Headlight bulb upgrades

General topics relative to the Caprice and associated vehicles. For items not fitting into other sub-sections in addition to general chat.
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GTObert
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Re: Headlight bulb upgrades

Post by GTObert »

Everything is still working well. I haven't seen any moisture, but I am in MN and its not exactly humid this time of year.
2011 9C1
2005 GTO
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Re: Headlight bulb upgrades

Post by 9C1fanatic »

GTObert wrote:I agree that compared to the old B bodies the Caprice lights are a huge upgrade. However, I felt as if they were not even as good as my GTO lights. I decided to look into a HID upgrade and found a kit on amazon for the ridiculously low price of $45. I figured I would give them a shot and if they were junk I could just send them back. It turns out that these things are the real deal! I installed them on Sunday with only minimal effort to access the passenger side bulb and they were up and running in less than an hour. There was no wiring, everything is plug and play. The only irreversible modification is the 1" hole that needs to be drilled into the dust cap. While I can't say anything for the longevity yet, I am pleased with my new lights. I think it was money well spent when I see the extremely bright, pure white light my headlamps now produce. If you're interested the brand is Kensun and they can be found on amazon.
I have a GTO and I noticed this too. One difference right off the bat is the GTO uses an H9 highbeam bulb where as the Caprice uses an H7. Just looking at these two bulbs side by side it is obvious the H9 is the better choice for a highbeam. They use the same low beam lamp. GTO highbeams are the best I've ever seen on any production car. Very incredible.

I wish I knew why they used the inferior H7 in our cars instead of H9.
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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GTObert
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Re: Headlight bulb upgrades

Post by GTObert »

I agree. The GTO has incredible high beams, far better than the Caprice. After installing the HID bulbs I can hardly tell the difference when I go to high beam, it's not even worth doing really.
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2005 GTO
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klevrgrafix
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Re: Headlight bulb upgrades

Post by klevrgrafix »

GTObert wrote:I agree. The GTO has incredible high beams, far better than the Caprice. After installing the HID bulbs I can hardly tell the difference when I go to high beam, it's not even worth doing really.
What color temp did you end up going with for the HIDs, GTObert and do you have any pictures? I usually use 4500k-5000k and they still almost seem too blue-ish. I'm afraid to go cooler because I don't want them to be yellow.
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GTObert
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Re: Headlight bulb upgrades

Post by GTObert »

I went with the 6,000k and they are just a touch too much blue for my taste. I have a set of the 5,000k's on standby for when I have time to get them installed.
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CrashTestDummy
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Re: Headlight bulb upgrades

Post by CrashTestDummy »

storm9c1 wrote:Gosh, I guess none of you have driven the old B-Bodies. LOL. <SNIP>
You just need T-84's on those B-bodys. :mrgreen: It also helps to upgrade the wiring. It helps with the light quality on a lot of vehicles, so I wonder if at least part of the path to better lighting is upgrading the wiring powering them? Just something else to look at.
Gene Beaird,
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bsparks72
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Re: Headlight bulb upgrades

Post by bsparks72 »

I upgraded the low beams to H9 bulbs. H9 bulbs are 65w versus 55w of the H11 that is the stock low beam. You do have to modify the bulb slightly by removing a small tab inside the connector portion of the bulb. I used a Dremel with a little grinder bit. Took about a minute per bulb. http://s1364.photobucket.com/user/Semin ... 7.jpg.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's not a huge increase, but it is immediately noticeable. I used standard Sylvania H9 bulbs.
-Brandon
2012 9C1 L77 - 228/234, .604/.609 112 cam, JBA shorty headers, Solo high-flow cats, X-pipe, Cherry Bomb single-chamber mufflers (Frankenstein exhaust), Roto-Fab CAI, CTS-V torque converter, 3.45 Camaro diff, G8 red/black seats/steering wheel
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Re: Headlight bulb upgrades

Post by 9C1fanatic »

Very interesting. The little modification you made to make it work was that to make the electrical connector work or to get the bulb in the headlight housing itself? Also have you tried this on the highbeam because I think it would make a big difference if it works. Besides having the higher wattage the H9 bulb does not have the antiglare cover that the H7 does which does not make sense to me on a bulb that is meant only for highbeams.
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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bsparks72
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Re: Headlight bulb upgrades

Post by bsparks72 »

The mod is to the bulb itself, at the connector. Snip or grind the short tab from the inside, and you're done. The bulb is otherwise identical, and fits in the headlight housing just like an H11. I read up on other websites and forums about the same mod on other cars. The temperature difference and power draw difference is pretty negligible. After a few days of getting used to it, I can say that it is a worthwhile mod. And you don't need to buy the expensive bulbs like Silverstars (which aren't that good anyway). Just the regular old H9 is a good upgrade. I have not modded the high beams, as they're good on their own, and I've added some LED lights that come on with my high beams. http://newcaprice.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=705" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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-Brandon
2012 9C1 L77 - 228/234, .604/.609 112 cam, JBA shorty headers, Solo high-flow cats, X-pipe, Cherry Bomb single-chamber mufflers (Frankenstein exhaust), Roto-Fab CAI, CTS-V torque converter, 3.45 Camaro diff, G8 red/black seats/steering wheel
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Re: Headlight bulb upgrades

Post by 9C1fanatic »

Great info. Thanks.

The Caprice high beam is great but lacks compared to my GTO that uses H9 high beam which gave me the idea that they could be better. I believe the H7 highbeam bulb the Caprice uses is also 55W so the 65W H9 would be an upgrade...if it works. When I bring up pics on the internet the H7 bulb base looks completely different than the H11 or H9 bulbs. I have yet to pull them out of the car and get a closer look.
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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