Really? That's good to know. I saw some aftermarket ones at a car meet yesterday and they looked pretty good. I guess to fix the water, try to seal it and if it doesn't work.. buy an OEM light? They're expensive

 

They might look nice, but it's function, while driving at night which matters. Many aftermarket lights have a less than ideal beam pattern, poor horizontal cutoff, or just low light output in general. You won't get anything better than the '06> OEM Bi-Xenon lights, which is why guys who know will pay so much for a good used set.

Also, stick with bulbs of a reasonable color temp, i.e. 4300-5500K for the best light output, and avoid the cheap Chinese-made knockoff bulbs. German-made Philips, Osram, or Sylvania are what you want, although there are also some good OEM-quality Japanese-made bulbs out there.

 

So I guess taking the the bulbs from the stock headlights is out of the question? Because I agree, these bulbs are amazing and way better than any other after market HIDs I had in my old car. I'm a little concerned because the left headlight obviously is missing a chunk of light when driving at night. The condensation kinda makes a big difference.

I have it parked in the sun for a while though so I can pass inspection when my registration comes.

 

Not sure what you mean by taking the bulbs from your stock headlights.

If there is an obvious problem with the beam pattern from that fogged headlight, you may want to see if that HID bulb is correctly positioned in its housing. It's easy to get the bulb to clip in, even of the position is a bit off, and that will make a big difference in light output and beam pattern. I'd check that.

Also, that condensation has no place to go if you don't open the back of the headlight to let it breathe. You can access the round gray rear cover by pulling off the fender liner on that side. Sitting in the sun may work fine, and you can also use a blow dryer at a low setting to blow air in through the rear of the headlight. Obviously, do this on a dry, low-humidity day. Then, seal it up tight (make sure the O-ring isn't missing), and hope for the best.

 

Sounds good, I'll give that a shot this weekend when I have some time. I guess a more permanent solution would be to replace the entire headlight? That's something I want to keep for a last resort

 

Unless there's a crack somewhere in the headlight housing, or a bad seal around the lens, you should be OK. Even of there is a crack or bad seal, it can probably be repaired.

 

Yeah I'm not too worried about it. The water dries away in the sunlight and it's not entering the bulb housing.

 

Yes, I quoted myself, and YES this is your answer. Condensation is supposed to be able to get in and out (in small amounts) through a small "elbow" in the back of the headlight. Excessive condensation will have a harder time getting out if you don't open the back, or do the method I described.

Best of luck

 

Hey man sorry, I barely check this thread. I'll give that shot for sure, right now I'm dealing with some electrical issues but when that's sorted out I'll try that Damprid stuff for sure

 

the 5 spoke wheels are rays too?

 

The five spoke wheels come standard on all 2008 350z's I think. The GT has some other design