Thoughts on Projectors.

[Blckshdw]

I have seen pics of projectors that have been damaged from running 55w HIDs. 55w gets so hot that the chrome on the reflector bowl starts to comes off. Plus with running 55w HIDs, they have a lower lifespan than 35w HIDs which are plenty bright enough.

As far as how the 50's melt the chrome off the reflector bowl, that only happens if you have the light so the heat can't get out or are using a tiny housing. Like the fogs on the trailblazer are so damn tiny that they can't take 50's. I ran 50's in my envoys fogs for a few months and had no problem but went back to 35's so I could use my 50w ballasts on my bi-xenons.

Dave was talking about the projector's reflector bowl, not the OEM one. If the projector isn't designed to take that much wattage, the bowls will burn, become less reflective and you get diminished output.

 

[DAlastDON]

Color temperatures i have used 8000k, 6000k, and 5000k in the head lights, and 8000k and 3000k in the fog lights. Always used 35watt.

Lights were housed in a stock 2007 nissan maxima housing with projectors.

8000k in the headlights was my favorite. The light output had a blue tint to it but it lit up anything with florescent colors. Such as street signs. Made them almost glow. Deer also stood out much more.

6000K in the head lights had a blue tint in the projector but light output on the road was mostly white. Florescent colors still stand out but not as much. Same with deer.

5000K in the headlights looked and outputted a pure white light. Very good(best) light output but did not make deer or anything florescent stand out.

8000k in the fog lights was for looks only. Brightened up the road in front of the car and reflected the light back from snow and rain. Useless in functionality.

3000k in the fog lights was useful and looked good. Brightened up in front of the car and cut through snow and rain for a good contrast for visibility.

 

[littleblazer]

So last question, I plan to order an aftermarket set of lights since they inherently separate easier, so would these be fine or are they too cheap?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/02-09-Chevy-Trailblazer-Headlights-Headlamps-Left-Right-Pair-Set-/231142554155?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35d12b7a2b&vxp=mtr

 

[Mounce]

So last question, I plan to order an aftermarket set of lights since they inherently separate easier, so would these be fine or are they too cheap?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/02-09-Chevy-Trailblazer-Headlights-Headlamps-Left-Right-Pair-Set-/231142554155?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35d12b7a2b&vxp=mtr

Looks good to me. Pretty sure I saw some the other day in the $70 range if you want cheaper lol.

 

[littleblazer]

Looks good to me. Pretty sure I saw some the other day in the $70 range if you want cheaper lol.

Would that maybe be of the amazon variety?

 

[dmanns67]

3000k in the fog lights was useful and looked good. Brightened up in front of the car and cut through snow and rain for a good contrast for visibility.

I ran 3000k in my stock fogs for a week and was not impressed at all. 4300k puts much more useable light on the road in dry, wet, or snow conditions.

 

[Mounce]

Would that maybe be of the amazon variety?

Nope, Ebay. Everything (mostly) is cheaper on Ebay vs. Amazon.

Just search "trailblazer headlights" and you'll get a plethora.

 

[kickass audio]

I agree with 4300k for fogs. I would never go above that for fogs. Low beams, my limit is 8000k for them. With the headlights, they look to be fine for ones you can mod. If the brand is TYC, I would stay away from them. They were okay for stock lights but adding projectors were extra weight on the stock reflector bowl and it would not hold up well to it. My aftermarket ones I had were such junk that after a few months of having to keep popping the reflector bowl back onto the adjustment screw, I just gave up and bought bigger projectors to retrofit into my OEM lights. The OEM ones have yet to fail me. Also the aftermarket ones had a burn spot on the lens in front of the projector. That spot was the center where the light output was hottest. The stock lens is thinner but does not get that hot spot like the aftermarket one did.

 

[Mounce]

Good points KA, I hadn't considered build quality and thought most lights of the housings were made equal for some reason and thought cheaper = better lol.

