Satisfying Upgrades To Headlights

[RobbS]

Hello,
Wanted to express how satisfying it can be to replace/upgrade the headlights with new OEM or aftermarket units can be.
I know modern units can be very expensive. An older car like mine was $120.00. installed myself, it is a low budget, big appearance upgrade.
Pics included.

 

[researcher]

Hello,
Wanted to express how satisfying it can be to replace/upgrade the headlights with new OEM or aftermarket units can be.
I know modern units can be very expensive. An older car like mine was $120.00. installed myself, it is a low budget, big appearance upgrade.
Pics included.View attachment 311887View attachment 311888

I know, it's a huge difference for the appearance of the entire car! I've replaced old hazy, cataract like headlights with new, clear ones. Makes an older car look showroom new! it's the little things that really makes ya happy!! congrats!

 

[michaelluscher]

They look great
Consider the 9012 mod for a cost effective increase in brightness

 

[RobbS]

Upgraded lamps with VLED lamps

 

[The_Jeff]

What brand are those? CAPA certified?

I got some eBay aftermarket headlights for an 09 Camry that were terrible and couldn't be pointed right. I dinked around, disassembled them, shimmed etc and finally got them passable. Got mad after six months and bought another set, albeit CAPA certified, that worked.

 

[dfarr67]

I had my Honda's prepped and clear coated in situ by a local bodyshop.

 

[dfarr67]

What brand are those? CAPA certified?

I got some eBay aftermarket headlights for an 09 Camry that were terrible and couldn't be pointed right. I dinked around, disassembled them, shimmed etc and finally got them passable. Got mad after six months and bought another set, albeit CAPA certified, that worked.

As bad as oem can be- some parts are far worse in the aftermarket.

 

[fantastic]

Good upgrade this time of year. I need to replace mine but they are much more expensive than that so I'll squeeze out a few more months.

 

[Arc]

I had my Honda's prepped and clear coated in situ by a local bodyshop.

Sanded and clear coated make all the plastic ones look like new. I have to do it once ever few,years but it works.

 

[Arc]

Hello,
Wanted to express how satisfying it can be to replace/upgrade the headlights with new OEM or aftermarket units can be.
I know modern units can be very expensive. An older car like mine was $120.00. installed myself, it is a low budget, big appearance upgrade.
Pics included.View attachment 311887View attachment 311888

You can buy Led halo rings to go inside them too. Headlights are easy take apart with a little heat. Looks good

 

[Bob5150]

I have always bought somewhat older used vehicles (10+ years), and the past few, I have changed out the headlights- it really does make a big difference in how the car looks, even if the old housings were still projecting light fine.

I basically have it as part of the "new car maintenance list" along with spark plugs, filter, etc.

 

[SOUNDMAN5000]

I was happy with the results from this eBay $10 headlight restore kit. All done by hand, took me about an hour to do both headlights, no drill or tools needed. Best $10 I ever spent...

 

[researcher]

As bad as oem can be- some parts are far worse in the aftermarket.

and oem's that are terrible, like my 96 Civic, candles for light would've been better! The aftermarket (CAPA/NSF Certified TYC brand) headlights were a huge improvement over stock Honda headlight assemblies! I could finally see down the road, instead of a general, vague lighting. There was a "hot spot" on the driver's side light beam, but who cares?! IT was finally lit down the road.

So the argument can go both ways..

 

[SOUNDMAN5000]

and oem's that are terrible, like my 96 Civic, candles for light would've been better! The aftermarket (CAPA/NSF Certified TYC brand) headlights were a huge improvement over stock Honda headlight assemblies! I could finally see down the road, instead of a general, vague lighting. There was a "hot spot" on the driver's side light beam, but who cares?! IT was finally lit down the road.

So the argument can go both ways..

I purchased a brand new 2014 Subaru WRX with Halogen Projector headlights. I purchased the car 2 hours from home and my GPS had me on some back roads at night in light rain returning home. I panicked, seriously lost it as I could NOT see the road, the white lines on the edge of the road was NOT lit ! I could not see!

I found a hack on the net that I purchased a 6" wiring adapter with heat resistant ceramic plugs on each end that allowed me to use a higher wattage bulb than the OEM headlight allowed, Fixed the issue but shame on Subaru for making a NEW car with unsafe headlights!

And it was not the fact it was Halogen as I owned a new 1995 Volvo 850 that came stock with Halogen HELLA headlights that I could see the road lit like a ball field on a Friday night! No excuse for my new WRX in 2014 headlight be totally unusable!

 

[repairman54]

My '89 S10 Blazer had the square sealed beam headlights. The lows were only 35w from the factory, said so on the bulbs, 35/55w. Talk about dim. Euro style housing with replaceable bulbs fixed that issue.

 

[RobbS]

Night time fixture pictures

 

[fantastic]

Nice illumination.

 

[RobbS]

Subtle Changes To The Interior Looks Different:

 

[nthach]

I installed a set of TYCs on the beater Sienna. They look better but the light pattern is meh, and they had weird cut-off lines with 9012s installed. Went back to Sylvania XtraVisions to fix the cut-off issue.

 

[iCurious]

They look great. The issue I have with aftermarket headlights are the seals. Overtime they dont seal well and you will have moisture problem.