HID Projectors for an LT Trailblazer?

[l008com]

The internet is filled with aftermarket projector housings for LS and SS Trailblazers. But I have not seen a single set for LT Trailblazers. I very much prefer the look of the LT grill over the LS. I find it looks much more modern, and I put extra effort in to specifically find an LT V8. But I was also hoping to upgrade to at least HID Projector low beams (possibly non-projector HID highs too).

Is there some secret source somewhere?

 

[Mounce]

They are not available for purchase. The pre-made ones from eBay and such suck anyways.

Good news is it's not impossible. Quite a few guys around here are running good projectors. Gotta make them yourself or pay a retrofit shop a chunk of change to get them made though. I think a member or two around here will make them too but you'd have to ask around. The projectors are easy to buy, putting them in the housings and wiring everything is where most get lost. Search around here for "projector retrofit" or "projectors."



Ps, if the site's search bar don't work well for you hop on Google and search the terms but add "gmtnation.com" at the end to bring up results from here.

 

[l008com]

Ps, if the site's search bar don't work well for you hop on Google and search the terms but add "gmtnation.com" at the end to bring up results from here.

Yeah so like pretty much all forums, search terms that are less than 3 characters are ignored. Makes it hard for "LT, LS, SS" type searches.

But about projectors being easy to buy, where do you get them from? I've never seen bare, "generic" projectors before. Installing them in my housing sounds like a real pain in the ass. Plus my housings are kind of beat so I'd want new ones anyway :/

 

[Mounce]

Theretrofitsource.com is where we get 'em. You'll want aftermarket lights anyways, much easier to open than the factory perma-sealed ones.

 

[dmanns67]

Also when using the search bar here on the forum, it helps to click the box, "search titles only".

I was in the same boat you are now, 4 years ago and the aftermarket is still the same for TBLT headlights, nothing at all out there. If you want projectors, you will have to build them. The site Mounce posted, the retrofit source, is the preferred choice for quality projectors and HID kits. Use TRSHJ for 10% off your order.

The Morimoto Mini H1 6.0 or 7.0 is a really good "plug n play" projector as far as being able to install without cutting or modifying the headlight. I have a set of 6.0s installed in my wife's truck and they are great. The MMH1 7.0s are supposed to be even better.

You will definitely want a brand new set headlights for the retrofit. Plan to spend at least $300 for a new set of TBLT headlights. The Morimoto Mini H1 7.0 projector retro kit goes for $270 which includes H1 HIDs, ballasts, relay harness, projectors, shrouds, and hardware.

Here is a pic of my TBLT headlight with FX-R 3.0 bi-xenon projectors and E46-R shroud. I also run LEDs in my hi beams.

 

[l008com]

I have many questions!

I just want to be super clear about the process. This projector sort of "clamps" in place of the original bulb, so no plastic modifications are needed? You just need to crack the lens open? That is a lot easier than I thought it would be.

These are bi-xenons, are you using them in that way? You said you had LED highs, does that mean you are using the bi-xenons as low-beams only, or that you have "double" high beams, the high mode on the bi-xenon PLUS the LED high beam in the normal high beam spot?

Also how do DRLs play into this. DRL's are low voltage low beams yes? Or are they low voltage high beams? Do you have to disable them somehow?

As far as pricing, one of my headlights has some... i'm not sure what you'd even call it, cracking of the lens maybe, a discoloring sort of. I can swing the price for the projector kit but not that plus $300 for new lenses. I'll have to see if I can come up with a better solution for that. It's only $100 for a set of brand new LS lights, what a bummer.

 

[Sparky]

You can run both the bixenon and the high beam bulb. That's how I have mine set up.

DRL is low voltage low beams (well, technically PWM). You can either disable the DRL or use a cap mod to make it 100% all the time. When I did my retrofit I disabled the main DRL but I put a different DRL setup in.

Your lights may have oxidation/UV damage indicated by a yellowing. Typical of plastic headlight lenses as they age. You can use a kit to basically sand the first layer of plastic down a bit to get rid of it, and then spray them with a couple coats of clearcoat to seal them back up.

 

[l008com]

If you had your DRL give 100% all the time, wouldn't that mean that you'd be driving around with your high beams on all the time? And in your case, both the traditional high beam plus the bi-xenon high?

Do those fancy LED bulbs handle low voltage for DRL? They say they are suitable for DRL use but they're not clear on exactly what they mean by that. I'm wondering if you could use a relay for the bi-xenon high that would only raise the shield when the highs were getting full voltage, not low voltage. While at the same time using those nice LED bulbs as your highs and DRLs?

