05 Tahoe Projectors ??

[Dubbin]

I have a question for the guys with the DEPO projectors, how is the fitment on the vehicle? I've dealt with Ebay headlights before on past vehicles and the fitment was terrible. My wife want's headlights for christmas and i was going to go with the set from LMC,http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/ce/full.aspx?Page=52 the black projectors. So which would be the better buy?

 

[MikeTheApeman]

Here's my take on the Depo's, from experience in my 2005 Tahoe:
- fitment is good. There is a bit of a gap between the lights and the grille, but not so much it bothers me. I'll try to get pics to show you what I'm talking about as soon as the mrs finds the damn camera. (I swear she hid it in an effort to get me to buy her a new one for X-Mas!)
- The brackets leave a little bit to be desired in the fact that they have what I have come to call the "Depo bounce". Some folks say when they put HID's in, the extra wiring fills a void and stops this, others like me have glued spacers in place. The issue seems to be that the bracket is kind of an L-shape, only really attaching to the light housing at the top. Add a spacer at the bottom that makes it solid, you're golden. (Side note: I told folks I used some spare spacers from a flat mount tv kit I bought? Yeah, turns out I used 2 of the spacers I needed for my new TV. Go figure.)
- Light output is clean, with a good cutoff. Not as good as DenaliAK's, since he retrofit glass projectors in, but very good for a stock housing. There are 2 dots above each beam though that someone else dubbed "squirrel finders". I personally find them useful, as they light up street signs pretty good without blinding other drivers. YMMV, as i can see some folks getting annoyed by them.

 

[Dubbin]

Awsome thanks man, are you running the raptor hid kit in your depo headlights? if so which set? i'm very new to the world of HID's. are you running the 55W kit or the 35w for your low's? i see that you have the 4300k, would the 6000k be too much? i dont want the "ricer" purple look. I'm just looking for the best light out put possible. I've seen alot of the 4300k but not 6000k

 

[DenaliAK]

Not to answer for Mike, but if you want the best light output possible, go with 4300k. It is the cleanest, highest-lumen light option available. As soon as you start to go blue/purple, you lose actual output lumens to tint. It may look cool to some, but the bluer it is the less light it is. Also, if you get 55w, it will be less blue/purple then 35w because the power washes some of the tint out. 8000k 55w are approximately equal in color to 6000k 35w.

As far as power (35w vs. 55w), I'm not sure how the aftermarket projectors will handle it. Obviously, the higher-powered version is going to be more light, but it is possible to over-whelm the projector bowl and just get a lot of glare, losing some of the cleaner looking cutoff. You're also going to have more light going up (the "squirrel finder"...might have been me that dubbed it that on this forum, but that's what they are called). If you are in heavy rain, fog, or snow, this will glare YOU with backscatter. Trust me on that. I've done it and experienced it. Still, if it was me, just getting a PnP kit, I'd go with 55w....lol. I have 35w in my retrofit, which is plenty of light because it's incredibly focused, but I am also tempted to get a cheap 55w Raptor kit just to see the difference, too.

I just ordered one of the Raptor V2 kits in 55w for my fogs, so that should be interesting. I may actually be able to tell the fogs are on when that's in place.

 

[Dubbin]

so your saying a 35w 4300K is the best light out put?

 

[DenaliAK]

lol

Yeah, best in 35w anyway. Probably the safest bet all around.

55w 4300k would technically be more light. I'm just not sure how well the Halogen projectors would handle the output from those. A lot of folks think it's over-kill.

There are a lot of seemingly minor differences in headlights that are actually pretty important, like the difference between a halogen projector and an HID projector. Just because it's a projector doesn't mean it's an HID projector, even if you have an HID in it.

 

[MikeTheApeman]

Not to answer for Mike, but if you want the best light output possible, go with 4300k. It is the cleanest, highest-lumen light option available. As soon as you start to go blue/purple, you lose actual output lumens to tint. It may look cool to some, but the bluer it is the less light it is. Also, if you get 55w, it will be less blue/purple then 35w because the power washes some of the tint out. 8000k 55w are approximately equal in color to 6000k 35w.

No problems, you pretty much summed it up.

As far as power (35w vs. 55w), I'm not sure how the aftermarket projectors will handle it. Obviously, the higher-powered version is going to be more light, but it is possible to over-whelm the projector bowl and just get a lot of glare, losing some of the cleaner looking cutoff. You're also going to have more light going up (the "squirrel finder"...might have been me that dubbed it that on this forum, but that's what they are called). If you are in heavy rain, fog, or snow, this will glare YOU with backscatter. Trust me on that. I've done it and experienced it. Still, if it was me, just getting a PnP kit, I'd go with 55w....lol. I have 35w in my retrofit, which is plenty of light because it's incredibly focused, but I am also tempted to get a cheap 55w Raptor kit just to see the difference, too.

