Morimoto Sierra Spec HID

Kschab · February 23, 2016

Reviving this old thread. I can't decide between the 35W vs the 50W setup, can anyone help justify this for me please??

oburgtiger · February 24, 2016

Reviving this old thread. I can't decide between the 35W vs the 50W setup, can anyone help justify this for me please??

I went with the 35w/4500k.

Dropsix · December 23, 2016

Can anyone help me out here?

I got the Sierra spec kit yesterday and installed it. Install went well, headlights work great but I noticed a slight buzzing sound sometimes from the ballast on the drivers side, and it goes away and sometimes it sounds like it's the igniter. I can't hear any buzzing whatsoever from the passenger side. I can also only hear the buzzing with the engine off. Lights seem to work well, they both turn out fine and are steady. I think I did notice the smallest amount of flickering while driving on a dirt road though. It was very minimal though.

I tried reversing a few plugs and nothing. Anyone have any ideas? It's the Sierra spec morimoto kit with 35w ballasts and 4500k bulbs.

Thanks

***Update, I think it wasn't flickering but rather just the washboard road and because the lights are brighter, that cutoff can be slightly more jumpy. However the slight buzzing on the one side remains.

Lgetz · December 29, 2016

I have had the Morimoto GMC Spec kit on 2 different trucks for a little over 2 years with no issues. Recently though I noticed my lights don't seem quite as bright. Do the bulbs need to be replaced? Has anyone else noticed this? Just FYI when parked inside the garage or about to drive into it I put the headlight switch into parking light position.

Lgetz · March 2, 2017

A quick update had a buddy check out the system and relays, ballasts, igniters were fine. Went ahead and ordered new bulbs. Light output is terrific again. Afterwards sent an email to TRS and pics of old bulbs they mailed new bulbs at no cost. Kudos to TRS for standing behind their product.

NaClCrocodile · March 16, 2017

So I've browsed through this thread and couldn't find any pics/comments about the color compared to Rigid DOT Fogs. I think I've opened Pandora's Box because now my fogs are brighter and whiter than my headlights hahaha. I tend to think the 5k would match or be much closer but if anyone has experience I'd love to hear it before pulling the trigger.

arcasey · March 16, 2017

So I've browsed through this thread and couldn't find any pics/comments about the color compared to Rigid DOT Fogs. I think I've opened Pandora's Box because now my fogs are brighter and whiter than my headlights hahaha. I tend to think the 5k would match or be much closer but if anyone has experience I'd love to hear it before pulling the trigger.

What kind of headlights do you have now? I think the Rigid DOT Fogs are going to be in the 5,000k-5,500k range so that same temperature in a 35W HID kit should match pretty close. If you step up to a 50-55W HID kit then you need to get bulbs about 1,000k hotter (6,000k-6,500k) for the color to be close. The higher wattage HID ballasts tend to wash out the color of the bulbs.

Just as an example I just purchased the Morimoto XB fog lights for my Sierra. The color temperature of the fogs are 5,500k. I wanted to go with a 50W Morimoto HID kit and The Retrofit Source recommended to go with a 6,500k bulb temp because it would match more closely.

NaClCrocodile · March 16, 2017

What kind of headlights do you have now? I think the Rigid DOT Fogs are going to be in the 5,000k-5,500k range so that same temperature in a 35W HID kit should match pretty close. If you step up to a 50-55W HID kit then you need to get bulbs about 1,000k hotter (6,000k-6,500k) for the color to be close. The higher wattage HID ballasts tend to wash out the color of the bulbs.

Just as an example I just purchased the Morimoto XB fog lights for my Sierra. The color temperature of the fogs are 5,500k. I wanted to go with a 50W Morimoto HID kit and The Retrofit Source recommended to go with a 6,500k bulb temp because it would match more closely.

Currently just running the stock headlights and, as you can imagine, they're looking pretty yellow. I looked in the Rigid DOT Fogs thread and someone said the 5500k 35w was really close so that lines up with your recommendation. The 35w sounds like it'll be a huge improvement over stock (which I thought was fine to begin with) so I'll probably go with those.

arcasey · March 16, 2017

Currently just running the stock headlights and, as you can imagine, they're looking pretty yellow. I looked in the Rigid DOT Fogs thread and someone said the 5500k 35w was really close so that lines up with your recommendation. The 35w sounds like it'll be a huge improvement over stock (which I thought was fine to begin with) so I'll probably go with those.

I think it'll be close enough that it will be hard to see a difference. One thing I will stress is don't make the mistake of buying one of the cheaper kits. Some of them work and some of them don't. Go ahead and spend a little extra money on a good HID kit and it'll be money well spent. I am currently replacing my "cheap" kit for a Morimoto kit because I got tired of all the issues with the cheap kit.