What type of bulbs can I use on my 87 Maxima that have effective brigtness especially at night and in all weather conditions? I would prefer some with a blue color to them but are also bright. I was looking at some of the bulbs on the JC Whitney website for around 13-20 dollars. Should I just get those or are there better ones?

Also I need to replace the front headlamp cover on the drivers side. I don't need the whole unit just the plastic cover part for the front.

Sorry if this was posted before but I did a search and couldn't find anything.

 

The cover I wouldn't know where to find. As for brighter bulbs, if you only want to spend $20, you might look into the new Sylvania light they have out...I forget what they are called. Philips also make a cool blue for that end. Anyway, it's really preference. I went on the high end for my car, and I tend to pay a premium for the really good stuff, which for some reason seems to be why I'm broke.... Anyway, what I did was go the PIAA route. I am running PIAA Xtreme Whites 9004 for headlights, PIAA 2100XT Xtreme White Fog Lamps, Polarg M25 parking light, and PIAA super whites for the turn signals and cornering light. I must say the lighting quality is great. Of course this cost much much more than what you can probably get, but I had a preference for PIAA. Good luck.

Sarin

 

I'd have to go with Sarin's recommendation and stick with PIAA's if you want really bright lights. The cheaper bulbs that say they are blue actually use some kind of filter to make the light come out blue. Unfortunately, this absorbs a lot of wavelengths of light, so the light output is actually less. PIAA's don't have a blue light to them, but they do have a really bright white light that still looks cool. They run at a higher temperature which makes them bright white and output more light.

The only way to get true blue light is to get a really high temperature bulb. That is why the color is blue, because the bulb is hotter. It's the same way that stars work, cool stars are red, then they get orange and yellow as they get hotter and finally blue when they're really hot.

The hotter bulbs also put out more light. You'd probably have to go with a HID conversion kit, which costs a lot of money, and some people don't recommend them because of the poor quality of the stock headlight housings.

I don't know what your talking about when you say 'headlight cover'. I'm assuming your talking about the entire headlight housing. Those can be a bit pricey brand new, usually around $100-120. You should replace them when you get a good set of bulbs, as older ones tend to discolor and eventually leak water into them, which can further hamper the light output.

-C-

 

One thing I want to point out about the PIAA extreme white bulbs, they have a blue tip, when your headlights are on, they are a high temp white, but the blue tip glows and reflects off the reflectors, and when your looking at a certain angles, you can see nice blue. The PIAA super whites don't do that because the tip is gray, Though the bulbs are coated purple.

S

 

I got some hyperwhites in my car, but I want them in my parking lights too...........

 

How much would the PIAA extreme white bulbs cost for a pair? Would I need the same bulbs for the corner lights too?

maximase86
I think I can see the blue tip on your car! Very nice!


Charles Bisel
My sister got in an accident and scratched the front driver side bumper and cracked the headlamp too. The lights worked and every thing but the outer cover that protects the bulbs was damage. It is the glass shell that protects the bulbs on newer cars.


It is sort of like the one on the civic below but it's stock of course.

 

Expect the bulbs to go from $65 a pair to $90 a pair. The cornering light isn't neccessary, but I did it to keep a consistent look. Yup, those be it in the pic I have in my signature, its a really cool look on and off. As for the headlamp, we have composite lamps like the newer cars. The cracked part is also made out of glass. You will have to replace the entire housing. You can get one from a salvage yard, but the reflectors tend to be in questionable condition. I'm running into this issue with the passenger side headlamp on my car that I replaced. I tell you one thing, the assembly isn't cheap new so be prepared.

Sarin