Headlights, Headlights...Retro/Ebay/5.5 Step in Gentlemen.
#81
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anything over 35 watt is overdriving, and will comprimise the reliability Substantially, for very little actual light benefit. In short, running higher than 35 watt on any current production bulbs is Ill advised. Unless you 'just have to be a LITTLE brighter then everyone else '
#83
I recommend oem 02 xenons. Thats what I had for yrs. and it is abuot the same price and MUCH better and they're OEM parts so you know theyre good. Ahhhhhh I mean you could retrofit them into you're AE headlights but y bother. Just do the 02 swap its WORTH it. WELL WORTH it.
#84
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I recommend oem 02 xenons. Thats what I had for yrs. and it is abuot the same price and MUCH better and they're OEM parts so you know theyre good. Ahhhhhh I mean you could retrofit them into you're AE headlights but y bother. Just do the 02 swap its WORTH it. WELL WORTH it.
They just don't fit properly on the 5th gen.
I won't that too hard, but saying they're the 'way to go' is misleading.
Now, if you don't care all that much about the details, they are perfect.
Or if you're planning on installing the 5.5 bumper, then do it, don't hesitate.
And on that note, I think the mounting is different for the 2002/2003, I've looked at how they sit on the 5.5, and it's farther back (I can only assume the upper rad brace has a different bolt pattern/location on the 5.5)
I've shown you guys how to get them to sit a lot better though, and when I'm done they will suit the car, or come off.
And if they come off, I'll consider retro much harder.
#85
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MR. Tyutyunnik's LED's
Great guy amazing prices, you need to deal with him if you want SMD LED's.
Here's some shots:
LEFT- Stock Incandecent 194 ------------------- RIGHT- 1 Watt High Powered LED
LEFT-Multiple SMD bulb ---------------------- RIGHT- 1 Watt High Powered LED
Multiple SMD bulb. These things are bright!!! I light up a good portion of the driveway and neighbours house with just them on!
Great guy amazing prices, you need to deal with him if you want SMD LED's.
Here's some shots:
LEFT- Stock Incandecent 194 ------------------- RIGHT- 1 Watt High Powered LED
LEFT-Multiple SMD bulb ---------------------- RIGHT- 1 Watt High Powered LED
Multiple SMD bulb. These things are bright!!! I light up a good portion of the driveway and neighbours house with just them on!
#87
I recommend oem 02 xenons. Thats what I had for yrs. and it is abuot the same price and MUCH better and they're OEM parts so you know theyre good. Ahhhhhh I mean you could retrofit them into you're AE headlights but y bother. Just do the 02 swap its WORTH it. WELL WORTH it.
#88
MR. Tyutyunnik's LED's
Great guy amazing prices, you need to deal with him if you want SMD LED's.
Here's some shots:
LEFT- Stock Incandecent 194 ------------------- RIGHT- 1 Watt High Powered LED
LEFT-Multiple SMD bulb ---------------------- RIGHT- 1 Watt High Powered LED
Multiple SMD bulb. These things are bright!!! I light up a good portion of the driveway and neighbours house with just them on!
Great guy amazing prices, you need to deal with him if you want SMD LED's.
Here's some shots:
LEFT- Stock Incandecent 194 ------------------- RIGHT- 1 Watt High Powered LED
LEFT-Multiple SMD bulb ---------------------- RIGHT- 1 Watt High Powered LED
Multiple SMD bulb. These things are bright!!! I light up a good portion of the driveway and neighbours house with just them on!
#89
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Nicee Tuner, I know you can't get vleds in canada but fyi anyone interested vleds carries 2 watt 194s, brighter than the sun, they're 20 a pair but they have regular 15% off codes. One time they had a 50% off sale that lasted about 15 minutes. I'll post up on the forum next time they do a 50% sale, it was nuts.
#90
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Started 5.5 Headlight Paint
So I finally split the headlights, and started toying with paint ideas. I didn't want to do the standard 'total black out' that most do. I decided to try a different angle...
We will see how it turns out, if it doesn't look as good as the black out, then I will just black it out
Disassembly:
Checking stock appearance:
Painted just the 'v' area of the main pot:
I liked that, but I decided it wasn't enough to make a real impact, enter fancy tape work:
Taped, wetsanded, Ready for Primer:
First coat of primer:
More to come, I just put on the first coat of Black, I'll post final coat and mock-up install tonight likely.
