Lighting options on 2000 Tahoe Limited

[2000TahoeLimited]

Ok, so I've been reading thru threads after a complete snafu that started with a brake light out on the Tahoe....long story, lead to the flasher being bad and the circut board that the bulbs on passenger side mount to being bad. Quite an adventure in the AutoZone parking lot.

Let's start here - how can I upgrade the lighting on the back end of the Tahoe - specifically the brake lights, the "night" lights and the reverse lights. After reading all that I can find on the forums, I'm more confused.

So brake lights - 3057. What's a better alternative than the seeminly generic Sylvanias I put in last night ?

I'm thanking y'all in advance !

 

[Kuryakin]

I believe the 3357 is the brightest off the shelf bulb that'll fit your sockets. They draw slightly more current, but should be no problem at all. Not sure what this thing uses for backup lights, but Daniel Stern (put in his props!) has a list of bulb types that I've found quite useful. See:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/lights/signal_bulbs/signal_bulbs.html

Ok, so I've been reading thru threads after a complete snafu that started with a brake light out on the Tahoe....long story, lead to the flasher being bad and the circut board that the bulbs on passenger side mount to being bad. Quite an adventure in the AutoZone parking lot.

Let's start here - how can I upgrade the lighting on the back end of the Tahoe - specifically the brake lights, the "night" lights and the reverse lights. After reading all that I can find on the forums, I'm more confused.

So brake lights - 3057. What's a better alternative than the seeminly generic Sylvanias I put in last night ?

I'm thanking y'all in advance !

 

[2000TahoeLimited]

Ok, so that's about 40 MCSD vs 32 MCSD? Is that I'm looking for here as far as lumens/power/output?

Sorry - I'm a newbie to lumens and outputs !

Thanks !

 

[Kuryakin]

These bulbs are proportionally that much brighter. MSCD is a measure of optical output. May I suggest doing a wikipedia search on the subject, as it is rather involved!

Ok, so that's about 40 MCSD vs 32 MCSD? Is that I'm looking for here as far as lumens/power/output?

Sorry - I'm a newbie to lumens and outputs !

Thanks !

 

[-Virgil-]

Ok, so that's about 40 MCSD vs 32 MCSD?

That's right--25% more intense in bright (brake) mode, 50% more intense in dim (tail) mode. You don't need to make the turn signal any brighter, it's already plenty intense. 3357 and 3457 are the same bulb except the 3457 has a base made out of a material with higher heat tolerance for long-term durability. Be aware that the 3357/3457 bulbs have a shorter lifespan than 3057 and 3157.

 

[2000TahoeLimited]

That's right--25% more intense in bright (brake) mode, 50% more intense in dim (tail) mode. You don't need to make the turn signal any brighter, it's already plenty intense. 3357 and 3457 are the same bulb except the 3457 has a base made out of a material with higher heat tolerance for long-term durability. Be aware that the 3357/3457 bulbs have a shorter lifespan than 3057 and 3157.

So it does sound worth it, esp. in the dim Tail mode.

I'm going to go ahead and replace the board on that side as well since there was some corrosion and i'll swap the bulbs out then and keep the 3057's as backup bulbs.

I can deal with shorter lifespan for more light - they are fairly easy to change...

Thanks everyone !

 

[2000TahoeLimited]

Ok, so now my foglights

Bumper mounted stock fogs - in bumper recess. Takes an H3 bulb, right now I think it's 35 watts..

Now, I have read here that some people call fogs useless....others not so much.

Would a 55 watt h3 be beneficial?

 

[Diesel_Bomber]

It's not ALL fogs that are useless, just poorly designed or poorly made ones. The useless fogs mentioned used a bulb that did not make enough light and does not have tight enough filament-placement specs to reliably produce a good beam pattern. In one bulb the filament may be in one spot, in the next bulb off the exact same manufacturing line the filament may be somewhere else, and still be within acceptable specifications for that bulb. Simply no way to design an effective light of any kind without accurate filament placement.

The H3 does indeed have accurate filament placement, but as for whether YOUR fogs are worth bothering with or not, we'll need more information. If they are factory then they are more likely to be garbage than useful.

 

[2000TahoeLimited]

It's not ALL fogs that are useless, just poorly designed or poorly made ones. The useless fogs mentioned used a bulb that did not make enough light and does not have tight enough filament-placement specs to reliably produce a good beam pattern. In one bulb the filament may be in one spot, in the next bulb off the exact same manufacturing line the filament may be somewhere else, and still be within acceptable specifications for that bulb. Simply no way to design an effective light of any kind without accurate filament placement.

The H3 does indeed have accurate filament placement, but as for whether YOUR fogs are worth bothering with or not, we'll need more information. If they are factory then they are more likely to be garbage than useful.

These are factory - you can see an image of a truck that is exactly the same as mine at http://www.cardomain.com/ride/514910. That is the factory location for the fogs...

 

[-Virgil-]

Ok, so now my foglights

Before we get there -- if you've got 3057s in the rear lamps and H3s in the fogs, then yours is an early-model 2000 Tahoe, which explains why you are trying to upgrade the rather pathetic, minimal/basic rear lighting system. The best upgrade would be to get a set of the export-spec rear lamp units used on the Holden Suburban in Australia (see pic here) and on the Chevrolet Silverado in Brazil (pic here, manufacturer's site here -- this manufacturer also makes correct-side-of-road European-code headlamps for this truck, which fit right in place of the replaceable-bulb US-model headlamps you presently have. The optics are still too small for the job they're asked to do, but the light distribution is better thought out.)

Bumper mounted stock fogs - in bumper recess. Takes an H3 bulb, right now I think it's 35 watts.

No, stock is H3 55w. But even good fog lamps, which are quite rare (and which you do not have on your Tahoe), are of very little legitimate use to most drivers and should be turned off most of the time. They are for use in fog/rain/snow to help the driver see the edges of the road close to the car so he can creep along through the bad weather at very low speeds. That is all good fog lamps are able to do, and most of the ones available as factory or optional equipment or in the aftermarket aren't even capable of doing that. Leaving the fog lamps on at all times does not really or meaningfully improve seeing or safety, though many people do so out of baseless belief that they can see better this way at normal road speeds in dry weather. See this page for more information, and this thread on here for data and explanation (starting at post #4).

If you're going to use your fog lamps, make sure they're aimed correctly and equip them with good quality bulbs. The Narva Rangepower+50 H3 is a good pick.