iamlevel5

Long story short, my 08s headlights are very hazy, so I went to do the wet sand route and noticed while cleaning them that the inside is hazy as well. This is a bit odd as they don't have condensation, just haze. IU guess the sun does that, I don't have a garage or a cover so my car is always exposed to the sun. Baking the lamps and cleaning the inside is probably outside of my wheelhouse to be honest. What options would fellow Z owners recommend?

New headlamps are super high, I'd sooner just deal with diminished light output versus drop $700-1000+ on new housings.

I've seen aftermarket options like Depo headlights that look the part, but I'm positive are largely terrible (because, eBay) and likely won't give me OEM performance, even with the stock bulbs/ballast/etc. I'm digging the blacked out housings, but I feel like that might be tacky/ricey, especially because I'm 35, lol. If they perform properly, I might go this route, but searching Google/Reddit/here/etc haven't really provided me with what exactly about them is poor and how they compare with OEM housings. A lot of 03-05 guys run them, but not as many 06-08 guys for a direct comparison. If they perform well, I'd pull the trigger on the chrome set, or maybe even the black.

Would a shop refurbishment be cheaper? I haven't called around about that just yet but I figured that maybe other Z owners have done so through a shop.

Recommendations?

DACodeRed

You can try baking and pulling apart your headlights to sand the inside. If you do go that route you can also do other mods, Halos, STI-R lenses, etc, since the headlight is opened up. You can also try to get a set of used OEM headlights, but even then you're at best getting ~7 year old headlights. I own a 03 Z and did buy the eBay Depo headlights and I love them. I've had them about a year now and have had no issues with them and they look identical to the OEM ones my buddy has.

generalkenobi08

If you are willing to open up your headlight, replace the plastic lens with one off an eBay set. I haven't had time to do mine yet, but my eBay lights are sitting in a box in the garage. My understanding is that the lens should fit up nicely. I quickly compared them and this looks to be true. Opening them up is not really a difficult process just read through some of the headlight DIY. While you have the lights open, consider doing other mods like painting or STI-R lens as mentioned above.

moto1969

Can you attach some images of the results? How difficult is it to replace the lens? I am getting a quote of 1400.00 for one new headlight from the local dealer. At that price Windex has worked fairly well to remove the yellowish hue on them and will continue if this is my only reasonable cost.... Thanks for any advice on what replacement of headlights.