LED headlight bulbs 96 Buick RM Wagon
 

Old headlights are terribly faded on my '96 Roadmaster wagon, which takes the same housings as the Impala SS and Caprice sedans and wagons. There are newer Euro design housings available.

https://www.carid.com/1996-chevy-imp...532604548.html

So I'm shopping LED bulbs and found a couple that have different specs, 4000 vs 6000 lumens, 25 or 30 or 53 watts etc. Cautions on these sites include "not legal on US highways" and "check that these will fit your housings as they are larger than 9004 bulbs".

https://www.raneystruckparts.com/900...ent=Big%20Rigs

https://www.carid.com/1996-chevy-imp...099951633.html

Anybody have any experience with such things who can provide some advice?

Diode dynamics is a good company to work with. They are in the St. Louis area and have good customer service. I have their products in my 2018 Colorado.

When I researched LEDs for our '12 Civic, I read this and bought Beamtech LEDs. Installation was pretty easy and the price seemed pretty reasonable at the time.

https://www.bulbfacts.com/led-kits/r...it-review.html

Replacing the lenses makes a LOT of sense to me. I've tried cleaning lenses but never had any real success, problem for the Civic and especially my '04 GP lenses is primarily on the INSIDE. Abrasive cleaning/polishing of the exterior proved a waste of time for me.

I only replaced the low beams. My wife and I both immediately noticed better night time visibility. They replaced OE bulbs that likely were not as bright as when new so it is unclear whether the improved visibility was any better than if I had replaced the bulbs with new OE equivalent halogens.

The GP lenses are so bad that new bulbs won't help. I have a set of new lenses for the GP I bought several years ago but drive the car so infrequently these days, they remain unopened in the boxes. Always figured I'd install them during a refresh that is unlikely to ever happen. But I'll put new bulbs in if and when the new lenses get installed and wouldn't hesitate to buy Beamtechs again.

I replaced the low beams on both my '97 and '99 Bonnevilles with Sylvania Silverstars. Big difference. I wouldn't worry about them being "illegal"- have you seen these new cars with the "Nuclear Winter" headlights?!

As to the housings, there's a guy named Chrisfix on YT who has a video on how to refurbish old housings with dulled lenses. Did that to my 2012 Fusion and it's lasted years.

I have these headlight housings on my '94 RMW and I like them. As most aftermarket stuff, they don't fit exactly. The main headlight pod is a little smaller and doesn't quite fit the opening. The side marker/cornering lamp housing fits perfect and I like the fact that it is a separate piece as original. I am using the Silverstar 9007 and between them and the clear lens lighting is brightener. Overall I am happy with them and it's been two years now since installing them.

I would be interested in a brighter LED. So if you go that route please let me know what you think of them.