2015 Sierra Headlight options

[Roscopcoletrain]

32 minutes ago, Sierra Dan said:

Lamin-X ?  Never heard of this brand.

Must be exclusively Canadian?

not at all. US company

https://www.lamin-x.com/

[Sierra Dan]

Sorry, thought these were actual bulbs LOL

Thanks for the link. Very interesting company.

[TheAsset]

I REALLLLLY want to upgrade to the 16+ headlights/taillights. I just can't justify the $2000. I threw in a set of the TRS HID's to hold me over. I'm going to try and wait it out another year and see if the prices move. 

[300 Blackout]

In my 2014 Sierra, I installed the Morimoto Mini D2S 4.0 projectors with 35W Hylux HID ballasts and Morimoto 4500k HID bulbs. I got the kit from fastheadlights.com along with their rear mount adapter brackets which are required in order to mount the projectors.

 

I originally replaced my bulbs with LED bulbs in the factory projectors. The LEDs were better than the stock bulbs but they still sucked. The entire reason I originally bought the LEDs was to avoid replacing the projectors. FAIL.

 

The install of the Morimoto projectors wasn’t bad, just need to take your time. The hardest/most time consuming part of the install is cutting the headlight housing open, which really wasn’t hard at all. I used a coping saw ($15) and used a medium-coarse wood blade to cut 75% through the thickness of the plastic. This assured straight lines and made using a utility knife for the final 25% very easy. I didn’t saw all the way through in order to avoid the plastic bits falling into the headlight.

 

Wiring it was easy as was mounting the ballasts. Be patient with the bracket and use a little finesse to make everything line up. I was sure I was gonna send a nastygram to Phil after seeing the holes of the bracket not line up with the mounting posts, but with a little gentle coaxing everything fit just fine.

 

A couple tips: 1.) Definitely wear nitrile or similar gloves and clean your projector dome with a microfiber lens cloth immediately before placing it in the housing. Any dust or fingerprints after install will drive you nuts. Trust me. 2.) Grab some double sided permanent tape (I used Gorilla) for the black boxes attached to the ballast and tape them to the side of your engine compartment. Makes for a cleaner looking install than just letting them hang there. 3.) Don’t forget to re-aim your headlights after the install. Very, very easy and absolutely necessary.

 

These pics don’t even come close to doing the lights justice. Hands down it’s the best $300 I’ve spent on the truck (yes, even better than my Bilstein 5100s...gasp!)

 

Before with LED bulbs in factory projector

 

 

After

IMG_6154.HEIC

 

 Not sure why the picture won’t load

 

 

 

Edited September 15, 2018 by 300 Blackout
Uploaded pic

[FastWS6TA]

In my 2014 Sierra, I installed the Morimoto Mini D2S 4.0 projectors with 35W Hylux HID ballasts and Morimoto 4500k HID bulbs. I got the kit from fastheadlights.com along with their rear mount adapter brackets which are required in order to mount the projectors.
 
I originally replaced my bulbs with LED bulbs in the factory projectors. The LEDs were better than the stock bulbs but they still sucked. The entire reason I originally bought the LEDs was to avoid replacing the projectors. FAIL.
 
The install of the Morimoto projectors wasn’t bad, just need to take your time. The hardest/most time consuming part of the install is cutting the headlight housing open, which really wasn’t hard at all. I used a coping saw ($15) and used a medium-coarse wood blade to cut 75% through the thickness of the plastic. This assured straight lines and made using a utility knife for the final 25% very easy. I didn’t saw all the way through in order to avoid the plastic bits falling into the headlight.
 
Wiring it was easy as was mounting the ballasts. Be patient with the bracket and use a little finesse to make everything line up. I was sure I was gonna send a nastygram to Phil after seeing the holes of the bracket not line up with the mounting posts, but with a little gentle coaxing everything fit just fine.
 
A couple tips: 1.) Definitely wear nitrile or similar gloves and clean your projector dome with a microfiber lens cloth immediately before placing it in the housing. Any dust or fingerprints after install will drive you nuts. Trust me. 2.) Grab some double sided permanent tape (I used Gorilla) for the black boxes attached to the ballast and tape them to the side of your engine compartment. Makes for a cleaner looking install than just letting them hang there. 3.) Don’t forget to re-aim your headlights after the install. Very, very easy and absolutely necessary.
 
