2008 Factory HIDs
11-15-2018, 11:22 AM
#1
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2008 Factory HIDs
I searched and haven't come up with too much about this - lots of similar posts, none with the information I'm looking for...
'08 maxima has factory HIDs, and they are getting pretty tired. The housing lenses are very oxidized and don't last long even after being polished, and the ballasts and bulbs are getting weak...So I'm looking for some modifications or upgrades but have hit some snags due to the factory HID...
1) Why are the factory HID housing replacements so expensive? I have not found any for less than 1k per light. That seems excessive. Anyone know of some reasonable replacement housings??
2) Are the housing covers for the non-HID lights the same as the HID? Can I just bake off the lens and swap?
3) Does anyone have experience retrofitting the factory HID cars with non-HID conversion kit? I'm not afraid of wiring, but I also don't want to have to rip out half the harness to do it right either...
Any ideas?
'08 maxima has factory HIDs, and they are getting pretty tired. The housing lenses are very oxidized and don't last long even after being polished, and the ballasts and bulbs are getting weak...So I'm looking for some modifications or upgrades but have hit some snags due to the factory HID...
1) Why are the factory HID housing replacements so expensive? I have not found any for less than 1k per light. That seems excessive. Anyone know of some reasonable replacement housings??
2) Are the housing covers for the non-HID lights the same as the HID? Can I just bake off the lens and swap?
3) Does anyone have experience retrofitting the factory HID cars with non-HID conversion kit? I'm not afraid of wiring, but I also don't want to have to rip out half the harness to do it right either...
Any ideas?
11-15-2018, 12:18 PM
#2
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Posts: 2,132
If I'm being honest, 2008 SL fully loaded with 120,000 on the ticker has a tradin of about $2000, dealer retail of about $5000. If your mileage is higher then that, of course that diminishes that value even more. if you (hypothetically) have to drop $2000 for housing and lights to feel comfortable driving at night for a car that's worth $2000, it's time to trade it in. Of course if you want to wait, just do what you're doing, buff the lenses every month with some plastic cleaner or mild compound (mild), and drive it into the ground.
11-15-2018, 12:52 PM
#3
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If I'm being honest, 2008 SL fully loaded with 120,000 on the ticker has a tradin of about $2000, dealer retail of about $5000. If your mileage is higher then that, of course that diminishes that value even more. if you (hypothetically) have to drop $2000 for housing and lights to feel comfortable driving at night for a car that's worth $2000, it's time to trade it in. Of course if you want to wait, just do what you're doing, buff the lenses every month with some plastic cleaner or mild compound (mild), and drive it into the ground.
so this is a spare vehicle for me, and it has 190k on it. It’s paid for and definitely a drive it into the ground type vehicle. I just don’t like having dim lights driving at night. I am absolutely fine doing mods and wiring, but I don’t want to pay for a hallogen housing if someone has already been there done that and didn’t work etc. or if there’s a cheaper replacement for the factory housings available.
11-15-2018, 03:11 PM
#4
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3) Does anyone have experience retrofitting the factory HID cars with non-HID conversion kit? I'm not afraid of wiring, but I also don't want to have to rip out half the harness to do it right either...
Any ideas?[/QUOTE]
I went from HIDs to LED's and the difference has been great. I get more visibility at night which is what I was looking for. There are a lot of LED kits out there with easy installation. I just removed the HID bulb with the LED. It only took about 15-20 minutes for both headlights.
11-15-2018, 04:02 PM
#5
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I’m not super interested in going to LED, I’m happy wit HID, the enclosures are just super oxidized. When I say a non-HID conversion, I mean a conversion kit to go from halogen to HID. Just replace the OEM HID with aftermarket. The rub with that is every kit that I’ve seen for that purpose is for going from halogen to HID, and I’m not super clear on the wiring differences for the high beam controls etc.
11-16-2018, 05:35 AM
#6
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You're only real option here is to hit up junk yards for a garage kept 6th gen, 07-08 that got hit in the rear, that also had HID. Then pull the housings. Probably could get them for about $200 a pair best guess, maybe less if they are a little tired. Ideally they are better off then the ones you have. That said too, if you're lights are dim, and they are original...try just getting new HID bulbs. They aren't cheap, but I guarantee they are going to be brighter then the 10 year old bulbs you have...
11-22-2018, 04:44 AM
#8
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I had polished them several times, and they didn’t ever look right. I think the actual lense has yellowed from UV.
What I ended up doing was buying a set of these:
which are halogen projectors that were made to look like factory HIDs..they looked enough like the factory ones that I suspected they copied the internal portions too, and sure enough they had. I was able to transfer all the factory HID hardware and wiring from the stock headlight enclosure to these with just a few tweaks (had to cut out a blank they left in for the ballast on the bottom).
Problem solved for ~$250
thanks for the help though, folks!
What I ended up doing was buying a set of these:
which are halogen projectors that were made to look like factory HIDs..they looked enough like the factory ones that I suspected they copied the internal portions too, and sure enough they had. I was able to transfer all the factory HID hardware and wiring from the stock headlight enclosure to these with just a few tweaks (had to cut out a blank they left in for the ballast on the bottom).
Problem solved for ~$250
thanks for the help though, folks!
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