Chevrolet Silverado 1999-2006: Headlight Bulb Reviews

This article applies to the Chevrolet Silverado (1999-2006).

New headlights can definitely upgrade the look of your truck as well as help you see anything coming at night. Even if you're only replacing the bulbs, brighter lights still look better than dim, mis-matched colored ones that have worn out over time. This article provides a helpful review of four halogen replacement bulbs that can be direct replacements for your Silverado but that you might want to think twice about before installing.

Headlight Bulbs

Best Quality: Sylvania Silverstar Ultra Bulbs

Best Value: Sylvania Silverstar Ultra Bulbs

Spyder Halo Projector Headlights

Price – $140

Quality – 2/5

Claimed Output – N/A

Lifespan – N/A

Warranty – 1-Year Limited

The Spyder Halo Projection headlights are bit different than everything else being reviewed on this list since these are also replacement housings, not just bulbs. With that said, these headlights aren't highly recommended for a couple different reasons. The first reason is the low beam bulb type is H1, which is intended only to be used as a fog light, not a driving light. The second reason is they're poor quality; it's a 50/50 chance they'll fit correctly and that they won't retain water. The idea behind a projector headlight isn't bad, though, and these can be made better with HID retrofit updates to improve the output; however, that'll run you an additional couple hundred to do the upgrade at which point you could have done your own retrofit with higher quality parts. Not recommended due to poor quality and application.

Phillips Crystal Vision Ultra Bulbs

Price – $30

Quality – 4/5

Claimed Output – 1050 lumens

Lifespan – 150 hours

Warranty – N/A

The color of the light output from the Phillips Crystal Vision Ultra Bulbs is about the truest white you'll get on this list. However, the drawback to these is their very short lifespan. This is due to the bulb being completely covered in blue film which means the bulb has to burn hotter to produce the same output as one without film. Even though they aren't too expensive, the short lifespan makes it so that they need frequent replacement. Recommended if you truly want a white light and don't mind replacing them a lot more often that OEM bulbs.

Sylvania Silverstar Ultra Bulbs

Price – $34

Quality – 5/5

Claimed Output – 1000 lumens

Lifespan – 250 hours

Warranty – N/A

If you're reading this list and looking for the best performance, you've found it in the Sylvania Silverstar Ultra Bulbs. These are a bit more expensive than the runner up's, but will provide you with the same light output and almost twice the lifespan. To give these more of an HID look, Slyvania has partially covered the bulb with a blue film. This helps to make the color almost a pure white but still with a hint of yellow. The most usable light output color is right around the yellow to white transition, which is where these lights fall on the spectrum. Recommended if you want exceptional headlight bulbs that are affordable and can last.

Putco Pure Halogen Nitro Blue Bulbs

Price – $27

Quality – 3/5

Claimed Output – N/A

Lifespan – 100 hours

Warranty – 1-Year Limited

These lights fall close into the same category of quality of the Spyder headlights, but since they're a direct fit and will work out of the box they ranked a little higher. Because of the thick blue film on these to give the light a blue tint, both light output and lifespan is poor. Only recommended if you do minimal night driving in dark areas such as back roads because seeing oncoming deer or anything else is going to be a challenge.

Related Discussions and Sites

• Silverado HID Install - Chevroletforum.com
• Just Installed Halos 2002 Silverado - Chevroletforum.com
• HID Conversion - Chevroletforum.com
• Spyder Halo Projector Lights - Chevroletforum.com
• Chevrolet Bulb Guide - Lightbulbs4cars.com
• Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Headlight Bulb - Autopartswarehouse.com