Or maybe it's just simpler to disable DRL all together.

 

[BlazingTrails]

DRL circuit is a "power/bulb" saving lower voltage circuit. Instead of the nominal DC voltage (14V+/-) this circuit receives a (10V+/-) Pulse width modulated Alternating current signal. This is fine for a standard buld, but HID ballasts and LED drivers do not like it one bit.

The DRL mods available can either disable them all together, and you only use the headlight switch to turn them on, or there are ways to modify the output to run nominal DC voltage and have them operate as they would from the factory.

Edit: Either way even as it is...stock, if you turn the headlight switch on it goes to full nominal voltage. So if you just use the headlight switch to turn off the DRL's and only turn them on when you need them you can get by. However every time you unlock your truck it will put the DRL signal to the ballast. It is not good for them.

 

[Sparky]

No, it is low beams on all the time, not highs. Sorry I mistyped!

 

[Midnyteryder196]

@Aarkon has done a quad bi-xenon retro in his 08lt.. he has roughly 1k into em.. but look so so sexxy! lol check out the thread members retrofits and you will get a lot of ideas and help for sure. you could get by with $125 for projectors, shrouds with switchback halos, and bulbs.. would just need ballasts if you dont have them.. the only thing keeping you from making a retro for round 200 is the fact that your new lights will be 300/pair...

 

[dmanns67]

I have many questions!

I just want to be super clear about the process. This projector sort of "clamps" in place of the original bulb, so no plastic modifications are needed? You just need to crack the lens open? That is a lot easier than I thought it would be.

These are bi-xenons, are you using them in that way? You said you had LED highs, does that mean you are using the bi-xenons as low-beams only, or that you have "double" high beams, the high mode on the bi-xenon PLUS the LED high beam in the normal high beam spot?

As far as pricing, one of my headlights has some... i'm not sure what you'd even call it, cracking of the lens maybe, a discoloring sort of. I can swing the price for the projector kit but not that plus $300 for new lenses. I'll have to see if I can come up with a better solution for that. It's only $100 for a set of brand new LS lights, what a bummer.

Depending on what projector you use will determine how much cutting and modification is needed. Larger projectors would needed the reflector bowl cutout to make room. Many options for mounting from using JB Weld to making custom brackets. As far as the Morimoto Mini H1s go, there would be no need for modification. If you look at the picture below, the threaded portion on the backside of the projector will go through the hole in the reflector bowl where the halogen bulb normally is. You will use a washer and locking nut to hold the projector in place. Just past the lock nut on the threads is the H1 bulb retaining clip. All you need to do to the headlights is bake them open to remove the lens.



Yes, the projector I have in my low beams is bi-xenon and I have the solenoid wired so that when I turn my high beams on, I have a "double" high beam as you describe. The hot spots are quite different and each projector has their own shape for the hot spot in hi beam mode. The Mini H1s have a great hi beam. You can see in my pic below, close-up to the garage, the shape of the projector hi beam and the blueish color light is from the LEDs in the hi beams. The LEDs spread light to fill in around the gaps from the projector.



Far away shot from the garage.




I dont know what the deal is, but the price difference between LS/SS headlights compared to LT headlights is ridiculous. It appears the price has dropped since I last looked for LT headlights. DEPO LT headlights on Amazon are down to $248 with free shipping. Thats not a bad deal. I paid $330 for my DEPO headlights 4 years ago.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013MO2Q52/?tag=gmtnation-20

 

[l008com]

I have a few more questions for you dmanns67:
Did you run just the xenons for any amount of time, without the LED highs? Were they bright enough? My Camaro had only bixenons and they were super bright, definitely didn't need extra lights. Also in your light photos where you could see the blueness of the LED, are you using 4500k HID and 6000k LED?

 

[dmanns67]

I have a few more questions for you dmanns67:
Did you run just the xenons for any amount of time, without the LED highs? Were they bright enough? My Camaro had only bixenons and they were super bright, definitely didn't need extra lights. Also in your light photos where you could see the blueness of the LED, are you using 4500k HID and 6000k LED?

Yes. I ran just the bi-xenon projectors for about a year with nothing in the hi beams. I added the LEDs in the hi beams for just the added light output, but was not needed.

I am running Morimoto's XB35 4500k HIDs. 4300k to 5000k is the optimal kelvin temperature you are looking for in regards to the most lumen output. Any lower than 4300k and any higher than 5000k, your lumen output starts to decrease. 4300k-4500k is rated at around 3400 lumens.

