OEM vs TYC housings

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Here's an interesting thread on an MDX forum:

Favor...Pic of headlight pattern

A member has replaced his lamps with TYC housings (perhaps to replace damaged or fogged ones, I don't know), and has asked for a picture of the pattern from the OEM housing. He then posted a picture of the pattern from the TYC housings, and the pattern is completely different. It's very apparent that TYC is not using a Stanley projector as Acura did, and it's possible that the TYC ones don't perform very well at night. They also appear to be completely lacking the area of light above the cutoff to illuminate reflective signs.

This is another example of where, even though an aftermarket part may appear to be identical to the OEM, you never really know what you're going to get in the aftermarket.
 
Unless the pictures were taken with both vehicles at the same distance from the wall (overhead door, whatever), using the same brand/wattage headlamp bulbs, that are both aimed similarly, with the same amount of light in the background... I'd say there is too much variable here to make an informed decision.

Wouldn't any replacement housing from a reputable manufacturer need to meet a minimum DOT spec?
 
Yep all of the aftermarket headlight housings are Chinese shaped toys... Literally Unsafe junk. Not only is it light output not equal to oem but they tend to leak and use thinner gauge wires. Oem or nothing for headlight housings.
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04

Wouldn't any replacement housing from a reputable manufacturer need to meet a minimum DOT spec?


The minimum spec is pretty low though, lots of original lights are terrible. I would try a lot of things to my lights to remove yellowing or just go to the wrecker and get another one, before I'd buy an aftermarket one.
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Unless the pictures were taken with both vehicles at the same distance from the wall (overhead door, whatever), using the same brand/wattage headlamp bulbs, that are both aimed similarly, with the same amount of light in the background... I'd say there is too much variable here to make an informed decision.


A photograph certainly doesn't indicate if a lamp housing is or is not compliant with regulations, but it at least shows that there's a difference in the design. Whether or not it's significant, only photometric testing (that we'll never have access to) would say that.

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Wouldn't any replacement housing from a reputable manufacturer need to meet a minimum DOT spec?


They are supposed to, yes. The DOT doesn't test them, though, and the manufacturer self-certifies that it meets the requirements.

I don't want to be mis-understood, here. I'm not saying the TYC housings are "bad" or non-compliant in any way. My point is this demonstrates how an aftermarket lamp may look and feel the same as an OE housing, but it may not perform the same. In this case, it's clear that the projectors used in the OE and TYC housings are different. Whether or not one is better than the other is not my point -- just that they can be (and sometimes indeed are) different, and probably worth looking into prior to cash being laid down.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
This is another example of where, even though an aftermarket part may appear to be identical to the OEM, you never really know what you're going to get in the aftermarket.


What are your thoughts on CAPA certified housings?

http://www.genera.com/capa.html

MDX Assembly:

Regular TYC - $85
CAPA TYC - $139
 
In my post here I show a direct, side by side comparision of OEM vs. Depo headlamps on my Mustang.

Beam patterns look pretty close on the wall and truth be told the OEM is not really the best to begin with... But the replacement Depo lamps do look quite a bit different when driving. Much more of a bright spot and less side illumination. I would say its compensated for my higher light transmission and output, though.

oj35p0.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
This is another example of where, even though an aftermarket part may appear to be identical to the OEM, you never really know what you're going to get in the aftermarket.


What are your thoughts on CAPA certified housings?

http://www.genera.com/capa.html

MDX Assembly:

Regular TYC - $85
CAPA TYC - $139


I'd want to know or see how similar the projector is to the OEM design before I put cash down on them. The more expensive price is encouraging. It just goes to show just how much variability there is in the aftermarket.

I will ask the guy on MDXers.org if his TYCs were the CAPA ones. If they are, then I'd say that I probably would not buy them and would buy OEM instead. If his are not CAPA, then I'd probably want TYC to explain to me how their CAPA housings differ from their non-CAPA housings.
 
A bit of correction on my previous post...

When pulling up the MDX part listing on my tablet earlier, I neglected to scroll over and see RockAuto has the CAPA assembly under "Various MFG"; these can come from any number of companies, including TYC.

However, it does appear that TYC only offers one housing for the MDX, and it's neither NSF or CAPA certified. This would explain the difference you're observing.

DEPO is the only company that sells a CAPA certified assembly for the MDX:
eWxdJ9K.png
 
CAPA certified is a huge scam in relation to headlight housings. AFAIK it's more about fitment than anything else the actual quality will never beat an oem housing. Plenty of threads discussing this on candlepowerforums if anyone wants to read up.
 
It's quite the stretch to say a non-profit organization is a scam because the products they certify don't exceed OEM performance.

