2005 Base Coup 350Z - Passenger side headlight went out and the dealer tells me $180 but I find similar, if not better online for $60/pair. After browsing these forums I find there is wayy TMI to filter so I'll just ask: What is the easiest/best way to change the bulb myself and while I'm at it, should I upgrade all the other bulbs in too? I see that a lot of After Market bulbs seem to proform better (but I don't like the obnoxious blue ones!)

 

Remove the 2 fender liner bolts closest to the headlight and jam your hand in there. It's a simple 1/2 twist and the socket is out. Replace the bulb, screw the socket back in, and put the fender liner back. Took me 5 minutes tops.

You are sure it's a burnt bulb right?

 

+1 - just pull that front fender liner, held in by clips, you will see there's a round, grey dust cap. Turn it counter clockwise, pull it off and you can disconnect the wiring connector, release the clip that holds the bulb in place, swap bulbs and bada-bing.

 

base models come with halogens correct? IMHO OP, get an HID kit, 5500K, purest white with a very very slight hint of blue, replaced the turn signal bulbs with those "chrome" bulbs that still light up amber, boom. done.

 

yep, 03 - 05 base = halogen

 

That is concise and well written.

Nice to see an intelligent person on the internet once in a while! Nice job Lee!!

 

No, not sure that it's a burnt bulb. I guess I'll check the fuse - any suggestions there? I'm hoping it has just worked it's way loose but probably not since I didn't notice it "blinking" before going out. Now that I know how easy it is to get in there I'll check it.

Thanks a bunch!

 

"imho op"???

 

Will this work from ebay: item #400078070132, ending on Feb-06-10 11:24:04 PST - PIAA H7 Xtreme White Plus Twin Pack 55w=110Watt 17655 ?

 

Will this work from ebay: item #400078070132, ending on Feb-06-10 11:24:04 PST - PIAA H7 Xtreme White Plus Twin Pack 55w=110Watt 17655

 

im pretty sure only the 03 base might have had halogens. $180 seems more like hid replacement...

 

Those are just standard halogen bulbs with a heavy blue coating, which reduces light output and will look 'rice'. These are often sold as fake HID's. Just get some standard 55W Silverstar branded halogen bulbs and you'll be fine.

If you want to convert to HID, you could try a HID kit. Normally no one should ever condone the use of a kit in a headlamp designed for halogens, but our hybrid reflector/projector might actually take it fine. If you get a nice level of light output on the road, and a nice cutoff like in the below picture... your fine. If a fair bit of light is above this cutoff you will be creating glare bothering oncoming drivers and you should remove them. It is illegal to have a HID kit installed, even if it doesn't cause glare. But i've never heard of anyone getting a fix-it ticket from a well-designed setup, in other words if you have a nice cutoff and are not blinding others or have extreme bluish lighting, the cops will probably leave you alone.



Or if you really willing to spend some money go hardcore and replace your halogen projectors with real HID ones, this involves tearing open the headlamp and cutting with a dremel and fitting in another projector unit. I did this replacing the stock HID projector with ones from a BMW M3, take a look at my thread here.

Good luck...

 

Thank you for the detailed reply. What do you think about this http://www.carid.com/product.php?pro...=84842&page=1?

 

Looks ok, I suppose you could try it... i've never heard of them and it may be crap, you take chances with aftermarket stuff. If you end up with too much light above cutoff or a scattered beam, there are better options. If you try this though go with 5000K, will have a slight blue hue but will still be white and put out nearly the same amount of light as the brightest 4100K and 4300K that comes stock in all HID equipped cars.

For under $300 you could possibly end up with a quality and reliable system. If the 350Z halogen lowbeams are H7 size, you can buy two H7 to D2S adapters, these are little shims that fit between the HID bulb and projector. Then buy OEM D2S HID bulbs and ballasts. You can buy this kit which is the same ballasts used in Nissan 350Z's equipped with HID. These ballasts are very reliable, i've had water inside my right side one two times, drained it, and it still works.

http://store.theretrofitsource.com/p...f83207f979c338


These guys sell H7 to D2S adapters:
http://www.hidexpert.com/ph7_adapters.html