Aftermarket vs OEM headlight assembly
 

Some goon backed into my driver's side headlight and broke it. Of course, he took off while I was in the store. It also cracked the bumper, so I'm getting both the bumper and headlight assembly (33151SEPA02) replaced. Since the passenger side headlight assembly is original and has some cracking/hazing, I'm debating about replacing it at the same time.

How are the aftermarket headlight assemblies? Is there anything to worry about with them? I did a search and couldn't find any discussion on aftermarket headlight assemblies...

Please stay away from aftermarket headlights fitment is ok but they build up condensation real easily and quality isn't as good especially the projector!! OEM FTW always!!!!

Details? How do you know this?

There's an OEM drivers side on BM

just throwing this out there.

Before my tl I would research which after market company would make the best fitting part.

Once my part came in and still had my broken part ie headlight i would open up with both after market light and oem light and swap out the parts and just use the shell of the aftermarket part..

Dont know if i explained myself clearly but you can do that??

GL

Hey nfn, I have an OEM headlight for sale if you'd like to take a look. Sorry to hear about the damages!

https://acurazine.com/forums/car-par...4-06-a-944954/

I am in the same situation. My front bumper was cracked and driver headlight broke after someone backed into me. I just ordered a new aftermarket painted bumper and depo headlights from Amazon. I decided to replace both headlights. I will let you know how it fits and looks...

PM coming.

I'm more concerned about the reflectors than anything else. I'll really be interested to know if they seem the same as OEM (light projection and cut off). When do you think that you'll have them installed?

P.S. I also have brand new Osram Nightbreakers to be installed.

I will be installing them this coming weekend as long as everything arrives. I will PM you after I do the install. I still have the original HID's from 2005. I thought about replacing them while the headlight assembly was out. They have not started to turn purple yet so I am hoping they still have some life. Once you get the Nightbreakers installed PM me what you think. I like the OEM bright white with a hint of blue.

Will do on the nightbreaker review :thumbsup: I don't care for the blue light and really want max visibility because of the deer up here.

The opinions/reviews on AM/Depo headlights are all over the place. Some say the projectors suck, some say they are identical to OEM. Some say they leak, others say they were fine. I really haven't seen any negative comments about fit.

Looks like I'm going through insurance because it will be cheaper for me ($500deductible) than doing it myself. If insurance/body shop will do it, I'm going to ask them to purchase the OEM passenger side assembly for the claim and I'll buy Undying Dreams' driver's side assembly (still checking out the seller for reputation). It's the same money, just don't know if they'll allow it.

I can tell from experience . On my previous TL I wanted Type S lights so I opted
for the Depo type S headlights since they were $450 for the pair. Well first the driver side started getting condensation after 2 months and blew my ballast. Shortly after the passenger side started getting condensation and blew my ballast, igniter and bulb.
I removed both headlights and sealed them with silicone. was fine for 3 months then
driver side again had condensation So again removed headlight and this time I silicone the $hit out of it. If you choose to buy aftermarket just make sure you seal them before you install or just get oem and don't worry about it.

Yeah, I think I'm going to avoid anything other than brand new OEM for the headlight assembly. The best price (shipped) that I found on new OEM was from Acura Parts for less ($463.64 with the Azine discount). I found the OEM bumper for $295 shipped from Buerkle Acura (Minneapolis). I'm just dickering with the bodyshop and insurance right now to get the OEM.

FYI, the body shop quoted $481 for the A/M headlight assembly and $282 for the A/M bumper (yeah, huge markup on parts).

If anything, the housing is fine Aftermarket, I'd only be concerned about the projector internals itself.. I wouldn't get anything aftermarket for that sole reason.


Good luck NFN!

First off... Undying Dreams isn't someone you need to worry about. Buy his shit with confidence.

Second... OEM or bust man! Just buy a used on ebay if you have to. Or contact one of the light modding vendors. I'm sure you can source a used headlight somewhere around here.