The LEDs in the hi beams are around 6500k. Majority of the good LED headlights that come with driver's, run around 6000k-6500k. The LEDs combined are rated at 7200 lumen. My camera phone actually makes the color of the LEDs look more blue/purpleish than what they actually are.

The projector that I retrofitted into my fog lights is also a bi-xenon projector. Even though it is not necessary to have a hi beam in the fogs, I wired up the solenoid to my hi beams anyways. Its a true 6 hi mod.

 

[l008com]

Cool cool. I have another more generic question. You see that they have 35 watt HIDs, and 55 watt HIDs. Also the LEDs at the retrofit store are 18 watt.

SO, first off, are these values "per-light" or total. Are 18 watt LEDs 18 watts per bulb, or is it 18 watts total for the pair? Same with the rest.

And second, how many watts are typical halogen high and low beams? At least the typical trailblazer lights?

 

[Sparky]

Halogen low beams are 55W, high beams 65W.

A decent quality 35W HID is brighter (in lumens) than a typical 55W halogen bulb. It is closer to a 65W halogen high beam bulb. That's one reason why it sucks so bad for oncoming traffic when people shove HIDs into their halogen reflector housings - it is almost as bad as the high beams being left on.

 

[l008com]

Ok that's useful. But I still have the question of: all these headlight wattages, are they 'each' side, or total?

Also, why do HID kids often come with relays and thicker wires for the power, if they are actually using less power instead of more?

 

[Blckshdw]

Ok that's useful. But I still have the question of: all these headlight wattages, are they 'each' side, or total?

Also, why do HID kids often come with relays and thicker wires for the power, if they are actually using less power instead of more?

The wattages are per side, not per pair. The relay harnesses come with thicker wires, because although the HID ballasts pull less power over all, there's a large surge of power at ignition to get them going. Depending on the vehicle manufacturer, you may be fine without using one, but in some cases, if the wiring isn't able to handle it, you can end up having melted connectors, or damaged wiring after a period of time.

This would be especially bad if your headlights should fail while night driving somewhere that didn't have any street lighting, or other light sources to help you out.

 

[dmanns67]

Also the LEDs at the retrofit store are 18 watt.

SO, first off, are these values "per-light" or total. Are 18 watt LEDs 18 watts per bulb, or is it 18 watts total for the pair? Same with the rest.

Which LEDs are you referring to?

 

[l008com]

I was using these as my LED example: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/led-lighting/led-bulbs/morimoto-xb-led-headlight-bulbs.html

 

[l008com]

So I'm pretty sold on these retrofit projectors, I'm just not sure what I'm going to do about my lenses. Which brings up a very important question. What is the process for opening up a stock factory lens?

 

[Blckshdw]

There was a guy around here that was always messing with his headlights, and did a little write up thread forever ago...

http://gmtnation.com/forums/threads...adlights-and-create-clear-corner-lenses.1174/

 

[NateDG]

Also when using the search bar here on the forum, it helps to click the box, "search titles only".

I was in the same boat you are now, 4 years ago and the aftermarket is still the same for TBLT headlights, nothing at all out there. If you want projectors, you will have to build them. The site Mounce posted, the retrofit source, is the preferred choice for quality projectors and HID kits. Use TRSHJ for 10% off your order.

The Morimoto Mini H1 6.0 or 7.0 is a really good "plug n play" projector as far as being able to install without cutting or modifying the headlight. I have a set of 6.0s installed in my wife's truck and they are great. The MMH1 7.0s are supposed to be even better.

You will definitely want a brand new set headlights for the retrofit. Plan to spend at least $300 for a new set of TBLT headlights. The Morimoto Mini H1 7.0 projector retro kit goes for $270 which includes H1 HIDs, ballasts, relay harness, projectors, shrouds, and hardware.

Here is a pic of my TBLT headlight with FX-R 3.0 bi-xenon projectors and E46-R shroud. I also run LEDs in my hi beams.

View attachment 74428

There ya go taunting me with your projector fog again... Haha!

So I'm pretty sold on these retrofit projectors, I'm just not sure what I'm going to do about my lenses. Which brings up a very important question. What is the process for opening up a stock factory lens?

I used 300 degrees for 8 minutes with the oven rack on the lowest setting. Lense side up, sitting on cardboard then on a baking sheet. Every housing will likely be different however.

EDIT: stock housings use a special permaseal butyl which is extremely difficult to open if not impossible without causing some kind of damage. My housings are aftermarket.

 

[Blckshdw]

@NateDG .... Multi Quote is your friend.