We will see how it turns out, if it doesn't look as good as the black out, then I will just black it out
Disassembly:
Checking stock appearance:
Painted just the 'v' area of the main pot:
I liked that, but I decided it wasn't enough to make a real impact, enter fancy tape work:
Taped, wetsanded, Ready for Primer:
First coat of primer:
More to come, I just put on the first coat of Black, I'll post final coat and mock-up install tonight likely.
#91
Nice work as always. Are you planning on clearing out the amber? I removed it and replaced the stock bulb with a chrome bulb that blinks amber (Silver Stealth Titanium Chrome Vision). It really cleans up the front end IMO.
Here's a not so good pic...
I don't have any other pics with this and the black grill...
Here's a not so good pic...
I don't have any other pics with this and the black grill...
#92
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Nice work as always. Are you planning on clearing out the amber? I removed it and replaced the stock bulb with a chrome bulb that blinks amber (Silver Stealth Titanium Chrome Vision). It really cleans up the front end IMO.
Here's a not so good pic...
I don't have any other pics with this and the black grill...
Here's a not so good pic...
I don't have any other pics with this and the black grill...
I like the look of that from the picture, I know most guys use the Home Depot lens around here, and I've never been a huge fan. I was going to try it though...
#94
Tuner, you have so much going on at once, I swear I'm missing half of it. Can't wait to see your final pics. (No cell phone photos, Matt.)
While I'm not a huge fan of cleared turn sign-signal lenses, I really do like this photo. The framing, depth, quality and subject matter all come together nicely. Crop this into a widescreen, and it's serious sig-photo stuff. Very cool photo.
While I'm not a huge fan of cleared turn sign-signal lenses, I really do like this photo. The framing, depth, quality and subject matter all come together nicely. Crop this into a widescreen, and it's serious sig-photo stuff. Very cool photo.
Last edited by Rochester; 04-01-2011 at 10:11 AM.
#95
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^ Arm-Chair engineer and Photo Analyst! You are a pretty talented man John.
I have a sneaking suspicion that doesn't look great in person, but dam if it doesn't look good in that picture!
I will be sure to post pictures, I'm good at that. I should invest in a better camera though. This one is Hi-Res, decent quality, but it just doesn't capture some of this stuff ~especially the night time lighting shots~ very well at all.
I have a sneaking suspicion that doesn't look great in person, but dam if it doesn't look good in that picture!
I will be sure to post pictures, I'm good at that. I should invest in a better camera though. This one is Hi-Res, decent quality, but it just doesn't capture some of this stuff ~especially the night time lighting shots~ very well at all.
#96
You know what would really set off this look in a more finished way? The fitter rubber weather strips that sit in the grove of the headlight lens. It's called a Headlight Kit, and goes for something like $20 at your Nissan parts department. The purpose is to manage airflow under the hood at high speeds, which can cause a resonance that makes your hood shake.
But it looks really good, too. Every 5th gen should have these things.
Wait a minute... I've got pictures!
But it looks really good, too. Every 5th gen should have these things.
Wait a minute... I've got pictures!
Last edited by Rochester; 04-01-2011 at 10:25 AM.
#97
#98
It should be on that link about 3/4 of the way down. I don't like the malibu lense either and my dremel skills aren't the best so I went the easy route.
http://autolumination.com/7443_7440.htm
#99
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I'm going to check into those rubber strips. Hopefully the local Stealership doesn't want my fingers for them (we get slaughtered in Canada on parts, well lots of other stuff too but that's WAY OT)
The 4th gen had them stock, they mounted on the hood though IIRC. And most Aftermarket headlights for the 5th/5.5 come with them too.
I'm very surprised Nissan didn't include these from the factory, guess they were pinching pennies.
Thanks for posting that though Rochester, I will be getting them regardless of which headlights I end up with, just need to decide on that before I attatch them...
The 4th gen had them stock, they mounted on the hood though IIRC. And most Aftermarket headlights for the 5th/5.5 come with them too.
I'm very surprised Nissan didn't include these from the factory, guess they were pinching pennies.
Thanks for posting that though Rochester, I will be getting them regardless of which headlights I end up with, just need to decide on that before I attatch them...
#100
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Sorry, didn't read up far enough.
It should be on that link about 3/4 of the way down. I don't like the malibu lense either and my dremel skills aren't the best so I went the easy route.
http://autolumination.com/7443_7440.htm
It should be on that link about 3/4 of the way down. I don't like the malibu lense either and my dremel skills aren't the best so I went the easy route.
http://autolumination.com/7443_7440.htm
Illuminated pictures would be nice as well, whenever you get around to them.
Photo's are loading right now. I have no idea what it's going to look like on the car, I will probably have to put them in place so I can get a rough idea.
