Let's see your GMT800 headlights

[Dusty_Tahoe]

I'm looking to get new headlights and turn signals for my Tahoe. Most of the options out there are those ricer looking halos and that's really not my thing.
What headlights, other than stock are you using? Ideally I'd like something that will give me greater visibility than the smoked ebay headlights that came in my truck from the previous owner.
I'd like to stay in the neighborhood of $100. this truck is my "budget build" after all

Suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[Martinjmpr]

If you look over at the Tahoe/Yukon forum there are a few pages dedicated to aftermarket replacement headlights. Being as how that is a more "street" oriented board they are really more about looks than function. Still, I have not been impressed with what I've seen - several people have bought lights that they then had to re-solder some of the connections or otherwise tweak them in order to get them to work properly.

Why not just replace them with a factory part? I've never found the lights on my Suburban to be inadequte. If your Tahoe is a non-Z71 you can replace the poor factory fog lights with LED's for less than $20. That's what I did.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Here's a picture of my LED fog lights (on my LT Burb.)

 

[Stryder106]

My headlights are upgraded Sylvania bulbs but they still pretty much suck. My fogs are now LED pods so at night I turn those on to supplement my headlights. If I'm in dirt then the ARB Intensity lights mounted on my bumper get turned on. I would love to put a better headlight in but everything I've seen so far doesn't seem like it would hold up long.

 

[Dusty_Tahoe]

If you look over at the Tahoe/Yukon forum there are a few pages dedicated to aftermarket replacement headlights. Being as how that is a more "street" oriented board they are really more about looks than function. Still, I have not been impressed with what I've seen - several people have bought lights that they then had to re-solder some of the connections or otherwise tweak them in order to get them to work properly.

Why not just replace them with a factory part? I've never found the lights on my Suburban to be inadequte. If your Tahoe is a non-Z71 you can replace the poor factory fog lights with LED's for less than $20. That's what I did.

Yea I've seen the ones in TahoeYukon Forum, but I'm not looking for flashy halos and stuff. I really just want a good headlight that puts out a lot of light. I'm considering the Depo headlights which have a clear lens and black housing with a projector lens which should give off a lot of light.

 

[snowblind]

Depo's are the ticket. Low beams with LED bulbs are brighter than anything else you can get. High beams are only OK though. They are not projector so brighter bulbs don't help much.

You can check out my install at https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...summer-camping-winter-commuting.111642/page-4


Matt

 

[XJLI]

I'm a big fan of an upgraded headlight harness and bulbs. I put new housings on my truck (the cat eyes fog up pretty bad compared to the SUV and early truck lights) with good bulbs and really don't see the need for anything better. Everything is more than adequate and if I need more I'll look to aftermarket aux lamps/LEDs. I have a 42" LED bar from my Jeep sitting in my garage but I don't think I'll use it.

 

[Mr. Merk]

Daniel Stern offers a relay harness that not only eliminates voltage drop but also enables both low beams to remain on with the high beams here: https://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html

• KIT-RIKHB34H as above except safely keeps low beams lit when high beams are on, for systems not originally so wired: $123
• HARN-RIKHB34H custom-built harness: $199

As far as I know the best bulb upgrade for real vision improvement is using 9011 (HIR1) in place of 9005 and 9012 in place of 9006 (HIR2) as discussed here: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/v...11-9012-always-the-best-upgrade-for-9005-9006
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00480J5CW/?tag=2402507-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0195LGZF8/?tag=2402507-20

and sticking with OEM replacement (not aftermarket) housings!

