Aftermarket LED Lights Given Side-by-Side Test on F-150s

By Patrick Morgan - May 19, 2020

Need illumination and not sure what headlights to get? Check out this video featuring a full test of LED lights at night.

YouTuber Helio Muro from the Keep It Dirty Off-Road channel has provided Ford F-150 owners a great service. If you’ve been in the market for aftermarket LED lighting systems, and have done your homework, you probably know about lumen ratings and all the stats associated with LED lights. But how do they compare in the real world? Muro and a few friends got together to test them.

The two LED lights tested are from AlphaRex and Morimoto. Both have a similar price and integrate with the F-150’s system so as not to set off any error lights.

Muro does give us some important information for those who see two different lights above. He says, “a lot of you guys are going to be pointing out this is a 2018, and it’s not a fair comparison… but this [lighting area] is the area that matters to us. This is identical whether you get the 2017 F-150’s or the ’19-’20, which is what’s currently available now.”

The side-by-side tests give some interesting results, though. The boot-up sequence is an amber animated affair for the AlphaRex, whereas the Morimoto will illuminate the outside plank in white. The AlphaRex’s planks, when they turn white after the boot-up sequence and are the brightest of the two.

FTE

For turn signals, both animate from the inside outward, but the AlphaRex uses the whole plank, whereas the Morimoto uses the horizontal surface.

The four vertical light pods in the Morimoto use the top pods for low beam lights. The bottom two pods are used for high beam lighting. AlphaRex had three pods up top for low beams, and two lower pods for the high beams. While the design of both headlights will be better than factory, it was time to see how they actually cast light on the ground.

Large convex lenses are the norm, so Muro says, “the Morimoto is a more traditional light that we’re used to, but they’re using an updated technology, LED’s. The AlphaRex is going with something new. Smaller more efficient pods with higher light output.” In each test, the AlphaRex has a higher amount of concentrated light in front of the truck. The Morimoto has light cast in a wide and long beam. But that’s not a bad thing. For off-road uses Muro says, “having all that extra light up front is really helpful. I can reduce my cost because I don’t have to run as many lights… I think the Morimoto’s are more going to shine on the street.”