Upgraded Headlights

beav626 · April 2, 2009

I upgraded headlights on my 01 Sierra. I went with the Denali look a likes.

They look awesome but at night I get very low light output. The light looks very yellow too.

is this common? is there a fix?

DofD · April 2, 2009

It's the bulb being used behind the projection lenses. Put some HID bulbs behind there and the improvement will be huge.

jrrod2004 · April 2, 2009

and post pics afterwards !!!!

Zembonez · April 2, 2009

Aftermarket lights rarely put out as much light as OEM lights do. They are mostly made for looks.

Bulbs are a different story. Might try upgrading the bulbs.

beav626 · April 3, 2009

It's the bulb being used behind the projection lenses. Put some HID bulbs behind there and the improvement will be huge.

Aftermarket lights rarely put out as much light as OEM lights do. They are mostly made for looks.

Bulbs are a different story. Might try upgrading the bulbs.

I just tried some bulbs that claim to be as bright as silverstars... but the difference was minimal.

I was hesitant to do HID's becaus eof the cost. Im trying to get stock like output from these lenses.

Why do stock denalis work fine? what is the difference?

Zembonez · April 3, 2009

It's the bulb being used behind the projection lenses. Put some HID bulbs behind there and the improvement will be huge.

Aftermarket lights rarely put out as much light as OEM lights do. They are mostly made for looks.

Bulbs are a different story. Might try upgrading the bulbs.

I just tried some bulbs that claim to be as bright as silverstars... but the difference was minimal.

I was hesitant to do HID's becaus eof the cost. Im trying to get stock like output from these lenses.

Why do stock denalis work fine? what is the difference?

i

The difference is that GM had a design team with millions of dollars behind theirs and the aftermarket ones are generally just built for appearance in a Chinese factory somewhere. The result is often lights that don't provide anywhere near as much light. I think the problem you have is in the lens design. I'm not cutting them down at all... just stating what I have wxperienced with third party lights.

Bmart · April 3, 2009

i dont think you have any other choice but hid's with those housings.

thecraft · April 3, 2009

The difference is that GM had a design team with millions of dollars behind theirs and the aftermarket ones are generally just built for appearance in a Chinese factory somewhere. The result is often lights that don't provide anywhere near as much light. I think the problem you have is in the lens design. I'm not cutting them down at all... just stating what I have wxperienced with third party lights.

QFT

svensk · April 3, 2009

They gotta be brighter than my truck's stock headlights. Some nights I can't tell if they're even on.

beav626 · April 3, 2009

I will order the HID in a week or so and post up results

fieroaddiction · April 3, 2009

The cheap Chinese bulbs suck, but I don't have any complaints about the housings. I put some OEM style Chinese lights on my '03 Silverado. The light output from the highs was terrible and both of the lows burned out in about two weeks. I replaced all the bulbs with Helllas and now they work great!

beav626 · April 17, 2009

OK-Got the HID Lights (Easy install)

They are much brighter up close but the light still does not project out like the OEM lights...

trplxl2 · April 17, 2009

I had bought of projector lights from Matrix 2 years ago and they were horrible for low beams, but the high beams were pretty good. I am in the process right now of rebuilding them with better stuff and new halo's. I bought two sets of PIAA H1 extreme white bulbs for them, so I sure hope that cures my problem too. And no I don't want HID's sorry guys, I just don't really care for them maybe because everyone has them.

tobias · April 17, 2009

I had bought of projector lights from Matrix 2 years ago and they were horrible for low beams, but the high beams were pretty good. I am in the process right now of rebuilding them with better stuff and new halo's. I bought two sets of PIAA H1 extreme white bulbs for them, so I sure hope that cures my problem too. And no I don't want HID's sorry guys, I just don't really care for them maybe because everyone has them.

You'll be happy with the PIAA's but your sig pic is way too large!!!

It's also old. Got any newer ones?

The forum rules dictate a 200X700 pixel max, FYI.