Replacement Exterior Lighting Assemblies, TYC vs DEPO

[Caman96]

I'm pretty sure GM put it over the reflectors, more similar to the DEPOs. If you look at the first link Caman96 posted you can just barely see it through the bag in one of the pictures.



To be honest I hadn't even checked for NOS, I figured that finding all four corners in Chevy and GMC varieties would be impossible. I'll look into it more and see what's available.

Those came up quick. I didn’t even try the others, but I’ve recently seen sellers with all 4. Let me know if I can help.

 

[df2x4]

Those came up quick. I didn’t even try the others, but I’ve recently seen sellers with all 4. Let me know if I can help.

Close, but no cigar. I found all the '94+ Chevy corners available NOS, but the GMC I can only find the uppers and one lower.

Also an observation, some of the NOS OEM corners have the text on the edge of the lens like the TYCs, and some have it over the reflectors like the DEPOs. It looks like there wasn't much rhyme or reason to how that was done. Maybe different suppliers over the years? Regardless, I think having the text in various locations would bother me much more than all of it being in the same place, so I'll probably stick to the plan and go with new TYCs or DEPOs. Thanks for inspiring that search, though.

 

[454cid]

My TYCs have the writing on the edge on one side. The original GM parts have a lot more. Mine is a Chevy not GMC, so there's that.

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[jaywestfall]

Good discussion, folks. I have DEPO foglight assemblies to add to my 1998 C1500. Made in Taiwan says SAE, too.

 

[Martin Evans]

I've been tossing around the idea of going back to factory style lighting on both of my '97s. I already have some new Arteb/GM Brazil headlights for both and I'm working on a factory third brake light for the red truck, but I'll be buying everything else. It's all discontinued from GM at this point so I'm trying to figure out what my best options are for aftermarket factory style replacements. I know TYC is pretty well known and reputed here, but there is one thing about their corner lights I'm not thrilled about. They have text that runs along the very edge of the plastic and IMO doesn't look great. Here's a picture of one, this is a lower but they do the same thing on all four for Chevy and GMC.

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Here's a picture of a Dorman corner for comparison, it looks like they put their text along the top or bottom edge of the reflector which IMO draws much less attention.

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Unfortunately Dorman doesn't make all four of the corners for GMC any longer, so if I want everything from the same company it's either TYC or DEPO. Double unfortunately, I can't seem to find any clear pictures of the DEPO parts. This is the best I could come up with. It looks like they do their text the same way that Dorman does though, which is nice.

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I also found this info in a 2018 post from Virgil on the CandlePower Forums on the subject. He thinks DEPO may be the better choice over TYC. I haven't been able to confirm his claim about DEPO supplying GM but I don't doubt it.

"Of the aftermarket makers, TYC and Depo are the two biggies, and their products generally aren't as completely awful as most of the other aftermarket brands. That said, all the aftermarket lights are a significant step (or numerous steps) down from original-equipment quality, performance and durability. See this damning report on a test by NHTSA of original, TYC and Depo versions of a variety of low-tech headlamps. Utter fail by the aftermarket lights; see pages 21 and 30 especially.

To be fair, Depo has come quite a long way since those tests were done. Their more recent knockoffs are considerably less crappy than their older knockoffs. TYC has made less progress, and I would definitely rank Depo above (better than) TYC, and the industry at large seems to agree with me on that, as evidenced by two points:

(1) When GM spun off their Guide Light division and it failed completely because their technology and quality was severely behind the state of the art, GM was left without a maker for a whole lot of replacement lights, which they now source, complete with GM logo and part number, from Depo...not from TYC.

(2) The new-look UPS delivery trucks introduced a number of years ago no longer have 7" round headlamps. Instead they have lamps originally designed for one GM car or another—an Oldsmobile or a Buick, I think. They're made by Depo (not TYC) and they seem to be holding up well."

I can't find any differences in the parking lights or tail lights between the two companies that would sway me one way or another cosmetically. The TYC stuff is a little cheaper than DEPO, but again not enough to concern me. Any input would be appreciated, I'm just trying to get the best looking and most durable parts available. If you have experience with either DEPO or TYC assemblies please feel free to chime in.

Have you checked your local u-pull-it? You should be able to find a nice set of OEM lenses.

 

[Caman96]

I contacted gmpartsgiant.com and all of them are still available. Cheap too!

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These are for 1994-2002 Chevrolet

 

[Caman96]

Close, but no cigar

Do I get that cigar now?

 

[df2x4]

I contacted gmpartsgiant.com and all of them are still available. Cheap too!

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These are for 1994-2002 Chevrolet

I'm honestly pretty surprised to see that. I checked all those part numbers on a couple of different sites and found nothing. I wonder if GMPartsGiant just hasn't updated their inventory yet?

 

[Caman96]

I'm honestly pretty surprised to see that. I checked all those part numbers on a couple of different sites and found nothing. I wonder if GMPartsGiant just hasn't updated their inventory yet?

That’s why I messaged them. It took like a full 20 minutes and “Mallory” got back and said yes, still available. Great prices too, huh?

 

[df2x4]

Just checked and they have everything except the driver's side lower corner marker for my Suburban ('97 GMC).

Dang it.

Might get those for the red truck though, thanks for the heads up!