5thGenRams Forums

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Headlight Revolution V.4 LED low/hi/fog Upgrade for <$200?

TXSportDiver

Active Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2018
Messages
28
Reaction score
3
Like many of you with 5th Gen Bighorn or Lone Star Rams with non-projector, halogen headlight housings, I envy the LED headlights on other trims. So, I looked into upgrades. Pretty early on, I saw the Top 10 Best LED lights for 2019 Bighorn and Lone Star Ram page and became interested in the top choice Headlight Revolution (HR) V.4 LED upgrade kits.

To upgrade our low/high/fog light bulbs (not including turn signals and side markers) we need the following sets (current HR pricing):
$209 - Low Beams: H11 bulbs with CANBUS/PWM Decoder
$169 - High Beams: 9005 bulbs
$169 - Fog Lights: H11 (same as the Low Beam, w/o Decoder)
$547 - Total

$209 low beams? $550 for the set?! While I appreciate the testing, effort, info, and expertise Headlight Revolution offers, I just can't see spending that much for replacement light bulbs.

So, what else is out there? As mentioned on the Top 10 page, Diode Dynamics (designed and assembled in the US) and Putco have some compelling products. Also, fellow 5thgenrams members praise LASFIT bulbs. Of course, there are tons of less expensive bulbs out there--with questionable reliability. But, none of those options satisfy my inner redneck's knowledge that brighter, better HR V.4 bulbs are out there. (BTW, Supernovaleds.com also have V.4 bulbs--they're not the same as the HR bulbs).

Fast forward...after a few weeks of obsessing...I stumbled across a posting on HIDpanet.com about the V.4 LEDs. A couple of astute forum members say the HR V.4s are re-branded Chinese bulbs. This makes sense from the HR videos, in which they "test 100's of bulbs"--and then package up the ones that work well...and allow for significant profit. OK, if the bulb's aren't exclusive to HR--are they cheaper elsewhere? Well, YES!!!

It turns out the H11 and 9005 bulbs sell on eBay and AliExpress under the name "F2 LED", from a number of sources (there are also a LOT of other bulbs, that use the same F2 name...be diligent). On AliExpress (a Chinese version of eBay) the bulbs sell for about $30-$40...but, delivery to the US takes awhile. As of this writing, the H11 (low beam and fog light) bulbs sell on eBay from US shippers for about $50 (here's one example, another, and another). The 9005 (high beam) bulbs are similarly priced.

So, depending on where you choose to buy your bulbs, you can get 2 sets of H11 bulbs and 1 set of 9005 bulbs for about $105-$145. I ordered both bulb types through this AliExpress listing. My total with taxes was $112.79 US.

BUT, the HR videos (and issues noted in 5thgenrams) point out our Rams' CANBUS /PWM system is tricky and we need a device for the low beam LED bulbs to not throw error messages (they say, no problem with fog lights and high beams). HR packages the GTR Lighting PWM Interface with H11 Connectors (Part: ACC.PWMH11.MOD) in their low beam kit. It's also available separately for $49 from HR or GTRlighting. Shipping was a little less from GTR, so I ordered the decoder from them for a total of $54.

In one of the HR install videos, they mention the decoder was created by GTR "especially for our RAM trucks" and it's the only one they found that really works. I called HR to confirm that's simply marketing speak...it's just the GTRlighting H11 decoder. Also, the decoders I received from GTRlighting seem to be an updated version, which looks identical to this $19.95 decoder available elsewhere.

I received the decoder and am waiting for the bulbs to arrive (I ordered on 11/13/19). I'll update this post after I receive the bulbs and install them. Assuming they work, I'll have completed the equivalent of a low/hi/fog V.4 upgrade for $166.79--less than the cost of just the low beam upgrade from HR.

Happy Hunting.
 

Klute

Active Member
Joined
May 21, 2019
Messages
185
Reaction score
99
Location
St Charles MO
Good work. Been considering an LED upgrade and could not swallow the high prices of the HR setup.
 

gHiDoRa

Ram Guru
Joined
Jun 15, 2019
Messages
698
Reaction score
304
Location
Elvis Presley
Thanks for sharing your research, good thing i don't need those because can't justify to spend over $2xx just for low beam. On my previous car it used H11 for both low and fog, and i found H11 LED kit for around $20usd and it lasted me 3yeah before it went out, guess what i order couples of it and i'm good for long time and not spend alot money.
 

dsn112

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2019
Messages
247
Reaction score
233
You can swap the entire housing for the fog to morimoto true LEDs for less than those HR bulbs.