If he has OEM permasealed headlights, the bake method will not likely work and he'll have to cut them open. IF they are aftermarket units, sealed with butyl rubber sealant, then the bake method works really well.

 

[NateDG]

@NateDG .... Multi Quote is your friend.

If he has OEM permasealed headlights, the bake method will not likely work and he'll have to cut them open. IF they are aftermarket units, sealed with butyl rubber sealant, then the bake method works really well.

I don't get it... Lol

 

[Blckshdw]

When you want to respond to multiple posts, you click that link and it will allow you to put each of the quotes into a single post, so you're not double/triple posting. Which is a

 

[l008com]

I was going to try to keep my good oem lens and only replace my bad lens with an aftermarket. But if I'm not going to be able to do it without destroying them... maybe i should just buy a pair of aftermarkets.

 

[Blckshdw]

I'm not going to be able to do it without destroying them...

Destroying what? How?

 

[l008com]

So I was just doing a little more research about this. I was kind of thinking about doing an HID bixenon retrofit, and then putting LED bulbs in the highs, so I'd have dual high beams. But I had another interesting idea. It's very unlikely I'll be spending this kind of money on headlights but... what if you put two sets of bixenons in each enclosure, a pair in your lows and a pair in your highs? Then you'd have 4 low bean lights and 4 high beam lights. That would be an interesting setup.

 

[Sib]

@Blckshdw has done this with his "quad" set up. He can chime in more as far as how to correctly line up each projector (lows and highs), but this for sure can be done.

 

[l008com]

That must be nuts! If I do move forward, I'm thinking just regular bixenon hids, and then maybe some sort of custom DRL setup that is dim LED in the high beam socket. But with the cost of LT lenses so high, I may not do this at all.

 

[Sib]

if your looking for a drl set up, @Midnyteryder196 just posted an article on how to wire up the fogs as drls. Then you can do your quad beam set up and have your fogs act as your drls.

 

[l008com]

dogs = fogs?
I don't actually want to go quad beam hid. I mean I want to but it's far too expensive. I'm still driving around on bald ass tires.

I see that theretrofit source makes a set of LED high beam bulbs that are apparently very bright. And they are also 5000K, not 6000K (blueish) like most LEDs. What makes them only suitable for high beam use? Does anyone make an LED low beam thats the same K, 4000K-5000K? If so, I could just go double LED bulb, it would be a lot cheaper, and I wouldn't have to take my lenses apart.

Given the money situation, I think I'm going to have a long time to decide

 

[Blckshdw]

For running quad projectors, the kicker is the vertical alignment. Obviously the highbeam buckets are aimed slightly higher than the lows, to account for that, you have to dremel out some material from the top edge of the high beam bulb opening so you can tilt them slightly down. And from the bottom of the low beam bulb openings, so you can tilt them slightly up. But yes, when I was running quads, they were crazy bright. Too much foreground light really, but I think the current Mini projectors have foreground limiters in them, so not as much of an issue there anymore.

There are pics in my retrofit build thread, if you care to search for it.

Most high powered LED bulbs are gonna run on the cooler temperature side of 5000K. Haven't seen any that run on the warmer side. We recommend them for high beams only, unless you're gonna try them in a projector because they glare like crazy. In the DFWWIZ thread, one member who put 9006 LEDs in his truck says other drivers complain to him all the time about it.

 

[l008com]

What causes the LED to glare so much more than a regular incandescent bulb? Is it a simple matter of brightness? If so, why not make dimmer LED bulbs?

 

[Blckshdw]

What causes the LED to glare so much more than a regular incandescent bulb? Is it a simple matter of brightness?

Increased brightness, different wavelengths of the light being emitted, as well as the focal point not being in the exact same position as filament bulbs, which the reflector bowls are designed for. All contributing factors.

If so, why not make dimmer LED bulbs?

This is blasphemy, now go to your room and think about what you just said!!

 

[Sparky]

Personally, while I went with quad projectors I only used the pair in the low beam buckets for the low beams. I removed the cutoff shield on the ones in the high beam buckets. High beams are all 4 projectors on, but I also just stuck halogen H1 bulbs in the high beam bucket projectors (took some minor modification of the projector to fit them properly). I didn't care how much they threw light everywhere since they were just for high beam usage anyway and also they were more for looks than anything. Here's a picture of my housings before I put them in the truck - if you look closely you can tell they are tipped upward slightly.

 

[08nogroceryLT]

I've been looking into doing this myself so as I slowly get pieces I can keep posting here. Just to give more options to the other LT guys they make a color changing led called a demon eye you can out behind the projector.