Highbeam bulbs H7 vs H9

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9C1fanatic
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Highbeam bulbs H7 vs H9

Post by 9C1fanatic »

Although the stock headlights on the Caprice are incredible especially when compared to the 91-96 models I could not help but notice that the highbeam bulbs have a the little black "cap" on the top like the old 9005 bulbs low beam bulbs did to reduce glare I guess. I noticed on my GTO the highbeam bulbs do not have the little "cap" on the bulb. Now the older GTO does has better highbeams, not a huge difference but noticeable. I realize that the capsule is different but the bulb without the "cap" seems like it would project better at distance and I have never seen one used on a dedicated high beam bulb on a car with 4 lamps rather than 2.

I looked in the owners manual for both cars. The low beam shows H11 on both cars I believe, but the 2006 GTO shows H9 for highbeam whereas H7 for the highbeam in the Caprice. I'm not familiar with the these part numbers like I am on the 9004 9005 9006 9007 bulbs. Does anyone know the difference and if H9 bulbs could be used in the Caprice without modification? The GTO for those who don't already know has the projector low beam and conventional highbeam set up like the Caprice.

Thanks.
Garner Ames



1975 Pontiac Grand Am L77 - 14.82 @ 92.89
1991 Chevrolet C1500 L31 Vortec/5 Speed
2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LM7
2014 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 L77 - 13.60 @ 105.87
2019 Chevrolet Express 3500 L96
Navy Lifer
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Re: Highbeam bulbs H7 vs H9

Post by Navy Lifer »

looks to me that the H7 & H9 are not compatible as far as configuration--different mount and different wiring connections
9C1fanatic
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Re: Highbeam bulbs H7 vs H9

Post by 9C1fanatic »

That too bad. Thanks for the info.
Garner Ames



1975 Pontiac Grand Am L77 - 14.82 @ 92.89
1991 Chevrolet C1500 L31 Vortec/5 Speed
2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LM7
2014 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 L77 - 13.60 @ 105.87
2019 Chevrolet Express 3500 L96
9C1fanatic
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Re: Highbeam bulbs H7 vs H9

Post by 9C1fanatic »

Recently I ran across a Pontiac G8 owners manual. Interestingly enough, the G8 which seems to have many similarities to our cars uses an H9 highbeam bulb like the GTO. I would not be at all surprised if a G8 headlamp harness could be plugged into a Caprice but I'm told the headlight capsule is completely different to accept the H9 bulb rather than the dimmer H7 bulb the Caprice uses.

Can any of our members from Australia advise what bulb the highbeam is on the Holden Caprice. I see on the Caprice V the headlamp capsule looks similar but still different than the US version not to mention Bi-Xeon low beams.

I live in the country and would really like to have highbeams that are as good or better than the GTO.

Really a head scratcher they went with a different (inferior) set up than the G8 for highbeam lights.

Thanks.
Garner Ames



1975 Pontiac Grand Am L77 - 14.82 @ 92.89
1991 Chevrolet C1500 L31 Vortec/5 Speed
2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LM7
2014 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 L77 - 13.60 @ 105.87
2019 Chevrolet Express 3500 L96
CrashTestDummy
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Re: Highbeam bulbs H7 vs H9

Post by CrashTestDummy »

Hmm, I have a friend with a G8. I keep joking with my wife that we should go over and compare wheelbases, er, notes. I might have to go over there to see how the headlights are plugged in.
Gene Beaird,
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xcidmigs
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Re: Highbeam bulbs H7 vs H9

Post by xcidmigs »

Just installed standard incandescent H9 bulbs into the low beam socket instead of the h11 which is comes with. Its a well documented swap and uses the same exact connector, the bulb end is not shielded with paint and its a 65W instead of 55W. Slightly more "white" light if you really look at night time but nothing so drastic as to not match the stock H7 high beam bulb. The pics I took look weird with all the glare I'll try again tonight. The bulbs are like $10 each anywhere you care to look online etc.
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elc32955
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Re: Highbeam bulbs H7 vs H9

Post by elc32955 »

Matti on the Carmodder forum from down under might be able to tell you if someone has an account still active there, or there might be a thread on his system. It's been a while since I've been on there. He was a member here but I haven't seen him in like forever!

Since I've got 4+ years on my car being a 2011 my bulbs will probably start going soon. I'd love to do the DRL disable but I've gotten used to manually kicking them "off" during the daytime as soon as I start up.

ALSO... Is anyone noticing on their headlights that the exterior lens plastic over the low beams starting to feel "chunky" or grainy when it's touched, not smooth? I'm wondering if I'm starting to see a heat breakdown issue happening....
System Manager and your tour guide for the day. 2015 Caprice w/LFX, former NC DPS staff car. Partial hybrid G8/SS/Camaro SS interior mods, SS MyLink radio upgrade, 2016 Camaro V6 rims, GMPP Malibu chrome exhaust tips, otherwise bone stock for now.
9C1fanatic
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Re: Highbeam bulbs H7 vs H9

Post by 9C1fanatic »

I'll probably do the low beam upgrade to the H9 bulbs if there are not long term affects from the extra load on the wiring. Hopefully the wiring is better than it was on the B Body cars. But I was really hoping to use H9 bulbs in the highbeams like the GTO and G8 or something similar that is at least 65W and does not have the bulb cap. I think the lowbeams on the car are great as it is and the highbeams are pretty good to but not compared to other Holden based vehicles that use the H9 in the highbeam.

Eric, as far as the area above the lowbeams, if you are talking about the degrading of the parking lamp reflector in the area directly above the low beam headlights, I have seen that also on vehicles in our fleet....but oddly enough only on the few Caprices that DO NOT have the DRL/AUTO HEADLAMP delete option. The majority of the cars do have the DRL/AUTO delete option and those lights are not having the issue. I guess the headlamps being on for 12 hours straight day after day is the culprit. With a POV, I can see how it would take more years before the issue is seen.

We now order all of the cars with this option to make transitioning to this car from a Vic easier and I made sure to get it on my personal Caprice also mainly to save wear and tear on the lights. Also in my observation, Auto headlamps in general contribute to the dumbing down of drivers of all ages more than any other common device in modern cars.
Garner Ames



1975 Pontiac Grand Am L77 - 14.82 @ 92.89
1991 Chevrolet C1500 L31 Vortec/5 Speed
2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LM7
2014 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 L77 - 13.60 @ 105.87
2019 Chevrolet Express 3500 L96
9C1fanatic
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Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2014 8:58 pm
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Re: Highbeam bulbs H7 vs H9

Post by 9C1fanatic »

Also this may be old news to some but I finally found out why the headlamps on the Holden Caprice looks different than the PPV version. Other than the Bi Xenon lamps I talked about earlier, they are also self leveling and come equipped with a washer systems that comes out of the front face and sprays the lamp lens then goes back in sitting flush with the lens. I found this photo on a 2007 Holden Caprice article.
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Garner Ames



1975 Pontiac Grand Am L77 - 14.82 @ 92.89
1991 Chevrolet C1500 L31 Vortec/5 Speed
2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LM7
2014 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 L77 - 13.60 @ 105.87
2019 Chevrolet Express 3500 L96
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