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So, two things:

1) What are good bulbs? I've done some searching and it seems the plentiful Sylvania SilverStar/Ultras are considered rather crap, or at least were. I noted a lot of folks pimping Osram "Night Breaker" lamps, but having looked at the packaging, the Sylvania lamps are Osram Sylvania. So who makes a good bright bulb that isn't going to wear out too quickly? Not really looking for HID style or anything, just standard bulbs that will fit my '01 LX coupe.

2) I was browsing Craigslist and came across a local dealer selling the headlamp assembly for $38 a piece. Quite a deal. Searching around regarding aftermarket assemblies it appears that "OEM copies" tend to be garbage and aren't worth it. IMO, the ~$200 anyone else wants for actual Honda assemblies is ****ing insane for a hunk of coated/treated plastic. Am I *really* going to have a problem with some inexpensive aftermarket replacements, or will they be fine?

 
Rep Power: 173

I used the Silverstars myself, and they weren't too bad. Slightly brighter and whiter than stock, but I only put them in when one of my old lights went out. I have since gone with a HID/proector setup, and have never looked back. It's more expensive, but damn is it an improvement! Check my sig for more info.

The problem with aftermarket housings is that they simply aren't as reliable. A lo of people here use them because they look better, but tell me how many "awesome" AM headlights have you seen with condensation in them? Not to mention that if the aiming brackets are cheap they constantly have to be realigned. I avoided this by retrofitting my stock ones. Thy still look pretty good (gonna have to clean them soon), and I can depend on them.

 
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I'll check it out but I'm not really looking to put that much into this car for extraneous stuff like that. It's a stepping stone and I probably won't have it more than a year or two if I have it my way.

The aftermarket ones I'm looking at aren't "euro" style or anything crazy. Look pretty much like the stock assemblies, just not yellowed and hazed. As for condensation, not too often really. No idea if I'm just seeing lots of OEM assemblies or just not paying attention. I'm mainly just trying to figure out if it'd be better to buff out the ones I have, or get some cheap aftermarkets.

 
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If you get a Rain-X headlight restoration kit or something similar (a lot of guys here use Mother's too), you might be surprised by the results! I was, and mine were yellow as hell from all of the AZ summers they have endured!

 
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I bought two of the 3M kits, figured 3M usually makes good stuff. Just seeing the new assemblies made me stop to rethink. If the kits will do a pretty good job then I may as well stick with it and then pick up some SilverStars.

 
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If you have time, you should post some before/after pics here!

 
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Will do. Maybe this Saturday or Sunday, I need to finish out upgrading the speakers by putting in the fronts anyway.

 
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One of my headlight bulbs burned out and I researched a little in the forums. I ended up buying a two pack from Pep Boys of Phillips Vision 9003. They were $25 for a two bulb pack. They claim 30% brighter.
I also picked up a lens restorer kit and it worked wonders. Way better than before!
I replaced both bulbs. For all I know they were original bulbs from 2001...

 
Rep Power: 242

If the lens restore kit didn't come with UV protection you can DIY it:

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...protector.html