, but ultimately lacked the distance and had side visibility.

The 4runner headlight setup is slightly different than the RAM's so the results may be different. However, it goes to show that brighter may not automatically be better.

 

[CharBaby]

I've seen many reputable Youtube videos & publications that showed very little if any difference between headlight types(halogen, LED, HID, Xenon) with the exception of color and/or brightness. However, none of the lights shined any further(significantly) down the road than the others.

If you want you headlights to shine further down the road...adjust them!
That's what I do if needed(key words, if needed). It only takes a smidgen of a turn on the adjustment screw to shine further down the road. Don't start turning the adjustment screw(s) turn-after-turn because you'll be shining the lights into the horizon. Just a little tweak is all that's needed in most cases unless the headlights have severely dipped(e.g., older vehicles).

 

[LeoStrop]

However, it goes to show that brighter may not automatically be better.

That's it!

I am using Philips Extreme Vison halogen on my cars , and the difference on a twisty black road is fantastic compared to the OEM.

 

[JHZR2]

Was considering a LED headlight upgrade for my RAM until I stumbled across this comparison thread. The poster purchased popular HID and LED options and compared them to the output of the OEM halogen setup. The various LED options appeared brighter, but ultimately lacked the distance and had side visibility.

The 4runner headlight setup is slightly different than the RAM's so the results may be different. However, it goes to show that brighter may not automatically be better.

What does your Ram have now? Are there projectors in the assembly? If not, it’s likely a harder thing to accomplish. If so, the quality of the projector, and how it cuts off the beam has a lot to do with it....

The most important aspect IMO is the location of the hot spot. An HID bulb in a standard base can have the hotspot aligned like a halogen bulb, or not... if not, the results can be pretty bad. LED obviously has discrete bright spots, making the challenge greater. LED also has a big heat sink mass right on the backside of the headlight assembly... no thanks.

It is established that too much foreground lighting (including too much light pollution in the cabin from radios, screens, and cluster backlight) can be an issue and affect visibility. There’s also lots of junk out there.

Did higher level Ram trucks have a different headlight setup? Is it transferable?

 

[OVERKILL]

Any chance of getting a set of the OEM LED assemblies and upgrading? We find them absolutely excellent.

 

[4WD]

Anyone try these bulb only replacements:

GloDrv H11 LED Headlight Bulb Low Beam Fanless 6000K Pure White Plug Play 2pcs | eBay

Fanless : yes, no noise. This is H11/H9/H16/H8 led bulb, it can replace low beam, high beam or fog light, as long as yourhalogen bulb size is H11, H16, H9, H8 this item will fit. For Ford Focus from year 2009 to 2013, after install this H11 LED bulb to low beam.

www.ebay.com

 

[Donald]

Why not just get the same type of bulb in an extra bright version. Sylvania has some.

 

[tyman]

Morimoto Bi-LEDs ftmfw

 

[Rand]

does bighorn level 2 came with LED, but maybe that was part of the built to serve edition and you needed some other pkg?

The LED lights on the ram are nice.. nothing lacking and fairly unique they shine from the bottom back towards the reflector.

pretty sure most aftermarket "bulb" upgrades in the halogen housings will suck.. you might get lucky but I would look at beam pattern closely after install.

 

[The Critic]

What does your Ram have now? Are there projectors in the assembly? If not, it’s likely a harder thing to accomplish. If so, the quality of the projector, and how it cuts off the beam has a lot to do with it....

The most important aspect IMO is the location of the hot spot. An HID bulb in a standard base can have the hotspot aligned like a halogen bulb, or not... if not, the results can be pretty bad. LED obviously has discrete bright spots, making the challenge greater. LED also has a big heat sink mass right on the backside of the headlight assembly... no thanks.

It is established that too much foreground lighting (including too much light pollution in the cabin from radios, screens, and cluster backlight) can be an issue and affect visibility. There’s also lots of junk out there.

Did higher level Ram trucks have a different headlight setup? Is it transferable?

