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Spec-D vs Spyder vs Anzo headlights

TXBlackDiamond

SM 2007
SM 2006
Full Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2006
Messages
1,531
Location
Houston, TX (formerly NC)
Trying to decide which lights will look best on my black 2013 Av. I have been doing research and they all seem to have problems with the coating wearing off, light not being bright enough with halogens, water leaks, and projector aiming being off.

This site has a lot of different headlights for the Av at good prices. However, after reading threads in the forum, plus on the Internet, I am even more confused about which direction to go, so I am interested in hearing your opinions on looks, brightness, quality, leakage, clear-coat wearing, lighting adjustment, etc. Can you please show me your headlights and share your thoughts?


Thank you,

Tom
 
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Through your PM request i am responding to one of your posts. I see it has been viewed at least 41 times now.
 
Thanks for confirming VAEagleAv. Since they discontinued the Av, I guess the forum is not as active as it used to be.

By the way, after reading numerous posts and Internet reviews, it appears that all of the brands of aftermarket headlights with projectors seem to have issues with aiming, peeling, longevity, etc., and that some also come with very short warranties. Therefore, I opted to just stick with the factory headlights and upgrade the bulbs for those instead.

Tom
 
Bummer to see this. I am thinking about upgrading the headlights in my 13 Z71 as well. I've heard about issues with the LED bulbs not being short enough to install in the factory housing, but I would prefer to have a cooler setup with the possibly better lighting from the HIDs. Any advice on which headlight package to go with? Many Thanks in Advance!
 
OK, so I bit the bullet, The Spyder PRO-YD-CSUB07V2PL-BK, model 5087515 is on the way.
I chose this model after calling the manufacturer. My use case was about the best performing headlight and I was leaning towards LED. To be honest, there was another brand I was looking at, however, it's price point was double and if an LED burnt out, they were not replaceable.

Spyder's time in the industry and width of product offerings also influenced me. I tried calling another vendor a few times with no luck.

Spyder has 3 series, Signature, Platinum and Apex. I didn't see anything in the Apex offering and the rep confirmed that this model was part of the Platinum series, which at least gives me the led projector (although with a halogen high beam). Being a projector was also a requirement since I didn't know how much light noise and glare would be created by simply putting an led into the existing OEM headlamp. There were some brands which also terminated their warranties by placing an led bulb in their headlamp. Not a great financial hit, but I certainty would not want to have any damage done requiring the unit to be replaced or worse performance.

The rep mentioned that this model uses the Sylvania Osram led for the low beam and a halogen H1 for high.
The cool part is that it seems plug & play with no converter needed for the typical led flicker that some sites warn about.
I also asked about adjustment and feedback was that with this model, that I could adjust it without having to take any parts of the Avalanche.

Ok, so that's it, I'll post a picture once the install is done, about 3 weeks out, I had to special order it to save a few bucks. I didn't see the above link to the vendor and ordered it elsewhere for more money and a longer delivery time #facepalm !!
 
Update, my vendor wasn't able to fulfill the order, ugh, looking for another
 
I bought spyders for my 08 and the housing for one of them went out completely. The mechanic said most likely due to one of the halos melting. Note they use proprietary parts and you cannot throw in oem bulbs. I wanted silver stars because the ones that came with them were lousy. I’m actually checking out the forums because I’m trying to figure out which ones to try next. Any suggestions other than spyders? I had mine for 2 years.
 
I had the same battle with which lights to choose for my 05. I decided to just replace my original reflector headlights with new OEM style and went with 55w HID lights for both my low beam and my fog lights. Of course I had to readjust all 4 lights after install, so that I wouldn't blind other drivers, but I am very satisfied with what I chose and it's so nice to have clear bright headlights when driving at night.
 
Got the Alpha Rex Nova Headlights on. These have their own proprietary LED projectors. All lights in the unit are LED. Installation was a snap, As I am very cautious, it took me just over an hour (the dealer quoted me $150 for them to do it). Once I had the inner fender, grill and headlight bolts off, the headlights were a tight fit and the harness plugged in, that's it. The drl is the white tube in the picture. The turn signal is sequential, I wasn't fast or patient enough to capture it when it was on 'exactly' to show off the full length of the amber light.
 

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after installing, further adjusting was needed, this can be done from the top, or back, I had to raise the beams considerably .

test driving it tonight was awesome, There was a clear cut-off line on top of the light, no blurr like I had with the halogens, and much whiter light 😁
 
after installing, further adjusting was needed, this can be done from the top, or back, I had to raise the beams considerably .

test driving it tonight was awesome, There was a clear cut-off line on top of the light, no blurr like I had with the halogens, and much whiter light 😁
Are these a big improvement over the factory? Really interested in the low beam performance. How are they now that you have had them for some time?
 
Sadly, another avalanche bites the dust. I won't go into the reasons, but OUCH (financially speaking).

My last status from the Alpha headlights was that the driver's side appeared to be damaged after some time. I was following my wife and she said that it was changing color and intensity. I tried calling Alpha, but didn't hear back (although I only tried twice).

I did feel that the Alpha's greatly improved the lighting while I had the vehicle.

I'm not sure if this brand is available on the avalanche, but my replacement vehicle (a 2021 wrangler jl) has the new Oracle Occulus Bi-led headlights and they are amazing.
 
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