Morimoto XB vs. Big Horn/Laramie OEM LED

[diablo82]

Do anyone have experience with both OEM LED and Morimoto. I am looking to change out my regular LED to night edition one but wonder if the Morimoto one worth the $900 extra? Seem like the Morimoto is going to be much brighter due to the 3 LED housing vs. OEM 2 LED unit (low beam), or is it just a factor of bling?

 

[whitexc]

IMHO the night edition premium LED's are outstanding. Best upgrade I did to the truck during the order process.

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[elephantrider]

I would go oem in this situation.

 

[raven_dt]

The Laramie's also have the adaptive led lighting, correct? Headlight beams can move as you go around corners. Morimotos can't do that.

 

[diablo82]

The Laramie's also have the adaptive led lighting, correct? Headlight beams can move as you go around corners. Morimotos can't do that.

I thought that's the OEM projector LED headlight for limited and up. Currently I only have the regular LED.

 

[naplesbill]

I faced the same choice with my truck. I did not have factory LED headlights. I decided against the Morimoto because I wasn’t sure how well they would operate and I think OEM will be more reliable. So I went with OEM. I also have a Night Edition.


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[H3LZSN1P3R]

Morimoto is at the top of their field and i use them for all my projector retrofit parts but in this case the oem is outstanding id save the 900$ for something else you wont find a huge difference in this instance

 

[el_barto]

I would be interested in seeing a side by side of the oem LED reflector (mid tier) headlights vs the oem LED projector (top tier), and perhaps even against the Morimoto LED headlamps.

I have the “mid tier” (LED reflector) Lights on my truck and I am very happy with their performance. The beam cutoff is not sharp like a projector but I’ve heard this is actually beneficial as it helps your eyes transition from the illuminated part of the road to the dark

i find the oem LED fog lamps are quite good as well, with an extremely wide pattern (it helps that the lights literally wrap the corner of the bumper)

As my lighting reference baseline, my last truck (2015 Chevy Colorado) I had gone thru a few headlight “upgrades” before reaching their final form, which was extremely good : oem housings, morimoto 4TLR bixenon projectors, 35W HID ballasts, osram night breaker HID bulbs, HIR1 halogen high beams. That was extremely good setup, and I think the Ram OEM LED reflector headlamps are pretty on par, less the sharp cutoff.
Low beams on the Chevy:
I’ll need to go back to this road one night and take an photo in my Ram for comparison.

 

[diablo82]

I think I made my mind up to go with the non-projector LED night edition headlight. It's much cheaper, great performance, and cleaner factory look. Thanks everyone for your input!

 

[loveracing1988]

I think I made my mind up to go with the non-projector LED night edition headlight. It's much cheaper, great performance, and cleaner factory look. Thanks everyone for your input!

Good choice, dibs on your old housings...

 

[diablo82]

Good choice, dibs on your old housings...

I am located at VA/NC

 

[loveracing1988]

I am located at VA/NC

Dang, Michigan.

 

[el_barto]

I would be interested in seeing a side by side of the oem LED reflector (mid tier) headlights vs the oem LED projector (top tier), and perhaps even against the Morimoto LED headlamps.

I have the “mid tier” (LED reflector) Lights on my truck and I am very happy with their performance. The beam cutoff is not sharp like a projector but I’ve heard this is actually beneficial as it helps your eyes transition from the illuminated part of the road to the dark

i find the oem LED fog lamps are quite good as well, with an extremely wide pattern (it helps that the lights literally wrap the corner of the bumper)

As my lighting reference baseline, my last truck (2015 Chevy Colorado) I had gone thru a few headlight “upgrades” before reaching their final form, which was extremely good : oem housings, morimoto 4TLR bixenon projectors, 35W HID ballasts, osram night breaker HID bulbs, HIR1 halogen high beams. That was extremely good setup, and I think the Ram OEM LED reflector headlamps are pretty on par, less the sharp cutoff.
Low beams on the Chevy:View attachment 17293
I’ll need to go back to this road one night and take an photo in my Ram for comparison.

