Stock housings + junk bulbs = why you can’t see too much at night. GM didn’t do us any favors by putting low powered bulbs in the stock GMT800 housings.
Bulbs that don’t suck, most guys overthink this.
Lumen output out of the factory halogen 9005/9006 combo is not great. You can expect anywhere from 1700-1900 lumens out of a 9005 (High beam) and 1000-1200 lumens out of a 9006 (Low beam).
Stay away from the $20 Amazon “10,000 lumens!!” trash.
They scatter light, blind everyone, and you still can’t see.
If it doesn’t have a small, halogen-sized LED chip, skip it. Big chips = blown-out beam.
#9006 for lows and #9005 for Highs.
Ones I’ve actually run that worked decent in stock housings:
- Hikari Ultra or Hikari 2023 “Vision” – good cutoff, not super blinding
- Fahren Termitor / Fahren regular – cheap, bright, not horrible glare if aimed right
- Sealight S6 – budget, better than halogen, don’t expect miracles
- Auxito - cool white, budget play
Fix the darn housings first, this is where people mess it up.
If your lenses are yellow and sandblasted, no LED is going to fix that.
You’ve got a few options that don’t suck, listed from cheapest to most expensive:
- Cerakote Headlight Restoration Kit - this is a great kit for restoring headlights.
- Used Marketplace replacements; in case you have broken mounts or aiming issues
- TYC / Depo stock-style replacements – clear, cheap, plug-and-play
- GM OEM if you feel like spending more (not “budget” but they fit right)
Don’t waste money on bulbs until you can actually see through the plastic!
Projector-style “eBay specials”
Looks good, drives like crap if you pick the wrong ones.
Some of the cheap “halo projector” housings are trash with LEDs.
Tiny projectors, weird beam, hot spots everywhere.
Ones that were at least usable:
- Spyder / Spec-D style projectors with a decent LED bulb – still not OEM projector quality, but better than running blind
Just know: these are mostly about looks. Output is “fine,” not amazing.
Best cheap-but-right setup
If you want something that actually works and doesn’t murder oncoming traffic:
- New TYC/Depo stock housings
- Hikari Ultra / Fahren / Sealight X2 LEDs
- Aim them properly against a wall, don’t just crank them up because “more light”
That combo is 10x better than stock and doesn’t get you flashed every 2 minutes.
Stuff that’s not worth it
- Super blue “xenon” halogens – gimmick, dim and ugly
- Fanless $15 LEDs – overheat, die, awful beam
- 14 different “Cree 120W” Amazon brands – same rebranded junk, bad optics
If you want perfect, do a real projector retrofit or look into swapping OEM Denali projectors in. If you just want to see deer at 60 mph without going broke, new clear housings + a decent LED bulb is the sweet spot.