LED, Black headlights, Amber reflector delete... suggestions?

I’ve seen a lot of what looks like quality headlights out there, but they’re always missing one of the criteria for me. I like the really dark smoke look, I want LEDs (with the resistors obviously which I’m also looking for suggestions on) and the amber reflector delete. If there are none out there, can I replace the reflector myself?

 

@crashnburn80

 

The only quality headlights out there are OEM or a quality retrofit. You can take your OEM headlights apart and paint the non-reflector chrome surfaces to black them out and replace the reflector if you wish, which may give you the look you desire without negatively affecting performance. But any aftermarket unit is going to be a significant downgrade in terms of optical performance. And a drop in LED headlight bulb is going to result in glare, loss of beam saturation and loss of distance projection. If wanting LED for the headlight, the correct way to do it would be looking at an LED projector retrofit.

 

Would have never figured that on my own, thanks for that! 2 follow up questions.. for the paint: what kind of paint should I use and how should I apply it? And the projector: I know nothing about LED projectors. What would I need to do this myself? And is the recommended brand for the projector?

 

Imo I would look for some heat resistant gloss paint or something of that matter. I’ve seen people do it with all sorts of paint and it works fine so yeah i guess it’s preference over all but keep in mind using a harbor freight paint over a good 15$ can you would buy at Lowe’s will differ

 

It's going to need to be a DIY. No one out there really makes a projector for our trucks. There's the theretrofitsource that make kits, but nothing vehicle specific for our trucks. They specialize in HID, so I'm not actually sure if HID and LED projectors are the same/similar...

 

I'm not a retrofitting expert for completing the install. But you will need to bake your headlights in the oven, open them up, remove and install the desired components and reseal your headlights. Retrofits are not plug and play. Here is an example of an LED Projector listed below. OEM components will be far better than those Morimotos though, and HID output will be superior to LED. If going through the trouble of a retrofit you might consider HID instead. Good HID projectors are the Lexus RX350 projectors, you can also get OEM Denso ballasts (or other quality non-china brands) and then quality German high performance HID Philips or Osram bulbs.
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/bi-led-morimoto-m-led-headlight-projectors-kit-HS-MLED?quantity=1

For way more output than stock, upgrading the existing system is far easier and cheaper than doing a retrofit:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

 

The HID and LED's that Morimoto make have the same mounting style. Just a threaded shaft and an H4 washer and nut to hold in place.

 

I'm talking about the design of the projector itself, and how the light beam pattern is affected, not how it mounts.

 

Don't put the black headlamp housings in, you won't like it. I just got done doing this and took them right back out. The black on the reflector just absorbs too much light (I have the LED replacement bulbs) and there is no focused beam. I put my old housings back in and regret ever buying the full blacked out housings.

 

In that case they are different. The LED's us a mb of led chips in the back facing the bottom half of the bowl. It's not a removable bulb like the HID's. The rest of the projector is the same but the LED's don't project as wide as HID.