My old 2007 GMC has never had the best headlights.Driving from Lethbridge to Calgary last night I was really cussing them. Old original factory headlights and I cannot see worth a darn. They are so lame that I deem them unsafe.I have tried different bulbs in them over the years but no real joy there either. One side is a repro unit from a major collision repair in 2012. It is so yellow and dull that I can see a huge difference in the 2.Anyhow, enough of that....I am looking for ideas on some decent aftermarket lighting, including the headlight housings themselves. I really like the lights on the newer vehicles, they look great.I just want to see in safety without blinding oncoming traffic.Back in the days of my youth we would just replace the sealed beams with Cibies, Bosch or Wipacs. Can't do that today.Anyone done a complete upgrade kit to their headlights? I'd like to go with LED, so I don't have to put in heavy duty drivers and such. I don't know a lot about them.I gotta fix this thing, it's terrible.

Bob, I had great luck with an HID kit from The RetroFit Source. I disassembled the plastic headlight assemblies on my 2002 Grand Prix and converted them to HIDs, WOW what a difference.You can see the projectors inside the OEM housing here:TRS sells a kit specifically for 07 GMs, and they also have plug-n-play Alpharex Pro lights.All of these options are kinda pricey but well worth it IMO, especially if you tow at night.

First and foremost, measure the voltage AT THE BULB!If your GM is as bad as Fords headlights one the the best upgrades you can do is bypass the OEM wiring with a relay kit.OEM wiring is barely up to the task, often they will use 18 ga wire to the headlights and when you add up the wire length by the time the voltage reaches the headlights the bulb is only getting about 11V!You can buy or built your own headlight relay kit, I have made my own using $2.00 30A Bosch relays and 10 ga wire (relay kit goes under hood near battery and you can get replacement harness repair parts to make it plug and play setup.. Plug the input of the relays into one of the headlight connections and the outputs of the relays to your headlights.. connect relay kit to 12V power and ground and now you have full battery voltage.. Basically about 25% improvement in brightness.I would recommend avoiding LED replacement bulbs in any OEM style or aftermarket housing, quality is spotty at best, some have fans that will eventually fail, some the drivers make a lot of Radio interference and worst of all, LEDs cannot fully simulate the position of the filament making getting a good pattern that doesn't blind on coming traffic difficult to impossible.Not to mention typically those LED retrofits use LEDs in blueish color temps of 6,000K-6,500K which results in harsh shadows and depending on your eyesight may make your vision even more difficult.Try building headlight relay kit first, if that doesn't work well, add on an aux driving lights or fog lights (that is what I did for my 97 Ford BEFORE I figured out the headlight bulbs were not getting full battery voltage), those lights were like using a candle)..

BurbMan wrote:Bob, I had great luck with an HID kit from The RetroFit Source. I disassembled the plastic headlight assemblies on my 2002 Grand Prix and converted them to HIDs, WOW what a difference.You can see the projectors inside the OEM housing here:TRS sells a kit specifically for 07 GMs, and they also have plug-n-play Alpharex Pro lights.All of these options are kinda pricey but well worth it IMO, especially if you tow at night.Thanks for the links, Excellent site. I really like what they have to offer.Unfortunately, mine is a 2007 Classic, different from the 2007-13.. I changed the application to reflect that and they don't have the headlights for mine. Darn!!! Lots of bulbs though, great selection.Looks great on your Grand Prix!

Gdetrailer wrote:First and foremost, measure the voltage AT THE BULB!If your GM is as bad as Fords headlights one the the best upgrades you can do is bypass the OEM wiring with a relay kit.OEM wiring is barely up to the task, often they will use 18 ga wire to the headlights and when you add up the wire length by the time the voltage reaches the headlights the bulb is only getting about 11V!You can buy or built your own headlight relay kit, I have made my own using $2.00 30A Bosch relays and 10 ga wire (relay kit goes under hood near battery and you can get replacement harness repair parts to make it plug and play setup.. Plug the input of the relays into one of the headlight connections and the outputs of the relays to your headlights.. connect relay kit to 12V power and ground and now you have full battery voltage.. Basically about 25% improvement in brightness.I would recommend avoiding LED replacement bulbs in any OEM style or aftermarket housing, quality is spotty at best, some have fans that will eventually fail, some the drivers make a lot of Radio interference and worst of all, LEDs cannot fully simulate the position of the filament making getting a good pattern that doesn't blind on coming traffic difficult to impossible.Not to mention typically those LED retrofits use LEDs in blueish color temps of 6,000K-6,500K which results in harsh shadows and depending on your eyesight may make your vision even more difficult.Try building headlight relay kit first, if that doesn't work well, add on an aux driving lights or fog lights (that is what I did for my 97 Ford BEFORE I figured out the headlight bulbs were not getting full battery voltage), those lights were like using a candle)..That's a great tip, thanks. I never thought about checking the voltage at the lights. I do recall looking at the size of the wiring once, thinking to myself it looked a little on the lame side. I used to put relays, do the wiring and put aircraft landing lights on my old vehicles. Boy did those ever poke a hole into the night! Illegal though, got busted a couple times so I stopped using them......