The bulbs still don't solve the fact that your brand new gen truck looks old as hell with those BS reflectors. I was going to get the bulbs, but finally realized I wouldn't be happy until I went full housing swap to rebel LED.
 

TXSportDiver

Active Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2018
Messages
28
Reaction score
3
You can swap the entire housing for the fog to morimoto true LEDs for less than those HR bulbs.

The bulbs still don't solve the fact that your brand new gen truck looks old as hell with those BS reflectors. I was going to get the bulbs, but finally realized I wouldn't be happy until I went full housing swap to rebel LED.
Great points all around.

Since I seldom use the fogs, I was looking for color match, so I went with the same bulbs as the lows. I'm sure the Morimotos work well, too.

I agree, the factory LED headlamps look great. If I had it to do again, I'd seek out the Premium Lighting group for $995. But, I've little interest in now trying to re-create it (front and back) for like $1400...we can't all find the same used LED housings for cheap :) So, I'll go with additional light output...and do my best to not blind oncoming traffic.
 

deanfx

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Messages
323
Reaction score
115
I went with Diode Dynamic low beams and swapped out the factory fogs to OEM LED fogs. I'm not changing the high beams at them moment, but will eventually.
 

dsn112

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2019
Messages
247
Reaction score
233
Great points all around.

Since I seldom use the fogs, I was looking for color match, so I went with the same bulbs as the lows. I'm sure the Morimotos work well, too.

I agree, the factory LED headlamps look great. If I had it to do again, I'd seek out the Premium Lighting group for $995. But, I've little interest in now trying to re-create it (front and back) for like $1400...we can't all find the same used LED housings for cheap :) So, I'll go with additional light output...and do my best to not blind oncoming traffic.

Def more than I wanted to spend. I wish I found a used set of headlights, but they really aren't out there. One I found the guy wanted more than I paid for a new set. Ram seems to put all the led groups on non sport package trucks, which was a must for me. All in with tails i spent about 1500. Sucks, but in the end, i am pretty happy with how it sits now, and when I trade the truck in, I will be able to resell the LEDs and hopefully recoup atleast a grand back.
 

snj1013

Active Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2019
Messages
113
Reaction score
70
Like many of you with 5th Gen Bighorn or Lone Star Rams with non-projector, halogen headlight housings, I envy the LED headlights on other trims. So, I looked into upgrades. Pretty early on, I saw the Top 10 Best LED lights for 2019 Bighorn and Lone Star Ram page and became interested in the top choice Headlight Revolution (HR) V.4 LED upgrade kits.

To upgrade our low/high/fog light bulbs (not including turn signals and side markers) we need the following sets (current HR pricing):
$209 - Low Beams: H11 bulbs with CANBUS/PWM Decoder
$169 - High Beams: 9005 bulbs
$169 - Fog Lights: H11 (same as the Low Beam, w/o Decoder)
$547 - Total

$209 low beams? $550 for the set?! While I appreciate the testing, effort, info, and expertise Headlight Revolution offers, I just can't see spending that much for replacement light bulbs.

So, what else is out there? As mentioned on the Top 10 page, Diode Dynamics (designed and assembled in the US) and Putco have some compelling products. Also, fellow 5thgenrams members praise LASFIT bulbs. Of course, there are tons of less expensive bulbs out there--with questionable reliability. But, none of those options satisfy my inner redneck's knowledge that brighter, better HR V.4 bulbs are out there. (BTW, Supernovaleds.com also have V.4 bulbs--they're not the same as the HR bulbs).

Fast forward...after a few weeks of obsessing...I stumbled across a posting on HIDpanet.com about the V.4 LEDs. A couple of astute forum members say the HR V.4s are re-branded Chinese bulbs. This makes sense from the HR videos, in which they "test 100's of bulbs"--and then package up the ones that work well...and allow for significant profit. OK, if the bulb's aren't exclusive to HR--are they cheaper elsewhere? Well, YES!!!

