Hi Guys,

Info needed (mods, please move if this is in the wrong forum, my apologies. And i did search). I have a 2006 Sedan with the stock reflector HID's. I'm planning on getting projectors so I've been looking for an extra set (would have to ship headlamps, not doing the work). I was looking at ebay (don�t feel like paying 1200 for a new oem set) but I've been seeing a lot of talk about bad sealing with ebay lamps, although its been mostly with 03-04's. Either way, I'm not overly concerned about sealing since we'd be opening the lights up anyway. My concern is really fitment and how they hold up with the HID heat. Question I have is, has this been done- has anyone used ebay projectors for a retrofit and how are they holding up?

Specifically I was looking at the ones below. Vendor says they are definitely HID for 05/06. I think I've bought foglights for my maxima before from them and they were ok.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Xenon-HID-He...2d3bc6&vxp=mtr

 

I know that you are specially talking about 05-06 headlights, but I have the ebay 04 black housing headlights and they seem to hold up fine with the HIDs before and after I retrofitted them. The only main problem that you might run into is that the clear coat on the headlights are very thin and will flake. I believe my headlights lasted a little over a year before it started flaking.

 

Appreciate the info Mr. Samster. I didnt even realize they had clear coat on them, thought it was just a hard clear plastic. So fitment was fine with yours, no gaps or anything? Did you end up doing anything about the flaking?

 

I'm doing a projector retrofit on the aftermarket 05-06 lights right now. The quality, most noticeably the chrome plating, is definitely inferior compared to OEM but you get what you pay for. I'm painting the bezels black anyway. AM-Autoparts has good service too - one of the lights I got was defective (broken bezel from factory) and they sent out a replacement right away. I'll post pics of my retrofit when it's all said and done.

 

Did the eBay headlamps open as easy as the OEM headlamps? It seems as though as they used a different sealant to seal them up compared to OEM.

 

It's been a couple years since I retrofitted my OEMs but the effort seemed pretty similar. They use butyl type sealant like the OEM lights. I haven't resealed the lights yet so I guess we'll see if the existing sealant is enough to seal them up like it did with the OEMs. I may lay down a strip of butyl sealant just in case.
BEWARE THOUGH! The housing plastic seems to be a little softer than the OEMs. One of the mounting points for the ballast deformed under 225 degree heat I used to open the lights. Make sure you put the light on either a piece of wood or a thick cloth.

 

Good to know man, thanks. I'm planning on keeping the stock look, no painting at all so that info is definitely helpful.

 

Good warning...of course now the inevitable question; do you think its worth it to get the aftermarket ones or try to find a used set (if you can find one) and try to deal with the not so clear lens?....and would love to see the retro when its done

 

I wanna retrofit my 2005 g35 coupe headlights .... I wanna get rid of the yellow turn signals. Put in clear ones then put one projector in

 

I really didnt do anything with the flaking. I just let it all flake off. Now after each car wash i put a layer of wax on it.

Fitment looked fine to me. I didnt put all the screws on tho. 1 on top and 2 on the front.

As for the butyl glue, I put a little more before i closed it up. There were some parts that looked like there werent enough (I had condensation before my retro). I also opened up my headlights like 5 times.

 

there's a big thread on this already

 

Can you point me to it? Didnt come up when I was searching for the info I needed.

 

Really? Its right on the first page a couple threads under this one https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-sed...bad-thing.html

 

I saw that thread, a bit hard to miss. However, if you notice the entire first page talks about switching the lenses. Thats probably where I started skimming since that wasnt what I was looking for. However, i do see what you're alluding to on page 3, thank you. I will take a closer look when I get out of work and see if its what Im looking for.

 

Gents, the thread referenced does have most of what I was asking about, Pages 2-4 or so for anyone wondering. Chalk that up to being tired and no patience to go thru an entire thread. Thanks everyone for the help.