veh. headlight upgrades?

SDS

SDS

Joined
Oct 22, 2007
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I admit that I'm not a car type guy. I enjoy my vehicles but I just can't get into the doldrum (to me) of reading up on all of the available upgrades. I'd rather spend my time hiking the woods than changing the oil.

I have a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 4 X 4 with stock headlights. The lights are mediocre at best. Can anyone suggest some kind of upgrade that has more throw? I suppose it's possible I just need new bulbs but if I'm going to be buying new bulbs anyway I'd just assume spend a little extra and get quality replacements.

Thanks for any input on this.
SDS
 
Does your truck have the type of headlight that the lens and reflector do not get replaced and you just pull the bulb out of the back of the unit?
If so, take a look at the lenses. My wife's Grand Cherokee was at the point that you could hardly tell that the headlights were on. I found that the plastic lenses were hazed over and pitted a bit. I found a 3M headlight refinishing kit for about $15.00. It had 3 different grits of abrasive discs, a polishing pad and compound in the kit. It also had a disc holder that the pads attached to that you chucked up in a drill. It took me about 45 minuets to do both lenses and the results were terrific. Before I started the lenses looked yellow and were sort of translucent. After using the kit, they were back to clear/transparent again.
It made a huge difference in being able to see. It might just be that your lenses need to be cleaned up.

Bruceter
 
You can change bulbs as well. They dim over time. Sylvania makes brighter bulbs---I think they call them Blue Star..?
 
I upgraded my headlights from stock to PIAA, then from PIAA to HID's. I will never drive a vehicle with out HID's again.

It is Sylvania Silver Star's iirc.
 
My truck came stock with HID's. See if if your truck is compatible, then get them!! If you can.
If not hopefully there's a kit that will convert your truck to HID's.
 
FIRST....DO NOT REPLACE YOUR LIGHTS OR BULBS! The first problem that occurs with factory lights is the route that the electricity travels to the bulbs is horrid. By the time the wires reach your headlights they are being provided with (in most cases) 75-80% of the power they should be getting. There is one way to fix this. By using a relay setup to route power directly from your battery through the relay and then to the headlights. You can achieve this in one of two ways, Either buy the relay kit or build the relay kit. http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html This company also sells the headlight kits. You can do like the above people have recommended but until you fix the power loss you are just throwing your money away.
 
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Absolutely do the wiring harness. It takes all the load off the lengthy convoluted path to the headlight switch and creates a direct path to the lights.

THEN add the Silverstars. HID is nice, expensive, and will likely require it's harness anyway. Silverstars run $50 the pair, HID bulbs alone are $90 each, the kits are $300 up.

HID does make nice white light, but the down side is less control over the beam with the projector lenses. Lots of motorists complain about the excessive spill and poor beam shape.

Behind the wheel, not so much.

I converted my Jeep to use E-codes and Hella 85/100w bulbs, made my own harness, and really like the improvement. On my wifes Caravan, I already plan Silverstars when the first bulb burns out. I don't know if it doesn't already have relays, the operation from low to high beam sure looks like it's not in direct sync with the mechanical wand switch.

There's no easy answers, you'll do well to upgrade, but there's still research to do.
 
I've done some reading and the wiring upgrade sure makes sense. I just don't know if I want to tear into the wiring. I am waiting to hear back from Daniel Stern.

Thanks for the suggestions.

SDS
 
Are your lenses hazed over? Fix that first.
Sylvania SilverStars are great affordable bulbs.
Take a Volt Meter of some sort and measure the voltage at the bulbs. A relay activated from the headlight switch that is powered straight from the battery works very well.

I put three Hella Rallye 4000's (Eurobeam) on my Tudnra and it will light up the countryside very well .... :D .... of course they are too much for the public roads.

I also added some PIAA driving lights to the low beams and they work real well.
 
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