LX projector beam headlight help! GTR Ultra Series HID (1 Viewer)

[NoogaCruiser]

It's well documented that the OEM lighting sucks in these trucks so I bit the bullet and ordered the $320 GTR Ultra Series HID conversion H1 low beams with an expectation of material improvement. Unfortunately they barely improved the output and did nothing for the poor beam pattern. The bulb on the right (passenger) is the $320 GTR low beam and the other is a cheap $40 amazon LED light. There's barely any improvement. Also, I'm getting two awful dots above the cutoff line on both sides. What would be the cause of this? It's also present using the halogen bulbs. This is in a 1999 LX with factory housings. Thanks for any advice! I just want to be able see at night, not looking for life changing results.

 

[cambo16]

I've had bad luck with the LED bulbs from Amazon. I used a set on my 15 accord, and one died 1 year in. The second set lasted until I sold the car, but the cooling fan on the bulb started making a very loud noise just before then. Given how hard it is to change the bulbs on the driverside of our LXs, I want to find a long lasting replacement. I wonder if your HID conversion bulbs might be the answer? You say it's not much of an improvement over your LED, but I wonder if they'll last longer. Either that or just find the brightest H1 halogens out there.

 

[Rebus Knebus]

Also, I'm getting two awful dots above the cutoff line on both sides. What would be the cause of this?

 

[MongooseGA]

You need to change the projectors. A bulb alone won't change your beam pattern if it's going through the same projector lens.

The 2 dots are referred to as 'squirrel finders '.

 

[suprarx7nut]

You need to change the projectors. A bulb alone won't change your beam pattern if it's going through the same projector lens.

The 2 dots are referred to as 'squirrel finders '.

Bingo.

@NoogaCruiser The bulb and projector work in tandem. I've never seen a simple halogen replacement HID bulb conversion do anything exciting. It's always brighter, but with poor control of the light. A good recipe for annoying other drivers.

The projector housing retrofit is the hard part, IMO. I think @Luke111 had some awesome kits and offered a service to do the retrofit. Not sure if he still does that.

 

[MongooseGA]

Given how hard it is to change the bulbs on the driverside of our LXs,

The battery moves out of the way.

 

[OEMGUY0720]

I made my fair share of experimenting lights on my 06LX. If you are wondering what it’s like to have 8000k color temp xenon bulb with 35 watt ballast on factory Koito projectors, here is a wall output shot:

If you are wondering what its like to have the same light source 8000k color temp xenon bulb with 35 watt ballast but with aftermarket Morimoto Mini H1 8.0 clear lens, here is a foreground and wall output shot:

Left - Morimoto Mini H1 8.0, Right - Koito stock projector lens (notice how clear is the Morimoto is).

If you want to go deeper the rabbit hole of retrofitting headlights and skip the HID, this is the apex you can go on your LX, quad-LEDs (not HID) which around 45k+ lumens. Pair of 3” and 2.5” BiFocal LED projector lens.

 

[NoogaCruiser]

Thanks everyone. I had never heard of squirrel finders - makes total sense now. Looks like I will eventually need to upgrade my projectors. In the meantime I will probably just upgrade the high beams to GTR Ultra 2 LED's since they are reflectors. May also upgrade the fogs to help with the low beams.

 

[ronnunan]

I made my fair share of experimenting lights on my 06LX. If you are wondering what it’s like to have 8000k color temp xenon bulb with 35 watt ballast on factory Koito projectors, here is a wall output shot:
View attachment 3425391

If you are wondering what its like to have the same light source 8000k color temp xenon bulb with 35 watt ballast but with aftermarket Morimoto Mini H1 8.0 clear lens, here is a foreground and wall output shot:
View attachment 3425393View attachment 3425392
Left - Morimoto Mini H1 8.0, Right - Koito stock projector lens (notice how clear is the Morimoto is).
View attachment 3425394

If you want to go deeper the rabbit hole of retrofitting headlights and skip the HID, this is the apex you can go on your LX, quad-LEDs (not HID) which around 45k+ lumens. Pair of 3” and 2.5” BiFocal LED projector lens.
View attachment 3425402

You have a link for this…? How much are we talking?

 

[OEMGUY0720]

You have a link for this…? How much are we talking?

We have a lot of threads here about the Mini H1 8.0 HID projectors and it’s bracket. The quad led is something I custom built and have never seen one built of the same spec so I cannot share a link for that. But send me a pm if that’s what you’re referring to I’m happy to help.