H.I.D. headlights?

[EMoroney]

Does anyone know of a quality made H. I. D. upgrade for our '03 Rams? Are these systems a plug-n-play style using the existing stock wiring and headlight assembly? Thanks for your time.

 

[Bob4x4]

There are some kits that are easy to install but the reflectors do not work as well as the oems
I think adding an auxiliary lamp is a better way to go. Another thing to think about is hids are not legal unless factory installed

 

[EMoroney]

Bob,

Thanks for your reply. So, I do see a fair amount of pickup trucks and cars running around with HID headlights that I know for sure were an aftermarket upgrade. Are we to assume that all these folks are all doing this illegally?

 

[goodguys75]

most Hid kits are junk, unless you spend big money... . light bulb upgrade is good...

 

[Bob4x4]

Bob,

Thanks for your reply. So, I do see a fair amount of pickup trucks and cars running around with HID headlights that I know for sure were an aftermarket upgrade. Are we to assume that all these folks are all doing this illegally?

I know they are illegal in Cali. But my son got away with it for over a year. With the speed I noally travel I certainly don't need any extra attention

 

[seafish]

The thing is, most of these kits are simply HID bulbs that plug into the oem headlight socket with a ballast to power the bulb mounted nearby.

The problem is is that oem halogen headlight reflectors are NOT designed to handle that kind of lumens that HID bulbs put out, and instead scattter them EVERYWHERE, including into the eyes of oncoming drivers.
HID lights are meant to ONLY use projector type reflectors and lenses that precisely FOCUS the bright light onto the road where it belongs.

It IS possible to buy aftermarket projector lenses powered by HID bulbs and ballasts, and retrofit them into your oem headlight housings, so that you can have a stock looking truck while gaining HID lights that work effectively and do NOT blind oncoming drivers. While these retrofits are still not legal in Cali and many other states, they are much harder to detect and since they don't bother people after they correctly and cafrefull installed and adjusted, other drivers or Johnny Law, likley won't notice or complain.

Take a look at this thread--

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?191334-How-to-HID&highlight=hid

 

[Got HO?]

The thing is, most of these kits are simply HID bulbs that plug into the oem headlight socket with a ballast to power the bulb mounted nearby.

The problem is is that oem halogen headlight reflectors are NOT designed to handle that kind of lumens that HID bulbs put out, and instead scattter them EVERYWHERE, including into the eyes of oncoming drivers.
HID lights are meant to ONLY use projector type reflectors and lenses that precisely FOCUS the bright light onto the road where it belongs.

It IS possible to buy aftermarket projector lenses powered by HID bulbs and ballasts, and retrofit them into your oem headlight housings, so that you can have a stock looking truck while gaining HID lights that work effectively and do NOT blind oncoming drivers. While these retrofits are still not legal in Cali and many other states, they are much harder to detect and since they don't bother people after they correctly and cafrefull installed and adjusted, other drivers or Johnny Law, likley won't notice or complain.

Take a look at this thread--

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?191334-How-to-HID&highlight=hid

I went this route using Bi-Xenons and couldn't be more satisfied with the results. It is a little time consuming and there's no margin for error when orienting the units correctly in your headlight housing, but they work great and are of much better quality than the aftermarket plug-ins.

 

[BHiggins]

I was unhappy with the factory lighting as well, and I didn't like the aftermarket choices that were available either. I found out that PIAA makes a vehicle-specific kit to upgrade our factory fog-lights to a set of PIAA driving lights. I swapped out mine and couldn't be happier (I occasionally miss the fog-lights, but the trade-off is worth it in my opinion).
http://www.piaa.com/store/p/375-03-08-Dodge-Ram-540-Driving-Lamp-VSK. aspx

 

[pjorlando]

I use Vision X bulbs in both headlights and fogs. I've upgraded the headlight socket plugs to handle the increased wattage the bulbs use and added individual grounds to each bulb. The difference is a much improved illumination of the roadway on dark country roads, no oncoming glare to oncoming traffic, and mostly, no chopping up lense assemblies to make something fit. I've been down the road with projectors and was very dissapointed in them. I've been running this setup for well over 2 years, no issues thus far. I did add a pair of Hella Free Form driving lights that sit above the front license plate assembly, they are running 100 watt Vision Xs in them. On dark lonely country roads, my old and tired eyes see almost everything when all lit up.