Owner reviews for headlights

Morimoto and alpharexx are the common full housing swaps, i prefer morimoto for their warranty and ive used their products before.

I’ve used TYC and they were good. I couldn’t tell any difference between them and oem.

Assuming you have an early model with the sealed beams, they are a great upgrade. If you are replacing OEM ellipsoids on a later model, there is a drop in quality. Still, they cost 1/3 of the price of new OEMs these days. Those same DEPO headlights are sold by a dozen different resellers so you could probably find them slightly cheaper.

Ive seen people talk about issues with the seals and water getting in them, but I’ve had three sets on different cars and it was never a problem. After a couple years the set I’m using now had an issue with one of the wires going into the bulb socket but it wasn’t hard to rewire it. You do need to use a little care when aiming them because the adjusting mechanism is a bit flimsy, but manageable.

They are the most commonly used replacement headlights for E30s. They aren’t quite OEM quality, but they work just fine. If you have functioning OEM ellipsoids and are looking to upgrade, this is not that. If you have the old sealed beam headlights the difference is night and day.

I got mine about 6 months ago, and I love them.

I strongly recommend resealing them. I didn’t have issues with mine initially, but decided to go ahead and do it, considering how hard they have been to find.

Osrams are pricey, but worth it.

My Limited 2019 WRX has the tracking headlights. It’s actually really helpful (and you realize how helpful they are when you go drive someone else’s car that doesn’t have them).

I’ve had plastic OE headlights, ZKWs, DJ Autos, and DEPOs in my E36. My favorite setup is my current headlights. They’re DEPO Gen 4 that I opened up and retrofitted some Morimoto FXR 3.0 projectors in. If you’re handy with DIY work this is well worth it. The light output is incredible. Driving on the freeway at night, I light up the road in front of me considerably better than most 2020 and newer vehicles.

I have DEPO headlights. They look pretty much OE, but I won't necessarily recommend them. The fitting of the bulbs is cheap and not so reliable. Plus, if high beam goes out, you need to get the bumper out.

Main problem with depos, is they aren’t always sealed properly, so the headlights will have moister inside.

I prefer the 987 front end to my 986 fried egg headlights.