I'm looking to replace both headlights on my 1994 sedan. Genuine Honda units are about $80 each. OEM style ones like TYC and Anzo are about $30 each. Has anyone used OEM style headlights and if so, how is the beam pattern and quality?

I was going to get some TYCs but some friends with Toyota Tacomas said that while the TYC OEM style Tacoma headlights look stock, the beam pattern is also narrower than stock and not as good as Genuine Toyota headlights. I'm not sure if it's like this with all of TYC's OEM style replacements.

 

I work for a large collision shop. I used to buy a ton of aftermarket headlights from Keystone a few years ago because once a vehicle is 2 - 3 years old that's usually all the insurance companies will pay for. I'm pretty sure I replaced every single one of those headlights at some point after due to either the beam pattern was way off or there was condensation inside the light, or both. Now almost all of the OEMs have price matching programs for collision shops so I hardly ever buy aftermarket stuff. That said those lights have a glass lens and probably aren't quite as bad as plastic headlights.

 

OP, have you considered used OEM Stanley headlamps? Cheap cheap on eBay, etc. Just make sure they're original. Also, the EDM LHD units are slightly better than US spec, but technically illegal in USA (not Canada).

 

I have had the reflective coating peel off of the inside back of OEM headlights, any used lights even genuine (well, as genuine as anything on ebay gets) OEM need to be inspected for that.

 

This is the reason I'm looking for replacement lights. The driver side headlight is peeling on the inside and the beam pattern is pretty much useless.

Thanks for the Stanley recommendation. I will look into it.

 

It happened to both sides on mine. They were the original Stanley lights. They were 20 years old though. The ones I replaced with were Stanley from another car I parted out, and those are still fine.

 

So I finally got around to replacing the OE headlights on my 94 sedan. Looks like OE Honda and is glass instead of plastic. They were $14.98 each on Amazon, though it immediately went to $34.98 each after I bought them.

Bolted in fine (lots of Amazon reviews say the mounts cracked easily) and I had no problem installing them. What sucks is despite the DOT on the glass the lights seem meant for cars that drive on left side of the road as the high beams are skewed left when low beams are aligned to the center of the lane.

 

TYCs on top.

 

TYC is what the autobody shop used on my wifes car. They labelled it a quality replacement part.

 

You have to manually adjust them to point up down left or right

 

I adjusted them multiple times to a compromise so that the low beams, especially the driver/left side are slightly off center to the right of the lane such that when the high beams are on they are slightly off center to the left of the lane.

If I adjusted the lights to point all the way to the left with the low beams, the high beams will go further to the left. It didn't matter if it was with the included Osram Bilux 9003, Philips CrystalVision 9003, or Race Sport Lighting Terminator 9003 LEDs.