Subaru headlight advice please...

charlie · Post by **charlie** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 1:59 pm

Ok, long story but I broke one of my JDM headlight lenses last night. Fucking heartbreaker. Anyway, with all the shit that I'm needing to update this year (new tv, computer, etc.) I just can't justify replacing them with new ones. A grand is a lot to pay for fucking headlights and that's if you can even find them because most places won't keep them in stock.

Problem is, when I bought them it was a deal that included a trade with my OEMs so I have to find something. Even the damn OEMs are kind of hard to find so I got to looking on ebay and found these. They appear to be modified OEMs but it's hard to tell. Normally I avoid ebay knockoffs like the plague but they don't look so bad to me and they're way cheaper and easier to obtain than normal OEMs. I know it's a long shot but does anyone have any experience with these?

So as I'm typing this up and reading more about my situation, I have an idea... What if... I buy the cheaper headlights off ebay, then follow the Koji tutorial for how to open up the headlights and paint them black. But... instead of painting anything I just steal the lenses and put them on the JDMs? That way, I have new lenses that aren't so scuffed and I get to keep my JDM projector goodness. I think that the bottom part of the housing cracked a little bit but I bet I could fix it with some silicon and super glue. What are the chances that the lenses are the same size/fitment? Well I guess it's worth it to give it a shot anyway. Thanks for your help guys!

I love this place.

revel · Post by **revel** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 2:11 pm

noooooooooooooooooooooooooesssssssssss. i have been jealous of those headlights from the day we picked them up. such a gorgeous piece of jdm land.

ok so one got cracked. your idea sounds like a good one. lenses cant be a different shape if they are to fit into the headlight location, so it should fit the jdm goodness. as for repairing a crack, do not waste your time with silicone and super glue. just go out and buy a plastic welding kit. works like epoxy. two different things get mixed, put on cracked/broken area, hardens to stone after like 30min.

good luck charlie

charlie · Post by **charlie** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 2:26 pm

See, that is EXACTLY the type of advice I'm looking for. Thank you so much.

revel · Post by **revel** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 2:26 pm

keep us updated!

VRT nenders · Post by **VRT nenders** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 2:58 pm

While your fixing whatevers I check around my circle and see if anyone has some JDM's laying around. Pretty much every Subbie guy I know has them...what side?

charlie · Post by **charlie** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 3:24 pm

Man that would be great too. Passenger side. I'd also be interested in getting a used set if they were available.

VRT nenders · Post by **VRT nenders** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 4:45 pm

Cool, I'll ask around.....I will be around a few of these guys next week in Jersey too.

icantdrift · Post by **icantdrift** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 5:08 pm

ebay shit is better than no headlights right?

.

the lens idea should work, just be crazy careful when removing them as they are surely plastic lenses and you'll have to use heat to get them out.

Generz · Post by **Generz** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 10:51 am

just be very careful with he plastic repair kits.. they are really messy and can actually fog clear plastic just from the fumes themselves!

good luck with it.. i'm workin on my GC8.. i just need to spent a couple moar grand. sigh.

charlie · Post by **charlie** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 2:31 pm

Ok, I got a little feedback from the NASIOC forums and people are saying that they've heard of it being tried and that ebay headlight lenses probably won't work very well and that I'd have a better chance using actual OEMs, even if they are USDM. I think that's my best plan of attack because you never know what you're gonna get with the fucking ebay replicas. Then, even if it doesn't work I can still just have actual Subaru headlights and not some knockoff bullshit.

Post by **andysapp** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 2:53 pm

This is true.

charlie · Post by **charlie** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 6:56 pm

Ah FUCK. Could you guys verify something for me please? I got that headlight off of ebay which was listed as NON-HID type but after comparing it to my old one I'm pretty sure that it is in fact an HID headlight. I pulled the bulb out and it looks like the picture below. The headlight also has some extra piece mounted to the light that I believe could be the ballast but I really don't know shit about HID so that's why I'm asking. I took actual pictures of everything with my gf's camera but of course the battery died right after and I can't find the fucking charger anywhere.

What sucks is that none of the shit fits right. I mean the headlight as a whole fits perfect and all the blinker/city/high beam are the same but the regular headlight is all different. I can't even just put my bulb in the new one because the mounts are nothing alike. After all this shit, it looks like I'm STILL going to have to bake both of them, open them up and transfer the inner headlight casing or whatever the fuck you call it into the new one.

I must be the only person on the planet to ever want to go BACKWARDS from an HID setup to a regular but I just didn't want to spend any more money on this shit for now and I want the lights to be exactly the same.

Any thoughts/suggestions before I preheat the oven?

Generz · Post by **Generz** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 6:59 pm

yeah that's HID alright..

time to heat that oven. at least you got a buncha parts to build a PIR8 headlight if you ever wanted to.

charlie · Post by **charlie** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:02 pm

PISS!! Fucking ebay.

Generz · Post by **Generz** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:24 pm

I poop on those asians that sold that to you!