 

[littleblazer]

I agree with 4300k for fogs. I would never go above that for fogs. Low beams, my limit is 8000k for them. With the headlights, they look to be fine for ones you can mod. If the brand is TYC, I would stay away from them. They were okay for stock lights but adding projectors were extra weight on the stock reflector bowl and it would not hold up well to it. My aftermarket ones I had were such junk that after a few months of having to keep popping the reflector bowl back onto the adjustment screw, I just gave up and bought bigger projectors to retrofit into my OEM lights. The OEM ones have yet to fail me. Also the aftermarket ones had a burn spot on the lens in front of the projector. That spot was the center where the light output was hottest. The stock lens is thinner but does not get that hot spot like the aftermarket one did.

I see. From the pictures they appear to be of average quality, now I'm worried about getting junk headlights. Great.

 

[dmanns67]

I went with Depo headlights for my retro from partsgeek.com. They also sell them on Amazon.com. I find Amazon prices cheaper than EBay on most items. I am also an Amazon Prime member, so I get free two day shipping on almost everything.

Also, the Depo headlights are NOT permasealed like all OE headlights, so they can be easily opened without any cutting. Just use a little heat.

 

[Sparky]

The Morimoto Mini H1 specifically states to not use more than 35W HID due to housing size and potential for damage.

Larger projectors (like the FX-R) are fine with 50W HID.

 

[kickass audio]

The morimotos are around 45-50mm in size. I would never recommend using a 50w in any smaller than 64mm for the melting reasons. But to be honest, my OEM ones were not melted but if you looked at the chrome, it was white like a powder on them from it getting too hot and it was the stock 35w bulb in there.

I did not try depo lights on my truck but my dad has them on his tahoe for aftermarket and they are alright. He has the same problem the OEM ones had where the lens gets cracks in them but they are not all the way through, just a surface crack. And then the other issue with his is that the adjustment screws seize up and will snap if you try and adjust them after a few years without some oil on the screw. And with the removal screws that allow you to take the headlight out without removing the whole grille, those cheap bolts that are melted into the housing get rusted stuck and make it so you can't take the headlight out without removing the grille and unbolting the whole assembly from the truck. But that is just an issue with his truck not depo brand lights. I would say that you would be fine with them

 

[Matt]

This is something that gets brought up over on HIDPlanet about as often as we used to get the "What's this red wire?" from noobs here. The overall consensus is they will work, but not nearly as well as an HID bulb will. You'll get less overall usable output, and usually be missing the desired hot spot at the cutoff step.

One of the guys on HIDP made a video of the output. This gets reposted just like Roadie's red wire/front fuse block pic used to

Me personally, I plan to get some LED bulbs for a dedicated high beam projector setup down the road. Where I live and drive, I almost never need my high beams, I only use them to flash-to-pass other drivers, not for distance vision at night, so all of those previous arguments don't apply to my needs.

So, you can only use the H7 bulb, not the normal 9005/9006 bulb? I can see that the H7 only has CREE's on one side of the post, where the others are on both sides.

 

[Blckshdw]

There are all kinds out there, not sure why that guy chose an H7 bulb. I have a number of D2S Cree LED setups saved in an Ebay list. The super expensive ones that VLEDs sells, use Luxeon Rebel LEDs, which are also a very reliable brand known for great performance.

 

[Matt]

Are saying in a roundabout way that the CREE's that Kevin sells can be used?

 

[Blckshdw]

Are saying in a roundabout way that the CREE's that Kevin sells can be used?

They can be, and have been, although the folks that have done it did not post any output pics. IMO it makes more sense to use a bulb type that's meant for the application, rather than modding something else if you don't have to. (ie B[SIZE=14.4444446563721px]uying a D2S or H1 LED bulb[/SIZE][SIZE=14.4444446563721px], instead of[/SIZE][SIZE=14.4444446563721px] [/SIZE]Dremeling the base of a 9006 to fit into a D2S or H1)

 

[littleblazer]

It begins... I just finished placing the orders.