Additionally, it's not as if what they do is a big secret; their 301 standard is publicly available and covers the following:

FMVSS 108 Compliance, Initial and Ongoing
Verification of Size, Dimension and Effective Projected Luminous Lens Area
Electrical and Power Readings
Proper Level of Illumination, Photometry and Color
Projected Life and Durability
Gaskets, Adhesives, Sealants and Auxiliary Equipment Aiming Devices
Metallurgical/Material Testing (composition, mechanical properties)
Appearance
Production
Quality Control Procedures
New Part Approval Vehicle Test Fit (VTF)
 
Originally Posted By: Virgil@CPF
"CAPA certification" is a meaningless scam. All (yes, all) of the aftermarket non-GM headlamps are junk. New genuine lamps come from a GM dealer or one of the online genuine-GM-parts discounters such as gmpartsdirect.com (site is a little hard to navigate -- on that front page, find "Buick" below the Buick emblem in the "parts catalog" column).

-Virgil



Here is what he told me, he is an expert.
 
Quote:
use thinner gauge wires
OK, I will bite. Which wires are you talking about when it comes to OEM housing?
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Quote:
use thinner gauge wires
OK, I will bite. Which wires are you talking about when it comes to OEM housing?


The oem housings will have the correct wires inside but a typical non oem housing uses thinner gauge wires but will have thicker insulation to give the appearance of proper quality. I went through this with a set of a of VSP housings before I knew any better and the bulbs melted into the sockets.
 
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
It's quite the stretch to say a non-profit organization is a scam because the products they certify don't exceed OEM performance.

Additionally, it's not as if what they do is a big secret; their 301 standard is publicly available and covers the following:

FMVSS 108 Compliance, Initial and Ongoing
Verification of Size, Dimension and Effective Projected Luminous Lens Area
Electrical and Power Readings
Proper Level of Illumination, Photometry and Color
Projected Life and Durability
Gaskets, Adhesives, Sealants and Auxiliary Equipment Aiming Devices
Metallurgical/Material Testing (composition, mechanical properties)
Appearance
Production
Quality Control Procedures
New Part Approval Vehicle Test Fit (VTF)


I wonder if CAPA does the photometric testing on all of the CAPA-certified housings out there, or if it's like "DOT approval" (there's no such thing), where manufacturers self-certify that the requirements are met.

I ask that with no ill will towards CAPA -- I ask that with genuine interest. Do they test each CAPA-certified design?
 
"Although CAPA states it requires that participating manufacturers meet comprehensive quality and process related requirements, it believes the most important aspect of CAPA certification is the actual testing and comparison of the aftermarket part to the OEM part. According to CAPA, some programs only require their participants to meet general process requirements, and when they do, all of their parts automatically qualify."

http://www.bodyshopbusiness.com/capa-says-testing-only-way-to-prove-part-quality/
 
this is interesting. I think the 3rd party brands are inconsistent even within their own product line. We fitted TYC replacements into a recent civic and found the beam pattern to be usable but not great. Was certainly better than the well-worn oem's that came off after 250,000 miles of highway erosion. So, they were "ok." We also recently put TYC lamps in the MDX - we moved it forward to the next model redesign which had factory projectors. After modifying the wiring harness for the different halogen bulb, it all worked very well. wife was thrilled. even light, sharp cutoff, good distribution of light away from the foreground, really a nice improvement. As in, as picky as I am, the on-road glow seemed 5-star. The TYC failed in sign visibility however. ALL of the light is on the ground with no bleed anywhere, leaving street signs completely invisible. It gets better after a week or two when some dust accumulates on the lamp, scattering some of the light upward.

So, two different lamps, same brand, different results.

Another note: The TYCs in the MDX later experienced inside fogging due to ruptered seal between housing and lens. The glue tore, the retaining clips broke, and I had to painstakingly re-seal them. Looks like the pressure from heating up inside was more than the lamp could take. Fixed now, but that certainly would not have happened with oem. Then again, oem prices were ridiculous.

The volvo and the tundra suffer the same--- years of erosion. I'm trying the hard-core polishing/buffing/true clear-coating as Trav has posted elsewhere to avoid replacing. The tundra reflectors are large, and aftermarket reproductions might be ok. The smaller lamps on the volvo harness H9's I believe, and are close to the ground, there's much less room for error. oem volvo assemblies are more costly than acura. will try to hold on to these as long as I can.
 
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Interesting stuff. I made a thread a few months back about a shop damaging one of my headlights and ordering a replacement housing to fix it. Many on here advised me to make sure it was an OEM housing (even if slightly used) but not to accept an aftermarket one. The one the shop ordered was indeed aftermarket and after some convincing, they installed a used OEM one off eBay. I have factory HIDs so the beam pattern would've definitely been funky with an aftermarket housing.
 
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