Silverado headlight replacement bulbs

Hey guys, figured I’d ask here on IDO maybe you guys would be able to help me out. I have a 2000 Silverado 1500. The headlights bulbs are the regular stock ones and they are not good at all. Even on high beam they just aren’t giving me the light I need to be able to see good in the pitch black. I’ve debated going with LEDs but they are a lot of money, so I’m kind of leaning toward just higher output bulbs. I’d prefer cool white if possible over the warm white. The Sylvania bulbs look like decent ones for the price but like I’d said I’m not to experienced with this stuff so hopefully you guys can lend a helping hand. Appreciate any help you can give!

Are your lenses fogged up? If that’s a contributing issue, I’ve used the 3M headlight buffing kits with good luck.

I had the same truck and went with a brighter Sylvania bulb which worked for me but the one word of caution I’ll say is that I noticed those brighter bulbs don’t last as long. I think they generated more heat causing a shorter life span.

CougarMotor LED bulbs/drivers, you can find them on amazon. I’ve put them in 3 vehicles over the past 3 years and love them. Very budget friendly, solid customer service and warranty should you have an issue.

Appreciate all the responses so quick guys. To answer some of your questions, yes the lenses are clean and clear no fogging or dirt. It just seems the stock bulbs are dim and don’t put out the light I’d like to have. Last night driving home around 9pm in the heavy mist I could not see much of anything going down the highway. I talked to a couple places today and one place has had very good luck with terminator bulbs. LED, good warranty and worth the money ( says the sales person) but claims they’ve had customers come back with nothing bad to say about them. Those run about $80 per kit and I need two. One for high beam and one for low. So not terrible pricing.

Tornadochaser- thanks for the recommendation I will do some looking on those right now.

Not sure of your age and health, my opthamologist tells me that the majority of people get cataracts as they age. Not all need medical intervention but many do.
I have experienced diminished night vision and halos around lights at night. I’ve know about the cataracts for a few years, are taking care of them next month. Getting older can suck.

I’ve got HID replacement bulbs. They aren’t exactly the cheapest option, but they are very nice to drive behind. I used Headlight Revolution as some of their items have a lifetime warranty. They used to be located in Bemidji, not sure where they moved to for sure. You have the option of the standard 35 watt ballast or you can opt for the impressive 55 watt ballasts. Another option is LED bulbs. They generally are not as bright as the HID bulbs, especially the 55 watt ones. A much less expensive alternative is to just replace the stock headlights with an upgraded bulb like a Sylvania Silverstar.

FYI keep in mind if you go with HID bulbs that they are illegal in a standard light housing, they must be used in a projector style housing.

Just upgrade to the 3500k Philips H11 Vision Upgrade Headlight bulbs from the auto store $25 and see how that works for you.

I think I’ll end up going with the terminator LEDs should be able to have them in on Friday. Also I was debating just going with low beams but figured just spend the extra and do both high and low right away. I was going to put new capsules in right away as the old ones are ok but have seen better days. But for the cost of new OEM ones I’d rather just have them cleaned and see what happens. And also if anyone was wondering the tinted headlight pods that aren’t fully clear/white are illegal in MN.

Alwaysfishing, When you do the upgrade please do one side and take pics to compare color and output. Thanks in advance

Looks good.

Thanks! I thought it turned out alright to. Now to work on photo posting. Anyone know if it’s possible to delete photos once posted?

I can see your license plate in one picture.

Dusty Gesinger wrote:

I can see your license plate in one picture.

That’s exactly why I want to delete it. Don’t know why IDO doesn’t have a delete post or attachment feature like other forums do.

Truck is in very good shape for a 2000.Almost ready for collector plates.

milemark_714 wrote:

Truck is in very good shape for a 2000.Almost ready for collector plates.

It is! The pic with the old lights is was very dirty. With The new ones it was fresh out of the wash and cleaned up very well. It cleans up quite well for the age.

Looks good, but is it better at night? I put brighter bulbs in my old truck and it looked great, but I found at night it was not much better. I wound up putting new headlight housings in because the interior chrome reflectors that cast the light out was dulling. That made all the difference in the world. In fact I went back to stock bulbs because I was getting high beam flashes at me with my low beams on. Not saying you need to do this, but it might help if your problem is not solved.

Yes it is defiantly better at night, is it ideal and plenty of light now? No absolutely not. But that would evolve running a light bar and having highs and lows on at the same time for me to fell like I have a good amount of light. It is much better than it was that’s for sure. And it really does dress the truck up. I know exactly what you mean with getting the light to reflect outward and having the relative material in the inside of the housing. But last week when I was deciding what I wanted to do I found out there is a lot of strict laws when it comes to housings and bulbs. So I just decided to not get pulled over and just went with the stock style housings and so far I couldn’t be happier! Another thing is that is takes VERY little fogging or crystallizing of your lenses to reduce your visibility.

If you are having that much trouble with night vision you should probably get your eyes checked just to be sure.

I have 4 close friends and we all have the same truck/ same year or within a few years. We’ve all said the same thing. The stock headlights are worthless. Mine was probably the worst of the group as the headlight housings were kinda neglected as far as cleaning but it didn’t help the environment it came from there isn’t much a person can do. And my vision is as good if not better than most…..