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led bars vs hid

8K views 69 replies 13 participants last post by  jasonsdakota 
#1 ·
oohhh man. ive always been a flashlight freak, but have never really invested the time to get good lighting in my truck. ive wanted to for a month or two now and just haven't pulled the trigger. what do you guys think about led bars? whats a good entry level setup that might roughly double or triple stock low beams? do you guys like spots, floods or combos when doing an led bar. most come with 3 options. are the floods too floody or just right. most of the light goes forward still right not wastefully up into the air? looking for 20-30 degree beam as opposed to 60 or 90 if that makes any sense. what bars do you guys like? 2 small, one long. tell me about your setups and help me get started. something easy to mount and wire for a non mechanically inclined person would be great.
 
#2 ·
I got a friend of mine doing a install on a Onyx LED bar tomorrow night. I haven't seen one of these in person and I am really wondering how they are.

He used to have 4 - 8" LaPaz HIDs on his truck. It will be interesting for sure.
 
#6 ·
The HIDs have no chance with these.

That is why you see them on every vehicle now in the Baja.

The ones my friend has is 40 something I believe.. I can't wait to see it!
 
#4 ·
#8 ·
Jeremy- do you have any "overhead" pictures, or a drawing of the light pattern from the LED bars? I'd like to see if they light up the area at about 45 degrees out to the sides.
I'm interested in lighting for trails through the woods at night (low speed), more so than lights that reach 5 miles down the highway. ;)
 
#9 ·
I don't.......yet. Just the ones I took from the link above (both where a "mixed" beam of spot / flood) - still quite wide for the small size.
 
#12 ·
hmmm... thinking of doing 2 light bars instead of hid headlights. then i can a. take them with me when i upgrade the truck and b. turn them off and im stock for any coppers around. would be a nice substitute for high beams. once we buy 2 7" bars, how do we wire and mount them. thats kind of my holdback. the install. anyone done a writeup? most mount behind the grill? im thinking we lose alot of light that way right?
 
#13 ·
its a standard relay harness, so nothing crazy there!

I think you will lose some light output from behind the grill.......but........geez, not much!
 
#14 ·
hmmm... $500 for a set of 7"ers. do we have anything that will fit in the fog lights assembly to help me out. problem is i really wanted to mount lights higher. i feel higher lights seem to light up the road better. any other suggestions?
 
#15 ·
too bad no one makes a dual headlamp conversion for the 3g
 
#17 ·
LOL, 50" ftw!

I wish I had my hands on something that would fit in the fogs, that would rock!
 
#18 ·
#19 ·
Um.... WOW!!!! :worthy::worthy:
 
#20 ·
overkill. cool cool video.
 
#21 · (Edited)
#24 ·
I would recommend getting a pair of the Recon headlight replacements for the stock ones fiorst. Then go to Xenon Depot and get one of their HID kits that replaces the low beam lights. Also get a headlight relay harness specific to your truck. I would forgo the led kit for the moment and get some better headlights. Now do not go over 6000k on the HID's because you might regret it when the police start to take unwanted notice of your truck. 4300 is more than bright enough. Also on the HID kit do not go for a 55 watt kit. All a 555 watt kit does is over drive a 35 watt bulb shortening its life and is not worth the troubles. Hope this helps out.
 
#26 ·
All a 55 watt kit does is over drive a 35 watt bulb shortening its life and is not worth the troubles. Hope this helps out.

can anyone else confirm this is true. if so, a 35watt hid bulb would vastly outlast a 55. hmmm
 
#25 ·
megamouse, you mentioned headlight replacements then you mention hids like its a seperate thing. care to post links or elaborate on your suggestion. also we cant just replace just the low beams in our 3g rams. one bulb does it all. its not a dual bulb setup like some 4g rams. not sure what you were suggesting..
 
#27 ·
The recon lights use a projector for the lows and a reflector bowl for the highs, thus splitting to 2 bulbs. But, keep in mind, the projectors aren't made for HIDs, they are halogen projectors. And, well........you won't get the best performance there.

As for the 35 vs 55 comment - most kits on the market are a 55W ballast pushing a 35W bulb. Retro-Solutions uses a 55W bulb.........so the issue of overdriving it isn't there.
 
#29 ·
The recon lights use a projector for the lows and a reflector bowl for the highs, thus splitting to 2 bulbs.
wait. ive never heard of this. retro offers headlights for the 04 ram that allows us to split into a 2 bulb system? can i get more details cause i would love to have a setup like toyotas and chevys have where all 4 bulbs are on when the highs turn on.
 
