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Who else is fed up with the 15' Projector Headlights!

13K views 30 replies 18 participants last post by  Haywire 
#1 ·
I feel like i have tunnel vision, i drive mainly to and from work in the dark and theses lights are just horrible.

This is just my rant to see who else is fed up with these lights!

I love the truck the lights are my only complaint. I think the worst part is that there is no light to the sides. My previous truck was an 2008 Sierra and it had the best light hands down! Then i get this truck and even the aftermarket projectors or the whole headlight assemblies still are not even close to the Reflector Style lights. Is there some sort of new regulation for projectors now or what? I see the Fords still have reflectors and the Chevy's have a high beam reflector. DO you think that there is ANY way that you could fabricate a set of reflectors in the stock housing? i know there is a shutter in there and would make everything harder to figure out but is it possible?
 
#3 ·
I added the Morimoto 35w 6500 kit also after trying fanless LEDs and PIAA halogens and the HIDs are by far the best . I also installed the Rigid DOT/SAE foglight cubes which light up the entire block in front of me but are rarely used since i got the Morimotos.
 
#4 ·
Yes on the fed up, I had the factory upgrade and its about 10% better which is not bad for a headlight 200% junk so now I have 30% lights !!! LOL
I want to upgrade and it sounds like retrofitsource are the best ones , everyone seems pretty happy, just hate that it's so hard to change one thing on these truck without 3 other things going wrong!
 
#5 ·
It's called a retrofit....valeo makes the headlights and they are known to have some of the worst optics. But when you go to aftermarket projector housings they are even worse. They have barely and R&D. And all the aftermarket housings use the same crappy halogen projector. Even the HIDs from the factory suck.

And adding LEDs to the housing isn't gonna work. They suck. Adding HIDs will magnify the weak points of the projector. Minimum I would do would be fx-r swap with OEM bulbs. I always like OEM products though. They're better
 
#7 ·
I have tried it all. I hate these lights and they are a very big safety hazard. I had LED bulbs that lasted about 8 months and tried the HID from retrofit and they were not reliable. Worked half of the time. GM should do something about this before someone gets killed.
 
#8 · (Edited)
What retrofit kit did you install? I haven't had any reliability issues with mine, and been using it since last October or so. Yours may have been faulty or the install might have been an issue. Too close to hot components under the hood?
 
#10 ·
Anything GM puts in as lighting will honestly never be as good as retrofitting.

Clear lenses and D2S CBIs aren't stock haha
 
#11 ·
I have retrofit fxrs in my 15 denali. They are a nice upgrade, expensive though. I have been having issues with the retrofit source relay kit for the HIDS tho. When I command start the truck the lights stay off, Hit unlock and the HIDs turn on. Now when I get in the truck and cycle the key, it turns the headlights off then on and I always get a misfire. Ive replaced everything and the problem continues.
 
#15 ·
here is what i have come up with besides that GM really did a Horrible job on the design of these lights! I currently have set of 50w 5000K HID's from Retro-Solutions and i have gone through 3 ballasts in the last 6 months. No doubt like others have said its makes the horrible pattern brighter....

i see two options here, well maybe three

1st - FX Retrofit @$300, im hopeful for a better light pattern and will still have to separate the headlight housing to install in a GMC. But its not a sure thing either havent seen any pics of before and after with these projectors. Still have the faulty shutter within oem lights that will fail eventually

2nd - Recon ugh $800+, My neighbor was sponsored by them at one point and swears by them with their Diamond White Bulbs. First the price is insane but they are Sick looking lights, another plus is getting separate high and low beams. I already had the stock lights replaced because of a faulty shutter in pass side with under 20k miles on them. Also another plus is that he has a 15' Chevy 3500 with these lights so i could actually see what they look like at night!

3rd - not likely but trade the GMC in on a Chevy
 
#19 ·
Too bad recons are complete junk. You're paying for a name. They have crappy halogen projectors. So scratch that off any list
 
#20 ·
YES. Fed up all the way with these crappy lights. Damn near have to drive down the interstate with high beams on to look out for deer

Eff I gotta do something with these eventually
 
#21 ·
To the ones who have done the FX retrofit can someone get some pics to show the comparrison? The only issue i have with that option is that stupid shutter my luck it will fail as soon as i get the new projectors in thats just my luck.

What other options do we have?

The Chevys have a larger project from factory and have a fixed shutter where the GMC changes position from low to high beam

Also about the Morimoto HIDs it seems thats the way to go i just bought a crappy set it guess, i shut off the lights when u lock and unlock seems to help

Thanks for all the input
 
#24 ·
Honestly there is nothing to be done. Retofit and live the good life. You'll wonder how you ever drove without them before
 
#27 ·
If you have the factory halogen projectors, its easier to retrofit the projectors in now. Theres also more options out there for retrofitting. You can buy adapter plates to make it almost plug and play. You can find write ups over on HIDplanet. If you decide to retro, I would look at the Morimoto D2S 5.0, with the osram Nightbreaker Laser bulbs in a 4300K.
 
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