No HID's on HD's?

TXGREEK · October 24, 2019

OP just made the comment how the new Loaded Out HDs still have the old style Halogens and not the updated HID that came out I think in 2016. Let’s see, I think the 2020’s do have updated

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MrChips · October 24, 2019

42 minutes ago, TXGREEK said:

OP just made the comment how the new Loaded Out HDs still have the old style Halogens and not the updated HID that came out I think in 2016. Let’s see, I think the 2020’s do have updated

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My 2020 High Country 2500HD has LED head lights and they are a big improvement over the HID lights that my 2018 Denali 2500HD had. Fog lights are LED as well...

TXGREEK · October 24, 2019

My 2020 High Country 2500HD has LED head lights and they are a big improvement over the HID lights that my 2018 Denali 2500HD had. Fog lights are LED as well...

Looks great but the 18’s didn’t have HID, they have halogens

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MrChips · October 24, 2019

6 minutes ago, TXGREEK said:

Looks great but the 18’s didn’t have HID, they have halogens

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My 2018 GMC Denali 2500HD had factory HID head lights, the Chevy High Country's had Halogen.

TXGREEK · October 24, 2019

My 2018 GMC Denali 2500HD had factory HID head lights, the Chevy High Country's had Halogen.

That’s GMC for you, Professional Grade!

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MrChips · October 24, 2019

6 minutes ago, TXGREEK said:

That’s GMC for you, Professional Grade!

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For sure, they weren't great by any means though, the light was ok but what drove me nuts was they would vibrate when I hit a bump in the road.

SierraHD17 · October 24, 2019

1 hour ago, Ozer said:

i dont have that issue, in high beams they are pretty straight but mine are wide on low beams.

Can you turn the bulbs to get a more horizontal spread? Been a while, i cant remember if the bulbs can be spun.

You can also get some decent fogs and point them to the side a bit perhaps? Stock fogs are garbage, even with upgraded bulbs.

No side to side adjustment on the GMC headlights. I don't have fog lights.. if I want to make it more reasonable i have an led light bar that fits in the bumper opening but haven't installed it. I don't use the 17 for anything day to day so I haven't bothered lol.

Ozer · October 24, 2019

6 minutes ago, SierraHD17 said:

No side to side adjustment on the GMC headlights.

I was referring to the Morimoto bulbs. Some bulbs can be rotated on how they are mounted to the bulb base, wasn't sure if Morimotos could be, I don't remember.

SierraHD17 · October 24, 2019

I don't think so. I'm pretty sure they only go in the housings one way as I remember playing with them to get them installed. The D3S is weird with the ballast block attached directly to the back of the bulb anyway. There is plenty of discussion on the half ton side about how many guys dislike the stock GMC used projector. I have thought about doing the half ton SLT and Denali LED headlights in mine. I know they are even worse output than what I have now but at least they look cool.. lol.

Edited October 24, 2019 by SierraHD17

Thomcat · October 24, 2019

3 hours ago, TXGREEK said:

Doesn’t matter what watt the bulbs are, better visibility is BETTER visibility. My 18 GMC 1500 completely blows away previous 14 and 16 year models I’ve own with that 100 yr old halogen technology. Swap out a bulb with HO Led still not good cause of the inside design, I tried it with my wife’s Yukon and immediate disappointment.

Sent from Above

Not the '16s+........same as my '16Z71 Silverado which came stock with HID projectors, the GMC's used a larger convex lens with the same wattage output high intensity discharge bulb. And I was amazed at the brightness and output of the headlamps....at first. Just like when I first got the projector HIDs, thougt they were fantastic until I saw better and without that crappy beam low beam cutoff. Once I parked that Silverado side by side running its 2 HIDs against the 6 LEDs in my '18 Traverse, the results were so dramatic and formed my primary decision to trade the '16 for a '19 RST running 6 LEDs......couldn't get rid of those projector lenses sooon enough. I keep the halogens in the Malibu because you cannot properly upgrade a projector lens shutter housing to LEDs......LEDs need a reflector lens because the light modules are mounted on the sides not the front of the light unit and need a reflector to send the light outward whereas a tungsten/halogen filament or HID bulb send the light forward which will work with a focused Convex projector lens. That's another reason why projectors are crap....can't be properly upgraded to LEDs, that's why I'll only use the Malibu, even with Silverstars, in the daytime.

CO-Stark · November 25, 2019

On 10/24/2019 at 7:59 AM, mistermcgoo said:

So..

