I've been trying to figure this out but I can't find a picture of it to confirm. What do the OEM HID headlights look on the Maxima if it came factory equipped with the HID option? Everything I'm seeing looks like they don't have projectors, which makes me think they're retrofits. Did they somehow find a way to use HIDs without a projector at that time or something, or was there not a factory HID option? Just confused, I've seen lots of Maximas with HIDs and the factory looking headlights but none ever have projectors that I'm seeing and thought those were required to properly diffuse the light from the HID bulb.

 

stock 5.5 gen fitted with HID are HID reflector housing, the bulbs are unique for the reflector housing,

it was one of the first cars with stock HID, so not long after prolly within a year or two most cars had hid but with projectors, even nissan in the same window changed over to projecters in the 350z

search a little further its all out there

 

^ Yep. Reflector based xenon set up using D2R bulbs which have a ceramic coating to reduce glare.

Maximas didn't come with projector based xenon set ups until the following gen ('04).

 

 

good job blinding everyone.

 

They're not the greatest but they're factory. Not much you can do about it

 

So this explains why there was a higher theft rate on these headlights when they first came out. Always wondered what it was about it. Is the reflector housing literally any different from the one that takes a regular bulb, or is it just the inclusion of the ballast and a specially designed HID bulb that turns the regular headlamp into an HID one? I always assumed someone retrofitted HIDs into my Maxima but couldn't ever see any of the 5.5 gens with projectors besides ones with the cheap eBay headlights or custom jobs.

 

Reflectors are designed specifically for HID. It's just not that great of a design.

Manufacturers are not allowed to just stick HIDs in halogen headlights. They wouldn't meet DOT standards.

 

Yeah, the factory HIDs aren't bad though.

As long as the headlight is clean, they don't glare. The bulb itself has a special cut off coating on it and the reflector is designed differently.



This shows the difference between the D2R(Reflector) bulb and the D2S(Projector) bulb.

Aside from the coating, the bulbs are virtually identical and use the same plug. Just have a different cut out as to where a tab fits so you can't interchange them without cutting that piece out.

 

I don't blind anyone, they are legal hids, not like all these rainbow colors I've seen out there, output is great depending on bulb, cut off is ugly though

 

I put in 5.5 gen lights on my 5th gen. The cut off on these is actually very good and flat. Changed the bulbs to 6000k. White light output on the road, slight blue tint when looking at the car. No glare though.

 

yeah he was talking nonsense

 

remember this was one of the first cars with HID stock so yeah it was decent for being innovative and not using projectors,

i remember i didnt like the look of projectors at first, they looked like alien eyes to me haha.




like look at that puny projector on the earlier 350z , looks gross to me.

 

I guess I am that ignorant. I was thinking the headlights looked a bit different on my 2003 Maxima.

 

they do, they dont have projectors

 

That tiny projector actually uses D2R bulbs as well lol Because it isn't a true HID projector like the later years. Just a projector lens in front of the bulb kind of like those cheap ones you can find on ebay for S13s.

 

great to know, looks like nissan had a clunker headlight on the early 350zs as well then.

thanks man

 

am I pretty close in saying the maxima or 350z was one of the first few cars with stock HID ?

i remember the acura tls had them too around the same era so prolly all car companys at that time did it

i remember the acura ones always turned pink, it was like every 3 acuras I saw with that stock hid had pink early dying bulbs