I just ordered one of the Raptor V2 kits in 55w for my fogs, so that should be interesting. I may actually be able to tell the fogs are on when that's in place.

Agreed here as well. 55w HID's in crappy projectors will get beat by 35w HID's in quality projectors. Most of the ones you buy have acrylic lenses. They are iffy when it comes to the heat for 55w. I can't say for sure if they will handle it or not, but I can say without a doubt that your lights will die faster from them. When I say die, I mean cloud up and need replacing. How much faster? No clue on that one. One thing i will say is if you get 55w, I'd invest in a harness as well, just to be safe. The stock wiring might be able to handle it, but for piece of mind I'd spend the extra $20 on a harness and call it a day.

And as I stated in the other thread, I have had zero issues with my original 35w Raptor's in either my headlights or my fogs. Granted, my fogs don't get used too often, but no issues nonetheless. (I'm thinking about swapping the bulbs out to yellow to actually make them more useful.) If the Raptor 2's are an improvement over the originals, then they should be golden.

 

[Tahoewhat]

Speaking of all the hids. I have the raptor kit in 6k 35watt in my tahoe right now and its fine for me. Aimed the lights down and no blinding. i also have a 55w 6k in my gto and love it in that car, but has real projectors also. 6k, isnt blue or solid white either. But does have a slight hint of blue in them.

 

[MikeTheApeman]

Remember that 55w washes out some of the color, so 6k's look more like 4500k at 55w.

 

[Dubbin]

Thoughts on these? They look like DEPO's but include the bumper lights. If they are the DEPO headlights i'm buying them
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2000...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item2c5230904e

 

[DenaliAK]

Don't think they are DEPO's.

 

[Tahoewhat]

How would you know if they are deops or not? Not all that i have seen, say what they are. im still looking for some. have found this same looking ones, but in chrome housing... and take a h11 bulb..

 

[DenaliAK]

It can be hard to tell with internet sites and pictures who actually makes them. That's why I went out of my way to find someone who sold specifically DEPO lights, it says it in the description that they are made DEPO, etc.

A lot of these aftermarket lights look pretty much identical, so you can't just say, "well, it looks like a depo." It may not be. Chances are it's not unless it says it is. Then you could end up with a cheaply made knock-off of an aftermarket light. That happened to me on my first headlight purchase. And then you are almost certainly going to get a low-quality projector and lens, which is the opposite of why you want a DEPO to begin with: they tend to be pretty good projectors and lenses for a less then $200 aftermarket set.

 

[MeanGreen03]

Thoughts on these? They look like DEPO's but include the bumper lights. If they are the DEPO headlights i'm buying them
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2000...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item2c5230904e

I have these with HIDs (35w/4500) and they have a good cutoff. No issues at all!! The projector lense is actually glass too. I was going to do a retrofit but after cutting into one I realized that the projectors were going to have to be molded into the back so decided just to try them stock and I don't think you could get much better....

 

[DenaliAK]

I have these with HIDs (35w/4500) and they have a good cutoff. No issues at all!! The projector lense is actually glass too. I was going to do a retrofit but after cutting into one I realized that the projectors were going to have to be molded into the back so decided just to try them stock and I don't think you could get much better....

Got any cutoff pics?

I'll show you mine (retro'd) if you show me yours.....lol

 

[MeanGreen03]

Got any cutoff pics?

I'll show you mine (retro'd) if you show me yours.....lol

Only if you show yours first! LOL... I'll get some later this week. I work night shifts so after my my 3 day span I'll shoot some pics.

The picture of Coops ride he posted up above are the same ones I think....Well he says he uses a stock bulb but mine use a different one.

 

[DenaliAK]

The basic output/cutoff from mine with 35w 4300k HID's in a TSX projector:

What it looks like on a dark, narrow street at night with no city lights around:

It's actually a little trippy. Anything outside of the beam is just blackness.

 

[Tahoewhat]

The basic output/cutoff from mine with 35w 4300k HID's in a TSX projector:

What it looks like on a dark, narrow street at night with no city lights around:

It's actually a little trippy. Anything outside of the beam is just blackness.

that one pic of total darkeness looks wicked. right at the cutoff, you cant see anything.. lol... pretty cool though.. and nice setup...

 

[1highbaldguy]

i just installed a set of DEPO headlights and 6k hids. does anyone else have a problem of those little circles or dots right above the cut off? is this normal?

 

[DenaliAK]

Probably the so-called squirrel finders. It's purpose-built to shine some light up to light up street signs. Because you put HID's in a halogen projector, you're over-powering the whole projector and getting more glare out of it. Essentially, it's normal, but not designed for use with HID's.