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

[shovelbill]

You know you want to keep the factory chrome wheel molding Bill...

Chrome wheel molding and factory body molding crew!

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indeed i like them....i never had flares on anything before, but they were also never offered on a factory 2nd gen Blazer either.....i do like stock....or very close to stock items on the vehicle sans performance or utility parts. even though these trucks weren't offered with a 17" whel, i think the ones i have look kinda "at home on there"......they were stock on a GM vehicle though

 

[shovelbill]

ireally like that red truck....that's kinda what i'km thinking of getting for my "economical" grocery getter......that's got a 4.3/5 speed, right?

 

[n8pu]

like an idiot i just HAD to go back and look at this post.....now my belly hurts from laughing again....i was smart enough to not look whilst drinking anything.....

ok, onto the reason for this......and the ADDICTION aspect to my issue.

i just purchased some more lights.....NOT for this truck, but just to have some NOS lamps for a future project.

when i do move upstate i'll be wanting another "cage"...something that get's better fuel economy than this GMC....there will be times that i can't ride the bike because of rain, i'm not THAT hardcore anymore, been there done that...or the need to carry stuff. it's not like living in the city here, where you don't put on many miles.....where i'll be living and what i'll be doing will probably require around 20K miles per year of commuting.....this i know. so he need for another "car" will be a real one.....a nice 2wd shortbed with a smaller engine and 5 speed would be more economical for sure.....or even a good little American stationwagon of the front wheel drive variety may fit the bill......i did speak on my old Chevy Cavalier before.

either way....whatever i DO get will require QUALITY lighting upgrades. not as much or as big as this truck has, but fogs and driving lights none-the-less.....an upgraded headlight harness is a prerequisite needing no introduction.

so i just spent WAY too much money on things i DON"T need at the moment......but "strike while the iron is hot" is alive and well....and i couldn't pass up these sets i did buy.....obsolete NOS Cibie fogs and driving lights.......stuff that's NOT readily obtainable....or as cost effective as i procured them for.....in my mind anyway.

YAY ADDICTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm gonna start that meeting.

"my name is Bill and i'm addicted to lights"

You brought up a point I have been debating about in my own mind and thought I would put it out there. It's about an aftermarket 'headlight harness' with the necessary relays etc... I understand the reason and thinking behind it, BUT to the un-qualified eyes, no electronic meters or measuring equipment, if you (me) think your lights do a fairly good job now of lighting up the road ahead of you, is there enough of a difference visually to get the 'WOW' factor of night and day, OR is it more of a gaining an extra volt or two AND reducing the load on the OEM wiring harness.

I may in warmer weather, which could be as late as June or July here in northern Michigan, do the upgrade but for now I an looking for opinions and if 'you' have already done the upgrade, did you SEE a big difference? Maybe even later do the 'BIG THREE' charging system upgrade with bigger wires, but not now.

 

[df2x4]

ireally like that red truck....that's kinda what i'km thinking of getting for my "economical" grocery getter......that's got a 4.3/5 speed, right?

I wish it was a 5 speed...

4.3/4L60E. The 4L60E that's in there is in the original case, but I had a good builder in my area go through it to the tune of $2600 or so after I blew it up a while back. Turns out it didn't like 100% removal of the factory torque management from the PCM tune... Shifted way too violently anyway. I sent the PCM back to Black Bear after the trans rebuild and had them reset the TM to factory. It still kicks like a mule on the 1-2 shift, barks the tires on dry pavement every time at wide open throttle.

 

[BowtieBrody]

You know you want to keep the factory chrome wheel molding Bill...

Chrome wheel molding and factory body molding crew!

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If there's ever been any GMT400 platform trucks that should be put in a museum, it's these two, literal perfection

 

[shovelbill]

You brought up a point I have been debating about in my own mind and thought I would put it out there. It's about an 'aftermarket headlight' harness with the necessary relays etc... I understand the reason and thinking behind it, BUT to the un-qualified eyes, no electronic meters or measuring equipment, if you (me) think your lights do a fairly good job now of lighting up the road ahead of you, is there enough of a difference visually to get the 'WOW' factor of night and day, OR is it more of a gaining an extra volt or two AND reducing the load on the OEM wiring harness.

