Love - Hate relationship...

[Shin Pond Hunter]

I love the new HID blue headlamps out there; but, I hate looking at them - too bright and they blind me more so then traditional high-beam equivalents.

[OurJayco]

They are nice if you are on the back side of the lights, but I must admit they are hard to look at when coming on to them. I replaced my truck headlights with them last year. They are the best when you need to see at night, but I get a lot people flashing their high beams to tell me to take MY highbeams OFF.

[Spike99]

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Some light experts say that "blue" lighting is lower lighting when compared to traditional clear (white) lighting. Something about blue lighting acting differently compared to clear lighting. And in some regions, like my region, non-factory HID lighting is illegal. But, ok if installed as a factory option - because many 3rd party HID lights are improperly sized / improperly installed.

My wife's mini-van has factory H11 headlights. H11 bulbs are very low lighting. With H11 bulbs, one can easily "over drive" their low beam headlights - which is very dangerous. After lots of research, I discovered that H9 bulbs can be easily modified, and installed in H11 light sockets. NO wiring changes. NO over heating its factory light assembly. And, when the light assembly / light aim is adjusted properly, there's NOT too much lighting pointing on coming traffic. If wondering, I've been using modified H9 bulbs in my new mini-van for 2 full years. And, they've been working great.

Details are:
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o.../H9toH11_3.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o.../H9toH11_4.jpg

Note: The 60W-H9 will give you 2100 lumins at 3500k compared to the factory 50W-H11 at 1300 lumins at 3200k. So the H9 creates much brighter whiter light.

If your vehicle has H11 sockets, I'd recommend upgrade to "off the shelf" H9 bulbs. Very simply DIY install. And if different size factory sockets, do investigate higher wattage bulb install as well.

Hope this helps others. Especially folks looking for lower cost "off the shelf" brighter light upgrade solution (without going illegal HID)...

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[Shin Pond Hunter]

@ Spike: is there an easy way to tell which type of sockets my TV has?

[Spike99]

.

Sure....

Simply surf: http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProd...lacementGuide/

Within above URL for a 2010 Dodge Ram Pickup, I found:

2010 DODGE Ram Pickup (With 2 headlamp system)
High & low beam headlamp
H13 (9008) - shown at: http://www.sylvania.com/cgi-bin/MsmG...ost&hiword=H13
H13ST SilverStar: The brighter and whiter light. Up to 35% brighter, up to 30% more downroad visibility and up to 35% more sideroad visibility.

2010 DODGE Ram Pickup (With 4 headlamp system)
Low beam headlamp
H11 - shown at: http://assets.sylvania.com/assets/im...8fe4d350d7.jpg
H11SU SilverStar Ultra: The brightest and whitest light. Up to 50% brighter, up to 40% more downroad visibility and up to 50% more sideroad visibility.
H11ST SilverStar: The brighter and whiter light. Up to 35% brighter, up to 30% more downroad visibility and up to 35% more sideroad visibility.
H11XV XtraVision: The brighter light for upgraded performance. Up to 30% brighter light and up to 25% more downroad visibility.

If your specific Dodge Ram uses 4 x headlight bulb system, then H11 bulbs are used as factory low beams (which can be confirmed within its Owners Manual - under its light bulb replacement details section). If H11 bulbs, I would simply replace the factory low wattage H11 with the modified "off the shelf" higher wattage H9 bulb. Simply modify the steel base of the bulb and install. Then, adjust the aim of the new bulbs. Being a little brighter, you may have to point their aim slightly downward. Especially while towing - when a Tow Vehicle has natural rear sag (which points all front lights upwards).

For more details about H11, H9 and other bulb details, surf details within: http://www.sylvania.com/cgi-bin/MsmG...ost&hiword=h11

Note: To modify the H9 bulb's steel base, I use a rotory tool like: http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg With a little stone bit, it easily grinds the 3mm steel section away. And, remember to NEVER touch the glass with your bare fingers. Always use a dry tissue between fingers and glass. Thus, no natural oil is transfered from your fingers to the light bulb glass.

Hope this helps....

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[Spike99]

Within http://www.car-stuff.com/store/?N=92...271+1607+11921

I cannot tell if your 2010 Dodge 3500 uses 9005, H11, or H13 bulbs. As a suggestion, look in your manual (and confirm with visual inspection) and advise what specific "low beam" bulb socket is used within your specific Dodge 3500 model.

thanks.

[Gibby3275]

A lot of people put HID bulbs in where they are not meant to be. The light coming out is NOT the same, and goes all over the place. HID bulbs should only be used in proper HID units. If not, they blind the oncoming traffic.

[Spike99]

Originally Posted by Gibby3275

A lot of people put HID bulbs in where they are not meant to be. The light coming out is NOT the same, and goes all over the place. HID bulbs should only be used in proper HID units. If not, they blind the oncoming traffic.

Agree. That's why 3rd party installed HID lighting is illegal in my region. Only factory installed HID bulbs with their matching HID light assemblies (as factory option) is legal. This is DMV/DOT approved. All other HID upgrades are illegal.