Spyder headlamps.....my take on 'em...and LIGHTING in general

[drewcrew]

i'm just tossin out options......

I know and I'm glad you do. But $50 for 1 headlight seems a little high.

 

[shovelbill]

no issue at all on mounting. only had the change pigtails.

52.00 for 1 headlight is crazy.
https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai...EwijybLhw8PRAhVK94MKHdT9CQMQ2CkIggIwAA&adurl=
https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai...EwijybLhw8PRAhVK94MKHdT9CQMQ2CkIiwIwAQ&adurl=
here's some info:
Stock Sealed Beam H4703 55w lowbeam, H4701 65w highbeam are DOT approved, GM used in 88-89, 90-91 Blazers/Suburbans, 98-03 Firebirds and a few others. The small size (92mmx150mm), marginal optics of DOT spec, make these somewhat poor. Factory wiring is ran through headlight switch, column dimmer, and smaller 16ga wire. Upgrade powers lights with relays, 10ga wire, increasing output greatly, a must if upgrading to more powerful lights, higher wattage runs too great of resistance.

14G for the harness would be just fine....10G can withstand damn close to 100A, super overkill in my opinion.....good quality stranded 14 gauge with a good sheathing.....forgot what is better than PVC at the moment.

 

[shovelbill]

Does anyone know of a source for black/chrome housing glass lens headlights?

Sent from my SM-S920L using Tapatalk

sorry, i don't.
are you talking about the reflector being black?

 

[df2x4]

I know and I'm glad you do. But $50 for 1 headlight seems a little high.

Have you seen the Trucklites for the W/T grilles?

https://www.amazon.com/Truck-Lite-2...=1484513025&ref=plSrch&ref_=mp_s_a_1_2&sr=8-2

They are awesome. Only LED headlights I'd ever consider, but I'm not changing my grille to run them.

 

[df2x4]

Does anyone know of a source for black/chrome housing glass lens headlights?

Sent from my SM-S920L using Tapatalk

You're probably going to have to go plastic for those, never seen them in glass.

 

[shovelbill]

Have you seen the Trucklites for the W/T grilles?

https://www.amazon.com/Truck-Lite-27450C-Headlamp/dp/B007ED7HNY/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&dpID=5187T5+Wz3L&dpPl=1&keywords=trucklite 5x7&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&qid=1484513025&ref=plSrch&ref_=mp_s_a_1_2&sr=8-2

They are awesome. Only LED headlights I'd ever consider, but I'm not changing my grille to run them.

Real cool!
interesting thing.....two nights ago Michael Hurd and myself had a PM-a-thon....and a lot of what we discussed were the LED options available today. it included my experience with Harley's line of LED headlights and auxillary lighting. i have been working for a couple of Harley dealerships for the past 4+ years.

we agreed that most of what we were talking about would have been good to be on this thread......i'm going to be copy and pasting the highlights of our conversation.

incidentally.....yesterday i received a comprehensive response to my e-mail to Daniel Stern. one of his main topics of upgrading our systems was to swap the grill/light assembly to the WT version.....there are real good options out there for the 5"X 7" lamps....the 4"x6's too.

in my '86 Jimmy i had some real good lighting.......Ciebi E-codes, Hella 220 fogs, KC Daylighter driving lights(aux high beams).....i even put a 1982 bumper on that truck so you could see my front signals....the 85/86 truck had the blinkers behind the grill inboard of the high beam......i put some thought into that truck, after spending money on garbage that didn't do what i wanted...and blinded the **** out of oncoming traffic.

here's the picture again, i loved this truck....and i like to post ****

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.....that Truck Light you referenced df2x4 is a good reflector LED....i happen to like the way those look compared to the R2D2 lookin projector varieties.

Harley has there own versions, made by some else of course, but these are a good option for a touring bike, like my black FLD:
https://www.amazon.com/Truck-Lite-2...rd_wg=jmRVf&psc=1&refRID=7N0FNQ8SVG5WKJANF0MQ
https://www.amazon.com/Truck-Lite-8...srs=2602725011&ie=UTF8&qid=1484516779&sr=8-91

i knew the WT setup would lend itself to much better lighting, but i own a Sierra with the slit lights and wanted to see how i could improve on it with what IS available.....

 

[df2x4]

.....that Truck Light you referenced df2x4 is a good reflector LED....i happen to like the way those look compared to the R2D2 lookin projector varieties.

Indeed, they are very well designed housings. The R2D2 reflectors you're talking about (similar to what you see on all the LED light bars) are TERRIBLE for directing light. These aren't, and have a great cut-off line. @Ruger_556 has them, he made a very nice thread about them a while back. Here's a link to his findings.

http://www.gmt400.com/threads/led-headlights-for-w-t-front.23337/

 

[shovelbill]

and i currently have a Warn Transformer grill setup in my garage. it's for the GMT400 trucks, very similar to the one i had on my 2nd gen K/5's........was the FIRST accessory i bought.....and not all the pieces are available anymore.....i'm doing a front receiver hitch on it and THAT part isn't available anywhere, i SEARCHED and called every vender i could!......i'm going to be cutting down the piece from an '00-'06 setup. from 32" to 25"....i'll have KC's mounted on that too.......mostly....just because, LOL.

i'll be installing the Warn unit at the same time i do the bumper swap......i'm having a hard time being patient for that.

 

[shovelbill]

Indeed, they are very well designed housings. The R2D2 reflectors you're talking about (similar to what you see on all the LED light bars) are TERRIBLE for directing light. These aren't, and have a great cut-off line. @Ruger_556 has them, he made a very nice thread about them a while back. Here's a link to his findings.

http://www.gmt400.com/threads/led-headlights-for-w-t-front.23337/

my first exposure to LED's was when i started at Harley....and the fill was terrible.....not to mention when you LEANED the bike into a corner.....hense the new J.W. Speaker Adaptive lamp.....that's in the PM convo too.

i'm going to go read that link you provided.....thanks for all your input man.

we now have a "harness guy" by proxy, from the information you've contributed.

 

[shovelbill]

here's the JW Speaker adaptive headlight for bikes.....it's on their site.

watch the videos:
http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/adaptive-led-headlights-model-8790-adaptive/