Having been dealing with OEM vs. Aftermarket headlights in my projector retrofit, I've noticed some differences between the two that don't really matter, unless you're Headlamp McFrankenstein like me and try to swap parts between all the headlights to get exactly what you want.

So, if you're not planning on cracking different types of headlights open and creating hybrids, this probably will be pointless for you to read (unless you're just curious). My goal is at least to put the info out there for any others who try to do the same thing later on down the road.

First off, I have the Aftermarket, reflector-based Halo headlamps and a single I30t OEM HID headlamp that I've been working with. My observations will concern these headlamps only.

The halo headlights:

• Clear lenses, diffused area of lense over turn signal portion
• No actual "reflector" for the turn signal bulb
• Lense seems to be thin and scratches easily
• The housing itself, the plastic is kinda flimsy (compared to OEM) and the mounting tabs are relatively thin and flexible
• The hardware isn't a very good grade (screws, adjustments have play)

The OEM headlamps are of (overall) much better quality. The lenses don't seem to scratch as easily, they seem heavier/thicker. The tabs are thicker and stout-er. The housings have thick plastic that resists movement/flex. They also have a nice ingenious design for sealing the back of the HID bulb and ignitor. Last thing: reflectors of much better finish/quality/craftsmanship/design. The aftermarket reflectors are downright shabby.

When swapping parts, the following will or will not work:

• You cannot swap the lenses between the halo lights and the OEM I30t light, they are shaped slightly different such that they won't fit
• The turn signal reflector from the OEM light will not fit onto the aftermarket halo light
• The inner headlight trim piece from the aftermarket halo light WILL fit into the lense/headlamp of the OEM light, but loosely, and will need a new mounting solution.
• The OEM headlight trim piece will NOT fit into the aftermarket halo lense/headlamp (too large)
• The reflectors (themselves) will not swap between the housings, the ball/pivot joints are in different places. The aiming screws however, match up.

Other things to note:

- OEM HID headlamps have what appears to be a small motor and electrical plug/connector on the back of them near the upper aiming screw. Apparently auto or manual electronic leveling was an optional feature on these headlights...somewhere.

- OEM HID ballasts between the I30t and I35 are different. The ballasts on the I35 are shorter, while the I30t ballasts are longer. They both are PnP for each other though and all the wiring matches up and works perfectly.

 

Is it hard to re-route the ballast wires through the assembly ? it was a real PITA on my Q.

 

damn good write-up

 

Meta -

From your observations, do our I35 HIDs have a better light out put than the HIDs in the I30t? I have access to a pair of I30t lights and I am thinking of swapping out my OEM. Though I would hate to lose the already NOT so brightness of our OEM out put.

 

Haven't had to do that, and really, shouldn't be an issue as all our wiring is external anyway.

 

From what I can see it appears that the reflector design is the same, so the output should be equal. Only real difference between the I35 and I30t headlights seems to be the ballast and the inner headlight trim.

But both of those could be swapped if one was so inclined.

BTW - I thought all I30ts had black inner headlight trim...I was wrong. The I30t headlight I have has a kind of bronze/black chrome painted trim, whereas of course, the I35 inner headlight trim is silver.

 

Hey Meta, you know the gray connector that connects to the ballast underneath the headlight? Do you know the spade connector size? standard 1/4? or smaller?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/00-04...spagenameZWDVW

whats your opinion on those?

actually i cant decide between those or these

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/00-01...spagenameZWDVW

i plan to convert to hid and just get connector convert from 9006 to H1 or whatever the second one is. I also plan to silicon seal or re seal the whole outside lens and any other necessary seams... I have the regular halos now and the driver leaks water in when it rains and it fogs up so i wanted to know which yall think was better. Sorry for the thread hi jack but thought it was on the same topic.

 

I'll have to measure it and get back to you. Couldn't tell you off the top of my head.