Projector Headlights

I don’t know if they’re LED or HID. Anyone know anything about getting a better high beam? I’m even thinking of maybe putting something more piercing into the fog lamp housing and wiring it so it comes on as a high beam.


LED headlamps
  • Provide a bright, intense beam of light to illuminate the road ahead
  • Help improve down-the-road visibility in low-light conditions
  • Include LED D-optic bi-function projector technology

Get some proper Hella LED auxiliary high beams.
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Get some proper Hella LED auxiliary high beams.
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Know what? That’s probably the answer. I installed a receiver hitch on the car for my bike carrier. When we got back, I put the carrier back on my Suburban and popped the cover back on and you’d never know it was there. I’ll fab a small light bar that bolts on inside the grill and holds two Hella lamps. Put it on for trips, remove it when we’re home since my wife wouldn’t tolerate it for daily driving.
Probably easier than trying to mod the factory stuff any more than a bulb swap.
 
I repeatedly noticed most current LED headlights aren't the same brightness as most Bi-Xenon/HID lights provided before. Certainly simply cost cutting - what comes standard has to be cheap. With some flagship offerrings (most of them very costly options) being the exception (Audi A6/A7 Matrix LED, BMW 7 series laser, MB S etc.).
My Mini has Bi-Xenon, while my GTI headlights are LED, both are equal in sheer brightness. The GTI LED headlights are still superior due to being adaptive (permanent high beam/glare-free high beam assist). Not sure if that has been offered in the US for the Mk7.5 GTI. It isn't LED-specific though, it has been an option even before headlights went from Xenon to LED.
 
Our Lexus IS the same- decent lows but limited kick from the highs. In mine, the best solution would be to add a relay to the high circuit and drop a couple of unrestrained driving lights in the lower grill, aka “Eleanor.” Won’t lie, I think it’d look pretty good even sitting still.
 
IIHS has been testing headlights for several years now and it’s not at all difficult to find the information. Until consumers start actually using the shopping resources available to them, car companies are going to continue to pump out cars with garbage headlights.

Hopefully OP has learned their lesson and will continue tell others about their Chevy’s horrible headlights and encourage folks to use the IIHS site to inform their car buying decisions.
 
How about slowing down to a more reasonable speed?

This.

80mph at night, presumably tired, is plenty fast enough. At that speed, it takes about twice as far to stop as at 60mph (per Road and Track), and you have less time to react given the speed and overdriving your headlights.


If you think the answer is blinding spotlights for headlights, it's not. I've noticed a trend of oncoming lights so **** blinding that I, the oncoming car driver, cannot see; even when they are way over separated by a median on the expressway. What's with the BLINDINGLY bright lights??? If it hasn't occurred to people, blinding the oncoming car on a 2 lane road is not a smart idea.
 
I get it. 80 is fast. I’m no kid. I understand all of what I’m saying. I-95 at night is great for making time if you do it properly. There’s no oncoming traffic. I’ve ever seen an animal on the road (doesn’t mean they’re not there)…
I don’t mean I want blindingly bright lights. I know that isn’t the answer. I would just like a little more reach out of these lights. I’m the first person to shut down my brights when people are coming toward me or passing and they have to be in front of me for a while.
Side note…. Another place Chevy chose to save a few cents was the oil filter. I changed it the day before we left. It was a tiny little thing with a sticker on it that said Replace With PF63E. It was tiny compared to the 63E. Good thing I didn’t make the trip with that thing on there.
My wife is a rockstar when it comes to night driving. We don’t drive tired. If we can’t do it we stop.
Even if we’re not trying to make time, the car still has substandard high beams. It’s an LT so it’s nicely optioned. If it would have cost 800 dollars more to have better lights, so be it.
 
IIHS has been testing headlights for several years now and it’s not at all difficult to find the information. Until consumers start actually using the shopping resources available to them, car companies are going to continue to pump out cars with garbage headlights.

Hopefully OP has learned their lesson and will continue tell others about their Chevy’s horrible headlights and encourage folks to use the IIHS site to inform their car buying decisions.
The one issue with the IIHS test is they test them in “as delivered” condition, which can vary. A headlight that rates poor because of awful range on their test may simply be aimed far too low, while one rated poor for excessive glare may simply be pointed at the sky. I’m not saying it’s useless though, since a vast majority of people won’t ever even think about properly aiming their own headlights.
 
The one issue with the IIHS test is they test them in “as delivered” condition, which can vary. A headlight that rates poor because of awful range on their test may simply be aimed far too low, while one rated poor for excessive glare may simply be pointed at the sky. I’m not saying it’s useless though, since a vast majority of people won’t ever even think about properly aiming their own headlights.
If a manufacturer doesn’t ensure their headlights are properly aimed from factory, that’s their issue not IIHS’. As you stated above, a vast majority of people will never even think about aiming their headlights themselves, so I think the way that IIHS tests the vehicles “as delivered”, is an extremely relevant test that consumers should pay attention to.
 
