Changing stock D5S bulb

AtlasFBG2 · August 11, 2018

2 hours ago, Jchoi said:

Read the entire thread and intrigued. For those that purchased the Morimoto bulbs, how are they holding up? Any issues with anything factory? Ty.

Had mine since march. No issues at all.

clchapman · August 14, 2018

For the life of me I cannot figure out how to remove the factory D5S bulbs from the headlight housing. I have a 2017 GMC sierra 1500 with the philips D5S HID's installed. I am trying to install the morimoto 35w HID's. But unlike the Silverado 1500's there are no little black levers to rotate in order to release the bulb. I've tried everything, so if anyone has any advice/insight then i am open to it.

Dale R · August 14, 2018

I had the same problem,the gmc does not have the plastic tab to rotate, you just rotate the whole bulb assembly 1/4 turn counter clockwise to release the bulb ,hope this helps you out.

t777jb · November 1, 2018

Hello. Sorry to revive an old thread, but any updates on bulb options for the d5s bulbs? I found these: https://www.hidconcept.com/products/d5s-dama-kanji-ultimate-vision-150-hid-xenon-bulbs-pack-of-2

If you enter the code d5s4az (nabbed from an audi forum) they give you 30% off so they end up being $133. I'm not willing to spend $350 on Morimoto's but I might be able to live with $133 if these are decent.

I'm assuming my SLT has the HID bulbs and that only the Denali has the LED bulbs but would like a confirmation on that.

Dale R · November 1, 2018

It depends on what options are on your truck , an slt with a slt premium package may have led headlights

Jchoi · November 2, 2018

8 hours ago, t777jb said:

Hello. Sorry to revive an old thread, but any updates on bulb options for the d5s bulbs? I found these: https://www.hidconcept.com/products/d5s-dama-kanji-ultimate-vision-150-hid-xenon-bulbs-pack-of-2

If you enter the code d5s4az (nabbed from an audi forum) they give you 30% off so they end up being $133. I'm not willing to spend $350 on Morimoto's but I might be able to live with $133 if these are decent.

I'm assuming my SLT has the HID bulbs and that only the Denali has the LED bulbs but would like a confirmation on that.

Used the code, and I’ll let you k ow how they turn out.

Stttt · November 6, 2018

Ken, you sent me Email with information regarding the HID lights on the 2018 Silverado and I thank you. I ended up purchasing these from DistantXtremes. These will work on the 2018 Silverado LT Z71. They are 50 Watt and use the 35 Watt bulb, but powered up. These are crazy bright. You can get them here https://www.distantxtremes.com/store/p1164/D5S-Hylux-HID-Upgrade-System.html. The whole kit is $130 to $160 if you find a coupon and it includes the bulbs. This is kick ass.

I installed these on my 2018 Silverado LT Z71 today. They work and are very bright. If you install these on your truck, take note of what the guy says at the end of the video. There are two things you can do ahead of the install to help shorten the time it takes. The first is what he says at the end of part one. Take the HID lights out of the box, remove the pins from the holder (black connector) and file them down so they are thinner, then plug them into the holder on the driver side of the truck to make sure they fit. The driver side has easy access to the headlamp, so use that connector to make sure the pins slide into the female pin connector. You don't need a power wheel like he used to file the pins. I just used a file. The material is very soft and you don't have to file much. The trick is getting those pins out of the plastic holder. The release is part of the plastic holder. You put the tool in the slot and gently press down on the plastic. What ever you do, DO NOT force anything or you will **** up the release and never get the pins out. The other thing you can do ahead of time is extend the wiring harness like he says in the video . I added about 30 inches of wire to make sure I had enough wires to get to the driver side of the truck. If you do these things while you are watching tv, or whatever; some night, you will be better prepared when it is time to install the lights. These things are bright as sht on dim and bright. I did a short run tonight when I got done and nobody flashed me which is a good thing. These are so bright i expected to be bright flashed, but happy i wasn't. I used the 5500s.

D5S Hylux HID Upgrade System

This guy has a VID about how to install https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOGxuZ0silk. It says 2017, but I installed them on a 2018.

Edited November 6, 2018 by Stttt
Needed to post additional VID

Ken23451 · November 8, 2018

I'm glad they worked out for you. I love mine. I installed a set before the video was made in my 2016 Silverado and couldn't believe the difference either. When I got my 18 I had to put these in it also. Working as a diesel mechanic for a truck dealership, I have access to all kinds of terminals and connectors for various electrical sensors and stuff on the trucks, so instead of making any mods to any terminals on the truck I just made jumper harnesses. Like I said before the only time these lights are a bit of a draw back is in the heavy fog or heavy snow fall. Get a lot of light bounce back. I'll accept that as a drawback any day for the light I get on dry or wet roads now though. My boss has the LED HID lights in his Silverado and they are much brighter yet. His easily over power mine. Neither of us get flashed and his truck is lifted 6 inches. He gets flash if he turns his driving lights on with them though. Gotta be because of the aim of the driving lights is still straight out and wide at an almost eye level height now from the oncoming cars point of view. From in his cab his headlights are so bright on the road you don't see his driving lights come on so he doesn't use them. We looked up how much his head lights cost as LED HID assemblies because that appears to be the only way you can get them. The left side was almost $1000 and the right side $900. I'll be sticking with these HIDs for $160 LOL.

cmartinez95 · November 8, 2018

On ‎11‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 9:06 PM, Jchoi said:

Used the code, and I’ll let you k ow how they turn out.