I ran the Osram Nightbreakers in my old truck and in my bikes. I find it to be pretty phenomenal light for an incandescent bulb. About as white and as bright as you can go without upgrading more of the lighting system.

I assumed he was talking about the Xenarc Nightbreaker HID's not incandescent
:scratch:


XENARC NIGHT BREAKER UNLIMITED: product details | OSRAM

It's the 'new' SVS right?

:dunno:

Okay. So for any chumps that come across this thread in the future. I like the old school tech and the new school tech is probably good too.

Although now that I think about it, I think I have the incandescent Nighbreakers in my high beams on the car currently. :scratch:

an almostbreaker?

I wish I knew what to think. This guy had very bad luck with leaking depo units, yet he claims the reflector is identical to OEM:


My concern isn't with Undying Dreams, it's with the original seller and the history of the refurbished OEM unit. I have no idea if it ever leaked or if any previous leaks were properly sealed, and I have no recourse if it does leak after buying.

And yeah:

OSRAM Xenarc Night Breaker Unlimited D2S Xenon HID Bulb | PowerBulbs

Picked them up for $112.96 shipped. Their 20% off sale is still going on.

high beams would be incandescent

but your lowbeams are D2S HID bulbs :)



jeez old man :rolleyes:

I'm reading his review but don't see anywhere that the projector internals are the same :dunno:

It's in his reply to a question:

"How is the light output of this unit in comparison to the OEM unit? Is the cutoff crisp/clean or scattered? Any info you can give on this product is great! Thanks."

Reply: "... As the housing is identical to the OEM (Stanley), so is the beam pattern..."

And actually, I misquoted his problem. It wasn't with leaking units, it was with an improperly vented unit. Sounds like one was good and the other had heavy condensation due to faulty ventilation.

Update: Insurance is covering for OEM parts, so it's a done deal!

I'll still be interested to hear MillerTime's review on his Depo units.

Now my next question, how do I tell OEM from AM/Depo? Will OEM have the part number or "Acura" on it somewhere? I'm going to inspect the parts before they go on the car. (Yeah, I trust no one :biggrin: )

i read housing as the external housing and not the projector.. also i didn't read the questions whoops :tomato:


it should say stanley in front (on the lens) i believe.

Yep Stanley on the lense...

So I got my car back from the body shop. Only took them 2 days. Paint match looks great! When I dropped the car off, I asked to see the headlight assembly. They took me back to the shop and showed me the part. It was in a Honda box and I was in a hurry, so I didn't pull it out and look for the Stanley markings. Now that it's been installed, there are absolutely no markings on the lens cover. I'm curious about this. My OEM passenger side has a DOT marking, "Honda" and Stanley markings all on the lens cover, but my new, supposedly OEM driver's side has nothing. Did things change over 13 years?

Tonight is the first time to drive at dark. I'll be able to see if there's a difference in the reflector/light out put. Also will be the first viewing of my new Nightbreakers. Will post more info after the night drive.

MillerTime, any reviews on your Depo units?

Damn hope they didn't screw you... That'd be shady as hell.

Inform your insurance company that it does not appear to be an OEM unit used in the repair to original condition. Especially if the repair order quoted OEM and not LKQ. They should have it taken care of, especially if they paid out for the higher cost OEM part.

Keep us posted. I'm interested to know if they did change for some reason. IIRC, the back of the housing has HONDA stamped on it as well, see if you can maybe see it through the top of the engine ? :shrug:

I honestly don't think they screwed me. The bumper is definitely OEM. I has the "ACURA" imprint.

Honda must have changed how they mark their headlight units. Like I said, I saw the headlight unit in a Honda box. I also know what dealership they ordered it from. I asked them about the difference (markings vs no markings) before I left and they had no clue, not that I would expect them to know.

My main concern is any condensation/fogging issues, not reflector performance. These guys warranty everything for as long as I own the car, so I'll be taking it back if there is any condensation.