Upgrading Headlights

[Sniper]

I've got a 2000 Dodge Ram 2500 with the 5.9L Cummins engine. I would love to upgrade the headlights to a brighter headlight than stock. Does anyone have any recommendations?

[sourdough]

I'm not sure of your situation. In 2000 I'm assuming they had halogen headlights; if not, buy those. After that, they're not many things brighter other than HIDs....and they are expensive and really not worth the money (I've had them). If your headlight lens covers have weathered and gotten dim, clean/polish them - after that many years I can't imagine that they don't need that. If you can't clear up the lenses just buy new headlight fixtures. DO NOT buy the "blue" looking HID look alikes. They mess up your ability to see, blind oncoming drivers and make you look like you don't have enough money to buy a regular replacement headlight.

[JRTJH]

^^^ What he said !!!

If you have plastic headlight lenses, cleaning/polishing them (if they're scratched or yellowed) will help a lot. ALL (No matter what make) ALL halogen light bulbs dim with age. So, your OEM headlight bulbs are not as bright as exact replacements will be. That said, there are some upgrade bulbs available that are slightly brighter than OEM headlight bulbs, but as stated above, stay with the yellow or white bulb color. The "ultra-blue" or more purple don't improve vision and actually may not provide as much visible improvement as just cleaning/polishing and replacing the OEM bulbs.

There is a great explanation of brightness, color and clarity at the Sylvania website, located here: https://www.sylvania-automotive.com/lighting-101/which-technology-is-right-for-me/halogen/index.jsp

[hankpage]

^^^^^ What they said ... plus. I have an '04 Ram and I have found the biggest improvement to be replacing the bulbs with Sylvania "Silver Stars" or "Ultra Stars" and taking the time to aim them properly. They run between $40 - 50 but are worth it. I have been using them in all my Chrysler vehicles for years and have not found anything close to them in legal bulbs. JM2¢, Hank

[Hodgy]

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What Hank said.

Silver Star Ultras. Use them in my Silverado, Tribute and 1500 Goldwing. Lots of light, compatible with your composite reflectors and lenses.

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[Javi]

I voted for an open season with a generous bag limit on them darn blue headlights...

[xrated]

I upgraded my previous truck (2011 F250) with HIDs and I've done the same thing with my new one (2016 Crew Cab Dually). They are a world of difference between OEM and HID. NOW.......having said that, many folks do the same thing but the difference between most of them and what I do is to take the time, as much time as needed, to adjust the headlight housing so that the lights are in the same position as the OEM lights were. This is a very important...let's say mandatory step in the installation process. It serves a couple of important purposes.
1. It puts your headlight beams exactly where they should be for your own visibility.
2. It keeps your headlights from blinding oncoming driver's from a bad adjustment.
3. It keeps your headlights from blinding driver's in front of you that you are approaching.

Technically, if I'm not mistaken, it is against the law to install HIDs in any vehicle that didn't come with them, but if you install them in a vehicle and take all the proper installation steps, they will not draw any attention, either from others drivers or from law enforcement. In the past seven years of driving with HID s on both truck's, I've probably had less than 4 or 5 times that someone has flipped their brights on at me. If done correctly, they can certainly increase your visibility while driving. If done incorrectly, you will be setting a LOT of people flashing their brights at you.

As far as price and color temperature goes, if you buy HIDs make sure to buy a well known brand with with a reputation for quality control and compliance with beam pattern. Also, of all the choices for color temperature ratings, The Kelvin temperature rating should be in the 3800 - 3900K range for the color that most matches natural sunlight. The higher the Kelvin number, the more blue they appear-and the resultant loss of light. To me, the only purpose for switching to HIDs is FUNCTIONALITY....not bling or trying to look cool.

The brand that I have used in the two truck's I've owned, my Honda Civic, and my wife's previous car is Digital brand....and they have been outstanding in every case. RetrosolutionsLLC.com is where I've purchased them over the years.....and the disclaimer......I have NO interest or association with them, other than being a satisfied repeat customer.

