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Lighting Upgrades

21K views 30 replies 11 participants last post by  repairman54 
#1 ·
First off this is my first time to the forum.

I just picked up a used 2013 Trav. Ls a few weeks ago with 89,000 miles and a lifetime power train warranty from my local Chevy dealer. That said my Driver side headlight just burned out.

I've been reading about the H11-H9 mod but H9 are not readily available in my area.

I am about to order LED everything but I ran into a problem. My manual nor Osramlist my factory Fog Light Bulb size.

If anyone could help me out that would be great.

Also any tips on installing LED low beams? And should I do the high beams in LED too?

It's 19 degrees here and I work nights so I don't really want to pull the fog in the dark to check size me being lazy and all.

Thanks in advance also picked up a 31" Light bar buddy needed quick cash so I got it for $30 NIB not a name brand but looks solid.
 
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#3 ·
There's no room for LED head light bulbs. They have a rather large fan on the back of the bulb that will not clear the housing dust cap. Plus the light will be scattered everywhere and very blinding. I was running HID's in mine for awhile until a ballast went out. I ended up going with Phillips Xtreme power halogens and called it a day.
 
#5 ·
Well finally got around to completing the work to my traverse.
LED headlight install was a breeze. Bulbs fit right in and dust caps screw right on no modifications needed. Will be adjusting the headlights tonight.

Ordered a set of LED bulbs for the fog lights to they are H11 same as low beam.

921 LED Reverse lights from superbright LED install was also a breeze.

Painted rotors and Wagner thermoquiets on now too.

Next up I will be adding a 31" light bar into the lower grille just have to design some mounts.
 
#10 ·
Does the bulb look like this with a driver?



If it doesn't have a driver, do you have any flicker issues? Any beam pattern pics? When I ran HID's the light pattern was very scattered compared to the tight beam of the halogen bulb. I miss the whiteness of the HID's, but the Philips Xtreme Power halogens give a better beam pattern. If the LED's have a good pattern, I'll give them a try. You can post pics when you hit 10 posts.
 
#11 ·
Looks similar yes I personally think they have a much better output then previous halogens and the beam pattern is very similar to the halogen only difference I've found is it has a slight beam up that illuminates overhead signs like on highway where the halogens did not and I found myself using high beam just to see signs. I've only been flashed by one person so far and I was going downhill as they were coming up.
 
#12 ·
Does your LEDs have a fan on them or a heat sink? If so and the dust caps are on how does it supply cool air to it? I bought ours off amazon and asked the manufacturer and they said to leave the caps off.

If the LEDs overheat they won't work or may even flicker. The 921s look a lot better with LEDs. Brighter.

Enjoy and when ya do the interior with LEDs it looks soo much better
 
#13 ·
That's what I kept asking him. How does the fan clear the dust caps? Also, where did he put the driver? It surely will not fit under the dust cap as well. You can't run without the dust caps or the lens housings will get dust inside them. When I ran HID's I had to drill a one inch hole in the caps, but the wiring harness had a rubber seal for the wires to go through the cap.
 
#14 ·
#15 ·
RallyWgn said:
That's what I kept asking him. How does the fan clear the dust caps? Also, where did he put the driver? It surely will not fit under the dust cap as well. You can't run without the dust caps or the lens housings will get dust inside them. When I ran HID's I had to drill a one inch hole in the caps, but the wiring harness had a rubber seal for the wires to go through the cap.
lots of the newer lights don't have fans or drivers
 
#16 ·
One more time NO MODIFICATIONS ARE NEEDED and dust caps get put back in stuff heat sink in headlight housing there is more then enough room to allow for air flow yes the bulbs have a fan. Headlights are not air tight I can assure you of that. No flicker problems at all. I posted the exact name of the light and everything is on amazon also Prime so if you have that free two day shipping is the best.
 
#17 ·
Traversetheworld said:
I posted the exact name of the light and everything is on amazon
Thanks for the info about the lights.

I've re-read this thread three times though, and can't find the name of the light in here. It may be right in front of me and I keep missing it.

Can you post the name of the light again. I'd like to take a look at it.
 
#18 ·
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01MDOWGY3/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Sorry name was in other thread

Again 100% PLUG N PLAY

I did my fogs with the same bulbs and am ordering the high beams next week.

I did have to angle the headlights down a hair it is almost exact same focal pattern as the halogen. So far I have been flashed twice both at same intersection but it is because my side of intersection is a different grade then the other side I have been highbeamed before with halogens.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Amazon.com: NINEO H11 H8 H9 LED Headlight Bulbs | CREE Chips 12000Lm 6500K Extremely Bright All-in-One Conversion Kit | 360 Degree Adjustable Beam Angle: Automotive
Sorry name was in other thread

Again 100% PLUG N PLAY

I did my fogs with the same bulbs and am ordering the high beams next week.

I did have to angle the headlights down a hair it is almost exact same focal pattern as the halogen. So far I have been flashed twice both at same intersection but it is because my side of intersection is a different grade then the other side I have been highbeamed before with halogens.
Did you ever do the high beams and did it work well? Also, are you still happy with the H11 headlight LED's I'm looking to do mine as an OEM bulb finally burned out - 120K - I think that's a record for me.
 