I may in warmer weather, which could be as late as June or July here in northern Michigan, do the upgrade but for now I an looking for opinions and if 'you' have already done the upgrade, did you SEE a big difference? Maybe even later do the 'BIG THREE' charging system upgrade with bigger wires, but not now.

literally a night and day difference......but EVERYTHING was new, with high performance bulbs. it really IS that good.

i've been doing these harness upgrades since the early '80's, it just makes perfect sense to me to have the best possible lighting for safety......and as i said before, most of my distance driving is done at night on long lonely dark roads....that where it really "shines".

when i lived upstate NY there were roads where there were no house lights for miles at a clip, let alone road lights.....critters everywhere.....and in some conditions it seemed like the road absorbed any lighting no matter what, like a black friggin hole......i did this on my ex-wifes Subaru, she was very impressed....she didn't like paying for new Skoobi headlamps, but it was definitely worth it.

if i never left NYC proper, i probably wouldn't bother as you don't really NEED headlights....it's so bright here.

 

[michael hurd]

You brought up a point I have been debating about in my own mind and thought I would put it out there. It's about an 'aftermarket headlight' harness with the necessary relays etc... I understand the reason and thinking behind it, BUT to the un-qualified eyes, no electronic meters or measuring equipment, if you (me) think your lights do a fairly good job now of lighting up the road ahead of you, is there enough of a difference visually to get the 'WOW' factor of night and day, OR is it more of a gaining an extra volt or two AND reducing the load on the OEM wiring harness.

I may in warmer weather, which could be as late as June or July here in northern Michigan, do the upgrade but for now I an looking for opinions and if 'you' have already done the upgrade, did you SEE a big difference? Maybe even later do the 'BIG THREE' charging system upgrade with bigger wires, but not now.

Read this link:

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html

The lowest nominal difference we can 'see' according to a few sources on the Candlepower forum is 15%.

Consider the low beam voltage prior to installing relays in Bill's case was 11.4V, loaded. After, 14.4V.

The difference is over 200%, since light output is not linear with a change in voltage.

 

[df2x4]

If there's ever been any GMT400 platform trucks that should be put in a museum, it's these two, literal perfection

Thanks man! I try to keep them nice. Love to see people appreciate them!

The red truck was custom ordered by my dad and I was with him when he picked it up. The Suburban was bought off the lot by my mom and I rode home in it with her, too. The red truck was the first street legal vehicle I ever drove when I was a kid. Luckily I've been able to keep them in the family. Coincidentally both are a one of one option combo according to my CompNine VIN lookups, even with a fairly low number of options actually selected in the comparison. The red truck is especially odd, V6, auto, Silverado package with almost every single option, with cloth interior and vinyl floors. The Suburban is just decked out to all hell, it even has some additional trans and PS coolers labeled as a "Cold Weather Package," which was apparently a somewhat rare option on it's own.

They're weird, and I love them.

 

[shovelbill]

I wish it was a 5 speed...

4.3/4L60E. The 4L60E that's in there is in the original case, but I had a good builder in my area go through it to the tune of $2600 or so after I blew it up a while back. Turns out it didn't like 100% removal of the factory torque management from the PCM tune... Shifted way too violently anyway. I sent the PCM back to Black Bear after the trans rebuild and had them reset the TM to factory. It still kicks like a mule on the 1-2 shift, barks the tires on dry pavement every time at wide open throttle.

how would you rate the fuel economy on the highway and 45-55 mph back country road driving....i don't care about IN the city, that is what it is...will she see high teens low 20's?

....and nothing i would want could be the 35-45mpg i can get on my harley, which is 80% of my mileage.

 

[df2x4]

how would you rate the fuel economy on the highway and 45-55 mph back country road driving....i don't care about IN the city, that is what it is...will she see high teens low 20's?

....and nothing i would want could be the 35-45mpg i can get on my harley, which is 80% of my mileage.

I do a lot of the type of driving you just described, and I average just over 20MPG on every single tank. I kept the factory PCM too, so if I'm feeling extra economical I can pop it back in and get closer to 25.

EDIT - Factory 3.42 rear gear probably helps that...