Wanting Led upgrade throughout while keeping stock look... Recommendations?

[83sierraclassic]

Hi I have an 83 GMC Sierra classic and I would like to upgrade to LED both in and out the vehicle. I have no idea where to start there's so many options. I would like to maintain the stock look as much as possible. I have single headlights with the parking lights below that. I prefer really bright white headlights. I'm just not sure what all it takes or where to start. Thanks in advance for any recommendation or advice.

 

[ali_c20]

Welcome from Austria.

LMC has lots of led lights, headlights, sidemarkers, taillights.
Holley retrobright.
Brothers trucks.
Classic parts.
Cj pony parts.

For led bulbs get quality ones. You will need a electronic/zero load flasher for your blinkers and hazard flasher when usind leds.

Hope that helps.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Welcome from Austria.

LMC has lots of led lights, headlights, sidemarkers, taillights.
Holley retrobright.
Brothers trucks.
Classic parts.
Cj pony parts.

For led bulbs get quality ones. You will need a electronic/zero load flasher for your blinkers and hazard flasher when usind leds.

Hope that helps.

The only thing to note, you cant use LED in your Sidemarker on the fender unless you get creative to fix the behavior. Normally they come on with park lamps, and they blink opposed to the turn signal in front if you have the park lamp on

But without park lamps on, they blink with the turn signal

If you use LED 194, you can only have one or the other (by flipping the bulb around)

If you want to keep the switchback functionality, may need to use a module

Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

if you want to install 194 in the sidemarker, and have them work as sidemarkers without other behavior , you can remove the wire running to the turn signal switch, and run it to ground. Then the other wire remains powered by the headlight switch.

I did this on my gmt800, but not for LED. My sidemarkers were nonfunctional entirely because i had voltage always on the turnsignal side. but thats not a common issue in the squares.

the rear sidemarker doesnt blink with the turn, so its not a concern

 

[Tonimus]

There are a ton of options. I recommend getting a glass housing for your headlights so you can swap whatever kind of LED you want in to it. As far as the parking lights, non-polar 194 LEDs should work. I will be testing this on my own soon. Non polars have a rectifier built in so that they work in either orientation.

 

[Scott91370]

RMS Lighting for headlights.

I didn't like the looks of LED in my other lighting. It didn't have the same glow as the incandescent bulbs.

 

[AuroraGirl]

There are a ton of options. I recommend getting a glass housing for your headlights so you can swap whatever kind of LED you want in to it. As far as the parking lights, non-polar 194 LEDs should work. I will be testing this on my own soon. Non polars have a rectifier built in so that they work in either orientation.

I never heard of a non polar 194, have you used them before?

 

[Hunter79764]

A general note, LED bulbs in a reflector will never have the right pattern, same for HID bulbs in reflectors. Those will only have the right pattern in a projector style lens (and even then, it needs to be made for HID/LED, some of the older ones are dialed in for incandescent bulbs). That's not to say it won't work, but it will scatter light where you don't need it, possibly into oncoming driver's eyes, and be less efficient at putting light where you need it. Most LED complete housings are going to have decent patterns, but rarely do they look stock.

And a note about light color, brighter white/blue light helps with pinpoint vision, yellower light helps with broad vision. Blue shrinks the pupils and sharpens focus, but allows less light in (almost like wearing lightly shaded sunglasses). Yellow/red light dialates the pupils, which lets in more light but doesn't focus as well. In driving, this equates to being able to tell it was a german shepherd with a red collar that ran out in front of you 50 feet away with blue light, but being able to see that there is a dog on the side of the road at 100 feet with yellow light. Most municipalities are moving away from the blue street lights and towards yellower LED's for those reasons.