 

[Mounce]

It begins... I just finished placing the orders. [emoji3]

 

[Matt]

They can be, and have been, although the folks that have done it did not post any output pics. IMO it makes more sense to use a bulb type that's meant for the application, rather than modding something else if you don't have to. (ie B[SIZE=14.4444446563721px]uying a D2S or H1 LED bulb[/SIZE][SIZE=14.4444446563721px], instead of[/SIZE][SIZE=14.4444446563721px] [/SIZE]Dremeling the base of a 9006 to fit into a D2S or H1)

OK. So at this stage, I'll stay with the CREE's that I've got...I don't have enough time or money to mess with that at the moment working 70 hours a week.

 

[littleblazer]

So after doing some research I have also come to the conclusion that I shouldn't have to reseal the lights and that the adhesive that remains can simply be reheated and the two halves pressed together and they should be fine. Anyone have issues with this?

 

[Blckshdw]

So after doing some research I have also come to the conclusion that I shouldn't have to reseal the lights and that the adhesive that remains can simply be reheated and the two halves pressed together and they should be fine. Anyone have issues with this?

That's the plan for my current retrofit. I noticed, after getting my lens off, that the butyl wasn't evenly distributed in the channel, so some sections have less than others. I believe this is how/why some complain about moisture issues. So I plan to pack it down into the channels, and apply extra if needed, prior to reassembly

 

[kickass audio]

My OEM ones had enough sealant on them and were packed in tight but because I made my life easier and cut the outer lip off the light housing, I opted to be safe and apply more sealant to the area where the lens and body meet. I again opted to use windoweld since I know that holds up in heat really well. TRS does sell some rubber butyl glue that is in a rope and you just apply that into the opening and then squeeze the light into it as much as you can. Apply some heat to it, push the lens in further and let it cool. I didn't want to keep heating the lens and risk getting it warped or having the plastic lens turn white from getting hot spots so I just went with windoweld since it doesn't need heat for it to set. I will also say this, some have reported using silicone sealant for their lens, I would absolutely stay away from that. I tried that on my first retrofit before going to windoweld and the damn silicone did not adhere at all like others have had. I don't know if that is because their lens' did not have the butyl to them like we have or what the reason was but mine did not hold up at all with 100% clear silicone.

 

[Sparky]

I dug out all the old stuff and resealed mine with clear RTV.

Never doing it that way again. The old sealant is a pain to get out

 

[littleblazer]

So this weekend I plan to do the cap mod and the quad high beams mod, but just out of curiosity, radio shack stocks the diodes and capacitors in store right? I've wanted quad highs for a long time.

 

[BlazingTrails]

So this weekend I plan to do the cap mod and the quad high beams mod, but just out of curiosity, radio shack stocks the diodes and capacitors in store right? I've wanted quad highs for a long time.

depending on what you need they might. 10 years ago you could walk into a radio shack with a shopping list and build anything you wanted. now you are lucky to find a diode or resistor you need...... they suck now, I am pretty sure I have more stock than they do lmao

 

[littleblazer]

depending on what you need they might. 10 years ago you could walk into a radio shack with a shopping list and build anything you wanted. now you are lucky to find a diode or resistor you need...... they suck now, I am pretty sure I have more stock than they do lmao

I hear you. I'll play it by ear then and hope for the best. Their site sucks too as far as checking stock.

 

[dmanns67]

So this weekend I plan to do the cap mod and the quad high beams mod, but just out of curiosity, radio shack stocks the diodes and capacitors in store right? I've wanted quad highs for a long time.

Yes, Radio Shack still sells what you need in their store. I have bought all items this year. Just so you dont have to go back, you will need one 10uf capacitor, Radio Shack part# 272-1013. IN4004 diode, Radio Shack part# 276-1103. Only need one diode for 4hi and two diodes for 6hi.

 

[kickass audio]

For the parts, it depends on the radioshack. I used to work at radiocrap (yeah I mean that) and there were 3 in my area. One that I worked at was the smaller one, one down the street was the same as mine and another one was at the mall and it was the bigger one. The one I worked at and had down the street didn't have the exact parts at all. They were not stocked at those stores. I had to go to the one in the mall to get it. Pretty much, those parts drawers they have in the store, if there are only 2 of them then they likely will not have what you need. You want one that has 4 of the drawers used for parts like diodes, resistors, caps, etc. hope this helps you out!

