Yeah, the chrome housing LEDs are a bit cheaper, but the black housings look so much better.
Maybe they'll come down in price when I'm closer to buying
LED taillights are a much cheaper upgrade, luckily. Just requires a tiny bit of wiring for the OE swap.

 

Just wait for someone to wreck their truck and grab it off of ebay.

 

That's an option too. Going to be tough to find the black housing LEDs, especially if they know what they retail for.

 

Yesterday was bath day for both trucks. Wife's desperately needed it.
Need to find a solution for our crap water, didn't have the time to wax the truck, so there is a bit of hard water, water spots left behind.


Also, passed my twin on the highway this morning. Still debating on what I want to do next with the truck. Going to try to convince the CFO that we need a bedcover & maybe a 1-2" drop in the rear to level it out.

 

fify.

Looking good!

There's not much you can do about the water aside from getting an expensive filtration system for your home. If it's that bad, it may be worth it to do it.

 

I'd honestly suggest not lowering the rear...give it time to settle...I can tell you that after 4 months with the topper and some tools...my rear end is sagging to the point of having saggy ass syndrome. Just wait it out! With some mulch runs to home depot, it'll even out!

 

Thanks, I'd rather it be leveled in the rear, than lift the front; maybe some 1" spacers to fill out the wheel wells. First vehicle in a long time for me with a huge aftermarket support behind it.
Plenty of other things to come ahead of a level. May look into upgrading the shocks, rear at least, to help with the rear end sidestep.

 

Well, what I meant was...wait it out because your ass will probably level itself...
not to the extent of my work truck since 24/7 tools and topper though.

I feel you...
spacers would be cool!

 

The biggest reason I recommend lifting the front instead of lowering the rear is that the rear is higher on purpose, because it is supposed to sag when you load it up. If you lower it, you effectively lose payload capacity (a functional attribute) for a cosmetic change (not functional, actually negative function) and that's not good for a truck and is especially bad when towing a heavy load behind it. A minor 1" lift in the front will hardly be noticeable from a driving standpoint but would both give you the look you want of it being level and not reduce the cargo capacity of your truck.

JMO.

 

I'd leave it as is...
face down
ass up
that's the way we like to duck.

 

Good point & hadn't considered that on losing tow capability. Will be waiting that one out for a bit, since it's not a big deal.

Things I want to do sooner: bed cover (debating between folding Bak MX4 & roll/lock Pade-Edwards Switchblade) they're about the same price & both appear easily removable & upgrade head/tail/fog lights.

 

Hah!
my Hispanic neighbors drop their trucks and then have to rent or use some one else's truck to haul shit or tow.

 

Right. I never understand why people do that to their trucks.

 

Throw some Ds on it.

 

they look fuckin sweet! but otherwise useless.

 

just bought a Cadillac

 

Eh I'd disagree on that one lol. Trucks go up, cars go down. Keep it simple.

 

To stop pirating the Cochese's minivan thread, looking over on TRS at HID retrofits. Pretty sold on the D2S 4.0s after seeing the results from the other forum, just not sure on the ballast & bulbs....
- Morimoto Mini D2S 4.0 projectors
- 35w or 55w ballast??
- D2S Osram Xenarc 66240 CBI 5500k or 6000k?

 

And light output and glare to other drivers suck. Retro HIDs and projectors and have real light!

 

As long as this new projector can hold up to the 55w (too new to know yet??? )

I am every bit happy with the 35w and cant believe how bright they are, especially with a quality projector. They make the ones in my TL seem average. Id go 5500 but thats me. As soon as i get mine installed and about 30 hrs on them ill post a pic of output.

 

I'm new to this, is the ballast held inside the projector housing? Or is it mounted outside the headlight housing? Did you put them in the Exploder & you have the 5500k CBIs?

 

dude, look out for headlight advice from THAT guy.
I'd personally run!

 

My Gf is currently running 55w HID. The problem with 55w is the flakering issue even with the "capacitor" and the risk of melting some wires.

They are bright as fuk but not sure if it is worth the risk. I am thinking about switching it back to the 35w for her.

 

Most, if not all aftermarket HID's ballast is mounted outside the housing.
Most, if not all OEM HID ballast are attached to the housing.

The good thing is nowadays the ballasts are tiny compare to what it used to be, you can literally put them anywhere outside the headlight.

 

My ballast is mounted to the bottom of the headlight where the stock ballast would go if it came with HIDs. Did i put what in? HIDs? Yea, i retrofitted projectors, and HIDs in. I have the morimoto elite xb35 D2s bulbs in right now, but i have the CBIs 5500k. Im half tempted to try the new CBHs

 

What 55w kit are you running? Are you using a Relay? You shouldnt have that issue unless there is something wrong.

 

Dont hate me just because you are afraid

 

yah i got a relay. Headlight is still flakering... both.

Forgot what brand but one of those from ebay with a lot of reviews.

In theory with relay it should not have any problem and it seems it is still a relatively common issue with aftermarket 55w even with relay after some research

 

I personally would do 35W and 5500k (4300K or 5000K would be more ideal) bulbs. CBI's are expensive but awesome. Normal D2S bulbs do just fine though.

Well the OEM headlights meet DOT requirements and were approved when the whole truck was approved. HID retro is not DOT approved so why would one have more glare than the other? The issue with trucks is that the projector sits very high so you are never above the cutoff. The issue isn't with the type of headlight but the application of it.

 

May have a lot of reviews but is it quality? Ive seen too many kits with good reviews not last or worth a damn. Get a quality ballast and bulb and you will be much happier. Check out the Retrofit Source.

 

have any of you noticed the new corollas headlights at night? Man those things are fucking dangerous to on coming traffic, what is up with that. Are they HIDs?

 

No it has to do with out dated regulations not current with newer lighting technologies . I can guarantee you a properly aimed and installed retrofit will have FAR LESS glare than the LEDs in the F150. Also as for your thought of the truck sits hi so you are never above the cutoff isnt quite accurate.
A, A properly aligned headlight is aimed so that it is pointing down. 25 feet from a wall the light/cutoff should be 2" below the center of the light. The further the distance the lower it becomes so that oncoming cars arent blinded. If it were because of your idea every vehicle on the road that sat higher than you would produce glare which simply isnt the case.
B, I have been in my friends 6" Lifted duramax and have had glare no matter where we were coming at it. Glare has more to do with the design of the housing than because the truck sits higher.
C, Pickup trucks score poorly in headlight tests | Fox News

 

Yep, they are bright with tons of glare as well. The LED projector modded with different lenses can produce some really nice cutoff.

 

I fucking hate those corollas, how did they approve that? Its a hazard IMO

 

Those are LEDs. They are standard on all trims.

It has projector but they suck as far as brightness and visibility.

I have noticed most of the Acura's LED have bad glares too. Maybe that is the one of the reasons many other manufactures are choosing the reflector type over the projectors for their LEDs.

 

Showed the wife the dual projector headlights & didn't get an immediate shoot-down of it.
Not sure if I should go for this or a bedcover first. About the same price when finished...

 

If you can convince her based on the looks. Google some retrofit HID night pictures vs. Halogen and let her know it is for safety.
She cant say no if it is about your safety or at least I hope she wont say no

 

Good point, had mentioned that they'd be a good bit brighter. Treading lightly

 

If your wife is anything like mine...
she ain't stupid. Better hide the bullshit in coffee grounds!

 

Pretty much!
Can't a $900 mod. It'll happen, just patience.