It turns out the H11 and 9005 bulbs sell on eBay and AliExpress under the name "F2 LED", from a number of sources (there are also a LOT of other bulbs, that use the same F2 name...be diligent). On AliExpress (a Chinese version of eBay) the bulbs sell for about $30-$40...but, delivery to the US takes awhile. As of this writing, the H11 (low beam and fog light) bulbs sell on eBay from US shippers for about $50 (here's one example, another, and another). The 9005 (high beam) bulbs are similarly priced.

So, depending on where you choose to buy your bulbs, you can get 2 sets of H11 bulbs and 1 set of 9005 bulbs for about $105-$145. I ordered both bulb types through this AliExpress listing. My total with taxes was $112.79 US.

BUT, the HR videos (and issues noted in 5thgenrams) point out our Rams' CANBUS /PWM system is tricky and we need a device for the low beam LED bulbs to not throw error messages (they say, no problem with fog lights and high beams). HR packages the GTR Lighting PWM Interface with H11 Connectors (Part: ACC.PWMH11.MOD) in their low beam kit. It's also available separately for $49 from HR or GTRlighting. Shipping was a little less from GTR, so I ordered the decoder from them for a total of $54.

In one of the HR install videos, they mention the decoder was created by GTR "especially for our RAM trucks" and it's the only one they found that really works. I called HR to confirm that's simply marketing speak...it's just the GTRlighting H11 decoder. Also, the decoders I received from GTRlighting seem to be an updated version, which looks identical to this $19.95 decoder available elsewhere.

I received the decoder and am waiting for the bulbs to arrive (I ordered on 11/13/19). I'll update this post after I receive the bulbs and install them. Assuming they work, I'll have completed the equivalent of a low/hi/fog V.4 upgrade for $166.79--less than the cost of just the low beam upgrade from HR.

Happy Hunting.
Let us know once you get everything installed. Good info!
 

Jakecukich

Active Member
Joined
May 13, 2019
Messages
55
Reaction score
25
There’s a guy on the 5 gen rams page on Facebook named Fred, he has a business and sells LEDS .. comes with a 3 year warranty.. a lot of people have bought from him including myself, great LED replacement bulbs for 89.99 a pair.
 

TXSportDiver

Active Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2018
Messages
28
Reaction score
3
Found: Amazon source the F2 LED bulbs

okiefisher8 and I we're having a conversation about finding the bulbs online. He shared his discovery of an Amazon source for the F2 LED bulbs, for $39.99. The listing includes H11, 9005, and other sizes. Many thanks to him for finding them.
 

green68mustang_2002

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2019
Messages
216
Reaction score
120
Like many of you with 5th Gen Bighorn or Lone Star Rams with non-projector, halogen headlight housings, I envy the LED headlights on other trims. So, I looked into upgrades. Pretty early on, I saw the Top 10 Best LED lights for 2019 Bighorn and Lone Star Ram page and became interested in the top choice Headlight Revolution (HR) V.4 LED upgrade kits.

To upgrade our low/high/fog light bulbs (not including turn signals and side markers) we need the following sets (current HR pricing):
$209 - Low Beams: H11 bulbs with CANBUS/PWM Decoder
$169 - High Beams: 9005 bulbs
$169 - Fog Lights: H11 (same as the Low Beam, w/o Decoder)
$547 - Total

$209 low beams? $550 for the set?! While I appreciate the testing, effort, info, and expertise Headlight Revolution offers, I just can't see spending that much for replacement light bulbs.

So, what else is out there? As mentioned on the Top 10 page, Diode Dynamics (designed and assembled in the US) and Putco have some compelling products. Also, fellow 5thgenrams members praise LASFIT bulbs. Of course, there are tons of less expensive bulbs out there--with questionable reliability. But, none of those options satisfy my inner redneck's knowledge that brighter, better HR V.4 bulbs are out there. (BTW, Supernovaleds.com also have V.4 bulbs--they're not the same as the HR bulbs).

Fast forward...after a few weeks of obsessing...I stumbled across a posting on HIDpanet.com about the V.4 LEDs. A couple of astute forum members say the HR V.4s are re-branded Chinese bulbs. This makes sense from the HR videos, in which they "test 100's of bulbs"--and then package up the ones that work well...and allow for significant profit. OK, if the bulb's aren't exclusive to HR--are they cheaper elsewhere? Well, YES!!!