Mine has halogen reflectors. There are four different headlight options depending on the trim and the option package. The IIHS tested each option. In summary, only the adaptive ones in the Limited/Laramie Longhorn fared well. The LED's in the Laramie trim did not fare much better than base halogens, and arguably worse in some areas. Due to the grill design, I am only able to retrofit the LED's from the Laramie package.

2020 Ram 1500 Crew cab pickup

2020 Ram 1500 Crew cab pickup - large pickup

www.iihs.org

Any chance of getting a set of the OEM LED assemblies and upgrading? We find them absolutely excellent.

Which LED headlights do you have? The ones in the Limited/Laramie Longhorn appear to be decent, but the ones that come included with the Laramie or as part of the Bighorn Premium Lighting Group are not very good:

2020 Ram 1500 Crew cab pickup

2020 Ram 1500 Crew cab pickup - large pickup

www.iihs.org

does bighorn level 2 came with LED, but maybe that was part of the built to serve edition and you needed some other pkg?

The LED lights on the ram are nice.. nothing lacking and fairly unique they shine from the bottom back towards the reflector.

pretty sure most aftermarket "bulb" upgrades in the halogen housings will suck.. you might get lucky but I would look at beam pattern closely after install.

That is exclusive to the built-to-serve edition. Big Horns come standard with the halogen reflectors unless you pay for the Premium Lighting Group.

 

[cb_13]

I've had great luck just upgrading to a better halogen bulb for headlights. Have had Sylvania Ultra in my last 2 trucks. Would try Phillips Extreme Vision but the Ultras have worked and are easy to source at Wally World.

 

[OVERKILL]

Mine has halogen reflectors. There are four different headlight options depending on the trim and the option package. The IIHS tested each option. In summary, only the adaptive ones in the Limited/Laramie Longhorn fared well. The LED's in the Laramie trim did not fare much better than base halogens, and arguably worse in some areas. Due to the grill design, I am only able to retrofit the LED's from the Laramie package.

2020 Ram 1500 Crew cab pickup

2020 Ram 1500 Crew cab pickup - large pickup

www.iihs.org

Which LED headlights do you have? The ones in the Limited/Laramie Longhorn appear to be decent, but the ones that come included with the Laramie or as part of the Bighorn Premium Lighting Group are not very good:

2020 Ram 1500 Crew cab pickup

2020 Ram 1500 Crew cab pickup - large pickup

www.iihs.org

That is exclusive to the built-to-serve edition. Big Horns come standard with the halogen reflectors unless you pay for the Premium Lighting Group.

We have the LED reflectors, however, we had to get them adjusted after I hit the deer as they were not setup correctly and the light cast range was far too short versus when we first bought it. They now show excellent distance for both the lows and highs, particularly the highs. I know IIHS tests "as shipped" for the results to be realistic but it also appears that the early production trucks had the lights setup differently which meant they had some glare:

2019 Ram 1500 Extended cab pickup

2019 Ram 1500 Extended cab pickup - large pickup

www.iihs.org

 

[Rand]

Im not buying what iihs is selling, they give giant bonus points for auto high beams etc.
if the auto beams are working right they arent going to be on quite often but magically you can see better...
I can turn high beams on and off myself....????

I would trust myself driving a few vehicles to be able to tell which have good lights.

My 2015 halogen forester was quite good, 2014-2018 cherokee even with hid SUCK! really narrow beam, no sidelighting for roadside, blind oncoming drivers even setup correctly.

my 2019 cherokee with LED lights are GREAT.

the 2020 ram 1500 built to serve edition is also quite good. Maybe they arent 5beam lasers or adaptive matrix euro LEDs but not lacking.

 

[SubLGT]

Headlight comparison stock vs others

By trial and error I kept on looking for the best, non glaring to oncoming traffic I could find. I took all these photos in the same spot give or take...

www.4runners.com

Was considering a LED headlight upgrade for my RAM until I stumbled across this comparison thread.

This is a worthwhile read:

Why Most LED Headlight Upgrades Don't Really Work: An Expert Explains

I got a stern talking-to from an actual lighting expert about LED retrofits.

jalopnik.com