[Canonman]

I've got a 2000 Dodge Ram 2500 with the 5.9L Cummins engine. I would love to upgrade the headlights to a brighter headlight than stock. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Here's an interesting post from Consumer Reports on this topic specifically.
https://www.consumerreports.org/headlights/are-hid-and-led-headlights-worth-buying/
Seems like the design of the headlight "system" has more to do with being able to "see" better than the actual bulb itself.

[flybouy]

Great advice from all the responders. Having a clear lense and fresh lamps with a properly adjusted headlight can make a huge difference. Headlight aim should be checked after replacing lamps to ensure proper alignment. This is the most economical solution.
I can add my experience. After a lot of blog reading and research I retrofitted both of my trucks with aftermarket headlights, my F150 King Ranch with halogen and my F250 with HID. Both sets of headlights are aftermarket with DOT approved certification. I have used the SYlvania Silver Stars as well as the Phillips equivalent and they don't last long. DOT mandates 55 watt max on halogen low beams so the mfg accomplishes this by a coating that reflects the light back into the lamp and focuses it back out. This increases heat in the lamp hence the shorter life. If you travel a lot at night or have daytime running lights then prepare to replace them more frequently at an increased cost. The HIDs have been in my truck for 4 years and still going strong. The down side of HIDs is that factory headlamps are not designed for them so the beam pattern is scattered causing issues with opposing traffic. If you use HIDs then you should use a headlight housing designed for HIDs, typically a projector style. HIDs also require extra wiring for ballasts and can be an issue if your challenged for space under the hood.
With the 2 examples above let me say that they are both expensive. With a truck that's 17 years old you may not want to invest that much money.
I know this is a long response but I hope it helps.

[ADQ K9]

If the ones you have are not salvageable with a head light restoration kit I would invest in a set of projector head lights with bulbs of your choice. I agree with x rated and what he said,adjustment is key. Projectors seem to cast more light on to the road. Another option could be a set of DOT legal fog or driving lights to cast more light out there in addition to your head lights.
Up here where it is dark alot of the time, people run LED light bars and other auxillary lighting as "Moose Lights". They are "legal" if used like high beams or wired to come on and off with them. Vehicle Moose collisions are no laughing matter. The three lighting manufacturers I have the most faith in are, KC Hilites, Rigid, and Vision X

[Hodgy]

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This summer I added a 28" LED light bar to the truck. I mounted it behind the grill because I don't like stuff hanging off everywhere if I can help it. Wired it using a fused relay with a three position, on/off/on switch. That way I can have it off or turn it on with my low beams or have it come on automatically with my high beams. I leave it mated with the high beams all of the time.

The reason I did not want it hardwired to come on with the high beams is sometimes the light bar might reflect up into driving snow or fog.

It sure lights up the road and ditches.



http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=922&pictureid=5091

Light bar manually turned on with the low beams.
http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=922&pictureid=5092


Next two photos on with the high beams.
http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=922&pictureid=5089


http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=922&pictureid=5090

.

[Sniper]

Thanks to all who have responded. I'll check into the Sylvania bulbs. I have kept the covers pretty clean and they aren't all fogged over. I plan on cleaning them up again though

[ADQ K9]

No problem that is what we are here for I think:confused:

[vampress_me]

Another idea that I'm not positive applies to a 2000 CTD, but worked very well on our 1999 CTD was replacing the whole headlight assembly with the one from the Sport package. It was a MUCH, much better set of headlights than what came stock on our 2500 Laramie. Worked very well for the next 12 years we had that truck.

[Gegrad]

Sniper, if you are on your original bulbs, you might try just replacing those with new ones. Bulbs dim over time on their own. Your truck is now almost 18 years old, so just replacing them if they are original would likely be a major upgrade.

[Mike L123]

As posted, you could try to find a pair of headlights from a Sport model of RAM. However, you will have to do some modifications to the OEM buckets in order to accommodate the Sport headlights. DO NOT buy a set of Sport knockoffs from ANY offshore supplier. They suck large and do not give proper light diffusion or reflection even though they advertise as DOT approved. One of the best things I did for our '99 RAM 2500 was replacing the woefully marginal OEM headlight wiring with a harness from Daniel Stern Lighting Products. This excellent improvement to the final voltage getting to the bulbs and some new bulbs from Sylvania made a huge improvement in the driveability of the truck at night.

