Howdy!

Attempting to research headlight housing replacements for my 2005 coupe. Already equipped with the OEM HID housings (car has 89K on it), but the housing lenses are in terrible shape, they're simply browned out.

The plan is to get new housings, but I am noticing an old mod in regards to swapping in the later 2006-2007 equipment...but for some odd reason, the 06/07 right side units are unobtainable everywhere I've looked (other than the $1000-each, Z-Performance units, but I haven't verified they were in stock), so my question is this: Are the 2006-2007 HID housings that much better, or just get a set of 2005 units, try to get some better HID bulbs, and run those instead?

 

If you have projectors it’s hard to beat. You can buy some eBay headlights and swap the lenses if you have an oven that you can cook the headlight in.. if I’m understanding correctly.

 

Just get an aftermarket set of headlights with projectors. Install a HID kit for another $40 bucks and you will be happy.

 

Urban: Not too terribly worried about the oven conundrum, worst case, I've got three ovens to choose from at work, lol. Beyond that, read on, as I've got something of a similar idea if all goes horribly wrong.

Scorpio: Oddly enough, I've got access to a new set of 2003-2004 Infiniti OEM base model coupe halogen housings (my car is a 2005 Sport, only 89K on it, but the previous idiot owner left it parked outside for a few years so the housings are garbage).

The reason initially for going forward from 2005 is to get the updated projector housings, but the pain in the **** with this idea is the fact that nobody seems to have a brand new right-side 2006-2007 housing available (left sides are available everywhere) except for Z1 Motorsports, and while this car is mostly untouched, I don't know if it's worth spending $2000 on a brand-new set of OEM housings...minus new ballasts, as this is sort of reaching into 996 Porsche 911 territory. Couple that with the fact that even the newer HID projector housing only runs a 35w bulb anyway (I sort of live out in the middle of nowhere, so I can get away with running brighter headlights), so that $2000 set becomes even more laughable given what I can do in modifying something far cheaper for mucho improved lighting output.

The backwards-retrofit idea was to go with the older-style halogen units as I can get the new OEM halogen housings for stupid cheap, and upgrade the H1's with a set of 55w GTR or comparable HID bulbs. I'm sort of done screwing around with ancient ballasts and HID systems that are soooo 20 years ago.

Worst case, I split the new 03-04 housings and retrofit some current projectors in there (Retrofit Source pieces, for example).

The aftermarket housing idea isn't too bad, but I've replaced a number of housings in my own vehicles and customer cars and trucks as well over the last four years, and it's been a hideous crapshoot in regards to product quality here of late, maybe two sets of them have been passably OEM-ish in quality, and the rest were varying degrees of product quality terror. I ended up throwing away one set of new housings some months ago (which were supposedly the 'best' available for that particular vehicle) both because it was impossible to get them aimed correctly, and then there were light artifacts (random tiny beams of light due to terribly-engineered reflectors) aimed all over the freaking place....and instead of being aimed towards the road. I want to try the OEM pieces first, and then if all goes horribly awry, I'll try to ignore the panic attacks inherent in trying out anything aftermarket in headlamp housings here of late, and go for the aftermarket pieces.

Next up after the lighting: Whether or not I want to plunk down $400 for switching the stock radio faceplate for the unit which allows for an aftermarket tuner, especially when taking into account how little I drive the car, as I have a different daily.

 

Theres a few guys around me selling 06-07 headlights but they all look a little yellow on the lenses.

U dont like the look of aftermarket projector headlights? Thats what I have on my car. I installed a $50 HID kit onto them and the light output is pretty good.

 

The look isn't the problem, it's the track record I've had with aftermarket/not OEM housings. In short, the 'good/terrible' ratio is skewed almost entirely over to the 'terrible'. I used to do a lot of work to Fox body and SN-95 Mustangs, all the Ford replacement housings are gone (or at least were a year ago), and the aftermarket junk that's left behind is beyond terrible. Either the beams don't aim correctly...the lenses almost split immediately from the housing...or the adjusters simply break the first time you try to use them, which is the worst problem I've had with all aftermarket housings, the adjusters are so flimsy that they're a joke as to why they're even included. A first-gen Dodge Durango set I threw away (clear lens variants, the 'best' I could find), the adjusters were broken out of the box (new housings), and I had to put rubber shims behind the buckets to get them fairly well aimed...and even then it still wasn't very close. Couple that with the beam being focused down to almost a point (almost zero flood), I think they were the worst set I've ever worked with, while a set of CAPA housings (Insurance-spec) were sourced and installed, they worked soooo much better...but were still pretty much garbage.

I'm going to try out the earlier new OEM halogen G35 housings and retrofit them with a projector.

 

Excited to see them. I miss having a retrofitted car.