Also looks like I may have wasted my time taping the outer edge, I think the lens is going to cover it... hard to tell with everything just sitting in place though. Either way, if I keep the colour scheme, I'll have to do it on the other side as well.
#104
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I'm going to set them in place on the car if I get a shot later. Need to see what they look like on white, and how the Black in the headlights works with the grill.
If I decide to paint more, I have a couple more places in mind before I'm stuck doing a full black out.
If I decide to paint more, I have a couple more places in mind before I'm stuck doing a full black out.
#107
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I wish these forums didn't base page length on post count, and actually based it on LENGTH, my picture-whored threads are always such a chore to get to the bottom of. And always so damn long!
/Rant
With that said, here's more pictures
I popped out the reflector to see what it looks like. The bulb sits at an angle to the reflector, so it looks kind of strange, but you have to actually look at it to see that. It has potential to work, I'll see what it looks like on the car as well.
If you look closely, you can see that the bulb isn't straight in the reflector:
/Rant
With that said, here's more pictures
I popped out the reflector to see what it looks like. The bulb sits at an angle to the reflector, so it looks kind of strange, but you have to actually look at it to see that. It has potential to work, I'll see what it looks like on the car as well.
If you look closely, you can see that the bulb isn't straight in the reflector:
#109
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Nah man that's perfect!! Thanks so much, I may run it like that actually, looks nice I bet the gap is barely noticable once everything is fully assembled. It's hard to tell without installing the lens fully so those pics are very helpful.
I wasn't ranting about that, just all picture threads are so dam long and take patience to read/view. It'd be better to just have more pages.
I'm going to take some pics on the car right now.
I wasn't ranting about that, just all picture threads are so dam long and take patience to read/view. It'd be better to just have more pages.
I'm going to take some pics on the car right now.
#111
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Yes I would need to make it yellow. As UGAd13 did, a chrome tinted amber bulb would be ideal for this. An amber bulb would look silly IMO, especially because the bulb enters the reflector at an angle.
Sparks what are you running for a bulb?
Sparks what are you running for a bulb?
#112
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Were I to run a colored bulb, I'd probably go with some trick LEDs. I don't like the chrome amber ones much.
#113
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Sitting on car Pics
Ok. So after just placing on the car, I have pretty much decided 2 things for sure:
1. The 5.5 lights will be going on this car now, the AE lights will be coming off.
2. The amber lens is not going on, regardless of how I do it, it's going to get cleared out.
Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:
......
Seriously:
And just so you can see it, the amber. Looks so 'off' after having the clear installed:
1. The 5.5 lights will be going on this car now, the AE lights will be coming off.
2. The amber lens is not going on, regardless of how I do it, it's going to get cleared out.
Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:
......
Seriously:
And just so you can see it, the amber. Looks so 'off' after having the clear installed:
#114
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Now... What I can't decide about, 2 things:
1. The 'line' that is clearly apparent on the inside of the headlight when viewed from the side. I cannot decide if I like it. I think I actually do... I didn't expect to but it seems to contrast well. See pic below.
2. The side portion that I left OEM Silver... I can't decide whether to leave it or paint it. I had two ideas regarding paint, if I choose to paint it. I would attempt this first:
I would black out only the concave section (there's 4 contours to this piece, 3 are convex, the circled one is concave)
If that looked foolish, -it could go either way-, I would be forced to black out the whole 'piece':
What do you guys think? I know it would look good black, but I think leaving it like this really makes it unique, and also, from the side, looks like the OEM light almost so the 'black out' effect isn't so overpowering.
That was my plan with this paint scheme, to maintain a black out effect from the front view, and keep the silver/oem view from the side. I`m also loving that the 3D effect is still present. I am happy that my plan worked out as I had hoped.
My main dislike of blacked out headlights was always the side view, too much contrast and the 3D effect of the pod style lights is greatly dissipated or eliminated.
Just looking for some imput, there's no going back if I decide to paint it. If I can make my decision I might have a chance to get these wired and installed Sunday when I put the Coilovers on.
----
1. The 'line' that is clearly apparent on the inside of the headlight when viewed from the side. I cannot decide if I like it. I think I actually do... I didn't expect to but it seems to contrast well. See pic below.
2. The side portion that I left OEM Silver... I can't decide whether to leave it or paint it. I had two ideas regarding paint, if I choose to paint it. I would attempt this first:
I would black out only the concave section (there's 4 contours to this piece, 3 are convex, the circled one is concave)
If that looked foolish, -it could go either way-, I would be forced to black out the whole 'piece':
What do you guys think? I know it would look good black, but I think leaving it like this really makes it unique, and also, from the side, looks like the OEM light almost so the 'black out' effect isn't so overpowering.
