2016 silverado 1500 headlight bulb upgrade

[1300c]

hate to bust your bubble , but yes the halogen silverstar xenon ZXE's i put in my 2015 colorado Z71 were way brighter than the so called HID headlights i now have in my 2016 Z71 Silverado 1500. no comparison at all like night and day , how can i upgrade the bulbs in the Silverado without breaking the bank ?

The retrofit source will have what you need. Either the GM morimoto kit, or spend a little more get a potted denso ballast that will last a long time. 35w with a d2s cbh (new style) bulbs in a 5000k color will give you a ton of light. Unfortunately the d5s has an integrated ballast so it makes it more expensive than just a typically bulb change.

[Silvern Sentry]

The retrofit source will have what you need. Either the GM morimoto kit, or spend a little more get a potted denso ballast that will last a long time. 35w with a d2s cbh (new style) bulbs in a 5000k color will give you a ton of light. Unfortunately the d5s has an integrated ballast so it makes it more expensive than just a typically bulb change.

 

That is disappointing. May as well swap to LED sound like would be more plug and play. What am I not surprised GM.

[amxguy1970]

Swampa is back (not sure if that is a good thing). What happened to your Colorado? Need more truck or have any issues? Didn't see a thread on why you switched on coloradofans...

 

I'm with the others, not sure how it is possible a slight halogen bulb upgrade in a halogen projector is anywhere near way better (or even better period) than a factory HID set up with properly designed HID housing. I'd try adjusting them first, all the pics I have seen the HID throws out a ton of light down low. Now high beams I can see needing more but hey, most just complain about the low beams and decide to go about blinding others with excessive and improper light set ups.

 

Tyler

[Brandon5799]

Just my opinion but anyone who didn't get the $500 option of led's shouldn't be complaining about lighting issues. What's $500 more on a 50-60k truck? And btw I think it's funny a certain user posting on this topic made a new profile lol, your post still are the same as well as your pics

[TJay74]

 

 

 

Negatory good buddy. The only time that plate moves is in high end Euro cars where it is self leveling (like in Mercedes)

 

A dual beam works like this:

The highbeam goes under the level and reflects at an upward angle. A dual bulb looks something like this (I am sure are different brand/styles) and one side is shielded so it only reflects up in the case of a low beam and back down under that leveling plate.

This is why 2 separate light housing is superior and if you look around at cars you will notice most with high end projectors have a separate high beam ie) Landrover, Mercedes, Lexus etc etc.

As someone who started with a single projector and now has a reflector housed high beam in my 2015 Sierra I can vouch that it is night and day difference. Silverado lights > Sierra lights.

 

 

 

*I also would not have been able to swap to this set up, which was basically plug and play if all the sierra did was move the leveling plate for high beam. Instead it has a separate 12v power wire and uses the same ground as rest of lights. If you look at the wireing harness / connection you can even count the wires for each. 1 low, 1 high, 1 marker, 1 blinker & finally 1 ground for a total of 5 pins (LED DRL Strips have 1 power each as well if equipped so 7 total in a 2015 sierra)

 

 

Negatory my good man, you really should do more research before you comment on posts on this forum. I've had the bulbs out of my 2014 Sierra. They are a single bulb system that uses a controlled flap that lifts up and out of the way to allow more light to pass by and out of the reflector housing. My wifes 2011 Lincoln MKX was the same way as was my 2008 Corvette and as well as the 5th gen Camaros.

 

You can physically hear the shutter operate in the headlight housing when you hit the high beam. So sorry to rain on your details but no-relavant explanation.

[Silvern Sentry]

 

 

Negatory my good man, you really should do more research before you comment on posts on this forum. I've had the bulbs out of my 2014 Sierra. They are a single bulb system that uses a controlled flap that lifts up and out of the way to allow more light to pass by and out of the reflector housing. My wifes 2011 Lincoln MKX was the same way as was my 2008 Corvette and as well as the 5th gen Camaros.

 

You can physically hear the shutter operate in the headlight housing when you hit the high beam. So sorry to rain on your details but no-relavant explanation.

 

I have had the whole headlight out. Sorry but your info is not correct in regards to HID remember this is 2016 now.

[DAY11]

You two have Sierras. Any chance your info does not apply to his

2016 Silverado?

[TJay74]

 

I have had the whole headlight out. Sorry but your info is not correct in regards to HID remember this is 2016 now.

 

 

I guess you still are having a hard time in regards to this, but alas I will try again. 2014 Sierra SLT uses projector housing (non-HID) and uses shutter. Wifes 2011 Lincoln MKX used HID single bulb with shutter, headlights were self leveling and also followed the curve of the road in relation to you turning, 2008 Corvette was factory HID and also used shutter, friends 2011 Camaro 2SS was also factory HID and used shutter, wifes new car is a Audi SQ5 with once again, you guessed it factory HID and shutter.

 

So I am still correct in operation, some of the system use a shutter that flips up and out of the way. Before you post a bunch more of info that is in-accurate, I spent a pretty good amount of my time dealing with the Chief Engineer over the entire GM truck division, the entire infotainment engineering team, and the exterior lighting team on issues with the K2xx trucks over the course of the last 2 years with almost quarterly conference calls and several in person visits from members of those teams.

