# Seriously, how did anyone manage to install Diode Dynamics SL1 Headlights!?!?



## Chad20101 (Jul 23, 2019)

the passenger side you have to push it in alittle hard at a angle , driver side was the easiest to install , if you was in Houston id help ya


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

At least you didn't run into the issues I did with my brother's '01 Century:


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## Ma v e n (Oct 8, 2018)

I'm running GTR Ultra2s. They require melting the dust cap in order to stretch it a little to get clearance, but they lock right in to the projector and everything fits in the housing


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## 6Speed2016LT (Jun 14, 2016)

I used the SeaLight S1 series from amazon and they fit amazing. I matched the fog lights as well. Its a great match.

Cheers,

Jason


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## Chad20101 (Jul 23, 2019)

MP81 said:


> At least you didn't run into the issues I did with my brother's '01 Century:
> 
> View attachment 290243


The driver side on the Cruze went in like a normal bulb , the passenger is the one that'll give you hell.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Chad20101 said:


> The driver side on the Cruze went in like a normal bulb , the passenger is the one that'll give you hell.


The one side I had to clearance the housing, but I was able to get it to fit...I should have checked _both_ sides first, because it became pretty clear this side simply wasn't going to be possible. But that's due to how far within the housing the bulbs seat.

The quality bulb that stands the best chance of fitting into his is the Morimoto 2Stroke 2.0 (*not *the 3.0 - that has a side-mounted fan, similar to the SL1 - the 2.0 has a "barrel" style fan that is inline, and narrower than the collar), but it's really up to him if he wants to give those a shot.


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## Ma v e n (Oct 8, 2018)

I've got some $40 Amazon "Fahren" LED bulbs in my fog lights. They are honestly....mind boggling. They over power my expensive GTR headlights.


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## Snipesy (Dec 7, 2015)

Retrofit


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## Ma v e n (Oct 8, 2018)

Snipesy said:


> Retrofit
> 
> 
> View attachment 290247


I haven't liked my Cruze enough to bother with the time and effort to retrofit the pain in the @ss permasealed housings GM uses now. I probably changed the lights in my Balts no less than 5 times. But I have never even removed the assembly from this car. LOL


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## Snipesy (Dec 7, 2015)

Ma v e n said:


> I haven't liked my Cruze enough to bother with the time and effort to retrofit the pain in the @ss permasealed housings GM uses now. I probably changed the lights in my Balts no less than 5 times. But I have never even removed the assembly from this car. LOL


‘Fair enough


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## Ma v e n (Oct 8, 2018)

The GTR headlamp LEDs and Fahren fog lamp LEDS make an absolutely amazing upgrade over stock for non highway rural driving. The light spread and height is awesome. The fogs are WAY to uncontrolled and "glarey" for use when there's oncoming traffic, but the width and light above the cutoff they provide to the sides of the road is awesome. 
The GTR headlamps are a great upgrade as well, orders of magnitude brighter than OEM, no negative affects of glare, and they even manage tonwiden the beam pattern over the stock lights. HOWEVER, the lack the long distance punch the high beams should have, and it's due to the "bulb" design of the LEDs having to have a solid mounting structure and heat dissipation. This blocks big sections of what should be light output from the projector. It's VERY obvious, and clearly visible just by looking at the light pattern produced on the headlamp housing. Anyone who says otherwise or that LEDs are a fully acceptable and all encompassing upgrade over the proper halogen bulb is full of sh!t.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Ma v e n said:


> I haven't liked my Cruze enough to bother with the time and effort to retrofit the pain in the @ss permasealed housings GM uses now. I probably changed the lights in my Balts no less than 5 times. But I have never even removed the assembly from this car. LOL


That's why I had my buddy, who does many of the retros in the are, do ours. Changing them required removing the fascia, which wasn't overly pleasant, but not all that hard, either.

Ironically, my Cobalt _doesn't_ have retros. I've considered it, but for whatever reason, the HID drop-ins I've had in there for like...12 years...seem to be the only application that doesn't blind half the country by blowing light everywhere, so I won't bother changing anything. Those lights are so much easier to remove, though. The lights in my brother's Mustang (also projector retrofits, done by the same guy) are even easier - no tools required. Likewise with his '01 Century.


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## Snipesy (Dec 7, 2015)

MP81 said:


> That's why I had my buddy, who does many of the retros in the are, do ours. Changing them required removing the fascia, which wasn't overly pleasant, but not all that hard, either.
> 
> Ironically, my Cobalt _doesn't_ have retros. I've considered it, but for whatever reason, the HID drop-ins I've had in there for like...12 years...seem to be the only application that doesn't blind half the country by blowing light everywhere, so I won't bother changing anything. Those lights are so much easier to remove, though. The lights in my brother's Mustang (also projector retrofits, done by the same guy) are even easier - no tools required. Likewise with his '01 Century.


And GM loves putting bolts that you have to reach behind the fender liner for. I can never get my electric ratchet on them.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Snipesy said:


> And GM loves putting bolts that you have to reach behind the fender liner for. I can never get my electric ratchet on them.