Looking forward to your review. Been running the Morimoto's for almost a year now. I really don't remember how the stock lights looked but I'm still not completely satisfied with the output from these Morimoto D5S lights. I'm just worried that at $133 a pair I will get what I paid for, lol.

Stttt · November 8, 2018

Ken, I can't believe I don't get flashed. These are set fairly high on dims to shine down the road aways. The highway signs have a purple at a distance, then they light up like a neon sign. These are way better than stock. I thought the stock lights were horrible. I purchased a brand new 2018 truck and the first time I drove it at night, I was flabbergasted with the lighting. I am glad these aftermarkets compensate for OEM. Again, thanks for your help.

Ken23451 · November 8, 2018

You're welcome dude. Mine shine like that too on the road signs. Following other cars though you have to be pretty close to get the cutoff point of the lights to start moving up the bumper of a car in front of you. So I'm thinking with the almost no glare from them and the shutter inside covering the light the way they do inside the projector, on coming cars really don't get the lights as hard as you would think. I'm not sure about yours but on mine the left head light does not go into the left lane very far like the right one goes onto the shoulder. I've seen other forums about this issue too and there is nothing that can be done to fix it unless you change the projectors. The popular projector to fix it seems to be the Morimoto FX-R 3.0. It is a little bit of a nuisance but not one that I'm gonna worry to much about.

Stttt · November 8, 2018

I won't worry about it either. I actually like it this way. I set the dims a bit higher after the install. I may have to tone them down a bit. That's why I am surprised I don't get flashed. I may have the dealer check the dims to make sure they are within specs. I just dread having them set so low they don't project down the road. I really don't like out driving my headlights at night. That is dangerous too.

Jchoi · November 11, 2018

On 11/7/2018 at 7:48 PM, cmartinez95 said:

Looking forward to your review. Been running the Morimoto's for almost a year now. I really don't remember how the stock lights looked but I'm still not completely satisfied with the output from these Morimoto D5S lights. I'm just worried that at $133 a pair I will get what I paid for, lol.

Well, I put them in the other day, and so far they are an 8mprovemnt over factory. They start out blue and turn to a very nice white. They are definitely brighter, but I’m not sure they project that much further than stocks in high beam. Perhaps a little further, but not earth shattering. I’d say, as others have, the design of the projector might be the limiting factor no matter what the wattage. The box actually states they use Phillips parts in their bulbs, so they might be fine. For what I paid, I’m happy with them. This isn’t a good pic, but it gives you an idea of startup color. Keep in mind, my driveway is very steep and that forces the truck to point up. One other tidbit....the headlights now match the fogs pretty closely if that matters to anyone.

Edited November 11, 2018 by Jchoi

cmartinez95 · November 15, 2018

On ‎11‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 9:39 AM, Jchoi said:

Well, I put them in the other day, and so far they are an 8mprovemnt over factory. They start out blue and turn to a very nice white. They are definitely brighter, but I’m not sure they project that much further than stocks in high beam. Perhaps a little further, but not earth shattering. I’d say, as others have, the design of the projector might be the limiting factor no matter what the wattage. The box actually states they use Phillips parts in their bulbs, so they might be fine. For what I paid, I’m happy with them. This isn’t a good pic, but it gives you an idea of startup color. Keep in mind, my driveway is very steep and that forces the truck to point up. One other tidbit....the headlights now match the fogs pretty closely if that matters to anyone.

Thanks for the update. For $133 I decided to give it a shot. I'll see how they stack up against the Morimoto D5S's I have right now.

Stttt · November 15, 2018

Did you get the ballasts too? Mine are bright enough that I don't know if I need brights anymore. I raised the dims to shine out a bit farther and they go a long ways out. I do notice the brights don't extend much farther than the dims. These lights don't focus to a pinpoint spot 40 yards down the road like typical headlights. They basically cast out a light and cover most of the area. That is the hard part to get used to. Clicking to high beams does not add anymore light, it just raises the lamp shade and exposes more bulb, and I think that is a hard concept for the eye and brain to accept. I am still impressed with the dim lighting. Before I put the Distant Extremes with ballast in, the dims were absolutely horrid. I feel they are excellent right now. Since I raised the dims to shine down the road, these put out great lighting. Maybe I got a good set. When I go up a hill, these lights blast clear out. I feel funny driving through the neighborhood, going up a hill and having the dims lighting up a house three blocks away.