Silverado replacement headlamp housings

Travler

Newly Enlightened
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Sep 25, 2015
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24
2000 Silverado 1500
Original headlamp housings either need replacement or the polish treatment.

I did order some headlamp assemblies while ordering some other parts. I made the mistake of ordering the ones listed as "Various Manufacturer" rather than from TYC.

They are horrible with the included bulbs. Dark spots, shadows, zebra stripes in the peripheral.

Two options on the TYC brand is NSF or CAPA certified. I assume NSF is National Safety Foundation. What does CAPA mean. Are either of these certifications worth anything? Which would you choose?

Any recommendations on proper replacement housings?

I also ordered some Philips 9006 & 9005 X-tremeVision +100% lamps. I haven't installed them yet due to poor housings. They did come labeled HB4 and HB3. Is this the same lamps as 9006 and 9005?

I assume that if using replacement housings I should have the headlights aimed by a proper shop.
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
I made the mistake of ordering the ones listed as "Various Manufacturer" rather than from TYC.

TYC lamps aren't great, they're generally a somewhat less hopeless grade of junk than the no-brand items. Depo makes GM's replacement lamps for some applications now that Guide no longer exists, though that doesn't mean the lamp branded "GM DEPO" is the same quality as the lamp just branded "DEPO" (the GM item is still the superior lamp).

Two options on the TYC brand is NSF or CAPA certified. I assume NSF is National Safety Foundation.

No, it's National Sanitation Foundation. That's what they started out as, an organization focusing on sanitation and food-safety issues. They've since expanded to become sort of like UL or ITL: a generalized test-inspect-certify outfit.

What does CAPA mean.

Certified Auto Parts Association. It's a thing set up by the aftermarket-parts industry to promote themselves and their warez. This has involved telling whoppers, tall-tales, fibs, and lies in a largely successful effort to get insurance companies to insist that your car be repaired with cheap knockoff parts after a crash, for example.

Are either of these certifications worth anything?

From the consumer's perspective, CAPA is a scam. Their requirements for "certification" of a headlamp are that it has to look just like the original (minus any pesky trademarks), and it has to meet FMVSS 108. Note, that is not the same as saying it has to perform as well as the original, just that it has to meet the Federal regulation. Which would be weak enough as it is (because FMVSS 108 allows a large range of performances) but even the "certified" parts often don't actually meet the Federal regulation.

NSF certification in theory means the lenses won't turn opaque ridiculously fast, but here again, there's no real way to prove it. It's not a guarantee or warranty, it's a claim, and we're talking about parts made/sold by companies with a long and pretty well unbroken tradition of dishonesty and poor quality.

Which would you choose? Any recommendations on proper replacement housings?

Genuine GM parts left and right

I also ordered some Philips 9006 & 9005 X-tremeVision +100% lamps. I haven't installed them yet due to poor housings. They did come labeled HB4 and HB3. Is this the same lamps as 9006 and 9005?

Yes, 9006 and HB4 are two designations for the same kind of bulb. Ditto with HB3 and 9005.

I assume that if using replacement housings I should have the headlights aimed by a proper shop.

Yes, definitely, and with the right kind of tool, either the mechanical aimer that interfaces with the three tabs on the front surface of the lens, or with an optical aiming scope. A "shine it on the wall" method is really not good enough.
 

Travler

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Joined
Sep 25, 2015
Messages
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Thanks, that is exactly the information I was looking for. I think for the cost it will be worth the effort to try to polish the originals. If I am not successful then I will invest in the replacements. Unfortunately since my state has no mandatory safety inspections I will have to travel to North Carolina to one of the inspection centers (Privately owned shops) to get a quality alignment.
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
Careful how you polish them and, more to the point, how you protect them afterwards, bcause polishing the headlamps takes off the UV/scratch-protectant hard coating. If the lamp is left without the coating, it will perish in the sun much faster than before.
You can't equal the factory coating, but you can try this technique (or instead of brush-on UV spar varnish you can try this catalyzed clear spray.
 
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