Halogen Or LED Headlights

[A97obs]

If you want to get the most out of halogens, you're going to need more than the 4-Hi mod. You'll need to upgrade the entire wiring harness with relays and larger wiring. @5vortec7 makes a plug and play harness for this purpose.

https://www.gmt400.com/threads/hd-headlight-harnesses-w-4-high-mod.45669/

This is the route I would recommend going if you want the best possible street legal light output. LEDs don't need any wiring upgrades besides the 4-Hi mod but they're going to put light where it's not supposed to be when used in a reflector housing designed for halogens, and technically aren't street legal when used that way. (Although I doubt you'd ever be bothered about it if they were aimed reasonably well)

@98chevy2500SS is on point with his bulb advice. If you do go with LEDs I'd stick to two sided fanless units like the Auxbeam S1s he mentioned. To take the halogen setup one step further you can replace the high beam 9005 bulbs with Philips 9011 HIR bulbs. It just takes a little trimming on the mounting tabs as shown below. I would not do this with the low beam bulbs if you're running clear non-diffused headlight lenses with no glare caps, due to the fact that the factory 9006 bulbs have a painted tip to eliminate glare and the 9012 HIRs do not.

You must be registered for see images attach

What’s gained with the HIR 9011 High beam swap bulb? Does this bulb come standard in a completely diff vehicle or still a Chevy pickup Bulb ? lumen output better ?

 

[A97obs]

If you want to get the most out of halogens, you're going to need more than the 4-Hi mod. You'll need to upgrade the entire wiring harness with relays and larger wiring. @5vortec7 makes a plug and play harness for this purpose.

https://www.gmt400.com/threads/hd-headlight-harnesses-w-4-high-mod.45669/

This is the route I would recommend going if you want the best possible street legal light output. LEDs don't need any wiring upgrades besides the 4-Hi mod but they're going to put light where it's not supposed to be when used in a reflector housing designed for halogens, and technically aren't street legal when used that way. (Although I doubt you'd ever be bothered about it if they were aimed reasonably well)

@98chevy2500SS is on point with his bulb advice. If you do go with LEDs I'd stick to two sided fanless units like the Auxbeam S1s he mentioned. To take the halogen setup one step further you can replace the high beam 9005 bulbs with Philips 9011 HIR bulbs. It just takes a little trimming on the mounting tabs as shown below. I would not do this with the low beam bulbs if you're running clear non-diffused headlight lenses with no glare caps, due to the fact that the factory 9006 bulbs have a painted tip to eliminate glare and the 9012 HIRs do not.

You must be registered for see images attach

Grabbing some new halogens locally today … How do i tell if i Have
((glare caps)) on my lenses
I may wanna do this 9012 low beam bulb , I rarely need or use high beams seemingly as far as switching to stand alone highs … I dont know if I will bother with the 9011 swap . Since i am doing the 4HI at some point ((Maybe))

 

[fancyTBI]

What’s gained with the HIR 9011 High beam swap bulb? Does this bulb come standard in a completely diff vehicle or still a Chevy pickup Bulb ? lumen output better ?

It’s brighter.

Grabbing some new halogens locally today … How do i tell if i Have
((glare caps)) on my lenses
I may wanna do this 9012 low beam bulb , I rarely need or use high beams seemingly as far as switching to stand alone highs … I dont know if I will bother with the 9011 swap . Since i am doing the 4HI at some point ((Maybe))

You have a cap over the low beam or you don’t.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[A97obs]

Yea no glare cap on this set i installed.
So what becomes of the situation then if you do use a “9011” on a lenses without.. is it just not recommended or does it cause issues

 

[fancyTBI]

Yea no glare cap on this set i installed.
So what becomes of the situation then if you do use a “9011” on a lenses without.. is it just not recommended or does it cause issues

Don’t use it without a glare cap, it will be a bad time for other drivers. Its there for a reason yo

 

[df2x4]

I may lean away from leds and stay halogen , as I take it that’s the recommended idea , but I wanted to make sure I know the variables if I am Not using a stock type diffused lense .

It is, and there's really not much difference between the stock diffused lenses and aftermarket clear lenses. They're both still on reflector housings designed for halogens, which won't do well directing light from an LED. Sticking to halogens and upgrading the harness is the best idea.

but I also read about you can leave in a silica gel absorbing packet in the housings .. sounds a bit extra ? Any input on that

All of these headlights should have drain holes somewhere in the bottoms of the housings anyway, they're not supposed to be entirely sealed. Silica packet is entirely unnecessary.

I was always under the assumption the aftermarket lenses might not do well with the halogen heat output ?
(Thin lense) ( Shotty material ) maybe?
Im sure ((oem)) diffused lenses are made tougher in a sense ?

I've never had issues with halogens in the Anzo housings on my '97s. I don't doubt that the OEM housings are stronger, but these are all made with halogens in mind. Even the aftermarket cheapies.

What should I run for a good 9005/9006 that I can get local for this type of Lense. I’m also doing the 4-Hi mod later this month

If you want the best/brightest, Philips NightGuide Platinum. They're not available locally most of the time though, at least in my area. If you want something you can pick up at most WalMart or O'Reillys locations, Sylvania XtraVision are a good option. Stay away from bulbs with excessive blue (or other colored) coating on the glass, like Sylvania SilverStars. Some people prefer the look, but those coatings actually reduce output.

What’s gained with the HIR 9011 High beam swap bulb? Does this bulb come standard in a completely diff vehicle or still a Chevy pickup Bulb ? lumen output better ?

Different vehicles entirely, I believe the HIRs were standard on Dodge Vipers and some other high end cars. They have a different coating on the glass and as a result are brighter than standard 9005/9006 halogens, but use the same amount of power.

Grabbing some new halogens locally today … How do i tell if i Have
((glare caps)) on my lenses

@fancyTBI posted a good picture, the low beam glare caps are visible there.

So what becomes of the situation then if you do use a “9011” on a lenses without.. is it just not recommended or does it cause issues

The 9012 HIR low beam bulb doesn't have a painted tip like the stock 9006 does, and will cause glare/hot spots if you use them in housings without the glare caps over the low beam bulb. If your housings don't have glare caps, stick to standard 9006 halogen low beams with the painted tip.