Just wondering about differences between the headlamp gens. A quick search yielded nothing or like some members on here apparently think I'm a lazy idiot. Please helpful members only chime in. Thanks in advance.
Gen 1 & 2 headlamps - differences ?
- Thread starter Lseme
- Start date
Ok but the bumper design same for all years, right ?
1LoudLS
Dedicated LVC Member
pretty much, but not exactly, the same different that makes the headlights have a gap... not to mention the lack of side marker lights on a 2nd gen (which shouldn't be a big deal)
yes on the hood, nozzles are the only difference.
Side markers for one thing.
Ok but mounts are same ? No structural difference ? Just by a visual aspect, can you tell a difference other than side marker delete ?
I believe the shape is slightly different, ergo the bumper gap when updating. IIRC, the mounting points are the same.
i dont think anyone knows for sure... if youre looking to downgrade, the gen1 lamps should be cheap and plentiful enough from a local junk yard that you could just buy and compare and then come back here and set the record straight for the future. better yet, get them from a yard with a return policy and take them back if need be.
It was definitely worth looking into a few yrs back when i rebuilt my 05.. and i only needed one headlight! i ended up finding a yard looking to dump a gen2 light for cheap so i didnt bother with the genI downgrade. if there is some minor gap im sure its nothing a little weather stripping cant fix if youre just looking to make the car an operable daily beater.
It was definitely worth looking into a few yrs back when i rebuilt my 05.. and i only needed one headlight! i ended up finding a yard looking to dump a gen2 light for cheap so i didnt bother with the genI downgrade. if there is some minor gap im sure its nothing a little weather stripping cant fix if youre just looking to make the car an operable daily beater.
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
No.
well the inside of a gen1 and a gen 2 headlight are definitely different.. as mentioned, the yellow portions are diff. its been mentioned by i dunno how many ppl that it is believed that the exterior dimensions are slightly different too, but there is no definitive info where someone measured or snapped pics of gen1 lights in a gen2 vs gen2 lights in a gen 2 vs gen 2 lights in a gen 1 vs gen1 lights in a gen1... so those ppl are 'probably right' but i dont think anyone has proved it.
back when i rebuilt my car i had one good gen2 halo and it made more financial sense to stick w gen 2 halos than to guess if gen 1 lights would work. plus the gen2s looked better imo. like is aid tho, if you were hell bent on doing it, you could just buy from a yard that lets you return stuff that dont fit. car-part.com will help you search from home
Ok so side marker delete, HID option, & different dimensions but hood (washer nozzle delete gen2), fenders & inner structure (rad support & tie bar) stayed same correct ?
i dunno, i dont have an intimate knowledge of all of that bc i have never had an interest in gen1 anything besides the headlight itself. i only briefly looked into the headlights and decided i didnt wanna mess with it. but i also couldnt find a deal on two cheap and returnable gen 1 lights locally to test. i dont think anyone knows the exact answers bc when i searched a few yrs ago i didnt see anything definitive, just similar comments to those posted above, which are probably correct.
what exactly are you trying to do? is your car a gen1 and you want gen2 headlights? im guessing there.. idont know your situation.
if that is your situation, i want to guess that the depth of the lights are different and that you might have trouble jamming a gen2 light into a gen1 car. but like i said, i wouldnt know for sure. best you can do IMO is buy and try. just make sure you can refund if necessary.
what exactly are you trying to do? is your car a gen1 and you want gen2 headlights? im guessing there.. idont know your situation.
if that is your situation, i want to guess that the depth of the lights are different and that you might have trouble jamming a gen2 light into a gen1 car. but like i said, i wouldnt know for sure. best you can do IMO is buy and try. just make sure you can refund if necessary.
Aha I see it now. Definitely different appearance wise but I can't help question how the dimensions are different relative to fender, hood & bumper ( ? )
I would have to think that it is that the headlight itself is shorter top to bottom. I have a GEN 1 with original lights but I have seen in person a GEN1 with GEN2 lights. But he also had the GEN2 bumper to go along with them. Maybe its just the bumpers are shorter. I haven't ever measured them though.
Personally I Prefer the GEN1 lights over the GEN2 anyways.
1LoudLS
Dedicated LVC Member
the fit to the hood and the fender is fine / no difference.
the bigger problem is putting a 2nd gen bumper on a 1st gen car wither 1st gen headlights. the 2nd gen headlights a little bigger, so putting a bumper on a car that was designed for bigger headlights makes a small gap. now if you're trying to put new headlights onto a old car, I would expect the opposite, the larger headlights on a bumper designed for smaller headlights hides the gap even more... i guess it would help to know the exact intention you have instead of just guessing .
the bigger problem is putting a 2nd gen bumper on a 1st gen car wither 1st gen headlights. the 2nd gen headlights a little bigger, so putting a bumper on a car that was designed for bigger headlights makes a small gap. now if you're trying to put new headlights onto a old car, I would expect the opposite, the larger headlights on a bumper designed for smaller headlights hides the gap even more... i guess it would help to know the exact intention you have instead of just guessing .
1LoudLS
Dedicated LVC Member
you probably should have searched better, there have been a few threads on here showing exactly what you were looking for...
for instance, this one up until recently still showed pictures
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/forum/showthread.php?61406-1st-gen-to-2nd-gen-lse-bumper
and while the title may not seem what you were looking for, it specifically covers the difference in headlights shapes
also first result after spending 10 seconds on my first search
http://bfy.tw/1jCl
i remember scanning that thread but i didnt put too much into it based on the title and the fact that there were never any pics of someone crossing gens in terms of bumper/headlight combos that matched my bumper... i fixed my issue faster at car-part.com. i wasnt going for any specific look, just wanted to pass inspection on my rebuild for as cheap as possible, which in my case was a new g2 halogen. i dont have an lse bumper, just a chrome grille in the hood. theres no definitive pictures in that thread about which different car/bumper/headlight combos work seamlessly. ie: mine would have been: gen2 car/gen2 v6 bumper/which headlights fit that combo. the price dif btwn the pair of geni lights or a single gen2 halo light <one was still good> was negligible and i knew the gen2 halo would fit bc it came from the factory like that...........
so yeah, i still think its best to just buy and try if someone really wants to know about their combo, bc i dont see anyone crossing gens on bumper/headlight combos, esp. with non-lse bumpers and g2 bumpers with g1 lights. if someone shows up with another wrecked ls that they want as a daily beater that might be their cheapest bet, but i doubt that anyone tries to do that besides me <already done it> or if one of yall smashes your front end and decides to keep it... and by the time you open up a g1 light to bust out the yellow crap in the corner you might as well spend that time on trying to find a g2 light that looks semi modern instead of messin w a gen1 that looks 20+yrs old <due to the yellow reflective corners>