TXSportDiver
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- Nov 30, 2018
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- 52
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.
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.
So, I'll go with additional light output...and do my best to not blind oncoming traffic.
