Thread: Aftermarket headlight difference

From what I remember reading on here, all the aftermarket headlamps are made by the same company and distributed and sold under several brands. Normally I'd expect the certification to denote some guarantee of quality.

NSF certification is more a health and safety certification (not using materials that are hazardous or let off fumes in high temps, etc.), where as CAPA certification has to do with meeting OEM quality. The "non-certified" ones.are still DOT compliant and should work just fine, especially since you're retrofitting the low beam portion anyways.

If you had all three in hand, I bet you'd have trouble telling any difference if there even is one. I'd personally buy the cheaper ones and use the extra cash towards the projectors, lights, and ballasts. The only problems you may or may not run into with aftermarket headlamps are the seals letting condensation in (which are redone by you while retro'ing, so no worries), and maybe getting a haze in a few years. But even OEM's do that :P A nice polish and a reapplication of some UV compound will make them new again.

That's my 2¢, but I bet other people have some input too.