What are the best aftermarket headlights you can buy right now?

ktreece · October 14, 2015

I've tried over the past few months to read through the massive thread on lights and there's just so much to take in. I want something better than my stock lights, but I don't want to rig something up with a possibility of blackout like some reported.

So now that the truck has been out a few years and the bulk of that thread was before the aftermarket guys had a chance to come in, what's the best/most reliable kit you can buy today for the truck?

I have some Rigid fogs and they're amazing, but my headlights like most everybodies are downright dangerous.

arkenzo · October 14, 2015

Did you get the fix for the sierra headlights? I believe it bumps up the voltage on the headlights for the sierra's, resulting in increase lumens.

redwngr · October 14, 2015

The Sierra headlight update is voltage AND different bulbs.

ktreece · October 14, 2015

I wasn't aware of this.

ktreece · October 14, 2015

Just called my dealer, they said it was just for the 2015. How could the 2015 have been any worse than the 2014? My headlights are unsafe for driving at night. I get white knuckles driving in wooded areas.

TxTruckMan · October 14, 2015

That headlight TSB made a big difference. You don't get the better bulbs even on the new trucks though. I saved the Volsa bulbs from my 2014 and put them into my 2015. I'm still considering an upgrade to the XenonDepot LEDs though. They seem simple and more reliable than a HID kit. Then I can keep the Volsa bulbs as spares.

TxTruckMan · October 14, 2015

Just called my dealer, they said it was just for the 2015. How could the 2015 have been any worse than the 2014? My headlights are unsafe for driving at night. I get white knuckles driving in wooded areas.

What is he referring to? Is there an upgrade for the 2015's as well? The TSB we're talking about was for pre-Jan2015 built 2014 and 2015 Sierras. They reprogram the BCM for higher voltage and switch out the bulbs to high output Volsa's instead of Phillips Long Life. I think that the new trucks have the BCM update, but not the new bulbs.

ktreece · October 14, 2015

What is he referring to? Is there an upgrade for the 2015's as well? The TSB we're talking about was for pre-Jan2015 built 2014 and 2015 Sierras. They reprogram the BCM for higher voltage and switch out the bulbs to high output Volsa's instead of Phillips Long Life. I think that the new trucks have the BCM update, but not the new bulbs.

I have no idea. I've had problems with The dealer in the past. My truck is actually at the dealer right now. I bought my truck in December 2013 and the dash LCD goes completely out randomly at startup sometimes. It's done it since day 1 and they're still working on it.... They had GM engineers there last week looking into it...

I asked this dealer about the headlight issue a while back and they told me there wasn't a fix right now. Now I am out of warranty also (39,000 miles) and even if I have to pay for the flash from another dealer and order the bulbs myself, I am glad there's at least a fix. I drive my little Honda S2000 on night road trips as the headlights will just light the road up. I hate driving on country backroads with my truck at night as I can't see crap.

redwngr · October 14, 2015

What is he referring to? Is there an upgrade for the 2015's as well? The TSB we're talking about was for pre-Jan2015 built 2014 and 2015 Sierras. They reprogram the BCM for higher voltage and switch out the bulbs to high output Volsa's instead of Phillips Long Life. I think that the new trucks have the BCM update, but not the new bulbs.

Each plant implemented to the updated bulb and programming on a different date, but the earliest was late Dec 2014 and the latest was late Jan 2015.

(Flint, Fort Wayne and Silao)

The bulletin with exact dates has been posted here before several times.

IIRC, it also says the factory implemented both changes - same as in the bulletin.

TxTruckMan · October 14, 2015

well my Sept/2015 build did not come with the Volsa bulbs. And other members have said the same thing. I think they only made the BCM change standard, not the bulbs.

redwngr · October 14, 2015

Interesting.

Any idea how the brightness compares to the Sierra's with the campaign modifications?

Wonder if it is a different part number than the one that was in use prior to the upgrade?

Presumably they original supplier could produce a bulb with the same characteristics as the Volsa. It doesn't have to be a Volsa (or whomever) part to have the revised bulb characteristics.

TxTruckMan · October 14, 2015

Yes, the Volsa seems slightly brighter and whiter. The stock bulbs were Phillips Long Life. LL bulbs usually sacrifice some performance for longevity. I'll try to switch one back out and take a picture some time. Not a major difference, but somewhat better.

Coach Hill · October 15, 2015

I had the update done right after it became available. My dealer didn't know about it when I first asked. Thanks to this forum, I had the bulletin number in hand when they told me there was nothing available yet. It was an improvement over the stock bulbs. I would say 30% better. They were also a better color temp match for the DRL's. They still did not match my LED fogs so I kept looking. I now have the XenonDepot LED kit in my truck and am very satisfied with it. The light is brighter. Everthing matches better on the nose of the truck plus I like the longevity of LED lighting. One of the VLED fog bulbs stopped working so I called them and they sent me a brand new pair. Xenon and VLED have been great to deal with for me. Hope this helps.

All-terrain-All-the-time · October 15, 2015

I had the update done right after it became available. My dealer didn't know about it when I first asked. Thanks to this forum, I had the bulletin number in hand when they told me there was nothing available yet. It was an improvement over the stock bulbs. I would say 30% better. They were also a better color temp match for the DRL's. They still did not match my LED fogs so I kept looking. I now have the XenonDepot LED kit in my truck and am very satisfied with it. The light is brighter. Everthing matches better on the nose of the truck plus I like the longevity of LED lighting. One of the VLED fog bulbs stopped working so I called them and they sent me a brand new pair. Xenon and VLED have been great to deal with for me. Hope this helps.

Which bulb from XenonDepot did you get with your kit, im guessing the different choices have to do with the level of brightness and color? like you said im just looking for what would match a bright white LED like a rigid

TenofMe · October 15, 2015

+1 for XenonDepot LED's. I had the bulb/BCM update done by the dealer. It was about a 50% improvement.

Installed the XenonDepot LED's. It's about a 200% improvement over the upgraded bulbs. Better color, better cutoff (not great, but way better than stock), and I love the way they "snap" on, like HID's.

Best bang for the buck improvement you can make to these trucks, IMO.