I just bought a new set of headlamps for my 01 Camry and the optics are totally different then my originals. I bought them at a parts yard but they are made by an aftermarket company.

I even tried my HID's with them and it looks horrible in the new lights....why are the optics so much different on these new ones? they are both DOT??

Only buy OEM factory made lamps. All aftermarket cheese companies just make crap as they take molds of originals and try to reproduce the OEM outward look of the lamp with those molds, but quality control greatly suffers. DOT stamp on headlamps is just that; it is only a stamp saying that it would meet DOT specs if tested, but the stamp was put there by the aftermarket company, but the truth of it is that DOT does NOT check every headlamp before it can be made into production. DOT stamp just means that the company who made the lights sais that they promise they are made to be within DOT spec, but if somebody later reported them to DOT and if DOT were to later find out that that company's lamp didn't meet DOT spec, then DOT would require them to RECALL all of those lamps that they sold. Yes this is how it works. Most DOT stamped lamps made for cars have never even been seen by DOT

Truth there. The headlight makers supposedly run the tests for DOT-compliance and then send the results of the tests to DOT/NHTSA, certifying that lamp to be DOT-compliant. The specs are pretty broad, and it doesn't take much of a headlight fixture to meet the lighting "standard". Some aftermarket companies will send out a few selected lights to pass compliance testing, and then let their QA go to hell, or (even worse) try to sneak similar designs in using the same paperwork; reasons why APC seems to get one of its mammary glands in a mangle, a lot. The whole certification "system" needs some work.

I wish I would have known this before I bought them.

I took a closer look and the optics on my originals make a flare with the mirrors, the after market ones don't.

I guess it wont matter because within a few weeks I'll be hacking them up, but damn...I wanted something good to hold me over.

Retrofitters will buy the aftermarket headlights (projectors, usually) just to get the housings, and then they put their own quality projectors or (reflectors) in there.

Some aftermarket companies will just graft 55W H3 fog lights/driving lights into the housings they make & sell, and "say" that they are DOT-compliant. They're usually not, but even if they were, all the light fixtures would have to do is meet the minimum requirements of the lighting specs, which wouldn't make for world-class lighting.

They don't even make aftermarket projectors for my car, so thats why I had to buy an identical (or I thought) set.

I think I found out whats wrong. I compared the lamps side by side and eventhough the optics are different...one other difference was that the glare cap was uneven and pointing up a little....therefore causing the bulb to pushed up at a slight angle and to the side.

So I took my finger and pushed the glare cap down close to the same position as my originals...I guess when they made these caps, they screwed it in too tight.

Well, it looks better from what I can tell....and I can see little flares on the side...but it's morning time, so I wont know for sure untill tonight.

But before it was a big blob of light with four small hot spots...now there is a defined beam...from what I can tell.

Stay tuned........