Cummins12V98 wrote:



Read your policy.

BobsYourUncle wrote:

Last year January I posted a headlight thread regarding the crummy headlights my truck came with. I was looking for suggestions, solutions etc. There was a lot of great input and ideas, and I finally got it taken care of.

I did a ton of research and it turns out that virtually every aftermarket LED headlight system is made in China.

My truck was hit hard in the front by a drunk driver in Dec 2012. 20K damage and it was very close to being written off. I had to agree to some non OEM parts to save it. One of them was a headlight. This headlight was absolute junk, and got worse from there. See in the photo the side by side comparison of the original drivers side from 2006 and the Chinese junk from 2013:

Glad to see you found DSLighting. IMO, he's a great knowledgeable guy who actually CARES about you/your vehicle instead of some body who is just trying to make (or save themselves in the case of an insurance company) a quick buck.

Chum lee



Based on my experience with the aftermarket headlight, and learning that most all of the LED conversions are made in China, I opted to follow the advice given to me by the owner of Daniel Stern Lighting, a well known expert in automotive lighting. He helped me big time.

I bought some used OEM GM Denali projection headlights and upgraded the bulbs to those recommended to me by the above named expert. More lumens per bulb, but the same power draw. These lights are a straight swap, no mods needed.



I'm looking forward to some night time highway driving where I can actually see where I'm going. I just finished installing them a couple hours ago.

Back to the title of this thread:

I am astounded that the powers that be actually allow and even recommend this cheap aftermarket garbage to be used in vehicle repairs. Insurance companies dictate that all aftermarket be used to save money on repairs.

These safety items are very substandard and actually dangerous to safe operation of our vehicles. The big 3 have very strict standards of quality, all stamped and approved for road use in North America. How is it that the regulatory people actually allow this junk to be imported and installed on a vehicle? Sure makes me wonder.... We are talking a genuine safety hazard here. See the OP of my previous thread linked above to see my complaint.

I have been whining about my crummy headlights for years. I'm happy to have a great upgrade, and with OEM GM parts. No more of this cheap replacement junk for me.

Skibane wrote:

Performance-wise, the LED retrofit headlight bulbs are all over the place.

Some are surprisingly good, and some are utter ****.

Me and quite a few other 2nd-generation Frontier owners have had excellent luck with the Katana 9007 LED bulbs.

Their LED emitters closely mimic the shape and position of the filaments in the incandescent bulb they replace, which makes a HUGE difference in avoiding a beam pattern that sprays light everywhere.

The earlier version that is equipped with a cooling fan works better than the more recent fanless version. (Most fanless designs reduce the LED brightness after a few minutes of operation, in order to avoid burning them up).

Mine have seen operation almost every night over the past 2 years, with one failure.

MUCH brighter than the original incandescents (without blinding oncoming drivers), and well worth the 55 bucks, IMO.