It turns out the H11 and 9005 bulbs sell on eBay and AliExpress under the name "F2 LED", from a number of sources (there are also a LOT of other bulbs, that use the same F2 name...be diligent). On AliExpress (a Chinese version of eBay) the bulbs sell for about $30-$40...but, delivery to the US takes awhile. As of this writing, the H11 (low beam and fog light) bulbs sell on eBay from US shippers for about $50 (here's one example, another, and another). The 9005 (high beam) bulbs are similarly priced.

So, depending on where you choose to buy your bulbs, you can get 2 sets of H11 bulbs and 1 set of 9005 bulbs for about $105-$145. I ordered both bulb types through this AliExpress listing. My total with taxes was $112.79 US.

BUT, the HR videos (and issues noted in 5thgenrams) point out our Rams' CANBUS /PWM system is tricky and we need a device for the low beam LED bulbs to not throw error messages (they say, no problem with fog lights and high beams). HR packages the GTR Lighting PWM Interface with H11 Connectors (Part: ACC.PWMH11.MOD) in their low beam kit. It's also available separately for $49 from HR or GTRlighting. Shipping was a little less from GTR, so I ordered the decoder from them for a total of $54.

In one of the HR install videos, they mention the decoder was created by GTR "especially for our RAM trucks" and it's the only one they found that really works. I called HR to confirm that's simply marketing speak...it's just the GTRlighting H11 decoder. Also, the decoders I received from GTRlighting seem to be an updated version, which looks identical to this $19.95 decoder available elsewhere.

I received the decoder and am waiting for the bulbs to arrive (I ordered on 11/13/19). I'll update this post after I receive the bulbs and install them. Assuming they work, I'll have completed the equivalent of a low/hi/fog V.4 upgrade for $166.79--less than the cost of just the low beam upgrade from HR.

Happy Hunting.

DO NOT PUT HID OR LED BULBS IN A REFLECTOR HOUSING. Do a proper retrofit for either hid or led, or do what im gonna be doing and purchase the oem led headlights that come on higher trim models and replace your reflector housings.
 

green68mustang_2002

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2019
Messages
216
Reaction score
120


Because hid and led headlights are meant to be used in projector housings. Do you ever pass a vehicle head on with just their low beams on and it looks like they really have their high beams on?? 90% of the time it is because they have led or hid bulbs in a reflector housing. Look up hid projector retrofitting and that will educate you some more.
 

gHiDoRa

Ram Guru
Joined
Jun 15, 2019
Messages
698
Reaction score
304
Location
Elvis Presley
DO NOT PUT HID OR LED BULBS IN A REFLECTOR HOUSING. Do a proper retrofit for either hid or led, or do what im gonna be doing and purchase the oem led headlights that come on higher trim models and replace your reflector housings.

Not everybody will have thousands dollar to spent on oem led headlights or know how to do retrofit. If the truck or Jeep is lifted with 3"+ with tires, does't matter what kind bulbs you installed, it's still blind incoming car.
 

Jakecukich

Active Member
Joined
May 13, 2019
Messages
55
Reaction score
25
DO NOT PUT HID OR LED BULBS IN A REFLECTOR HOUSING. Do a proper retrofit for either hid or led, or do what im gonna be doing and purchase the oem led headlights that come on higher trim models and replace your reflector housings.
Come on man, it’s 2019, not 2009 where HIDS where blue and blinded everyone including planes. The RIGHT led bulbs with two sided cree are great, they have an amazing cut off line on them.
 

green68mustang_2002

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2019
Messages
216
Reaction score
120
Come on man, it’s 2019, not 2009 where HIDS where blue and blinded everyone including planes. The RIGHT led bulbs with two sided cree are great, they have an amazing cut off line on them.
And in 2019, led bulbs are still made for projector housings.
 

Jakecukich

Active Member
Joined
May 13, 2019
Messages
55
Reaction score
25
And in 2019, led bulbs are still made for projector housings.
Nope lol. They’re not made for projector housing at all. LEDs have there own special housing, HIDS have projector housings and halogen have there own. But two sides LEDS work fine in halogen housings
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top