Affordable and effective headlight upgrade? (I know, I know ... but I couldn't find it in Search)

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Charlie207

Full Access Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2021
Posts
1,748
Reaction score
3,508
Location
LFOD, New Hampshire
The 07-14 Denali headlamps are solely for incandescent lamps. They were subpar when new. The only way to get more light on the ground, unfortunately, is to change the assemblies.

I went to a set up on our 08 similar to this but never upgraded to HID. Didn’t use LED because the older LED technology wreaked havoc with the BCM.


The above lamps with the LED bulbs and integrated cooling fans act as resistors. They work flawlessly with no trouble codes or BCM problems.

Ursprung Upgraded H1 Light Bulbs, 100W 600% Brighter, 1:1 Size H1 Bulbs, Pack of 2

The low beams run through projectors so 100% of light gets put on the road. Both hi & low beams run H1. The high beams are not projector so they may blind the ship out of oncoming traffic but they shouldn’t be on for oncoming traffic anyway.

Do you have any before/after pics of those ebay housings w/your H1 bulbs?

I just reinstalled new SilverStars into my stock housings to create heat to melt snow/ice, but that just meant that it won't snow for the rest of the decade. The light output compared to the LED bulbs that were previously in there is trash, and I'm really looking for decent upgrades that aren't $1000 (or like 1/10th the value of the vehicle).
 

petethepug

Michael
Joined
May 4, 2016
Posts
3,269
Reaction score
3,643
Location
SoCal
No before or after pics unfortunately. I can tell you that those particular LED bulbs are also identical in size to regular incandescent bulbs so they’re plug n play without needing to rotate the bulb for adjustment.
 

Charlie207

Full Access Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2021
Posts
1,748
Reaction score
3,508
Location
LFOD, New Hampshire
No before or after pics unfortunately. I can tell you that those particular LED bulbs are also identical in size to regular incandescent bulbs so they’re plug n play without needing to rotate the bulb for adjustment.
And you like the lighting upgrade from those eBay housings vs. the OEM housings?
 

Noggles

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2020
Posts
115
Reaction score
85
The 07-14 Denali headlamps are solely for incandescent lamps. They were subpar when new. The only way to get more light on the ground, unfortunately, is to change the assemblies.

I went to a set up on our 08 similar to this but never upgraded to HID. Didn’t use LED because the older LED technology wreaked havoc with the BCM.


The above lamps with the LED bulbs and integrated cooling fans act as resistors. They work flawlessly with no trouble codes or BCM problems.

Ursprung Upgraded H1 Light Bulbs, 100W 600% Brighter, 1:1 Size H1 Bulbs, Pack of 2

The low beams run through projectors so 100% of light gets put on the road. Both hi & low beams run H1. The high beams are not projector so they may blind the ship out of oncoming traffic but they shouldn’t be on for oncoming traffic anyway.

Do the C shaped LED bars light up as DRL's during the day? I bought a similar set for my dad for his 13 Denali and the C bar on them light up when the headlights come on but they still use the low beams as the DRL otherwise. I have tried finding a way to change this so only the C bar lights up but I can't seem to find anything.
 

Doubeleive

Wes
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2017
Posts
26,902
Reaction score
40,625
Location
Stockton, Ca.
Having had GREAT success with the Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro LED fog light replacements, I find the actual headlights on my 2013 Denali largely useless---factory high beams are not nearly as effective as the LED fogs. On occasion, however, the fog lights don't reach quite as far down the road as I would like (which is about equal in reach to the factory high beams). Is there a replacement for the factory bulbs that project farther down the road?

FYI I'm not looking for a whole headlight assembly replacement. Ideally, I'd like to just replace the high beam bulbs, but I heard it's not quite that simple.
if you are still in the market the best bang for your buck is a nice set of ballast's and HID's
just takes a little DIY wiring and you are good to go
HID's work well in the stock gmc housings
the only catch is you loose high/low beam and you just have 1 good beam, reason being they do not make a "true" HID bi-xenon bulb
it's either a HID/composite or a magnetic actuated HID (moves from high-to-low position) or just straight HID (best option)
ballast's
bulbs
wiring harness
total cost is a pinch over $100 and a 3 week wait for the ballast's to arrive from china, those are fantastic ballast's btw I have used for them years and years
 

homesick

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2018
Posts
1,362
Reaction score
3,518
Out of curiosity, has anyone ever tried a coating on new lights to slow or prevent the fogging- a clear coat or something?

I still think someone should be making a lense cover of glass.

joe
 

Fless

Staff member
Super Moderator
Joined
Apr 2, 2017
Posts
12,484
Reaction score
25,486
Location
Elev 5,280
Out of curiosity, has anyone ever tried a coating on new lights to slow or prevent the fogging- a clear coat or something?

I still think someone should be making a lense cover of glass.

joe

My DD came with clear bra on the headlights. So far so good.
 
Top