 

I haven't checked my 2016 Sierra SLT's LED headlights as of yet because, to be honest the LED headlights on low put out so much light that I've yet to be in a situation to where I needed the high beams. I've checked them to make sure they work and that is it.

[swampa]

Swampa is back (not sure if that is a good thing). What happened to your Colorado? Need more truck or have any issues? Didn't see a thread on why you switched on coloradofans...

 

I'm with the others, not sure how it is possible a slight halogen bulb upgrade in a halogen projector is anywhere near way better (or even better period) than a factory HID set up with properly designed HID housing. I'd try adjusting them first, all the pics I have seen the HID throws out a ton of light down low. Now high beams I can see needing more but hey, most just complain about the low beams and decide to go about blinding others with excessive and improper light set ups.

 

Tyler

yeah , they were minor problems with the colorado that started to irk me so i traded it away for the silverado , and i live in an area with little to no street lights and very dark ,the headlights in the silverado are less than adaquite compared to the silverstar ZXE's i put in the colorado across the board , 1 they shoot out farther infront of the truck and 2 they light up the sides of the road better as well , using the led fog lights only helps a little ,and i will say the high beam ZXE's were great i could see everything and almost twice as far as the factory bulbs , the 2016 Z71 silverado 1500 headlights dont even compare !!!

[swampa]

Someone complaining about 2016 lighting? Has the world turned upside down?

 

OP your lowbeam should be better than a silverstar halogen not just slightly but much better. I would start by adjusting the lights as I find it hard to believe even with the 35W HID bulb you have it is hard to see. Also you cannot or should not change your Highbeam to HID (or LED) in a reflective housing, projector only. You could put a halogen white in the highbeam, personally I recommend Philips bulbs not Silverstar, it is worth the extra clams as they are best in the biz.

sorry you dont agree but that is the case , the headlights in my 2016 Z71 silverado 1500 LT2 are barely adequate and the high beams arent much better , i traded a 2015 colorado Z71 crewcab for my 2016 silverado Z71 1500 , I replaced all 4 factory bulbs in the colorado with silverstar ZXE's because the colorado's stock lights were inadaquate as well and what a difference ,the factory lighting in the silverado doesnt even come close i immediately noticed the difference the first time i drove the silverado at night, does anyone make a upgrade for the 2016 silverado Z71's headlights yet i cant find anything ?

[swampa]

Just my opinion but anyone who didn't get the $500 option of led's shouldn't be complaining about lighting issues. What's $500 more on a 50-60k truck? And btw I think it's funny a certain user posting on this topic made a new profile lol, your post still are the same as well as your picsmy t

my 16 Z71 silverado 1500 LT2 with all star package didnt cost 50 to 60 k ,msrp of 45,000 paid 39,000 and wasn't offered an option to upgrade the lighting

[cbrsilv15]

HID should be great lighting. In regards to the low vs high "dual" bulbs thing, it's the projector housing, not the bulbs themselves. Swampa, what were you driving before? The sierras with factory projectors and the 16's use projectors too. If you're familiar with a halogen reflector housing then it takes a little getting used to a projector. Almost seems like it's hard to see because you don't have that foreground lighting that's scattered up above the road.

[swampa]

HID should be great lighting. In regards to the low vs high "dual" bulbs thing, it's the projector housing, not the bulbs themselves. Swampa, what were you driving before? The sierras with factory projectors and the 16's use projectors too. If you're familiar with a halogen reflector housing then it takes a little getting used to a projector. Almost seems like it's hard to see because you don't have that foreground lighting that's scattered up above the road.

i traded away a 2015 chevy colorado Z71 crewcab 3.6 4x4 for a 2016 chevy silverado Z71 1500 double cab 5.3 4x4 LT2 3.42 auto locking rear diff with all star package , the factory lighting in colorado was horrible as well , i replace all 4 stock bulbs with silverstar ZXE'S and what a difference was like night and day , the factory lighting in the silverado isnt much better then the factory lighting in the colorado , i live in an area with very little to no street lights ,with a high deer vehicle colisions and i do more driving at night than i do during the day so bright lights that light up the whole rd are a must for me ,and the factory headlights in the silverado aren't cutting it , one they dont light up the sides of the road enough and 2 they dont reach that far out in ft of the truck so it makes it hard to see well ebough to avoid a collision with a deer and i dont want that !!! i am the only 1 of my large group of friends that hasn't hit a deer around the quabbin reservoir in the last few years and i want to keep it that way . once a vehicle gets crunched they are never the same

[cbrsilv15]

That's what I thought. You'll get used to the projector cutoff. No halogen bulb will compare to a superior HID bulb. The HID will be way better than the zxe bulbs. It's just that the projector doesn't throw the scattered light further down the road.

[1300c]

I live in deer country too. I love the factory led fog lights for their width. I usually go low beam with fogs in the areas that have a bigger deer population. It does take awhile to get used to projectors due to their sharp cutoff compared to a factory reflector. Lately I've been more concerned about hitting a black bear with how their population is growing where I live.