Headlight mod limiting visibility?

DanohKeo · 05-03-2015, 11:35 AM

Has anyone gone with the black/ flat black housing for their headlights and lost a significant amount of night time visibility?

Recently got my headlights done and wanted to upgrade the bulbs so I can see more than two feet in front of my car but wanted to know if this was a common occurrence for the people who have done the same and what they did to "fix" the issue.

LINK BELOW for pics to give you a better idea

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bhpuucrqw...4NBJVsmQa?dl=0

daveb91 · 05-03-2015, 01:36 PM

Painting the housing shouldn't effect the projector...did they do anything to the actual projector? You said you went with different bulbs what was the temp range if you go too high you lose brightness compared to stock. Are they adjusted right?

DanohKeo · 05-03-2015, 05:32 PM

Dave, they didn't do anything to the actual projector and I haven't gotten new bulbs yet. I was gonna go that route to attempt to improve visibility. How would I adjust them ?

daveb91 · 05-03-2015, 09:25 PM

Adjusting the headlights - am I blind?

DanohKeo · 05-04-2015, 09:05 AM

That link provided on that link doesn't work but I'm gonna look more into it, thank you for the quick responses.

6MT-Z34 · 05-04-2015, 09:10 AM

/DanohKeo

I got my headlights done and the housings are painted matte black...I have not seen a decrease on light out put from the projectors, however, i did see that the turn signal bulbs do not "reflect" as much as they used to

Edit:
nice looking Z..what color is it? and it looks like you have something blue on your headlights, not sure if thats from the camera or if its actually there...maybe that's whats causing your decrease in light output....???

SouthArk370Z · 05-04-2015, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanohKeo

That link provided on that link doesn't work but I'm gonna look more into it, thank you for the quick responses.

Working link to FSM and other documents is in my sig.

TerribleONE · 05-04-2015, 09:18 AM

I didn't notice any difference

kenchan · 05-04-2015, 11:49 AM

i just realized... 638whp??!

Nick M · 05-04-2015, 12:10 PM

Projectors don't utilize reflections from chrome or shiny surfaces.

Unless you tinted or painted your actual headlight covers (the clear part), then you shouldnt have lost any visibility at all.

Case in point: the 2015 370z Nismo has black housing headlights and the same projector, lense and bulb as the 2009-2014.

You said they didnt do anything to the projector, did that include swapping the lenses?

DanohKeo · 05-04-2015, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6MT-Z34

/DanohKeo

I got my headlights done and the housings are painted matte black...I have not seen a decrease on light out put from the projectors, however, i did see that the turn signal bulbs do not "reflect" as much as they used to

Edit:
nice looking Z..what color is it? and it looks like you have something blue on your headlights, not sure if thats from the camera or if its actually there...maybe that's whats causing your decrease in light output....???

Thanks man, its midnight purple III, and the blue "landing strip" on the headlight is actually blue. It's sort of an anodised blue that goes with the barrel on my wheels.

DanohKeo · 05-04-2015, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthArk370Z

Working link to FSM and other documents is in my sig.

Thank you much !

DanohKeo · 05-04-2015, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick M

Projectors don't utilize reflections from chrome or shiny surfaces.

Unless you tinted or painted your actual headlight covers (the clear part), then you shouldnt have lost any visibility at all.

Case in point: the 2015 370z Nismo has black housing headlights and the same projector, lense and bulb as the 2009-2014.

You said they didnt do anything to the projector, did that include swapping the lenses?

They opened and took apart the whole housing and projector and prepped for paint but never swapped any of the parts. Based on a previous comment on this post I think I just need to adjust the headlights. gonna look into the service manual right meow and let you guys know what the verdict is.

DanohKeo · 05-04-2015, 02:38 PM

^ screen shot from the service manual to adjust the headlights. Might have to attempt to hit this tomorrow. Don't really understand nor have the proper tools to measure the lights height so probably just gonna eyeball it and take her on short drives until I can see again.

Heres a couple pictures of the Z for those interested:

daveb91 · 05-05-2015, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanohKeo

That link provided on that link doesn't work but I'm gonna look more into it, thank you for the quick responses.

just clicked it...worked for me....

