The other replies you're getting here are right; the aero headlamps are hopeless junk. No bulb swap will fix them; they're cheap and nasty and produce sloppy, unfocused beam patterns with a bunch of glare. Also they lack a bulb shield, so that HIR2 swap you did is creating a ton of backscatter in bad weather and glare all the time, no matter how you've got them aimed). All of the same size/shape aftermarket replacements, whether they look just like the originals or are differently styled (halo rings, projectors, clear-lens/faceted-reflector, etc.) are even worse junk than the originals. There is a European-code version of this headlamp that's not too bad, but also not too good. It's made by Arteb of Brazil and is very difficult to get in North America. The only reason I know of its existence is that Dan Stern had a pair (or maybe just one side, don't remember -- also had the cool E-code 3-color taillights for the '87-'97 Chevy truck) in his collection when I toured it some years ago.
The swap in question may sound like a lot of work, but it really is your only way to get decent headlighting on a truck of that make and model, and it isn't too difficult. You'll wind up with a setup that looks like
this. The grill is available with either a GMC logo or with the Chevrolet bowtie. It is available unpainted (grey plastic), painted body color, chromed, etc. There are different versions of it so you can probably find one that looks OK to you.
I like
this online wrecking yard inventory search tool. You can narrow the search down by area or state, results are based on reliable Hollander interchange information, and in general it's quite a good tool. I would search on 1997 Chevrolet Suburban 1500, then grill, then on the next screen pick the "Sealed beam" option. Search results are sorted by price from high to low. Take your time, browse through the results and find something nice. The ones listed as "New" will be aftermarket items of poorer quality than original equipment. Try to find something listed as complete with lights so you'll get the turn signals and such. Note you will also need the left and right headlight "buckets" (brackets with aim adjustor screws) so try for something that hasn't been steeping in salt for fifteen years, go for parts from a state with a nice climate.
This swap puts standard-size headlamps on the truck, so you have a lot of options in what to run. Selection is pretty easy. If you need to keep it cheap, the only ones to get are the
GE Night Hawk sealed beams. If you want replaceable-bulb halogen, get
Cibiés. If you have a fat wallet and want ultra-premium, your two options are the StarrHID Xenon items made by Giant-Lite of Taiwan, or the
JW Speaker Model 8900 full-LED lamps, which I prefer (roughly equal performance, better materials and build quality, made in America, less dippy appearance -- that last one's an opinion, the rest are facts).
You will have to make some wiring modifications whatever headlight units you use. If absolutely nothing else you'll need to adapt the existing 2-bulbs-per-side headlight sockets to a single 3-prong standard H4/sealed-beam connector. If you stick with halogen, put in
relays. If you install relays or run the HID or LED options you'll need to disable the truck's daytime running light circuit (if you want or need DRLs, put in a
turn signal DRL module).
![Pampers Sensitive Baby Wipes, Clinically Proven, Fragrance Free, Unscented, Water Based, Hypoallergenic, Multi-Use, Hand Wipes 336 Wipes Total (6X Flip-Top Packs) [Packaging May Vary]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41KLBHu9CAL._SL500_.jpg)
