Do you have experience with Ram projectors with Morimoto HIDs? I'm not saying you don't just that your recommendation doesn't jive with the actual reviews on Ram forums of people with those particular factory projectors. All I've seen have been glowing reviews unless they used a junk kit.
Vanilla Gorilla: 2017 Power Wagon build
- Thread starter marshal
- Start date
Do you have experience with Ram projectors with Morimoto HIDs? I'm not saying you don't just that your recommendation doesn't jive with the actual reviews on Ram forums of people with those particular factory projectors. All I've seen have been glowing reviews unless they used a junk kit.
marshal
Burrito Enthusiast
Not with RAM projectors no - but i have used them in the past and seen their retrofit kits used in housings. Im not terribly pleased with the RAM projectors. they're not bad - but they're not good either. A lot of room for improvement if you're going to super sharp cutoff with extremely high intensity bulbs.
I have no use for HID's in this project because i dont want to invest in all OEM HID components
Not my truck but this would be a good enough upgrade for me.
http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/2013-general-discussion/2327714-headlights-led-vs-hid-2.html#post27068401
Edit: I put my money where my mouth is and ordered a set of 35w Morimotos from Retro Shop. I'll post a review and pics when they come in.
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I have TRS 55w kit and they're BRIGHT! I'm actually going to yank the kit and just throw in some HIR1's, as I have plenty of Baja Designs forward facing lights now, and I don't need that much light for low beams. Once I yank them, I'd be happy to sell you the kit, at a discount. I also have an extra pair of bulbs that I always kept in the truck, just in case.
Awesome. You can't know...until you know. All I do is shake my head when people guess or make random recommendations based on what they ran on some totally different truck
Got the 35w Morimoto HIDs installed yesterday afternoon. I went with the Canbus adapters and not the full harnesses. Very easy install once I figured out how to remove the actual headlights. I left them hooked up to the truck wiring and removed the panel on the back that allows access to the bulbs. The Morimoto harness comes with an integrated grommet. I drilled a 1" hole in the access panel for that grommet and mounted the Ballasts and igniters under the hood. I have zero flickering nor do I have a headlight out warning.
My factory lights were miserable and got almost unusable after my 4-5" lift from the Thuren coils and 36" tires. For $150, these HIDS are bright enough that I can actually see the cutoff move when I go over bumps. The cutoff isn't quite as crisp as a factory HID setup but it is extremely good and a literal night and day difference from stock. I'll take pics over the next couple of days when I get a chance to actually aim them. I ordered the 4300K and it is whiter than Halogens but not quite as white as most factory HIDs. I really like the color temp it puts out. With the stock headlights, the fog lights were about as bright as the low beams and added substantial to the coverage when turned on. With the HIDs I can barely tell when I turn the fogs on.
If you are looking for an easy, inexpensive upgrade that takes an hour or two to do and will significantly increase the safety of night driving this is it. Money definitely well spent.
marshal
Burrito Enthusiast
just placed an order for the .188 wall white knuckle sliders. should be here in a few weeks i think. hoping wheels ship this week. If they go out tomorrow they'll be here in time for the weekend - otherwise i'll see them sometime next week.
now the debate is on whether i break the bead on these stock tires and scavenge the TPMS sensors, order new OEM ones or get Schrader brand aftermarket's.
now the debate is on whether i break the bead on these stock tires and scavenge the TPMS sensors, order new OEM ones or get Schrader brand aftermarket's.
Order these.
http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=7988504&cc=3307064&jsn=10
Installed on my Methods and the truck recognized them in 5 miles without programming. Leave your stock ones on the stock wheels.
marshal
Burrito Enthusiast
wheels shipping today from TR, hoping to have them by Friday. ordered the TPMS sensors you recommended from RA
Kingsize24
Well-known member
Very cool. Thanks for posting that.
Just go through the que and enter exactly what truck you have. The early 4th gens and the very late one's use different sensors than the 2014-16 I think.
BTW Rock Auto is awesome. I ordered a replacement bumper from them and they accidentally shipped me a bumper for a 1500. I messaged them the mix up and they had the correct part on the way the next day. I guess it was too expensive to ship the 1500 bumper back because they told me to just keep it.
marshal
Burrito Enthusiast
timeline update:
Wheels are arriving on Thursday. lock rings are shipping separately and I'm hopeful they'll be here before the weekend. We're 3-5 weeks out on the sliders from White Knuckle, and what looks to be 3-4 weeks out for shipment of the Expedition One front and rear bumpers. I need to grab a couple lights from Baja Designs' and decide what fridge i want and things should be wrapping up for the most part.
Stuck between getting an Engel 60cu or the ARB Elements. Both are rated for 365 exposure to elements (this would be mounted in the bed), but both have good and bad features. The Engel is slightly more efficient and is taller with a smaller footprint. The ARB has a large foot print, and is shorter, but has a lot of great features like gas strut and a light etc. Stuck between the two.
also trying to decide if i should replace the coils i have with Thuren coils or replace the shocks with Thuren/KING's. want to do both, but dont have enough free cash to do both at the same time. I'm okay with the ride that i have, and im not speedracer offroad- the truck was being built for crawling. I'm leaning towards the shocks because of the increase in travel available from the front and rear (1" front 2" rear)
Wheels are arriving on Thursday. lock rings are shipping separately and I'm hopeful they'll be here before the weekend. We're 3-5 weeks out on the sliders from White Knuckle, and what looks to be 3-4 weeks out for shipment of the Expedition One front and rear bumpers. I need to grab a couple lights from Baja Designs' and decide what fridge i want and things should be wrapping up for the most part.
Stuck between getting an Engel 60cu or the ARB Elements. Both are rated for 365 exposure to elements (this would be mounted in the bed), but both have good and bad features. The Engel is slightly more efficient and is taller with a smaller footprint. The ARB has a large foot print, and is shorter, but has a lot of great features like gas strut and a light etc. Stuck between the two.
also trying to decide if i should replace the coils i have with Thuren coils or replace the shocks with Thuren/KING's. want to do both, but dont have enough free cash to do both at the same time. I'm okay with the ride that i have, and im not speedracer offroad- the truck was being built for crawling. I'm leaning towards the shocks because of the increase in travel available from the front and rear (1" front 2" rear)
Tex68w
Beach Bum
My choices/suggestions, I am going with the ARB fridge and I have already ordered the Thuren coils. My plan is to run the taller coils up front for the remainder of this year with the stock Bilsteins and then upgrade to some Kings next year. I still need to order the White Knuckle Sliders, been distracted with other hobbies as of late lol. Is your rear bumper the new dual swing out carrier bumper? I am tempted to order that before I order the front Kinzer, so much awesome with that setup. I am excited to see your build come together.
marshal
Burrito Enthusiast
yeah, dual rear swing out and the yet to be released powerwagon specific high clearance expedition one bumper. i know people.