05-03-2015, 11:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
DanohKeo Base Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Ansbach, Germany Posts: 74 Drives: 2009 Nissan 370z Rep Power: 13	Headlight mod limiting visibility? Has anyone gone with the black/ flat black housing for their headlights and lost a significant amount of night time visibility? Recently got my headlights done and wanted to upgrade the bulbs so I can see more than two feet in front of my car but wanted to know if this was a common occurrence for the people who have done the same and what they did to "fix" the issue. LINK BELOW for pics to give you a better idea https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bhpuucrqw...4NBJVsmQa?dl=0 Last edited by DanohKeo; 05-03-2015 at 11:43 AM.

05-03-2015, 01:36 PM	#2 (permalink)
daveb91 Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Vienna WV Posts: 302 Drives: 370z Rep Power: 26	Painting the housing shouldn't effect the projector...did they do anything to the actual projector? You said you went with different bulbs what was the temp range if you go too high you lose brightness compared to stock. Are they adjusted right? SouthArk370Z likes this.

05-03-2015, 09:25 PM	#4 (permalink)
daveb91 Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Vienna WV Posts: 302 Drives: 370z Rep Power: 26	Adjusting the headlights - am I blind? DanohKeo likes this.

05-04-2015, 09:10 AM	#6 (permalink)
6MT-Z34 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: NJ Posts: 1,726 Drives: PW Z Rep Power: 16	/DanohKeo I got my headlights done and the housings are painted matte black...I have not seen a decrease on light out put from the projectors, however, i did see that the turn signal bulbs do not "reflect" as much as they used to Edit: nice looking Z..what color is it? and it looks like you have something blue on your headlights, not sure if thats from the camera or if its actually there...maybe that's whats causing your decrease in light output....??? DanohKeo likes this.

05-04-2015, 09:18 AM	#8 (permalink)
TerribleONE A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Socal Posts: 10,203 Drives: WOT Rep Power: 5851	I didn't notice any difference kenchan likes this. __________________ 638WHP 541WTQ @ 13.5PSI Build thread

05-03-2015, 05:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
DanohKeo Base Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Ansbach, Germany Posts: 74 Drives: 2009 Nissan 370z Rep Power: 13	Dave, they didn't do anything to the actual projector and I haven't gotten new bulbs yet. I was gonna go that route to attempt to improve visibility. How would I adjust them ?

05-04-2015, 09:05 AM	#5 (permalink)
DanohKeo Base Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Ansbach, Germany Posts: 74 Drives: 2009 Nissan 370z Rep Power: 13	That link provided on that link doesn't work but I'm gonna look more into it, thank you for the quick responses.

05-04-2015, 11:49 AM	#9 (permalink)
kenchan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: N/A Posts: 76,801 Drives: N/A Rep Power: 141521	i just realized... 638whp??! TerribleONE likes this.

05-04-2015, 12:10 PM	#10 (permalink)
Nick M Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Poughkeepsie, NY Posts: 281 Drives: 2009 370z Rep Power: 12	Projectors don't utilize reflections from chrome or shiny surfaces. Unless you tinted or painted your actual headlight covers (the clear part), then you shouldnt have lost any visibility at all. Case in point: the 2015 370z Nismo has black housing headlights and the same projector, lense and bulb as the 2009-2014. You said they didnt do anything to the projector, did that include swapping the lenses? __________________ \| 2015 Nismo headlights\| 275/305 \| Z1 spacers \| Eibach Pro-kit \|k&n typhoons \| AAM S-Line catback + FI test pipes \| Stillen splitter \|

05-04-2015, 02:38 PM	#14 (permalink)
DanohKeo Base Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Ansbach, Germany Posts: 74 Drives: 2009 Nissan 370z Rep Power: 13	^ screen shot from the service manual to adjust the headlights. Might have to attempt to hit this tomorrow. Don't really understand nor have the proper tools to measure the lights height so probably just gonna eyeball it and take her on short drives until I can see again. Heres a couple pictures of the Z for those interested: Last edited by DanohKeo; 05-04-2015 at 02:55 PM.

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