 

[BlazingTrails]

I miss the old Radio Shacks, They used to have car audio, and a crap load of electronic parts. why did they get out of that? smh


Optimus - I believe most of it was made by Pioneer, i had a good bit of it

 

[littleblazer]

I miss the old Radio Shacks, They used to have car audio, and a crap load of electronic parts. why did they get out of that? smh


Optimus - I believe most of it was made by Pioneer, i had a good bit of it

Its funny, my sub in the back of my truck is my dad's old optimus band pass tube sub. It was sitting on the shelf for years so I asked him if I could use it. Sounds pretty good too. And if I recall, their realistic line was pretty good as well.

 

[littleblazer]

So after reading some more how to's, I think I am also going to do clear corner lenses. The mod bug is growing faster it seems, but anyway the side markers have no issues in creating hyperflash correct? And if they do not, which is preferred as far as lighting? An amber led strip mounted in the housing behind the lens or an amber led bulb in the standard socket?

 

[Blckshdw]

So after reading some more how to's, I think I am also going to do clear corner lenses.

You gonna make your own, or buy the OEM replicas from Klearz?

The mod bug is growing faster it seems

That was guaranteed to happen as soon as you signed up in here

the side markers have no issues in creating hyperflash correct? And if they do not, which is preferred as far as lighting? An amber led strip mounted in the housing behind the lens or an amber led bulb in the standard socket?

Only the 3157 bulbs in the front, and rear can cause hyperflash. As for what's preferred, that's entirely up to you, and how creative you want to get. I've done both, and while I liked the light output from having a strip on the side, a bulb is MUCH easier to remove and replace should there ever be a problem.

Polarized bulbs will either only flash with the turn signal during the day (really don't see it too well) or turn on with the parking light, and flash off with the turn signal (which is how stock looks at night) If you find a non polarized bulb, you'll get both of those functions. If you've got your load resistors installed, you shouldn't have to worry about the turn signals backfeeding through the parking light wire and making things look This is one downside to using the LED flasher module instead of resistors.

 

[dmanns67]

So after reading some more how to's, I think I am also going to do clear corner lenses. The mod bug is growing faster it seems, but anyway the side markers have no issues in creating hyperflash correct? And if they do not, which is preferred as far as lighting? An amber led strip mounted in the housing behind the lens or an amber led bulb in the standard socket?

I have 194 LEDs installed in the side markers and do not require a resistor. As far as your lighting option, that is up to you on how far you want to take the retro. Anyone can add a 194 LED to the side marker. I would go with some LED strips. Since you are going with clear corners, you could get some switchback LED strips for the side marker and main turn signal. Run white for the running lights and then amber for the turn signals. You could just go with amber LED strips. All depends on what you want. I had switchbacks for a few months, but then decided that I liked the amber look better and switched back to amber LEDs.

 

[littleblazer]

You gonna make your own, or buy the OEM replicas from Klearz?




That was guaranteed to happen as soon as you signed up in here





Only the 3157 bulbs in the front, and rear can cause hyperflash. As for what's preferred, that's entirely up to you, and how creative you want to get. I've done both, and while I liked the light output from having a strip on the side, a bulb is MUCH easier to remove and replace should there ever be a problem.

Polarized bulbs will either only flash with the turn signal during the day (really don't see it too well) or turn on with the parking light, and flash off with the turn signal (which is how stock looks at night) If you find a non polarized bulb, you'll get both of those functions. If you've got your load resistors installed, you shouldn't have to worry about the turn signals backfeeding through the parking light wire and making things look This is one downside to using the LED flasher module instead of resistors.

I can buy clear corner lenses? This seems to be getting better and better. So as it sits just switching an led into the side marker and retaining the incandescents else where I will/should be okay?

 

[Blckshdw]

I can buy clear corner lenses? This seems to be getting better and better. So as it sits just switching an led into the side marker and retaining the incandescents else where I will/should be okay?

http://www.klearz.com/chevy.html

If you're gonna go LED, you might as well go all the way (at least in the headlight anyway) An LED next to a filament bulb is going to irritate your mod bug. Looks like Klearz offers a pair of LEDs as an option to go with your corner lenses.

