Headlights

[claar28]

Hope this is the correct forum. I haven't posted in awhile.
I just purchased another tahoe ... 2007 Ltz. The headlights are terrible. I'm not ready to purchase HIDS yet. Can anyone recommend a bulb that could provide more light output in the mean time. If I remember correctly phillips I believe has something with a greater light output but can't remember what it was. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful holidays and happy new year!

 

[Bigburb3500]

Hope this is the correct forum. I haven't posted in awhile.
I just purchased another tahoe ... 2007 Ltz. The headlights are terrible. I'm not ready to purchase HIDS yet. Can anyone recommend a bulb that could provide more light output in the mean time. If I remember correctly phillips I believe has something with a greater light output but can't remember what it was. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful holidays and happy new year!

I’ve said this on other threads asking similar questions but go on Temu and buy an LED bulb from there. They are exactly the same as the Amazon ones and should accomplish what you are trying to do.

I’ve done this now on my 99 Land Cruiser, 18 Suburban and this past weekend on a 13 or 14 Ram pickup (dad’s truck). The Ram is the most recent and was a bit finicky with the fitment but the results were great. Bought a set for $18 and my dad didn’t think it was a “high quality product and was from a scam company.” Found the exact same product on Amazon for $78 on Black Friday sales from $99. To say the least he believes in Temu now lol.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

You are going to have to upgrade to a different technology, if you want significantly brighter lights. I was incredibly underwhelmed by the stock lights on my 07.

How is the condition of the clear plastic on the light housing itself? If that gets highly pitted and hazed over, it will reduce the amount of light exiting the light housing.

 

[Jimmyy]

I second going with Led bulbs. Even the cheap ones are better these days. Most of them are now made so the Led lines up in the same location as the filament of the original bulb.

 

[Fubar0715]

I have LEDs in mine too - also purchased new housings so the lighting is exponentially improved. Hell, I did LEDs in the interior overheads and license plate - I can see and be seen now without issues.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

I also went with completely LEDs both exterior and interior. MUCH better illumination throughout. I also opted for new light housings, after trying the abrasive/polish repair to the original ones, that did not significantly improve the haze.

 

[claar28]

Thank you all. My housings are crystal clear. Thank God I know that is a huge problem with this model. I have applied uv protection to hopefully have them last for awhile.
I have used led bulbs in the past on my old tahoe and they burned the wires and housing. I haven't had luck with them. Perhaps you could recommend a particular one you all have had good results from?

I do order from temo so any recommendations would be appreciated.
Thank you all for your help and have a happy and healthy holiday and new year.

 

[claar28]

I second going with Led bulbs. Even the cheap ones are better these days. Most of them are now made so the Led lines up in the same location as the filament of the original bulb.

Thank you that makes me feel better on leds

 

[Bigburb3500]

Thank you all. My housings are crystal clear. Thank God I know that is a huge problem with this model. I have applied uv protection to hopefully have them last for awhile.
I have used led bulbs in the past on my old tahoe and they burned the wires and housing. I haven't had luck with them. Perhaps you could recommend a particular one you all have had good results from?

I do order from temo so any recommendations would be appreciated.
Thank you all for your help and have a happy and healthy holiday and new year.

Honestly… it’s a bit of a crap-shoot. The set for my LC and Suburban fit perfectly and no issues. Neither are available anymore lol. Manufacture must have gone belly up and the new shop down the street is probably making it in a different package.

The Ram LEDs were much more finicky. They had to be a specific depth and the tabs were a bit off. We had to order a second set to get one that fit right.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Thank you all. My housings are crystal clear. Thank God I know that is a huge problem with this model. I have applied uv protection to hopefully have them last for awhile.
I have used led bulbs in the past on my old tahoe and they burned the wires and housing. I haven't had luck with them. Perhaps you could recommend a particular one you all have had good results from?

I do order from temo so any recommendations would be appreciated.
Thank you all for your help and have a happy and healthy holiday and new year.

I use GTR LEDs on my truck. They are expensive, but their Ultra 2 (might be Ultra 3 now) series have a lifetime warranty. And, they are adjustable, so you can get the beam spread perfect and not blind oncoming drivers.

I purchase them through the headlightrevolution.com web site.