So I think I went to take a photo of my Rams headlights(low beams only) in the same spot. The above photo was taken a couple years ago, so unfortunately the camera is different... my new phone/camera is substantially better at night, so that gives favor to the Ram headlights. But it should give a decent comparison. I think most interesting is there are a few dark spots under the Rams headlights pattern. The cutoff is not as sharp but it is still very good. It may be the camera, but the color rendering appears much better on the Ram... I had Osram Night Breaker HID bulbs in the Chevy which actually have a very good CRI.

2019 Ram 2500 Reflector LED Headlamps


Morimoto 4TLR projectors with 35W Osram Night Breaker Unlimited HID bulbs(4350K)

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

So I think I went to take a photo of my Rams headlights(low beams only) in the same spot. The above photo was taken a couple years ago, so unfortunately the camera is different... my new phone/camera is substantially better at night, so that gives favor to the Ram headlights. But it should give a decent comparison. I think most interesting is there are a few dark spots under the Rams headlights pattern. The cutoff is not as sharp but it is still very good. It may be the camera, but the color rendering appears much better on the Ram... I had Osram Night Breaker HID bulbs in the Chevy which actually have a very good CRI.

2019 Ram 2500 Reflector LED Headlamps


Morimoto 4TLR projectors with 35W Osram Night Breaker Unlimited HID bulbs(4350K)

I wonder how great the chevy would have been with 8k and 55w ballasts i have always found this to be the best light output for me

i cant find my pictures of the light output on my 2nd gen but i did morimoto mini h1 projectors in the some cheap housings turned out awesome and bright and looked great compared to the oems

 

[el_barto]

I wonder how great the chevy would have been with 8k and 55w ballasts i have always found this to be the best light output for me

i cant find my pictures of the light output on my 2nd gen but i did morimoto mini h1 projectors in the some cheap housings turned out awesome and bright and looked great compared to the oems

8000k? Gross. I know the light color “yellows out” a bit with 55w, but I imagine the CRI (color rendering) would be awful. I ran diode dynamics 35w 6000K before I swapped the projectors. I thought it looked cool at first but grew tired of the blue quickly, and it was eye-tiring.

I did more research and learned the Osram CBIs (5500K) and NBUs (4350K) were some of the best, with the NBUs producing slightly better CRI... essentially illuminating things truer to their actual colors, vs a washed out/desaturated look that is common with HID bulbs. The correct coloring/increased contrast is easier on the eyes and helps you better identify/distinguish things such as a deer on the side of the road

 

[raven_dt]

Are the morimotos dot approved?

 

[diablo82]

Are the morimotos dot approved?

I believe they are.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

8000k? Gross. I know the light color “yellows out” a bit with 55w, but I imagine the CRI (color rendering) would be awful. I ran diode dynamics 35w 6000K before I swapped the projectors. I thought it looked cool at first but grew tired of the blue quickly, and it was eye-tiring.

I did more research and learned the Osram CBIs (5500K) and NBUs (4350K) were some of the best, with the NBUs producing slightly better CRI... essentially illuminating things truer to their actual colors, vs a washed out/desaturated look that is common with HID bulbs. The correct coloring/increased contrast is easier on the eyes and helps you better identify/distinguish things such as a deer on the side of the road

In projectors you only get the white light and a slight Tinge of blue at the cutoff line i have run 6000k as well in the projector they look to yellow
I have run many different temp bulbs in between 35w and 55w and found the 8000k and 55w was the best and brightest white output i found

 

[el_barto]

In projectors you only get the white light and a slight Tinge of blue at the cutoff line i have run 6000k as well in the projector they look to yellow
I have run many different temp bulbs in between 35w and 55w and found the 8000k and 55w was the best and brightest white output i found

Interesting, didn’t realize 55W made that much difference on light color.
Anyways, no HID on this truck since it’s got the LEDs which are very good

 

[caskey_b]

I’m reviving this old post.

I recently bought the Morimoto XB hybrids to replace my stock Laramie LED reflectors (over 50% off sale, and I wanted the black housings).

Going by these photos, the OEM LED reflectors beat the Morimoto XB hybrids. However, the OEM pics were taken 2 hours earlier in the night (830 pm vs 1030 pm with the Morimotos).

I do need to adjust the passenger side beam a little higher on the Morimotos, so that may help a little too.