#19 ·
Thanks for the link. They have a lot of good reviews on Amazon. Saved this item to my shopping list... :)
 
#20 ·
Ordered the NINEO H11's. They were decent, definitely much brighter than halogen. My issue was with the beam pattern being somewhat scattered with the OE halogen assemblies and the fact they wouldnt fit into the Eagle Eyes projector assemblies.

I would imagine though that LED+Projector would work very nicely if you find the right combination.

Went back to the Silverstar zXe's until I fimd decent LEDs that fit the projectors.
 
#21 ·
Okay third time trying to write an update. Site keeps telling me my session has timed out grr...

TL;DR: The 6k LEDs look great in projector housings. Not so much in standard halogen, scattered beam pattern no matter how much adjusting.

Will be doing the hi-beams next in 6k to match the low-beams.

After that considering doing the back-up / reverse lights for better illumination and blinding hi-beam jerks behind me at stop lights / stop signs.

The only other lights I will upgrade are the trunk ones. Leaving the rest of the interior alone though I will be adding footwell and glovebox lighting at some point just probably not LED.
 
#22 ·
Post script: had some random yahoo in the car next to me ask where I got my headlights from, guess the upgrades worked ;)
 
#23 · (Edited)
This whole not being able to edit posts is a tad annoying. Feel like I'm talking to myself in this thread when I'd really like to just edit one post with my progress.

I changed my mind and went LED everything on the exterior, minus license plate lights.

Front Side Markers
Sylvania 194 Amber LED (x2)
*I may try the Sylvania Zevo "Super Bright" in Amber, but that will depend on how the front turn signals end up looking.
*I ran the Sylvania Zevo 6000K's (white) for a few nights but those were too bright and threw too much light out and up, annoying other drivers. I did like the offset of the white next to amber turn signal. I ended up putting these in the interior liftgate.

Front Turn Signals
Sylvania 4157 Amber LED (x2)
*Not thrilled with these; the reflector housing doesn't extend far enough forward to really capture the front-facing style LEDs. I've got the Zevo versions coming in tonight from Amazon. These are the ones that throw the light backwards meaning it should look much brighter with these reflector housings.
*Also, these are more on the yellow side not as orange so they don't match the amber-orange side markers.

Rear Side Markers
Sylvania 194 Red LED (x2)
*Debating on upgrading to Zevos though these are already pretty bright in my opinion.

Rear Brake/Turn Signals

Sylvania Zevo 7443 Red LED

Rear Back-Up Lights
Sylvania Zevo 921 6000K LED
*Not thrilled with these either. While they are pretty bright, I think their forward-facing design means the reflector housing isn't capturing as much of the light as it could.
*I may switch to Phillips 921 6000K LED since those appear to be more backwards facing however the reviews I'm reading show it's 50/50 if they will be an improvement over the Zevos.

Load Resistors
Sylvania LED Load Equalizers (comes in 2-packs)

All in all pleased with how everything is looking. The reason I decided to upgrade all the lights was consistency. I like the instant on/off of the headlamps but everything else was typical fade in/out incandescent. Now everything turns on/off instantly at the same time.

I also decided to go with Sylvania over any number of other aftermarket applications because I like the more OE look to their bulbs. The ones on Amazon / elsewhere look too "raw" to me if that makes any sense like someone made them in their garage.

One minor thing that has happened is that the brake lights no longer turn on when pressing on the brake pedal with the vehicle off / key out of the ignition. I think I prefer it this way however some may find it a nuisance. I thought perhaps I had the load resistors installed incorrectly but trying different combinations of wiring only resulted in fast blinking meaning the way I had it wired originally (no hyper-flash) was correct.

I have a bunch of pictures but am waiting until I'm completely satisfied before posting.
 
#29 ·
**for people wanting to install LED lightbulbs in stock headlights.

2017 Traverse LT

I just wanted to put this out there to help anyone else that is in the same boat i was in. I bought the Sylvania H11 LEDs while at the auto parts store without doing any research or anything. Got home and opened them up and saw the big ass fan on the back of the bulbs and resister connected to the wires. I thought to myself "that's not all gonna fit in there" and tried to return the $100 lightbulbs, only to be told "all sales are final on lightbulbs".

I came home and started to do some research and came upon headlight dust caps that are bigger and allow for custom lights. $15 on ebay. I ordered them.

Once the bigger dust caps came I started to install the LED bulbs and quickly found out that they, are in fact 100% PLUG N PLAY and would fit just fine with the OEM dust caps!

The plugs went right together, the fan didn't stick out of the housing at all, and the resistor tucked in next to the bulb (plenty of room). I did use the new dust caps but that's only because I didn't want to waste the money I spent on them. The OEM dust caps would've went right back on too

This is all with the Sylvania H11 LEDs, I can't speak on other LED bulbs.
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#31 ·
Box says that as if used in a Halogen bulb designed non projector housing, they will not have a DOT beam pattern.
Halogen bulb non projector housing is designed for 360-degree light emitting bulb not a side firing LED.
 
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