 

[Double J]

Had an 08 Z71 with the same terrible halogen and reflector OEM housing that I replaced with projector (low) and reflector (high) housing off eBay…decent quality and I think at the time picked them up for $120 or so for the pair. I found that as the LED heat sink is typically a rather bulky fan housing off the back, the clearance was an issue with some of the body framing. I was able create a bit of space with a mallet but still not what the fan housing requires. Ended up finding a set of bulbs made in China by a company with the ubiquitous name of “LED Lighting System” that offers a non-fan solution. Fit in the tight space and worked great for the 5 years or so I had the truck and the lighting was degrees better than the stock (a candle would have been better than stock). Today’s design LED may have a smaller fan housing profile to fit in your stock housing but the light distribution is still terrible.

Bought a spare in case and still have these never used set if you want to try them

 

[houstontaylor]

I found out that headlight bulb brightness is limited by federal regulations so you can't really legally get much higher light output, which doesn't mean you can't get higher lumen output LED bulbs somewhere. I might have but I'm not saying. You do have to be extra careful to align the headlights and make sure they aren't blinding other people. Replacing the headlight housing would allow more light to get through to the road or you could just by an updated headlight housing with led bulbs.

 

[Rubberchicken8]

I have managed to stave off leds so far in my '06 Tahoe by using Sylvania Silverstar zXe. Everything else is leds though. I did get new aftermarket headlight housing for pretty cheap. The bright white matches all the led stuff too along with better visibility. A simple upgrade without getting too nitty-gritty with a hid upgrade.

 

[Jetskier77]

I purchased replacement bulbs from DieselLED for my 2005 Suburban and am thoroughly impressed with how bright they are. I like them better then the HIDs in my 2017 Tahoe...much more usable light than the HIDs. And I dont get flashed from oncoming traffic. I would change the Tahoe in a hot second, but the housings/reflectors are different and my choices are limited.

 

[vcode]

I put Phillips extreme vision in mine and they were far superior to stock. I have also used Wagner Britelite with good results.

 

[Jetskier77]

I use GTR LEDs on my truck. They are expensive, but their Ultra 2 (might be Ultra 3 now) series have a lifetime warranty. And, they are adjustable, so you can get the beam spread perfect and not blind oncoming drivers.

I purchase them through the headlightrevolution.com web site.

I second the Headlight Revolution website. They post tons of great information in YouTube videos.

 

[ZKWBQD]

Hope this is the correct forum. I haven't posted in awhile.
I just purchased another tahoe ... 2007 Ltz. The headlights are terrible. I'm not ready to purchase HIDS yet. Can anyone recommend a bulb that could provide more light output in the mean time. If I remember correctly phillips I believe has something with a greater light output but can't remember what it was. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful holidays and happy new year!

Avoid anything that looks blue. People will flash their high-beams at you whether you are using them or not.

 

[intheburbs]

I found out that headlight bulb brightness is limited by federal regulations so you can't really legally get much higher light output, which doesn't mean you can't get higher lumen output LED bulbs somewhere. I might have but I'm not saying. You do have to be extra careful to align the headlights and make sure they aren't blinding other people. Replacing the headlight housing would allow more light to get through to the road or you could just by an updated headlight housing with led bulbs.

The simple way around that is to buy bulbs that are labeled "for off-road use only."

Before I bought completely new headlight housings, I had 130-watt halogen bulbs in my high beam sockets. The federal/DOT standard for halogens is 55w/65w low/hi.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

I found out that headlight bulb brightness is limited by federal regulations so you can't really legally get much higher light output, which doesn't mean you can't get higher lumen output LED bulbs somewhere. I might have but I'm not saying. You do have to be extra careful to align the headlights and make sure they aren't blinding other people. Replacing the headlight housing would allow more light to get through to the road or you could just by an updated headlight housing with led bulbs.

Yes, in actuality, if the headlights are not OEM LED from the factory, generally, aftermarket LEDs are permitted for off road use ONLY by the DOT. In fact, my purchasing web site requires that I sign an affidavit the my primary purpose for this LED purchase is for off-road use only.

But, then again, the posted speed limit is 55 mph................................

 

[Ont240]

Honestly… it’s a bit of a crap-shoot. The set for my LC and Suburban fit perfectly and no issues. Neither are available anymore lol. Manufacture must have gone belly up and the new shop down the street is probably making it in a different package.

The Ram LEDs were much more finicky. They had to be a specific depth and the tabs were a bit off. We had to order a second set to get one that fit right.