Aftermarket headlight recommendations

I'm tired of F'n with my factory headlights. I can't get them good enough (probably a personal OCD problem), and today I tried to Spray Max 2k them and made them worse. I'm ready to buy some replacement housings and be done with it. Can anyone recommend some quality headlight kits, aside from the expensive OEM ones? What about projectors, are they worth transitioning to? Thanks.

 

Did you wet sand and compound them? Mine were terrible but cleaned up great.

 

Before clear coating them, yes. But not since I sprayed them. I probably need to sand the clear coat all the way off and start completely over, but at this point I'm tired of messing with them.

 

There is another thread that the OP had the same issue you are. No matter what he did, the lights were still cloudy. He realized that polishing was the step he was missing.

 

That kind of sounds like the thread I started before. lol I was concerned about the longevity of my lenses since I had sanded them down and didn't apply any kind of clear coat for lasting protection. I suppose I could've polished them once a month or so, but I wanted something a bit more long term.

 

amautoparts has factory looking headlights for reasonable price with 10yr guarantee.

 

Anything other than OEM will be a substantial downgrade in output. Definitely stay away from any off the shelf projector versions as those are the worst. You could always look to pick some decent used OEM units off the market place section.

 

Thanks! I just checked out their website, and those look like quality replacements.

 

That's what I used in my tired Highlander. Can't really tell any difference

 

I was reading on another thread that CAPA certified was the way to go. I found some CAPA certified on Amazon but the ratings are not the greatest.

 

There is set for sale for in the market place (oem)

 

I would stay OEM on the housings. Anything else just isn't gonna be the same.

 

I just bought a 2012 Tacoma TRD Sport in great condition except the headlights sucked.....I thought about trying to "buff and refurbish" them and even checked on aftermarket......in the end I bought oem......not as expensive as I thought! ($282.30 each).....just had them installed yesterday and the truck looks brand new now and the light output is great!!

here's where I bought them... https://parts.camelbacktoyota.com/search?search_str=Headlight Assembly&ptid=10762

 

I picked up the Spyder projectors two months ago. I really like them with tungsgram +130s. I just drove 4 hours through heart of the Adirondacks. No complaints here.

 

Can you replace just the lenses on OEM housings?

 

No, The housings are glued together and come as a single piece.

 

Gotcha. I suppose I might just try to sand them back down and try it again with the 2k, but i've dumped enough time into them already. I don't want to pay $500+ for a new set of OEMs either though. That money could be better spent on something else.

 

I bought Eagle Eye replacements here https://www.go-parts.com/ for my wife's 2010 Highlander. Both right and left were $273.00 for both and they came with all new bulbs. Exact same as the OEM housings and I got both for less than what the dealer wanted for just one side and no bulbs. I installed them myself and couldn't see any difference between the Eagle Eye Housings Made in Taiwan and the Factory.

It took two hours to do both sides and a lot less work than all that sanding and sealing crap. Then have to do it all over again months later.

 

As @crashnburn80 has already stated, although OEM are more expensive, from a quality, performance and longevity standpoint, they're miles ahead of anything aftermarket. And this is based on testing, not faked internet reviews.

You should also be aware that almost all of the aftermarket lighting options look great in pictures, but looks doesn't equal actual performance. I tried a CAPA certified set of housings in my son's car a few years back in an attempt to save some money. We installed one headlight first, then tried them out against a garage wall. Although they looked identical in every way to the oxidized OEM housings, the pattern on the wall was very different. In fact it wasn't even close. We pulled the light out and returned the set before buying OEM. You can learn from my personal experience if you want.

 

Thanks. I'm on the fence about it right now, and will think about it for a few days. I don't want to resand everything and do it over just to get the same result again. I also don't want to buy a replacement set and risk having poor light output. I've already written off anything aftermarket that isn't CAPA certified or at least from a reputable parts dealer.