Reddit reviews SunplusTrade 11Pc Auto Trim Door Panel Window Molding Upholstery Fastener Clip Removal Tool Kit

Yesterday I took some time and blacked out the chrome on my headlights and installed Diode Dynamics Switchback C-Lights on my 2015 Premium. I think it turned out pretty well, as you can see from the before / after photos above.

It was pretty warm out and - while I left the headlights in the sun for a while before opening them - I didn't bake them and thought they came apart fairly (10 minutes / side) easily. Overall, the job took about 5 hours and I'd rate it a 6/10 for difficulty.

Total cost came out to be about $155, Rallysport Direct had a 10% sale so I got the boards and retro-rubber for $150, and got a $5 can of matte black Krylon paint + primer at Lowes. I also purchased some Frog Tape but didn't end up using it.

Some thoughts...

I'm not a huge fan of the turn signal connectors on the LED boards. I would have preferred the wires to be about 12" longer, and I ended up stripping a section of my (blue) turn signal wire, soldering, and then taping them (would prefer heat shrink tubing, but it worked) instead of using the vampire taps.

I also didn't use the (i think) T-10 connector. I couldn't find anywhere in the headlights that I liked to mount the drivers, and there wasn't a good place to run the wires out, so instead I removed the socket from the light, cut / stripped / soldered the white and black wires to the driver to the red and black C-light wires. Then, I used VHB tape to stick the driver boxes to the back of the headlights, and sealed the holes with some extra retro-rubber.

I should have bought the DRL harness, because even though I disconnected my DRL resistor I couldn't confidently find the place to connect it to the new C-boards for DRLs. I'm not sure if I got a different / newer model of C lights than most sites describe, because the red wire went from the driver board to the LED board. I may buy that and connect it in the future.

It was a bit tricky putting the C-light diffuser back in over the LED boards. The little clips wanted to scratch the newly painted surface, and the LED boards didn't fit as nicely as I thought they would. I eventually got them together, but I had to take them apart and touch up once.

Fingers crossed on fogging. If I do get fogging, I have a few silica gel packets that I'm going to stuff in there for a day or two to see if that knocks down the moisture.

The stock silicon sealant is pretty gross, but cleans up easier than I expected. Regular soap washes it off, but Goo-Gone might not be a bad idea.

Pulling the bumper was pretty easy. About a dozen clips / screws, and it popped right off without too much trouble. I put a mover's blanked down (which really wasn't necessary - you aren't going to mess anything up on the bottom of the bumper) and had enough play that I didn't bother disconnecting the fog lights and turn signals.

Either have a helper, or something reflective enough that you can see the lights sitting in the car. You'll want to test all the light settings, turn signals / hazards, and test with the handbrake on and off.

I did everything myself and didn't feel like a helper would have made things any easier.

Having a set of body panel tools and spudger kit is invaluable, both for this job and in general. Just spend the $20, it'll pay for itself.

I did scare myself taking apart the headlights - I hadn't removed the stock bulbs in my c-lights, and one of them broke on me. Fortunately it didn't damage anything. Make sure you remove those c-light bulbs first if you want to avoid a sphincter tightening surprise.

If I were to do it again, I would probably get some frosting paint and paint the c-light diffusers. It looks good, but I think I would prefer the full C-light diffuser to appear a bit whiter and even out the light from the LED boards. If I end up taking them apart again I will probably do this.

I didn't replace my halogen bulbs - the extra $100 or so it would cost to switch to LEDs wasn't in my budget. I'll probably do that not too far down the line, but for now it looks fine with the orange halogens. Since I disconnected the high beam DRL resistor, it'll only matter at night anyways. I thought about doing an HID retrofit, but again - budget.

I didn't replace the amber side-marker covers with tinted ones. They darken up a bit when you paint the chrome under them, but I wouldn't mind having them a shade or two darker.

It looks pretty good, a very worthwhile mod for one person to do in 5 hours for ~$150.

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It's car specific, but they generally have a few trim pieces that need to be removed, and then a couple screws. After that you just have to pop the clips that hold the panel in place around the outer perimeter. I'm sure you can find a video or tutorial on your specific car. That's what I did, just hit up YouTube.

For tools, you'll need panel removal tools, like these. You can also grab these for helping with popping those clips. It's not necessary though. The first time I did it I just used a flat head screwdriver and torque xD Definitely not the easiest though.

Subwoofer, Amp, 8 gauge cable kit, trim removal set, Fuse taps, and T-Taps

As for a guide, I just used other guides online and pieced them together. Really should have made a well-documented one when I did it, but I installed mine 6 months ago. Already forgot certain things. Just remember to look up the speaker wire colors for the back speakers before you tap into them and know that putting the power cord through your firewall from your battery is going to be a total bitch :)

Also just to clarify, the fuse taps are for the remote wire going into the amp. I tapped the sunroof fuse as it shuts on/off with the ignition (I don't have a sunroof, but it shouldn't matter if you do or not). Also also, that black cable going into my amp on the left side is a bass knob that came with the amp. That's wired all the way up into my glove box, so it can be adjusted easily if it becomes too much. The wires with kit and everything are long enough that you shouldn't need anything else, and everything tucks away in the door seem guides so nothing is showing at all.