[Bangkok_ZL1]

What are the best and brightest headlamps available for our car?

FrostZ, I already got your opinion and your pic. They are freak'in awesome no question; at least 3 times better than OEM. And I really appreciate you getting back to me with this. But I also want to see what else pops up on the forum.

[Mac7504]

Are you hunting with the Z or what? Are you trying to do an HID conversion?

[Bangkok_ZL1]

Originally Posted by Mac7504

Are you hunting with the Z or what? Are you trying to do an HID conversion?

Any and all options are on the table. I just saw Morimoto's on FrostZ's ride, spendy but awesome. I want to look at all the avenues. Some will be conversions and probably better, some will be plug and play and less expensive. More data equals better chance of choosing the correct path, and less chance I have to do it over again. And obviously personal experiences are welcome.

[Mac7504]

Originally Posted by Bangkok_ZL1

Any and all options are on the table. I just saw Morimoto's on FrostZ's ride, spendy but awesome. I want to look at all the avenues. Some will be conversions and probably better, some will be plug and play and less expensive. More data equals better chance of choosing the correct path, and less chance I have to do it over again. And obviously personal experiences are welcome.

I understand, is there a lack of street lighting in Bangkok or is this simply an aesthetic purpose? Just curious

[infinitereality]

I dug into this when I first got my car. If you have the cash and willing to spend it, Morimoto replacements are worth it from aesthetics to output.

We are already running HIDs in the OEM headlights and projects they used are actually fairly decent compared to other OEM projects. I couldn't really find any retrofits, without reinventing the wheel for an install. You can also change the DRL boards out for RGBW so they can be any color, there's a way to install these now (thanks to Swiss on here) without removing the lens.

In the end, I simply swapped out my stock bulbs for Morimoto 5500K bulbs, $80. Definitely got some more lumens and easy to install. There's better bulbs if you want additional lumens, Osram CBB, but they're $220ish for a pair of bulbs. I've ran them on my previous car, but IMO the $80 Morimoto bulbs are a better bang for the buck.

[FrostZ]

Well you know where I stand but I actually ran Osram CBBs in my car before doing the whole upgrade, they actually are still in use in my daily. They are definitely an bit of an upgrade in light output but not nearly as much as I was hoping for, thus my decision to do a full housing upgrade.

[Bangkok_ZL1]

Originally Posted by Mac7504

I understand, is there a lack of street lighting in Bangkok or is this simply an aesthetic purpose? Just curious

It’s not really Bangkok, it’s out in the provinces. Actually, I will be traveling highway 2 again in a few nights and I’ll take a pic for ya. You see nothing in the ZL1. My Honda CRV, a 2008 at that, has much better lighting and it’s still really dark. Bangkok is lit, but leave the city and it can be, whoa where’s the shoulder. Not a good feeling when you’re traveling 60ish

[Bangkok_ZL1]

Originally Posted by infinitereality

I dug into this when I first got my car. If you have the cash and willing to spend it, Morimoto replacements are worth it from aesthetics to output.

We are already running HIDs in the OEM headlights and projects they used are actually fairly decent compared to other OEM projects. I couldn't really find any retrofits, without reinventing the wheel for an install. You can also change the DRL boards out for RGBW so they can be any color, there's a way to install these now (thanks to Swiss on here) without removing the lens.

In the end, I simply swapped out my stock bulbs for Morimoto 5500K bulbs, $80. Definitely got some more lumens and easy to install. There's better bulbs if you want additional lumens, Osram CBB, but they're $220ish for a pair of bulbs. I've ran them on my previous car, but IMO the $80 Morimoto bulbs are a better bang for the buck.

Interesting, I might try the CBB’s first and see the result. The fact that it’s plug and play is nice.

[Bangkok_ZL1]

Originally Posted by FrostZ

Well you know where I stand but I actually ran Osram CBBs in my car before doing the whole upgrade, they actually are still in use in my daily. They are definitely an bit of an upgrade in light output but not nearly as much as I was hoping for, thus my decision to do a full housing upgrade.

What was the price on your lamps?

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by Bangkok_ZL1

It’s not really Bangkok, it’s out in the provinces. Actually, I will be traveling highway 2 again in a few nights and I’ll take a pic for ya. You see nothing in the ZL1. My Honda CRV, a 2008 at that, has much better lighting and it’s still really dark. Bangkok is lit, but leave the city and it can be, whoa where’s the shoulder. Not a good feeling when you’re traveling 60ish

I live outside town limits as well, with practically zero street and road lighting in the last few miles, and never experienced this in my SS even though the shoulder is only a few inches in this area. Your HID bulbs might be on their way out and simply replacing them with higher lumen, same wattage counterparts may easily solve your problem.

One more thing to note about an LED upgrade is that hideous extra driver unit you have to tape up somewhere near the headlight, not too confidence inspiring.

[FrostZ]

My Morimoto/HERO set was 1000 USD which is definitely stiff. The gain in light output combined with the DRL being a switch back blinker made it worth it too me. Obviously cheaper ways to get some better output but this is the crème of the crop. Here is a few comparison photos for reference.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by FrostZ

My Morimoto/HERO set was 1000 USD which is defiantly stiff. The gain in light output combined with the DRL being a switch back blinker made it worth it too me. Obviously cheaper ways to get some better output but this is the crème of the crop. Here is a few comparison photos for reference.

I'd swear your upper grille looks shorter than the two other ZL1s', which is quite surprising... either an optical illusion or the ZL1 front bumper did change between model years despite what I think is the truth.

[FrostZ]

Now that I look at the photo I definitely agree it does look shorter! I can confirm it is the same though as in that photo I have the 1LE grills installed and they fit like a glove. That said I’m gonna say it’s the shadows on the other Z’s are more prominent than on the white of my car.

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

I'd swear your upper grille looks shorter than the two other ZL1s', which is quite surprising... either an optical illusion or the ZL1 front bumper did change between model years despite what I think is the truth.

Nope, no change.