You should see the mystery nuts that hold the bumper cover on my brother's Mustang on. Where we have the snaps at the fender - they have two studs attached to the fascia, and then nuts you have to blindly reach up and in to get to. They're pretty annoying. But if they were on a GM vehicle, they would twice as long and the thread pitch would be four times finer.


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## Ma v e n (Oct 8, 2018)

Check out the beam pattern through the lenses , the dead spots at top and bottom are very obvious, and what limit the distance of the beams.


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## marmalou (Dec 30, 2020)

Thanks for the replies. I will continue fiddling with the bulbs... no idea how I seem to be the first having issues with these Diode Dynamics that are so widely recommended!


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## marmalou (Dec 30, 2020)

MP81 said:


> At least you didn't run into the issues I did with my brother's '01 Century:
> 
> View attachment 290243


What is even going on there. haha


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## marmalou (Dec 30, 2020)

Chad20101 said:


> the passenger side you have to push it in alittle hard at a angle , driver side was the easiest to install , if you was in Houston id help ya


Are you talking about the Diode Dynamics SL1's? Any chance you could snap a pic, I'm having a hard time believing it'll go.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

marmalou said:


> What is even going on there. haha


His bulbs sit so far into the housing that on the one side, that is the way you'd have to position the bulb, before rotating...which, clearly, is impossible.


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## marmalou (Dec 30, 2020)

MP81 said:


> His bulbs sit so far into the housing that on the one side, that is the way you'd have to position the bulb, before rotating...which, clearly, is impossible.


Ohhhh.

Does that have a collar adjustment? May be able to rotate so the fan end can enter at ~7:00 position and then rotate clockwise; I notice more room on that 6-11:00 area.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

marmalou said:


> Ohhhh.
> 
> Does that have a collar adjustment? May be able to rotate so the fan end can enter at ~7:00 position and then rotate clockwise; I notice more room on that 6-11:00 area.


Yeah, but with the collar, it needs to be adjusted so the bulb sits with the LED elements at 3 and 9 o'clock. If the housing's lock ring allowed for a CCW turn to lock instead of CW, then it would be similar to the other side (where I had to clearance the housing, but they did eventually sit), but that's not the case.

He ended up sending the bulbs back for a refund - we might try something different, or maybe not.


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## Chad20101 (Jul 23, 2019)

marmalou said:


> Are you talking about the Diode Dynamics SL1's? Any chance you could snap a pic, I'm having a hard time believing it'll go.


I’ll get you a pic in the morning .


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## TNT602 (Nov 10, 2020)

I went with HIDs, can’t compare with the brightness


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

TNT602 said:


> I went with HIDs, can’t compare with the brightness
> View attachment 290293


What's the cutoff look like?


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## Snipesy (Dec 7, 2015)

MP81 said:


> What's the cutoff look like?


From my experience. You’re looking at it.


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## Snipesy (Dec 7, 2015)

Here’s a real cutoff. If it doesn’t look like this you have no business with LEDs or HIDs.


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## TNT602 (Nov 10, 2020)

MP81 said:


> What's the cutoff look like?


There is some dead spots in in but HIDs are so bright and go further than LEDs that you can’t tell. I can’t fathom paying $800 for retros


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## Snipesy (Dec 7, 2015)

Yeah this is why we can’t have nice things....


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## TNT602 (Nov 10, 2020)

Snipesy said:


> Yeah this is why we can’t have nice things....





Snipesy said:


> Yeah this is why we can’t have nice things....


How much did those run you? Looks really good


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## Snipesy (Dec 7, 2015)

TNT602 said:


> How much did those run you? Looks really good


These are morimoto 4TLR. With relay kit was about $350


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## TNT602 (Nov 10, 2020)

Snipesy said:


> These are morimoto 4TLR. With relay kit was about $350


That’s much better than I was quoted.


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## marmalou (Dec 30, 2020)

Snipesy said:


> These are morimoto 4TLR. With relay kit was about $350


They look great! Worth the price I'd say


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Snipesy said:


> Here’s a real cutoff. If it doesn’t look like this you have no business with LEDs or HIDs.
> 
> View attachment 290294


This. The money is worth it for that cutoff, so you don't blind the rest of humanity. 

I love having that sharp of a cutoff on the Cruze now (along with lights that actually do something). The Volt's isn't as sharp (since it is OE - and the American consumer seems to prefer a little bit of a softer cutoff, per my buddy in automotive forward lighting), but it's still there, so the extremely bright LED headlamps do their job without causing issues for oncoming.


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## Chad20101 (Jul 23, 2019)

marmalou said:


> I purchased SL1 9005 bulbs for the projectors in my '17 LT RS sedan because of the numerous claims on CruzeTalk forum/Facebook saying it was a troube-free install and big upgrade over the stock halogens. However, the bulb socket mount/housing in the projectors are held together by three Phillips screws which block the SL1s. No matter how hard I push, the three locking tabs on the SL1 are not able to rotate into the mount because the three screws are in the way.
> 
> If I remove two of the screws, the SL1s are able to fit inside the socket and rotate to the locked position, but this setup is a little wobbly and you can see one side of the SL1 gets raised by the remaining screw head.
> View attachment 290241
> ...


Here’s a picture


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