tvalenZiano

A lil help here guys..smoked my tails, loved it, then smoked my headlights love it--HOWEVER..need to play it safe. I know it sounds stupid, but whats the best (brightest/gives most visibility) bulb I can get??

I really love the smoked look, but need to upgrade because its only a matter of time before I bend a rim or worse. I can see, but its obviously much darker...Please no flaming, I'm sure there has to be a solution...

kourosH

iTrader: (3)

pics?

taurran

iTrader: (18)

Do you already have HID bulbs? If so, try adjusting them higher before replacing them. Do a quick search on this forum, there is a walkthrough on how to adjust them for better visibility.

tvalenZiano

I do have the factory HID already....but its not that they were moved in any way, before they were perfect.....its just that now they are painted with the translucent paint, which lets light through...but of course its less, and after applying several coats its significantly less...

I guess what I'm trying to ask is if there is a bulb out there that will be brighter than the stock so I can offset the loss of visibility due to the paint. Know what I mean?? Stock was great, the paint dropped it, can I get a better bulb so that when its in the smoked headlights it'll give me more visibility??? Please help.

These are the only pics I have 4 now....they are really bad & from my cell phone, will try and take some better ones soon...(any thoughts?)

ares

iTrader: (2)

you wont get too much brighter than what you have.

not a flame, but doing what you did was unbelievably illegal... just making you aware. it does look good, of course it does. but there is just no way to get enough light output.

for your purposes, try a set of HID fogs in the grill... cops are still going to get you for it 24/7 till they eventually make you replace the lights to keep using the car.

tvalenZiano

I'm sure I'll get some herassment, but so far so good. I've been using the highbeams at night, which due to the smoked look, they put out alot of light without blinding anyone. And I've had my other car (mazda3) smoked like that for 2yrs and never been stopped...even when I got pulled over for speeding or whatnot, it never even came up. But I knew that it might be an issue, so I'm prepared for the consequences if I do end up having to ditch 'em.

I'm not too much of a foglight fan, but if its the ONLY way to help my visibility than I may consider it...

But really there arent any better bulbs than the stock?? I see lots of people with 6k, 8k, even 12k..but there's always a debate as to which are actually better. From what I understand the 4-6k bulbs are slightly brighter than stock, and the 8,10,12k bulbs are just more colorful, but actual make less light....so any suggestions???

taurran

iTrader: (18)

Those aren't necessarily brighter, just a different color.

The HID's come from the factory adjusted very low. Adjusting them up to a higher angle gives better night visibility.

tvalenZiano

I guess I'll give it a shot, no one seems to be jumping out with suggestions, and what you're saying makes sense...I just keep thinking that before they were painted I was very happy with them....but thanks for the suggest, I'll see what happens..

kourosH

iTrader: (3)

looks nice imo, but the front is rather excessive and dangerous (not flaming) but you will probably get pulled over. waht did you use to tint/smoke them?

tvalenZiano

Nite shades, good stuff....And thanks

Like I said, I did the same exact thing to my mazda3, had it like that for 2yrs--no problems...

I'm gonna work on them this weekend, they are still rough and unfinished..need to wet sand, buff, and maybe even a lil clear coat. While I'm at it I might try to just lighten them up a little.

Also keep in mind these pics were taken inside my garage with just the garage light on...in the day they are lighter (more of a gray), and at night when I put the lights on they are more of a light/foggy gray. Everyone thats seen them in person love them, ...They are'nt THAT bad to see out of, I guess I'm used to the HID's, and I figured if it was easily fixed with a better bulb then it'd be perfect...

ares

iTrader: (2)

yes; what you heard is true, higher temperture is just a wave length reading; not the output. and the output typicly decrease the higher the bulb temp.

I believe possibly a projector headlight(such as the 2006 headlight) gets more light onto the road. that is if you dont have a 2006; cant tell from the photos. even so; it would likely be minimal at best.

another thing you need to be concerned about is the heat it will generate. there have been some issues with the headlight lens' cracking and such; though I dont think its known why, heat is one possibility. which the tint could increase. thats purely speculation, something to keep an eye on is all.

dkmesa350z

iTrader: (41)

wow those are really dark, I assume they're spray on. Perhaps try getting overlays because I'm not sure how much brighter bulbs would help

tvalenZiano

thanks for the responses....yes they are spray on, no my z is an '05, and thanks for the heads up w/ the temp!!


Let me ask you guys this...strictly LOOKS wise, do you guys dig 'em?? I keep looking at stock z lights and they are nice to begin with, but I like 'em smoked..like I said maybe I'll lighten them up and find a happy medium...but wondering what everyone thought.

boostie350

that looks hot and i have 50w 6000k hids in my mazda3 and they are so much brighter than a 350zs.. probably because they are aftermarket.. yet i will have to confirm that by comparing side to side.. i was big on the whole hid thing which is why i upgraded to them. apparently 4300k gives the best light output. now for looks if you want blue etc etc.. i would upgrade to higher wattage ballasts because my 6000ks are twice as bright as the stock 3hids which i believe are 4100k

Edit: Oh, and also, a lot of the stock HIDs' ballasts are 35 watts. Halogens run at 55w (usually). So you have to find out what wattage the headlights are rated for which wattage to run on, since the 350z comes with hids it's probably 35 watts, which means the 350z's headlights may be rated at 35watts.. If you are looking to just change the bulb for more output I would go with a 4300k heat range.

ares

iTrader: (2)

looks good; I always wanted to black out the inside of the headlight; no more chrome. little different than the smoked lens.

I just love the look of the painted headlight that the ferraris and new C6 corvette have going on. wasnt possible with the 2003-2005 though because the chrome was needed to reflect the light. but if the 06 are true projectors I think it could be done without hurting the output.

stepuckey

iTrader: (8)

tvalenziano - I'm totally w/ ya on the whole smoked headlight look. I got these really dark overlays from AZ350Z. They look just about as dark as your spray and I love it. But as your saying, visibility at night is defintely a lot more 'restricted' let's say. A small price to pay for the awesome look during the day, but I agree, if there was a better bulb, or some easy way to increase light output I would be all for it! Lemme know if you find out anything.

tvalenZiano

stepuckey, thanks bro----can u post a link for the overlays?? I like them when they are off, BUT when the lights are on, they have a "foggy" look to them...

These are painted from the outside, so basically when the lights are on, you can see EVERY mark from the paint....if the overlays are sweet, and same visibilty (not worse), I might just remove the paint and use them so its a cleaner look...

LEt me know, and I'll def. let you know about any solutions I find...u do the same!