Morimoto Elite HID

diyer2 · September 16, 2017

Thinking of installing this kit.

http://www.morimotohid.com/hid-systems/9005-morimoto-elite.html

Just want better high beams for rural mountain driving.

Would like to hear from someone who has the same truck with Morimoto HID upgrade or a truck with the same headlight design who used Morimoto HID's.

Concerned about longevity. $50 for new bulbs.

arcasey · September 19, 2017

I can't speak to how the HID's perform in your particular model because I didn't run HID's in my 2011 Sierra, but judging from meeting that body style truck on the highway with HID's I don't think you'll have any issues seeing anything. Honestly you will probably not even need high beam HID's if you put HID's in the low beams. I actually used the Sylvania ZXE bulbs in low and high beam and they were very bright. They DID NOT last very long though. Typically I could only get about 8-9 months before one would blow.

To answer your question about longevity, I have the Sierra spec 50W kit in my 2015 Sierra and they have been installed for over a year with no issues. Honestly, so far, the Morimoto bulbs have lasted longer than any high performance halogen/xenon bulb I have ever used. Morimoto makes a very high quality kit. I have tried 3-4 different kits before settling on Morimoto and I'll never buy anything else (in terms of HID kits). Most kits require some modifications before they are "Plug-and-Play". The only issue I had with the Morimoto kit was the plastic female 9006 style connectors not allowing for a good connection. I remedied this by just not using them and inserting the wire pins into the male connectors and using electrical tape to keep them secure.

One other thing to note, HID's require time to heat up before they reach their peak output. It can take up to around 10 seconds for them to heat up. Just keep that in mind for your high beams because they aren't just going to turn on when activated like standard halogen or LED bulbs.

diyer2 · September 20, 2017

I can't speak to how the HID's perform in your particular model because I didn't run HID's in my 2011 Sierra, but judging from meeting that body style truck on the highway with HID's I don't think you'll have any issues seeing anything. Honestly you will probably not even need high beam HID's if you put HID's in the low beams. I actually used the Sylvania ZXE bulbs in low and high beam and they were very bright. They DID NOT last very long though. Typically I could only get about 8-9 months before one would blow.

To answer your question about longevity, I have the Sierra spec 50W kit in my 2015 Sierra and they have been installed for over a year with no issues. Honestly, so far, the Morimoto bulbs have lasted longer than any high performance halogen/xenon bulb I have ever used. Morimoto makes a very high quality kit. I have tried 3-4 different kits before settling on Morimoto and I'll never buy anything else (in terms of HID kits). Most kits require some modifications before they are "Plug-and-Play". The only issue I had with the Morimoto kit was the plastic female 9006 style connectors not allowing for a good connection. I remedied this by just not using them and inserting the wire pins into the male connectors and using electrical tape to keep them secure.

One other thing to note, HID's require time to heat up before they reach their peak output. It can take up to around 10 seconds for them to heat up. Just keep that in mind for your high beams because they aren't just going to turn on when activated like standard halogen or LED bulbs.

Thanks

I was looking at up grading to Sylvania Silver Star or Phillips Extreme Vision but the longevity issue caused me to look at other options.

No only the cost of replacement but the hassle to replace them frequently, not easy to do on my truck.

I have never had an upgraded headlight system but the Morimoto's seemed the best to me.

arcasey · September 20, 2017

Thanks

I was looking at up grading to Sylvania Silver Star or Phillips Extreme Vision but the longevity issue caused me to look at other options.

No only the cost of replacement but the hassle to replace them frequently, not easy to do on my truck.

I have never had an upgraded headlight system but the Morimoto's seemed the best to me.

Yes, I remember the hassle. Had to near about tear the front end apart to get to the fixtures. Such a poor design that thankfully was corrected in the new body style.

bgbdwlf2500 · September 25, 2017

I gave up on HID and LED headlights. they never last very long. I changed my headlights to an aftermarket that uses H1 bulbs.

arcasey · September 27, 2017

I gave up on HID and LED headlights. they never last very long. I changed my headlights to an aftermarket that uses H1 bulbs.

Just curious, which brands did you try and had the bad experiences with? I had a few cheaper kits that were garbage and then broke down and spent the money on Morimoto and haven't had any issues since so I'm only asking completely out of curiosity.

repairman54 · September 30, 2017

Aftermarket HID need warm up time to get to full power/brightness.

I run them in the lows but in the highs I just use PIAA bulbs as when I hit the highs I need them right now.

I prefer the regular bulbs in the highs for their heat to melt off the snow in winter.

bgbdwlf2500 · October 2, 2017

arcasey, on 27 Sept 2017 - 11:11 AM, said:

Just curious, which brands did you try and had the bad experiences with? I had a few cheaper kits that were garbage and then broke down and spent the money on Morimoto and haven't had any issues since so I'm only asking completely out of curiosity.

admittedly they were some of the cheaper kits but I have had good luck with the cheaper kits in the past as well. to me they just aren't worth the hassle anymore. the new headlights I installed are plenty bright, they have the halos and 5 replaceable marker leds up the sides

SafetyGuy · October 5, 2017

I have a HID kit on my 2012 Sierra and I wouldn't be able to go back to standard bulbs. The Difference is huge, I run standard bulbs in the high beams and a led in the fogs. I also placed a 22" light bar in the center bumper slot which pretty much gets washed out in the wake of the HIDS.

If you are looking to lighten up your drive you will not be disappointed.

if you would like I can take pictures and post so you can see what the look like (projection wise)