[modernsteel2023]

I was all set to buy some LEDs to replace my RTL-Es weakazz yellow high beams.
But then I saw a pair of Sylvania 9005 Silver Star Ultras just sitting there in the clearance section of my local Walmart for $19.
So I decided that I Just had to pick them up and give them a go before dropping $200 on the LEDs.

Let us know how they work. If you're ambitious, take some before and after pics at night.

 

[gatsma]

I was all set to buy some LEDs to replace my RTL-Es weakazz yellow high beams.
But then I saw a pair of Sylvania 9005 Silver Star Ultras just sitting there in the clearance section of my local Walmart for $19.
So I decided that I Just had to pick them up and give them a go before dropping $200 on the LEDs.

If you pay $200 for LED's you got hosed. Good ones shouldn't cost more than $50 or so.
Plus, those bright Sylvanias will have a much shorter life than both "normal" Sylvanias and any LED,

 

[Petrol]

If you pay $200 for LED's you got hosed. Good ones shouldn't cost more than $50 or so.
Plus, those bright Sylvanias will have a much shorter life than both "normal" Sylvanias and any LED,

While I agree (because I have experienced) the 'bright' Sylvanias will have a shorter life than normal. It is not by that 'much'. And for the price who give a f?
Although, I do not agree with your assertion that I can get 'Good LEDs for $50 or so'.
Unless maybe you're meaning, "$50 or so EACH". Because most of those highly rated LEDs you see on Amazon for $25/$30 a piece are f'ing garbage that put out less light (but at least it's white?) than oem and don't last for crap either.
But feel free to post a link if you know of a good deal on good ones. I'd love to be wrong And get a deal.

 

[gatsma]

While I agree (because I have experienced) the 'bright' Sylvanias will have a shorter life than normal. It is not by that 'much'. And for the price who give a f?
Although, I do not agree with your assertion that I can get 'Good LEDs for $50 or so'.
Unless maybe you're meaning, "$50 or so EACH". Because most of those highly rated LEDs you see on Amazon for $25/$30 a piece are f'ing garbage that put out less light (but at least it's white?) than oem and don't last for crap either.
But feel free to post a link if you know of a good deal on good ones. I'd love to be wrong And get a deal.

i have to disagree. I put LED headlight bulbs in the 2 vehicles (04 Tahoe and 15 Grand Caravan) previous to the Ridgeline, all bought thru Amazon, and never paid more than $50/pr. plus they were MUCH brighter than the OEM bulbs. Never needed to replace any of them and they lit up the road WAY better than the OEM bulbs. You need to read the commentaries for anything you buy on Amazon. Bad stuff IS called out, and there are many brands of LED that have been around long enough to prove themselves (Seabright, Auxito, etc.). You do need to look at the lumen brightness rating. I stick with those brands and have had good luck so far.

 

[gatsma]

I put in some 9005 LED high beam bulbs. HUGE difference! They cost about $20, RCJ brand, likely not a major brand. Someone mentioned them earlier in this thread and liked them, so I figured give them a shot. Now the high beams LIGHT UP the road! If they burn out before they should, it's only $20.
I DO recommend LED high beam bulbs!

 

[Petrol]

Let us know how they work. If you're ambitious, take some before and after pics at night.

just ran across this... I did install the SilverStar Ultras.
IMO, they were a waste of $19 and the time it took to install them.
very minimal change in color temp of the yellowish oem high-beam bulbs.
Also I could not decern any improvement in brightness/output.

 

[modernsteel2023]

just ran across this... I did install the SilverStar Ultras.
IMO, they were a waste of $19 and the time it took to install them.
very minimal change in color temp of the yellowish oem high-beam bulbs.
Also I could not decern any improvement in brightness/output.

Thanks for responding!

 

[GSS-Ridgeline 2022]

Understanding the pros and cons, I decided to try swapping out my high beams for LED lights on my '23 RTL-E. The difference is staggering; if I had to give it a percentage improvement, I would say things are 50% brighter and more visible. My wife made the comment that next time we go to Big Bend National Park and do some night 4WD road exploring looking for animals, we will not need our hand-held spotlight anymore! That isn't quite true, but I can state that in dark areas the entire roadway is dramatically easier to see with the high beams, and I can see much further down the road.

How much did this massive upgrade cost? $19.99 on Amazon for both new LED bulbs: Amazon.com

Installation was super easy; took me about 20 minutes (10 of that was to retrieve one of the little plastic trim parts that holds down the air intake that I managed to drop). If my life depended on it, I could probably swap both sides in under 5 minutes total if I had to do it again. True plug and play.

Let me acknowledge the valid arguments of legality, not blinding oncoming traffic, and straying from OEM. I agree with all of those things, and if I only drove in the city I would just keep the OEM setup. But my safety when driving in rural areas and being able to better avoid nigh hazards such as deer (and much more) moves the needle to be as a net benefit overall. I will no longer use auto-high-beams, and will reserve the use of my LED high beams to ONLY rural use and with no oncoming traffic. Could my cheapo LED lights fail? Could there be computer issues (camera calibration or something)? Sure, and if so I can always switch back to OEM. But will my dramatic night vision improvement make my driving safer? Yes - for me it is worth it. My $0.02 .

I also drive predominantly on Rural Roads in heavily deer infested areas. Thinking of upgrading to LED bulbs for my stock high beams in my 22 RTL-E. Wondering if you had any computer or calibration issues so far? My high beams rarely turn on automatically and are not very useful when on. The link you provided for Amazon is broken, if you post a better link, I would appreciate it!

 

[gatsma]

I also drive predominantly on Rural Roads in heavily deer infested areas. Thinking of upgrading to LED bulbs for my stock high beams in my 22 RTL-E. Wondering if you had any computer or calibration issues so far? My high beams rarely turn on automatically and are not very useful when on. The link you provided for Amazon is broken, if you post a better link, I would appreciate it!

Do it, and don't look back.

 

[Vinny in ATX]

I also drive predominantly on Rural Roads in heavily deer infested areas. Thinking of upgrading to LED bulbs for my stock high beams in my 22 RTL-E. Wondering if you had any computer or calibration issues so far? My high beams rarely turn on automatically and are not very useful when on. The link you provided for Amazon is broken, if you post a better link, I would appreciate it!

Zero issues after a couple of months of use. No computer hiccups, no errors, just beautiful brilliant light. Saturday night I drove several hours on hill country rural roads, and spotted at least 5 deer and other critters crossing the road. The LEDs allowed me to see them MUCH easier. The difference versus stock is astounding. Driving in low-light areas is much safer with these lights. For $20 for a pair they are the best bang for the buck mod you can make. Just do it!