Incorporating the right accessories into a complete build is essential when trying to accentuate the overall aesthetic value. In the case of our '09 Dodge Ram, we aimed to produce a classy fullsize truck with enough custom credibility to make its presence appropriate whether it's cruising the mean city streets or the fabulous Las Vegas strip.
Seeing as night cruising is generally the most exhilarating, we wanted to upgrade the Ram's lighting appeal at both ends, so we locked down Anzo USA's brand-new head and tail light housings, and true HID head and foglamp kits from Xtralights.com. The black headlight housings feature a crystal-clear projector beam, bright amber LED turn signal bulbs, and fluorescent powered, diamond-cut halo light rings that will demand triple takes at the very least. The matching black LED tail lights shine bright, and are easily noticed day or night.
While we're on the subject of bright light, the Xetronic Digital Generation 2 HID conversion kits project 350-precent brighter light over the factory halogen bulbs.
Our '09 SEMA project was well on its way to being a mean, after hours driving machine. Onlookers should go out and grab a pair of shades.
Before we even picked up a...
Before we even picked up a wrench or opened a box of product, the guys from Anzo stopped by Custom Truck Shop's garage, and prepped the fresh paint first as they thoroughly taped the area around the existing headlights and bumper areas that needed to be removed for the installation.
A few 10mm bolts needed to...
A few 10mm bolts needed to be removed in order to take off the grille, which guards access to the headlights.
Once the grille was off, taking...
Once the grille was off, taking the headlights out is a simple chore.
We unpacked Anzo's headlight...
We unpacked Anzo's headlight housings...
...and scavenged the metal...
...and scavenged the metal retaining clip from the stock headlights so we could attach them to the Xtralgihts.com Xetronic digital ballasts later.
We wanted to avoid unnecessary...
We wanted to avoid unnecessary wire cutting or splicing, so we used the supplied wiring harnesses to ensure the installation would be a 100-precent plug-and-play ordeal.
With the wiring portion of...
With the wiring portion of the install handled, the retaining clip we mentioned in step 6 was attached to the Xetronic HID ballast...
...and was screwed into the...
...and was screwed into the new housing.
Next, the digitally controlled...
Next, the digitally controlled electrical transformer was mounted under the hood. This unit runs at a much lower temperature than non-digital HID kits, and it also puts out a stable electrical output to the ballasts, which result in perfectly matched bulb brightness on each side.
Mating the newer, brighter...
Mating the newer, brighter bulbs to the electrical transformer was as simple as plugging in a few harnesses—no messy splicing or wire-tapping was involved.
In no time at all, the HID-loaded...
In no time at all, the HID-loaded Anzo headlight housing was put into place. The intense front end illumination upgrade was now complete.