What Is your Favorite aftermarket headlight?

I was thinking about getting the Spyder Halo's but i heard they rattle when youre going off road.

 

zero, nada

they have sub par optics, fade, leak, yellow, and peel

 

Nice, Did you just smoke yours out yourself?

 

I used Spec-D OEM style head lights for a good while, and they had very good light output. I now have Spyder halogen projectors and they're decent. Once I save up some cash, I'll retro the projectors and put in some HID bulbs

Neither set has ever leaked or fogged up. As far as yellowing is concerned, even OEM lenses will do that.

 

I personally don't care for any of the aftermarket lights, but I am a sucker for some retrofits

 

I have Depo brand blacked out lights and have been very happy with them. light output and pattern is nearly as good as OEM, lens is clear no fading like my OEM lights did, no leaks or fogging.

 

I'm glad someone brought this subject up. My lenses are starting to fade and I've been wanting to get some aftermarket blacked out replacements. How long have you had those Depo lights?

 

I got one aftermarket housing it leaks worse than the passenger light which is oem and broken cause a tree hit it. not at all happy with my aftermarket light. Might try another set and seal them up with silicone but that won't happen till I get a bumper with light hoops

 

A couple years and they look new. Got them on Amazon for about $120

 

absolutely true

NO ONE makes aftermarket headlights that meet FMVSS photometric requirements.
the cost of making a legal set of headlights is far beyond the budget of any of
these aftermarket makers.

all aftermarket wannabe sets have one or more critical flaws...and all they do for you
is tell everyone around you who happens to drive at night and see you coming is:
oh wow that person has some f**ked up lights

 

I prefer OEM and performing BLHM, I think looks best. DEPO is a good aftermarket brand, lots of Euro spec modders use them.

 

If you're gonna look to get new headlights, look into Rechelon Aesthetics. I follow them on Instagram and they do some amazing work. Sometimes it is too gaudy for my taste, but they're all complete custom.

 

I know the thread title says aftermarket... but these are my favorite: OEM Headlights with "aftermarket" retrofit components!

 

Thanks for all your replies. I talked to a guy here where I live that buys OEM lights and builds them how you want. I really like the Retrofit projector lights.

 

Retrofit is the best way to go if you wanna spend the cash

 

Do you have any data supporting this? I've looked through the requirements and they have to do with little more than spacing and measurement of the light beam (which would be dependent of the bulb being measured).

 

I don't need data, it is self evident once you understand what testing is involved. a TON of money needed and a ton
of research and testing and prototypes...with no return on investment unless you are an automaker.


you should go read everything on the automotive lighting section at candlepowerforums.com when it comes to aftermarket
headlights. especially the same arguments you are bringing up. the moderators of that forum -are- educated automotive lighting experts and have a take-no-prisoners approach at outlining the law and requirements to anyone who asks.


basic FACT is you need about a million dollar facility to do photometric measurements for federal requirements.
I guarantee only OEM headlight makers have those types of resources. aftermarket are typically only going in for the cost
of injection molding (which isn't cheap), not the cost of testing the photometrics for each and every model of vehicle they make lights for

for craps sake, philips (they have money) took >5 years and >5 million dollars to design just one LED bulb replacement that meets fed regs, and it only goes into a very short list of specific OEM assemblies. In any other non-listed assembly, the photometrics are off, therefore, not legal.

do what you want but unless the light is OEM and made for your specific year it won't meet photometrics. You've seen the difference photometric testing produces...we've all seen thousands of oncoming cars at night and all the lights look good for hundreds of cars, (OEM lights) and have no glare or defects, and then you can pick out an oddball one and know it is messed up aftermarket. it is not trivial to produce a legal light assembly, it is some of the highest engineering in a vehicle today (has to be aerodynamic, has to be glare free, visible from certain angles, can't catch fire...shatter-resistant, certain optical quality of the lens...cutoff...light spillover is controlled....and more and more requirements)

every last photon and glare in OEM is calculated by expensive equipment. aftermarket typically just copies stuff (which never has the same qualities as the original)

 

FYI

SAE has a full day class you can attend, just so you can interpret the regulations.

http://training.sae.org/seminars/c0618/

$725 bucks, just to learn the regs.

not even getting into lab work.

told you... it is highly complex science, not dime-store lighting

 

/thread

 

I live in a hilly area and I always get blinded by OEM projector headlights at night. You can spend millions of dollars, but they aren't going to be perfect for every scenario. If you do a proper retrofit, you'll be fine.