Budget Build Retrofits

[afg10000]

Fine work. Definitely cheaper and simpler way to go. Looks great.

 

[trd4x4]

If you want some ideas, look at my build thread. I opened up the turn signals and corner lights and painted them the same color as the headlights. The blinkers were still plenty bright since the lenses were clear.

Yeah Ive actually done my corners and blinker assemblies! They give it a good complete look and you can retain oem parts!

 

[wake_rider]

The high beam function isnt in the bulb itself, but part of the projector. A shield flips down to allow the light to project higher. So youll still have your high beam.

I think someone linked an explanation farther up in the thread if you want to see how it works.

Awesome. Thank you for that clarification. Does that switching lag a bit, or is it pretty instantaneous?


How long did the total project take you? I only have one day off a week and the family might be a tad grumpy if I chose to use that day for baking headlights rather than hanging out with the wife and daughter. Lol. Might have to wait for spring break... The said, I'm definitely going this direction. Your build fits a teacher's budget.

 

[afg10000]

Awesome. Thank you for that clarification. Does that switching lag a bit, or is it pretty instantaneous?


How long did the total project take you? I only have one day off a week and the family might be a tad grumpy if I chose to use that day for baking headlights rather than hanging out with the wife and daughter. Lol. Might have to wait for spring break... The said, I'm definitely going this direction. Your build fits a teacher's budget.

Sounds like a fun family day project to me. We can all bake headlights together and do cool stuff to the truck!

 

[Cree]

Do these plug into the factory harness or is there some cut and splice work required? I didn't see where you talk about that at all, so I'm assuming they're plug and play. Just wondering.

 

[jpeaslee]

Awesome. Thank you for that clarification. Does that switching lag a bit, or is it pretty instantaneous?


How long did the total project take you? I only have one day off a week and the family might be a tad grumpy if I chose to use that day for baking headlights rather than hanging out with the wife and daughter. Lol. Might have to wait for spring break... The said, I'm definitely going this direction. Your build fits a teacher's budget.

It's instantaneous for the Hi/Lo function. On mine, I did it in pieces. Baking the headlights and getting them apart shouldn't take more than an hour. Wiring everything up probably about an hour all said and done. Mounting the projectors in the headlight and putting them back together shouldn't take but 30-60 mins. The biggest time suck for me was painting the housings (hurry up and wait) and modifying my shrouds to fit, which shouldn't be a problem with this build. As long as your pretty good with your hands, it shouldn't take more than 4 hours, if you're quick, it could take less (assuming you're not painting anything). YMMV.

Do these plug into the factory harness or is there some cut and splice work required? I didn't see where you talk about that at all, so I'm assuming they're plug and play. Just wondering.

With the wiring harness that the OP used/linked, you shouldn't have to do any hacking/splicing of the factory wires. Pretty much plug and play.

 

[trd4x4]

I posted links for everything I used, it is completely plug and play is a straight forward process! This is perfect for learning how to do retrofits and being a budget upgrade!

 

[trd4x4]

It's instantaneous for the Hi/Lo function. On mine, I did it in pieces. Baking the headlights and getting them apart shouldn't take more than an hour. Wiring everything up probably about an hour all said and done. Mounting the projectors in the headlight and putting them back together shouldn't take but 30-60 mins. The biggest time suck for me was painting the housings (hurry up and wait) and modifying my shrouds to fit, which shouldn't be a problem with this build. As long as your pretty good with your hands, it shouldn't take more than 4 hours, if you're quick, it could take less (assuming you're not painting anything). YMMV.


Thanks for helping me keep up on all the questions btw haha, I appreciate it!

 

[Cree]

Sweet. I just ordered all of it with 5k bulbs. Been wanting to do retro's but not drop the coin.

 

[rtarv32101]

Good deal! Just ordered. Which is better- Depo or TYC replacement headlights? I have a 1998 and need to replace headlights for upgrade? Thanks for your help!

 

[Cree]

So, I finished these up tonight. Several notes about them.

1. Make sure you put the damn things in the right way the first time. There's a reason they're cheap. I had to order a second set of projectors after the nut on one of the originals decided to cross thread on me while trying to remove it.

2. The instructions that come with all of it SUCK. Basically, you get none. The High/Low Harness basically replaces your factory setup. This is how it works:

-Unplug the stock lights
-Plug the High/Low harness into the drivers side socket and connect it to the positive lead on the battery.
-Plug your ballasts into the harness, then your bulbs into the plugs from the ballasts. There are two wires on each bulb harness you can get rid of. They're the blade connectors that are supposed to plug into the factory sockets. The high/low harness negates all that.


If you're like me, and you don't know all that, you'll stare at it for about 20 minutes and get pissed off and just start plugging stuff in until it works.

Now that that part is out of the way, let's talk about the final product. So hey, I'm not unhappy with them. There's some MINOR halo's up top, but overall I think the cutoff is pretty clean for 40 bucks. Focus is pretty solid as well for, again, 40 bucks.

I could do a little more aiming, get a little more spread if I really wanted to, but I'm not positive it's worth it.

I don't have anything to compare these to, retro kit wise, but I'm very happy with the money I spent and what I got for it. If you're looking for something that isn't 800 bucks, you can do yourself with virtually no special tools or crazy epoxy jobs (you will have to change the terminal on the power supply wire if you want to fit it on the battery post), these are a solid choice I believe. YMMV.

 

[GrassFed]

Man those projector lights look so much cleaner. Is the consensus that the output is far superior as well? It looks great from the pictures, although they can be misleading.

Thanks for posting up these pointers

 

[Cree]

Man those projector lights look so much cleaner. Is the consensus that the output is far superior as well? It looks great from the pictures, although they can be misleading.

Thanks for posting up these pointers

Most would say yes. I didn't drive very far last night, so I can't say for sure if I gained distance. I will say the coverage is far better than my picture shows.

 

[jlstick2]

Looks great! Thanks!

 

[KOTOW]

very nice CLEAN

 

[kolelt]

Exactly how do you bolt the projector to the light housing ?

Whats the difference between this and other expensive retrofit ?

 

[bmodo16]

I had decided against retrofits because I didn't want to risk screwing up with cutting but after reading this it's back in the list and hopefully soon. I miss having HIDs.

 

[jgjki]

Those really came out great!

 

[octanejunkie]

Really glad I found this thread, all parts needed for under $85 is crazy cheap!
I was wanting halos though...

I like how there is no "point of no return" in the process (other than painting the housings) and I really LOVE the blacked out corners - this is exactly what I want to do on my truck!

PS. we have the same green rig and yours looks boss :thumb:

 

[That_One_Guy]

I want to do a retro fit but I'm having issues with americanretrofits.com I placed an order over 2 weeks ago and it still says its unfulfilled... Anybody else order from them before??