 

[littleblazer]

http://www.klearz.com/chevy.html

If you're gonna go LED, you might as well go all the way (at least in the headlight anyway) An LED next to a filament bulb is going to irritate you mod bug. Looks like Klearz offers a pair of LEDs as an option to go with your corner lenses.

You gonna make your own, or buy the OEM replicas from Klearz?




That was guaranteed to happen as soon as you signed up in here





Only the 3157 bulbs in the front, and rear can cause hyperflash. As for what's preferred, that's entirely up to you, and how creative you want to get. I've done both, and while I liked the light output from having a strip on the side, a bulb is MUCH easier to remove and replace should there ever be a problem.

Polarized bulbs will either only flash with the turn signal during the day (really don't see it too well) or turn on with the parking light, and flash off with the turn signal (which is how stock looks at night) If you find a non polarized bulb, you'll get both of those functions. If you've got your load resistors installed, you shouldn't have to worry about the turn signals backfeeding through the parking light wire and making things look This is one downside to using the LED flasher module instead of resistors.

So let me get this strait, by using the led flasher module and putting leds up front, there will be an issue with back feeding??? I know the load resistors take place of the resistance of the factory bulbs so by doing that there won't be an issue? I'm a little confused on this one. However my mod bug will be more annoyed that the rear lights are not leds as well.

 

[Blckshdw]

So let me get this strait, by using the led flasher module and putting leds up front, there will be an issue with back feeding??? I know the load resistors take place of the resistance of the factory bulbs so by doing that there won't be an issue? I'm a little confused on this one. However my mod bug will be more annoyed that the rear lights are not leds as well.

Yeah, this is something I learned the hard way. The LED flasher module is a plug 'n play solution when putting LEDs in, but it does have some drawbacks. The 194 corner bulbs don't have a dedicated ground connection, the park and turn signals use each other to complete the circuit. Due to the lack of resistance with the LED bulbs, some current from the turn signal can trickle through the parking light connection. When this happens, your parking lights will flash with the turn signal. This happens with non polarized bulbs, or polarized bulbs that are plugged in to work with the turn signals while parking lights are off.

The other reported downside to the flasher module, is the loss of cruise control by some members. Load resistors eliminate both of these issues. If you are gonna be doing your own retrofit, then splicing in a pair of load resistors will be a piece of cake.

And yes, your mod bug will be in your ear to put LEDs in the tail lights fairly quickly after doing the fronts.

 

[littleblazer]

Yeah, this is something I learned the hard way. The LED flasher module is a plug 'n play solution when putting LEDs in, but it does have some drawbacks. The 194 corner bulbs don't have a dedicated ground connection, the park and turn signals use each other to complete the circuit. Due to the lack of resistance with the LED bulbs, some current from the turn signal can trickle through the parking light connection. When this happens, your parking lights will flash with the turn signal. This happens with non polarized bulbs, or polarized bulbs that are plugged in to work with the turn signals while parking lights are off.

The other reported downside to the flasher module, is the loss of cruise control by some members. Load resistors eliminate both of these issues. If you are gonna be doing your own retrofit, then splicing in a pair of load resistors will be a piece of cake.

And yes, your mod bug will be in your ear to put LEDs in the tail lights fairly quickly after doing the fronts.

The only issue with the rears is that the screws are rusted in the housing... so it'll be fun getting them out again. I'll start with just the side markers and work from there.

 

[littleblazer]

The only issue with the rears is that the screws are rusted in the housing... so it'll be fun getting them out again. I'll start with just the side markers and work from there.

So I lied. What I now plan to do is add the front amber as well. So 3757 amber in the housing, since the front bulbs are single filament they only need to be single power leds, and thus need a load resistor across the plug. Now this will make the corner markers blink as well, but there will not be a hyperflash issue... I think. Then add the amber side marker bulbs and everything should be correct? So I will retain cruise and all other functions, this is quite confusing.