That was my plan with this paint scheme, to maintain a black out effect from the front view, and keep the silver/oem view from the side. I`m also loving that the 3D effect is still present. I am happy that my plan worked out as I had hoped.
My main dislike of blacked out headlights was always the side view, too much contrast and the 3D effect of the pod style lights is greatly dissipated or eliminated.
Just looking for some imput, there's no going back if I decide to paint it. If I can make my decision I might have a chance to get these wired and installed Sunday when I put the Coilovers on.
----
Last edited by TunerMaxima3000; 04-01-2011 at 01:53 PM.
#115
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I'm running the stock white bulbs. They're yellow enough when contrasted by my headlights that in the last 3ish years of running these lights, I have not been pulled over or questioned about them.
Were I to run a colored bulb, I'd probably go with some trick LEDs. I don't like the chrome amber ones much.
Were I to run a colored bulb, I'd probably go with some trick LEDs. I don't like the chrome amber ones much.
As far as I'm aware, you can't run LED's in the signal without a digital flasher, and I don't feel like buying one just for that. Also, I don't know any LED 'bulb' that would look good in this situation, visible to the naked eye and installed at an angle....
#116
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What do you mean by 'trick' LED's ?
As far as I'm aware, you can't run LED's in the signal without a digital flasher, and I don't feel like buying one just for that. Also, I don't know any LED 'bulb' that would look good in this situation, visible to the naked eye and installed at an angle....
As far as I'm aware, you can't run LED's in the signal without a digital flasher, and I don't feel like buying one just for that. Also, I don't know any LED 'bulb' that would look good in this situation, visible to the naked eye and installed at an angle....
Now... What I can't decide about, 2 things:
What do you guys think? I know it would look good black, but I think leaving it like this really makes it unique, and also, from the side, looks like the OEM light almost so the 'black out' effect isn't so overpowering.
That was my plan with this paint scheme, to maintain a black out effect from the front view, and keep the silver/oem view from the side. I`m also loving that the 3D effect is still present. I am happy that my plan worked out as I had hoped.
My main dislike of blacked out headlights was always the side view, too much contrast and the 3D effect of the pod style lights is greatly dissipated or eliminated.
Just looking for some imput, there's no going back if I decide to paint it. If I can make my decision I might have a chance to get these wired and installed Sunday when I put the Coilovers on.
----
What do you guys think? I know it would look good black, but I think leaving it like this really makes it unique, and also, from the side, looks like the OEM light almost so the 'black out' effect isn't so overpowering.
That was my plan with this paint scheme, to maintain a black out effect from the front view, and keep the silver/oem view from the side. I`m also loving that the 3D effect is still present. I am happy that my plan worked out as I had hoped.
My main dislike of blacked out headlights was always the side view, too much contrast and the 3D effect of the pod style lights is greatly dissipated or eliminated.
Just looking for some imput, there's no going back if I decide to paint it. If I can make my decision I might have a chance to get these wired and installed Sunday when I put the Coilovers on.
----
#117
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The issue is the STOCK bulb doesn`t enter the reflector straight, so a LED bulb with the LED`s on the side, once installed, would have the LED`s facing forward, or at an angle, and they wouldn`t properly illuminate the reflector as you`re suggesting.
But I can dig what you`re saying. I wanted to try something different, as I often do, sometimes it turns out, sometimes not, but I don`t often do something like that without a good back up plan. This one obviously being: If I don`t like it, I just black it out completely and call it done.
I think it would look foolish on a black car.
I think it would look amazing on your car (silver colour)
And I`m unsure what I think about it on the Pearl white (my car).
Last edited by TunerMaxima3000; 04-01-2011 at 02:40 PM.
#118
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Possible black out... quick 'smudge' in gimp.
I think I'm going to go do this right now. I've been staring at the pics for a while and I've decided I need to black out some more. I don't think blacking out the piece on the side is a good idea, otherwise I will be forced to black out all of it, I think it will look dumb to try and leave the 'pods' silver after I touch that.
Anyways here's the pic:
Off to tape it off again
I'm going to tape and start the other headlight too.
I think I'm going to go do this right now. I've been staring at the pics for a while and I've decided I need to black out some more. I don't think blacking out the piece on the side is a good idea, otherwise I will be forced to black out all of it, I think it will look dumb to try and leave the 'pods' silver after I touch that.
Anyways here's the pic:
Off to tape it off again
I'm going to tape and start the other headlight too.