Eventually we replaced the RAM headlight issues with an F350 from 2012 and now we can really see much, much better at night. The headlights in the Ford are incredibly awesome. That said, the two suggestions that I put forward for your RAM will work wonders and cost you way less than a 2012 F350.

Cheers!

Mike

[Yak]

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This summer I added a 28" LED light bar to the truck. I mounted it behind the grill because I don't like stuff hanging off everywhere if I can help it. Wired it using a fused relay with a three position, on/off/on switch. That way I can have it off or turn it on with my low beams or have it come on automatically with my high beams. I leave it mated with the high beams all of the time.

The reason I did not want it hardwired to come on with the high beams is sometimes the light bar might reflect up into driving snow or fog.

It sure lights up the road and ditches.



http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=922&pictureid=5091

Light bar manually turned on with the low beams.
http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=922&pictureid=5092


Next two photos on with the high beams.
http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=922&pictureid=5089


http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=922&pictureid=5090

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You do realize that it's illegal wired that way and even the light bar

[Hodgy]

you do realize that it's illegal wired that way and even the light bar

yup !!


ALBERTA REGULATION 122/2009 Traffic Safety Act VEHICLE EQUIPMENT REGULATION

Auxiliary driving lamps or fog lamps 42(1) In this section,

VEHICLE EQUIPMENT REGULATION AR 122/2009

(a) “auxiliary driving lamp” means a SAE Standard J581 type Y lamp;

(b) “fog lamp” means a SAE Standard J583 type F lamp.

page26image2768
(2) If a motor vehicle has auxiliary driving lamps or fog lamps, they must be mounted on the front of the motor vehicle and the centres of the auxiliary driving lamps or fog lamps must be lower than the centres of the headlamps.

(3) Two auxiliary driving lamps may be mounted, one on each side of the vertical centre line.

(4) Two fog lamps may be mounted, one on each side of the vertical centre line.

(5) Auxiliary driving lamps on a motor vehicle must be used only at the same time the high beams on the headlamps are used.

(6) Fog lamps on a motor vehicle must be used only at the same time the low beams on the headlamps are used.

(7) Despite subsection (6), fog lamps may be used without headlamps if the weather and road conditions make the use of headlamps disadvantageous.

(8) A person shall not drive or operate or own a motor vehicle that has a total of more than 2 auxiliary driving lamps and 2 fog lamps.

(9) A person shall not drive a motor vehicle with both auxiliary driving lamps and fog lamps lit at the same time.

(10) An auxiliary driving lamp or fog lamp on an unloaded motor vehicle must be adjusted and aimed so that none of the high-intensity portion of the light to the left of centre of the vehicle projects, at a distance of 8 metres ahead, higher than 100 millimetres below the centre of the lamp from which the light is projected.

(11) Fog lamps on a motor vehicle may only emit amber or white light.


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[Sniper]

After fighting with the mounting brackets for about an hour, I finally got the old bulbs out and the new Sylvania bulbs in. Made a world of difference. I had to fight with them because there just isn't much room to get your hand in there and create enough torque. Finally had to use a small screwdriver to add torque.

[sourdough]

Great! Glad you found a way to improve your lighting.

[JRTJH]

Sniper, Hopefully you'll have enough light now to be satisfied.... As for difficulty getting a hand behind the light, on the new Ford's, you've got to pull the grill, pull the headlight assembly to swap the bulb.... It's not a hard job, but sure is time consuming.....

[msubobcats]

Have a headlight lens question???
A couple of years ago as Patti was heading home from work a deer ran into her... The new lense is great but the other is really dull. What would you use the clean/polish? Would a good "soft" rubbing compound work? You can definitely tell the difference between the two lights...
Thanks

[JRTJH]

Here's a link to a Consumer Reports article that addresses 4 products. There are far more than just 4, it seems every automotive wax/polish brand has their own "headlight restoration kit" on the market. Some are better than others, but they all will remove the haze and provide better light, at least temporarily.

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/headlight-restoration-kits/buying-guide

[notanlines]

Rick, I would simply get on line and order a replacement headlight assembly for your Silverado. This is a site with a good product for a reasonable price.
https://www.1aauto.com

[chuckster57]

Deep woods OFF.