These pics don’t even come close to doing the lights justice. Hands down it’s the best $300 I’ve spent on the truck (yes, even better than my Bilstein 5100s...gasp!)
 
Before with LED bulbs in factory projector

 
After
IMG_6154.HEIC
 
 Not sure why the picture won’t load
 
 
 

Lol. Glad no nasty gram needed. Lol. Sometimes the holes line up hard. I have noticed that there are slight variations in the plastic OEM mounting paintings. I always suggest loosely screwing in each of the screws when installing the new projectors until all 4 are in place. Thanks for the great review!

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[Mlamp89]

So it seems like there is no plug and play option for our trucks, that are worth while and priced well? That unfortunate. A previous vehicle I spent 80 bucks for an easily installed HID kit.

[FastWS6TA]

So it seems like there is no plug and play option for our trucks, that are worth while and priced well? That unfortunate. A previous vehicle I spent 80 bucks for an easily installed HID kit.

Because the OEM projectors suck there isn't really a great plug n play option. HIDs help quite a bit, but the only real solution is new projectors with HIDs.

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[truckguy82]

5 hours ago, Mlamp89 said:

So it seems like there is no plug and play option for our trucks, that are worth while and priced well? That unfortunate. A previous vehicle I spent 80 bucks for an easily installed HID kit.

You can do without the projector retrofit. It’s not mandatory and it would be super easy.

 

It’s just not nearly as wide and clear of beam pattern.

 

the projector upgrade is what gives you the “damn I love these headlights” feeling.

Edited September 15, 2018 by truckguy82

[Roscopcoletrain]

So the consensus is the 35w kit is best over the 50w?  

[300 Blackout]

Yes. From what I’ve read, 35 watt runs cooler and is typically more reliable than the 50+ watt systems. I have the Hylux 35 watt ballasts with 4500k Morimoto bulbs. I think it’s the perfect combo and is magnitudes brighter than the stock headlights in the majority of vehicles I’ve driven. I would be very interested to know what the color rendering index rating is on these bulbs as the light it puts out, and the resulting colors and contrast of the objects they illuminate, look very close to natural sunlight to my eyes.

 

On a side note, these are very bright, however, in my limited but useful experience with building flashlights, brightness is only one aspect of useful illumination. How evenly distributed the light is (no shadows or dark or bright spots) and how accurately it reproduces colors (better contrast) all contribute to how fast our eyes recognize what is being illuminated.

[Roscopcoletrain]

I reached out to a Company re their Morimoto kit. I was pointed in this direction, hylux ballast and CNLight bulbs. Anyone comment on this? 

 

https://www.prolightz.com/hid/hid-systems/hylux-cn-light-combo-hid-system/9012-hid-system.html

 

As much as I'd like to support some on here, Shipping across the border is nuts right now. 

[FastWS6TA]

So the consensus is the 35w kit is best over the 50w?  

I always recommend the 35 watt kit. Especially if you are putting them in OEM projectors! If you upgrade the projectors you can go with a 50 watt setup but I dont think it is necessary at all.

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[FastWS6TA]

I reached out to a Company re their Morimoto kit. I was pointed in this direction, hylux ballast and CNLight bulbs. Anyone comment on this? 
 
https://www.prolightz.com/hid/hid-systems/hylux-cn-light-combo-hid-system/9012-hid-system.html
 
As much as I'd like to support some on here, Shipping across the border is nuts right now. 

That'll work bud. Just don't get a harness or capacitor link. Not needed. Just the bulbs and ballast are good.

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[Roscopcoletrain]

1 minute ago, FastWS6TA said:

That'll work bud. Just don't get a harness or capacitor link. Not needed. Just the bulbs and ballast are good.

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Thanks! Ordered. Went back n forth but went with the 4300 kit. Can't wait

[FastWS6TA]

Thanks! Ordered. Went back n forth but went with the 4300 kit. Can't wait [emoji4]

It will help alot. Here is a pic showing differences.


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