Highest quality aftermarket headlights?

[The_Understated]

Originally Posted by Pat

I'm listening....

Try to do some digging on here (or HIDPlanet as well), for local shops near you that offer headlight retrofitting services. That's probably going to be the best option if you're trying to get a specific look and output for around or less than the price of replacing the OEM $1500 healdights.

If you're unfamiliar with retrofitting: a shop will take apart your headlights and install a different set of projectors, bulbs, lens, etc in to your preference. HIDPlanet and The RetroFit Source are probably the two best places to start.

Start there and see if anything piques your interest. Here's a quick review of the Spec-D headlights from a member that has some amazing retrofitting skills: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63406

Also from the same guy, one of the more ambitious projects you can shoot for: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33559

[Pat]

Originally Posted by The_Understated

That's probably going to be the best option if you're trying to get a specific look...

Thanks for the extra info. I don't really care much about how my headlights look, though. I want excellent output for little money. Style doesn't really matter to me.

[Scrappydoo]

Car dismantles or breakers. Avoid the aftermarket tat.

[Pat]

Thanks. I've been trying those with little success. I did find a place in CA that has something that would probably work, but still kinda pricey.

[Efferalgan]

Originally Posted by Pat

Thanks, Efferalgan. Is there anything else you can tell me about them? Build quality? First-hand experience? Preferred distributors?

Check this thread out:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102373

It's not as awesome as BMW adaptive LED that I have on another car but close and night/day difference with Spyders I had previously which were just crap both in light and build quality. I had to swap the stock ones as I swapped the stock bumper and needed indicators inside the unit. Otherwise, I'd not touch stock lights which were quite good (I had the xenon European spec).

[Wyattkb]

Just though I would chime in here. I bought a set of Spec D headlights and retrofitted them with stuff from https://www.theretrofitsource.com/.

I went with the MORIMOTO FX-R 3.0 which required me to make custom brackets. But they have other options that literally bolt up no problem. The difficulty is pretty low, wiring them was the most time consuming.

Light output and cut off is comparable to a high end luxury car.

[Irace86.2.0]

https://www.amazon.com/MOSTPLUS-Sequ...CG40NWHEZZMBV9

Does anybody have any experience with these? Do they come with a harness? I'm assuming they are not plug and play with the MY13-16 BRZ, but could it be done easily?

[Irace86.2.0]

Answered my own question, maybe.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lTlYfsPQTQ[/ame]

[RToyo86]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

https://www.amazon.com/MOSTPLUS-Sequ...CG40NWHEZZMBV9

Does anybody have any experience with these? Do they come with a harness? I'm assuming they are not plug and play with the MY13-16 BRZ, but could it be done easily?

A friend has a set of Vland's. The LED eyebrow was flicking on and off randomly a while back. They were working again last I spoke with him.

The fitment isn't perfect either. For $200-250 per headlight they're an upgrade over halogens.no where near OE quality.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by RToyo86

A friend has a set of Vland's. The LED eyebrow was flicking on and off randomly a while back. They were working again last I spoke with him.

The fitment isn't perfect either. For $200-250 per headlight they're an upgrade over halogens.no where near OE quality.

Vlands and the amazon posting look the same. There are a few more "brands" with the same design. What do you think, did the same place produce them then sold them to difference brands, or are they just all slightly different copies?

[RToyo86]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

Vlands and the amazon posting look the same. There are a few more "brands" with the same design. What do you think, did the same place produce them then sold them to difference brands, or are they just all slightly different copies?

Hard to say. They could be the same lights rebranded.

Or worse, they're knock offs which means they're probably worse but who knows. I see no reviews, so you'd be taking a shot in the dark. Worst case the light pattern is crap and you could gut them and put in quality projectors.

[eastendraceshop]

I would recommend that you look into Morimoto headlights if you're looking for a very high-quality option! I have them on my FRS and LOVE them! Pics below!

They are plug-and-play and use only LED bulbs. A 5-year warranty is offered from Morimoto, and the DRL's look amazing IMO! Light output is great as well, didn't need to adjust the headlights at all.

-Sam

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by eastendraceshop

I would recommend that you look into Morimoto headlights if you're looking for a very high-quality option! I have them on my FRS and LOVE them! Pics below!

They are plug-and-play and use only LED bulbs. A 5-year warranty is offered from Morimoto, and the DRL's look amazing IMO! Light output is great as well, didn't need to adjust the headlights at all.

-Sam

They look the same as the FT86Speedfactory units. Any difference? Those do look nice, but I think the verdict is out on HID/projector versus LED for light quality. I would say the boomerang look of the Vlands is more my taste.


@RToyo86

I’ve read this elsewhere, that the projectors are bad. What does that mean? The bulb has defects in the glass, or the concavity is warped or not ideal? Shouldn’t the stock HIDs plug into the projector and work?

[eastendraceshop]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

They look the same as the FT86Speedfactory units. Any difference?

The housing is exactly the same and is from the same housing. The difference is that each company uses their own bulbs. The LED low beams on the Morimoto headlights seem to work better than the HID's that I had in my stock housing and Winjet headlights. Can't say how they would compare to the Vland's though, I haven't had much experience with those yet.

-Sam