Yesterday, just as it was getting dark, my lovely wife asked if I wanted to take a ride with her. I said sure and we went off in the Traverse. As it got dark, I paid attention to the cut off line at the top of the beams. They were certainly a little low. After we got home, I went back out and raised the beams slightly, using my neighbor’s car as a guide so not to aim them right in the back window.
I went for a spin and no one flashed me. The brights still don’t impress me but it’s better.
I Still want to put a set of Hellas on a bar but I have time for that.
 
Projectors are horrible, pointless, and just unattractive. Give me a proper halogen in a real housing any day over shining a dim flashlight through a fisheye.

You clearly haven't driven a vehicle with good projectors. HID projectors are fantastic when done properly. The ones on my BMW M5 were absolutely amazing.
 
You clearly haven't driven a vehicle with good projectors. HID projectors are fantastic when done properly. The ones on my BMW M5 were absolutely amazing.

The HIDs that came on the Evo were great compared to the halogen-equipped Evos. Well worth the $1200/used compared to $150-$300/halogens used. It seems that EDM/JDM cars have better HIDs compared to anything USDM. My roommate's M235i HIDs are miles better than any halogen I've ever seen as well - the Euros definitely have that right.
 
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This.

80mph at night, presumably tired, is plenty fast enough. At that speed, it takes about twice as far to stop as at 60mph (per Road and Track), and you have less time to react given the speed and overdriving your headlights.


If you think the answer is blinding spotlights for headlights, it's not. I've noticed a trend of oncoming lights so **** blinding that I, the oncoming car driver, cannot see; even when they are way over separated by a median on the expressway. What's with the BLINDINGLY bright lights??? If it hasn't occurred to people, blinding the oncoming car on a 2 lane road is not a smart idea.
Yes, way too many people are adding non DOT approved bulbs and !amps that are really meant for off road use. Alot of semi trucks are adding wide scattering light bars.
 
How about slowing down to a more reasonable speed?
Well he never stated the posted speed limit. Here in Texas we hve many areas where the speed limit is 75. So what in your opinion is a reasonable speed 65? 55? 45? 30? 75 is not unreasonable in a 70, neither is 80 in a 75. OTH 40 in a 75 is unreasonable. He asked about improving his headlights not the legality or what is a reasonable speed at night.
 
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I don't really have BMW money, so its true that I've never had a vehicle with "good" or HID projectors. I'm strictly speaking of the non HID projectors.
Often times, the reflectors in those scenarios also suck unfortunately. The earlier DS RAM trucks have absolutely awful halogen reflectors. The HID projectors, available on the higher trims were a massive improvement.

Our Durango had halogen projectors, my SRT's have the same style of projectors, but with HID's. The difference between the two is staggering.
 
Projectors are horrible, pointless, and just unattractive. Give me a proper halogen in a real housing any day over shining a dim flashlight through a fisheye.

Hmmmh......

1. Some of the better Halogen headlights also used projector lenses instead of reflectors.

2. If properly done both Xenon/HID and LED (preferably with projectors lenses) are by far superior in every way I can imagine.

H7: ~1500 lm
Xenon: ~ 3000 lm
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Well he never stated the posted speed limit. Here in Texas we hve many areas where the speed limit is 75. So what in your opinion is a reasonable speed 65? 55? 45? 30? 75 is not unreasonable in a 70, neither is 80 in a 75. OTH 40 in a 75 is unreasonable. He asked about improving his headlights not the legality or what is a reasonable speed at night.

That's the speed LIMIT, not the suggestion, nor the MINIMUM. Limit means "maximum." While it is common for people to drive 5 over, it's still illegal. And by definition, illegal is unreasonable, or in other words "negligence per se." Also, the laws everywhere demand that you drive according to weather, lighting, terrain, etc. When it's dark, it's smart to slow down due to less visibility, inherent difficulty seeing, and other notions. "Brighter lights" is not going to match ideal daylight conditions, nor is it the solution. The solution is to slow down a bit.

These concepts are all on your drivers ed test. If you disagree, try answering that it's okay to drive 5 over, and okay to overdrive your headlights at night, on your next test, and see how it plays out, explain to them that it's reasonable to speed just a little and overdrive the conditions.

On a 2 hour drive, following the law by slowing down by 10 mph from 80 to 70mph means you arrive ~17 minutes later. But you increase your reaction times and stopping abilities significantly, increase accident survivability by a large factor, all contributing to the difference between living and dying for everyone involved. Plenty of studies show that high speed is a major cause of an accident, and also an exponential factor in vehicle accident fatalities. This study shows that nearly all impacts over 60mph are fatal, and the fatality rate goes to 100% over about 70mph. https://www.littlerock.gov/media/2484/the-relation-between-speed-and-crashes.pdf

I'm not here to lecture people, but I have noticed that folks on the roads these days drive like they're getaway drivers on a bank heist.
 
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