My 2018 1500 is at the dealer for service and they gave me a 19' 2500 Duramax High Country loaner. This is my first time driving a 2500, let alone a Duramax.. and man, this thing is sweet! What a beast. What totally shocked me though is why don't they come standard with atleast HID's? This thing literally has EVERY option imaginable, yet I was shocked to see that yellow hue of halogens reflected back at me from the car in front of me on my way home from the dealer. It blows my mind that such an expensive truck doesn't come with premium lighting. Even every trim of the K2 1500's came with them standard..

One of several disappointments I had "upgrading" to a newer HD over the 2016 1500 LTZ I had. Don't get me wrong, it is an upgrade, like you said, what a beast! But yeah going 2 years newer (current truck is 2018) and up from LTZ to High Country, and from 1/2 ton to HD (spending a LOT more coin), all I got was the beast aspect, lost all the LED exterior lights, AWD mode on t-case, the lane keep assist (HD warns you when you leave your lane but the 1/2 ton would actually steer you back in), and seems like there was something else but its not coming to me. None of those are deal breakers, I knew about them before hand and still did what I did, but every time I see the yellow light out the front it grinds my gears, and there's so many options to upgrade, combined with the frustration of having to upgrade in the first place and spend even more money, I haven't done it yet. Oh wait, call off my whole complaint, I also got a few panels of fake wood and the 'high country' stitching in the headrests...

Sorry, rant over.

Edited November 25, 2019 by CO-Stark
changed best to beast...typo

mistermcgoo · November 25, 2019

31 minutes ago, CO-Stark said:

One of several disappointments I had "upgrading" to a newer HD over the 2016 1500 LTZ I had. Don't get me wrong, it is an upgrade, like you said, what a beast! But yeah going 2 years newer (current truck is 2018) and up from LTZ to High Country, and from 1/2 ton to HD (spending a LOT more coin), all I got was the beast aspect, lost all the LED exterior lights, AWD mode on t-case, the lane keep assist (HD warns you when you leave your lane but the 1/2 ton would actually steer you back in), and seems like there was something else but its not coming to me. None of those are deal breakers, I knew about them before hand and still did what I did, but every time I see the yellow light out the front it grinds my gears, and there's so many options to upgrade, combined with the frustration of having to upgrade in the first place and spend even more money, I haven't done it yet. Oh wait, call off my whole complaint, I also got a few panels of fake wood and the 'high country' stitching in the headrests...

Sorry, rant over.

Are you eventually going to bite the bullet and drop the coin for some HID's or LED's? I'm totally aware that headlight options aren't make or break for some people.. but I just don't think I can ever go back to halogen's.

P.S. I'm assuming that's your HD in your pic. Looks good man!

CO-Stark · November 27, 2019

On 11/25/2019 at 12:34 PM, mistermcgoo said:

Are you eventually going to bite the bullet and drop the coin for some HID's or LED's? I'm totally aware that headlight options aren't make or break for some people.. but I just don't think I can ever go back to halogen's.

P.S. I'm assuming that's your HD in your pic. Looks good man!

I don't know. I've shopped a little can't decide what I really want to do. I've had thoughts any where from bulbs, to whole headlights, to finding a salvaged 1500 and swapping the whole front end, to just selling this HD and going back to half ton. I really do like the diesel, but I'm starting to really wonder if its worth the extra coin I had to put in...

jerseytaylor · November 27, 2019

On 10/24/2019 at 5:09 PM, Thomcat said:

Not the '16s+........same as my '16Z71 Silverado which came stock with HID projectors, the GMC's used a larger convex lens with the same wattage output high intensity discharge bulb. And I was amazed at the brightness and output of the headlamps....at first. Just like when I first got the projector HIDs, thougt they were fantastic until I saw better and without that crappy beam low beam cutoff. Once I parked that Silverado side by side running its 2 HIDs against the 6 LEDs in my '18 Traverse, the results were so dramatic and formed my primary decision to trade the '16 for a '19 RST running 6 LEDs......couldn't get rid of those projector lenses sooon enough. I keep the halogens in the Malibu because you cannot properly upgrade a projector lens shutter housing to LEDs......LEDs need a reflector lens because the light modules are mounted on the sides not the front of the light unit and need a reflector to send the light outward whereas a tungsten/halogen filament or HID bulb send the light forward which will work with a focused Convex projector lens. That's another reason why projectors are crap....can't be properly upgraded to LEDs, that's why I'll only use the Malibu, even with Silverstars, in the daytime.

projectors are not inherently crap. GM projectors are crap.

Edited November 27, 2019 by jerseytaylor