Crummy headlights - Can't see, need upgrade | Good Sam Community

BurbMan
Explorer II
Jan 20, 2021
Bob TRS doesn't make a retrofit specifically for the Grand Prix either, so I went with a generic retrofit kit and a set of instructions I got from a GP fan site...the process involves baking the OEM housings in a 250* oven to soften the sealant that holds the 2 halves together so you can pry them apart. Then some careful Dremel cutting and gluing... I was very proud of how they turned out but it also had the very real potential of becoming a $300 science experiment...

In my 01 Suburban (which has the same headlights as the 07 classic) I upgraded to a set of Sylvania SilverStar bulbs and it made all the difference. I know other burb owners that made a relay harness like GDE describes with good results.

TRS also offers a selection of LED bulbs for 06 Sierra that fit in the OEM housing.
rhagfo
Explorer III
Jan 20, 2021
It is really sad that most headlights today are not great, but keep in mind that the brighter your head lights get the more they blind oncoming drivers. Many after market LED replacement bulbs will blind oncoming drivers because they are not focused.
When I was young I had a 68 Mustang California Special, it came with a pair of Lucas Flamethrower fog lights in the grill. I moved these below the bumper so in fog the light was low and worked better. I then installed a pair of Lucas Flamethrower driving lights in the grill these would light the road up for a 1/4 mile the width of the highway. The beam was focused down the road and shine upwards.
wanderingaimles
Explorer
Jan 20, 2021
I just replaced the assemblies on my ladies little 06 Cobalt with a set from here https://www.carparts.com/
They were an easy install and seem to be working well.
Sjm9911
Explorer
Jan 20, 2021
Lynnmor wrote:
My headlights got much brighter recently, right after cataract surgery.

I was going to say the older you get the worse your night vision gets. Then the more people change to led headlights, and blind you with them. Lol. Its a never ending cycle.
ford_truck_guy
Nomad
Jan 20, 2021
BobsYourUncle wrote:
ford truck guy wrote:
Bob...

Upgrade to a 2020.. the Ford's headlights were pure TURD.... I love the new LED's in the new trucks ! ! ! :B

Well, due to fiscal irresponsibility in my life and a divorce, a 2020 isn't in the radar for me yet!
I too love the new LEDs in the new trucks. Awesome!

My only option is to replace mine, the entire assembly, not just a bulb upgrade.

Good tips about the voltage at the bulbs. I am going to get in there with a meter and check. I can build a relay system and hard wire to the battery.

I get that, and would not expect anyone to do so... I replaced the bulbs in my 2015 with an LED plug in bulb.. They were **** also, unless you are changing the entire housing along with the bulb..

If I can remember what brand it was, I would post so nobody gets that brand thinking there good...
pianotuna
Nomad III
Jan 20, 2021
Hi Bob,

I added twin light bars. They will not operate on the high beam setting. My low beams with the bars are far superior to the high beams now.
hornet28
Explorer
Jan 20, 2021
I bought new light assembly's for my 07 GMC Classic and got rid of the dull surface. That made a difference but still not great. I then changed the bulbs to Sylvania Silverstar ULTRA NIGHT VISION Halogen Headlight Bulbs on both low and high beam. Made a great difference. I also have a 30" light bar on the front which before made a huge difference, not as much now with the Silverstar Ultras. I also did the all on mod, on high I have low, high and fog
BobsYourUncle
Nomad
Jan 20, 2021
I really do want to get away from the factory housings. They are old and outdated, even if I replace them with new ones.
If I am going to replace the whole assembly I may as well put the money towards some better and more effective reflector design.

I have tried several different styles of bulbs, but the improvement was only marginal.
I have never checked the voltage though, as suggested here.
capacitor
Explorer
Jan 20, 2021
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077VNT7PN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_t1_YPfcGbV3P9S52?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

This says for 3500 classic. I replaced mine after multiple times of cleaning them. Finally got a new set and they work fine and was an easy installation.
Gdetrailer
Explorer III
Jan 20, 2021
BobsYourUncle wrote:
I really do want to get away from the factory housings. They are old and outdated, even if I replace them with new ones.
If I am going to replace the whole assembly I may as well put the money towards some better and more effective reflector design.

I have tried several different styles of bulbs, but the improvement was only marginal.
I have never checked the voltage though, as suggested here.

Higher wattage bulbs actually will make things worse with OEM wiring, higher wattage bulbs have lower resistance which will create a higher voltage drop across all of the OEM wiring harness.. End result is even lower voltage at the bulb which means less brightness.

Higher wattage bulbs also tend to have a very short life span and basically you will be replacing them more often.

Bulbs need to be at battery voltage as measured when vehicle is running or not running.. Anything less is just a waste of energy along the wiring and will benefit from a relay kit..

New stock housing may help slightly if the lens and reflector are in bad shape but I would check the voltage first to see where that is before tossing hundreds of dollars down the toilet..

Yes, LEDs would correct the voltage drop, but the side effects of LEDs retrofitted in halogen fixtures may result in less than stellar performance and not to mention blind oncoming traffic.