I've inquired over on candlepower forums to see if there are currently any other options for these vehicles here: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?455998-GMT800-Z71-Tahoe-lighting-upgrades


I use a similar harness and 9011 bulbs in my high beams. Unfortunately I fell for the HID drop in things a while back and have since scorched my Denali projectors so I've got new GM Denali housings in my shopping cart.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005VIR4JQ/?tag=2402507-20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005VIR31A/?tag=2402507-20

 

[rayra]

I did the micro-sanding and polishing thing to mine and got very good results but it hasn't lasted 2yrs. Original lens housings.
Using the brighter Sylvania bulbs (Silver?) and they are a good value.
Been shopping for replacement OEM-style lenses / housings, looking at restoration places like LMC, but prices are a little stiff. Still cheaper than the 'fashionable upgrades'. But also have been stalking an offering on Amazon, $70 for the whole set of lenses / housings, aftermarket OEM replacements -
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PBO0Z3...colid=QWZ1BSZYG6VW&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
reviews are mixed, but there's nearly 600 of them and mostly favorable, so it seems a reasonable thing to spend money on.
Probably the next thing I do after I finish making suspension and drivetrain component replacements. Have upper control arms and CV axles inbound.

 

[Bojak]

KC LED for factory fog light upgrade. Used factory light backplate. Was a big improvement.

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

 

[Ducky's Dad]

and sticking with OEM replacement (not aftermarket) housings!

Years ago, I found offshore aftermarket housings with glass lenses for my '98, and they are a huge improvement over the factory plastic crap. First set I bought did not fit, second set from a different vendor on Amazon fit perfectly. I have drop-in HIDs in the low beams and HIR in the high beams. If doing it again, I would skip the HID and just use the HIR in both high and low. Also have the Painless Performance harness to keep highs and lows on simultaneously, and have wired the fogs to a separate switch so they are on when ever I want them on.

 

[Mr. Merk]

I did the micro-sanding and polishing thing to mine and got very good results but it hasn't lasted 2yrs. Original lens housings.
Using the brighter Sylvania bulbs (Silver?) and they are a good value.

Throw those away. There is a reason I get a $2-$3 check in the mail every year or so from the class action law suit. They are junk.

I've been told that the polishing is a temporary band-aid and generally the reflectors have also degraded at that point so the housings should be replaced.

KC LED for factory fog light upgrade. Used factory light backplate. Was a big improvement.

Do you have a link to these lights or any other pictures of your install? I'll admit that my OEM fogs are one of my favorite parts of my GMC. They seem to be more of an auxiliary lamp as there is no cutoff and they can overpower the factory low beams. I run the controversial yellow bulbs in mine (as with all my other vehicles.)

I have drop-in HIDs in the low beams and HIR in the high beams. If doing it again, I would skip the HID and just use the HIR in both high and low. Also have the Painless Performance harness to keep highs and lows on simultaneously, and have wired the fogs to a separate switch so they are on when ever I want them on.

SAME! Although my relay kit I installed years ago also turns on the fogs with my high beams. Although now I'm not so sure that's a good idea but it works well for rural and off-road driving.

 

[Hackopotomus]

I did the micro-sanding and polishing thing to mine and got very good results but it hasn't lasted 2yrs. Original lens housings.

After polishing did you paint them with a UV resistant clear? I did mine about a year ago and they are still holding up. Before painting with clear and just polishing they would only last a few months before fading out again.

 

[Mr. Merk]

After polishing did you paint them with a UV resistant clear? I did mine about a year ago and they are still holding up. Before painting with clear and just polishing they would only last a few months before fading out again.

We had our Cayenne done before our trip to Banff last year and the detailer wrapped them in PPF. I'm hoping it lasts a while because replacements are super expensive and it's not a forever car.

 

[rayra]

After polishing did you paint them with a UV resistant clear? I did mine about a year ago and they are still holding up. Before painting with clear and just polishing they would only last a few months before fading out again.

I did, clear krylon with the cap labeled as UV protectant. but it isn't holding up well, two SoCal summers and they are needing to be re-done. I miss glass headlights.


crap just found the pics, it was ONE year ago, today. I buffer-polished them ~3yrs ago. Looked good enough when I re-did them.

I'm just going to buy the aftermarket OEM replacements and be done with it. They'll last me the remaining useful life of the vehicle.