#28 ·
Here are the li nks I neglected to post earlier:
First is Recon for the headlights: http://www.gorecon.com/
Make sure you choose the correct ones for your truck. Plus the projectors that Recon use are designed for HID's although they ship with halogen bulbs installed. Takes a bit of wiring to get everything up and running but the instructions are easy to follow. Recon also offers LED taillights which are massively bright and look very cool.
Next is the relay kit: http://innovadd.com/bb.3g.ram.1.html
The above is only one part of what you need here is the other: http://www.carhidkits.com/hid-kit-wire-relay-harness-w-flicker-plugs-275.html
Witht eh relay kit ensure that you let them know the make and year of your truck and if you are using aftermarket lights with the low and high beams seperated like I have.
This is the Kit I use in my truck for the HID's: http://www.hidxenonlights.com/h3-hid-bulbs-c-645/digital-hid-conversion-kit-4300k-30000k-p-261 I use the 4300k bulbs which outperform anything hotter.
As far as the 35 watt vs 55 watt debate goes I said it earlier. All 55 watt kits do is overdrive a 35 watt bulb thus shortening their life. There are only a couple manufacturers of the bulbs and they ONLY make 35 watt bulbs. All aftermarket kit makers do is rebase the bulb for your (or my) application. With the Recon headlights you will need H1 based bulbs. Do not be fooled into getting what is called Bi/Xenon kits. They do not work properly. Plus if you decide to try and stick HiD's in stock headlights expect to be stopped by the police a lot. You must use projector headlights for HiD's or the glare will be unbearable for oncoming traffic. Goood Luck and hope I assisted you in makeing the right choices.
 
#35 ·
Here are the li nks I neglected to post earlier:
First is Recon for the headlights: http://www.gorecon.com/
Make sure you choose the correct ones for your truck. Plus the projectors that Recon use are designed for HID's although they ship with halogen bulbs installed. Takes a bit of wiring to get everything up and running but the instructions are easy to follow. Recon also offers LED taillights which are massively bright and look very cool.
Next is the relay kit: http://innovadd.com/bb.3g.ram.1.html
The above is only one part of what you need here is the other: http://www.carhidkits.com/hid-kit-wire-relay-harness-w-flicker-plugs-275.html
Witht eh relay kit ensure that you let them know the make and year of your truck and if you are using aftermarket lights with the low and high beams seperated like I have.
This is the Kit I use in my truck for the HID's: http://www.hidxenonlights.com/h3-hid-bulbs-c-645/digital-hid-conversion-kit-4300k-30000k-p-261 I use the 4300k bulbs which outperform anything hotter.
As far as the 35 watt vs 55 watt debate goes I said it earlier. All 55 watt kits do is overdrive a 35 watt bulb thus shortening their life. There are only a couple manufacturers of the bulbs and they ONLY make 35 watt bulbs. All aftermarket kit makers do is rebase the bulb for your (or my) application. With the Recon headlights you will need H1 based bulbs. Do not be fooled into getting what is called Bi/Xenon kits. They do not work properly. Plus if you decide to try and stick HiD's in stock headlights expect to be stopped by the police a lot. You must use projector headlights for HiD's or the glare will be unbearable for oncoming traffic. Goood Luck and hope I assisted you in makeing the right choices.

Not true It says directly on the back of my recon headlights do not use HID. As for the getting the recon headlights i don't suggest it....they are just sonar copies....yea sonar copies not the other way around. Pull the headlight apart and look what the projector says on it....SONAR. Rip off. Get a set of retro solutions projector headlights with hids and be done with it.
 
#32 ·
also, how do we make sure these hid's dont cost us a $900 tipm unit? is it a safer bet than the 80/100s i have in there now or are they both iffy?
 
#34 ·
Jason please do not use HID's without projector headlights. Your wallet and your drivers license will thank you for it later.
Here is the reason I say that: HID's in standard headlight housings create so much glare for oncoming drivers it can cause them to have an accident. Plus the way standard headlights are made the beam pattern you will get out of HID's will sorely dissapoint you. Here is a youtube link you should watch before making any drastic decision on your HID's:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tM_VTT40QE
The above shows the massive glare produced when HID's are installed into halogen headlight housings (which most cars and trucks come from the factory with).
This next one shows the difference between the stock headlights and a good set of projector headlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVZWWZfcDJE
This one has some reading you might want to check out plus it has a picture of a car with HID's in a halogen headlight: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_discharge_lamp
This one tells the story of headlamps but you can skip most of it and go to the bottom to read up on the HID's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlamp

Now for the manufacturers I had mentioned in an above post. There are currently only 2 that produce HID lights for vehicles. Sylvania and Philips, and neither make 55 watt bulbs. When you get a kit what you will get is a rebased bulb from either of them for your application.
I will stress the importance of getting a set of good aftermarket headlights with projectors in it for your HiD's. You will find they work better and when properly aimed will give you a ton of light out front.
 
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