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HID headlights seem dimmer. Why?

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Old Jan 4, 2017 | 09:01 AM
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Default HID headlights seem dimmer. Why?

Hi guys,

I feel like my headlights have gotten dimmer over time, and I'm sure they are HID headlights.

There is a possibility that I clouded the plastic headlight with RainX (I didn't know it was plastic until I started applying it). Is there a good solution to this? Something like this? Does it work at all?

If that's not the problem and I want to replace the bulb, has anyone used this brand replacement before? They look good and have good reviews, but want to confirm they would work on my Z.
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Old Jan 4, 2017 | 09:07 AM
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do the lenses look cloudy? all headlights dim over time. i wouldnt buy some cheap crap off amazon or ebay, use the retrofit source

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/al...equipped)_2004
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Old Jan 4, 2017 | 09:14 AM
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Ill have to double check when I head home.

Also I didn't specify but I need this for my low beams. Is the high beam bulb the same as the low beam because that site you sent doesn't have any low beam options.
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Old Jan 4, 2017 | 09:36 AM
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i dont think you have bixenon HID... you prob have the h7 halogens

which ones do you have?




Last edited by travlee; Jan 4, 2017 at 09:37 AM.
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Old Jan 4, 2017 | 10:10 AM
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I just went and took two pictures. I'm pretty positive this isn't halogen. On another note the headlight looks a bit cloudy but not that bad





Last edited by mazzotta.al; Jan 4, 2017 at 10:10 AM. Reason: wording
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Old Jan 8, 2017 | 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by mazzotta.al
I just went and took two pictures. I'm pretty positive this isn't halogen. On another note the headlight looks a bit cloudy but not that bad




Those headlights come with either halogen or HID for the low beam. All have halogen for the high beam. If you don't know how to tell the difference just by looking at the light, you can take off your fender liners and see if there's a ballast on there. It's also possible the car came with halogen and a previous owner did a HID conversion. This would be different than a stock HID setup as well.
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Old Jan 8, 2017 | 05:53 PM
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Could be the pic, but light looks a bit too blue to be hologen. Im betting its HID.
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Old Jan 8, 2017 | 07:18 PM
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yea im sure theyre HID. If the previous owner did a conversion, would the bulb be different than any other HID replacement that fits the 350z?
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Old Jan 8, 2017 | 09:15 PM
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Originally Posted by mazzotta.al
yea im sure theyre HID. If the previous owner did a conversion, would the bulb be different than any other HID replacement that fits the 350z?
Yes.
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Old Jan 9, 2017 | 07:50 AM
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The D2R are the correct HID bulb for the older HID headlights. If you want to clean up the headlights I recommend the Sylvania kit , but I also would recommend getting more 1000 grit and 1500 grit sand paper to supplement the kit.

https://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-HRK-.../dp/B00429NKWK

It would be recommended to get a reputable brand like morimoto and to get 4500K or 5500K and stay away from anything higher. You will just see reduced light output much above 5000-5500K.

http://www.morimotohid.com/component...2r-xb-hid.html
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Old Jan 10, 2017 | 05:06 PM
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Headlights will dim with a loss in power. Like a car running 14.4 volts vs a car with a voltage drop at 13.1. Also look for a bad ground. On my G the headlight grounds are tiny and I can't say it helped output because I have great voltage cleaning up all factory ground to bare metal and adding a stealth 4 wire grounding kit and Big 3 Upgrade. I always look at the grounds and other wiring first. You can see during the day if you have a sparkly clear headlight housing or if its cloudy or not. Same with checking if its HID vs Halogen. Look for the ballast behind the headlight. Usually in my experience HID's wear out and turn off and on kinda like a short. At least in my experience. I haven't had HID's in recent times actually go bad or burn out though. I keep a good quality color in and I'm happy.
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