I know this is a common "mod", just curious what the effect (if any?) this would have on the effectiveness of the beam pattern (04/05 if that matters)? I like the look of the "blacked out" surrounds, don't want to trade off any lighting performance

TIA

None, as long as you don't paint or otherwise modify the actual reflector portion of the light.

The trim that you actually paint is a completely separate part of the light. When you take the light apart, there's a screw that you can remove to take the trim off of the housing.

thanks :)