Considered that as well but I felt more at ease swapping the lens and chrome shroud. Plus the JDM lights need some serious TLC as the plastic is really faded and yellowed. Pics make em look better than they are somehow lol

 

Monday update:

Was able to remove the stock headlights in preparation for the swap. I was expecting to have everything done already but when the STI's arrived, I noticed they didn't come with any spacers. Got caught up in reading all the old DIY's and was under the impression that they still shipped with them. For anyone following this thread and looking to do a swap as well, just know you need to order spacers now as they are no longer included. Here's a link for the spacers needed: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/le...ERS?quantity=1 (MAKE SURE TO GET MODEL# LS11 for the STI-R lens) Not to sure about the coupe with the TSX lens.

This is how the car looks for right now. I think it looks lower now lol. Also taking this opportunity to clean my air filters. AFE FTW!

 

Wednesday update:

Here's a teaser reflecting off another car in my driveway



That blue flicker though

Fine tuning the cut-off shield as of right now and testing the proper amount of spacers. Going off of what fellow forum user @ToXIc did with his swap, I used 3 spacers and pulled back the metal tab which has proven to be a PITA. More to follow soon!!

 

Good to know re: spacers. How did you test that off the car?

 

Like this.......



It works. Lol. I don't have anyway of getting a 12V power source to the ballast and test it off the car.

 

Lens swap complete! Headlight sealed and mounted to the car!




Now I'm not good when it comes to doing a DIY style thread as I rarely take pics of my progress. I get really into the project. I started out by first baking open the JDM headlights to get the chrome shroud which has the clear reflector attached to it. It was way easier than I thought and calmed my nerves when it came to the OEM headlights. Messed around with the JDM headlights to see what needed to be removed and learned about the RHD style headlights. The cut-off shield inside the project actually had the letters "UK" etched into the metal. Clearly stating that these wont work with our LHD cars.

On to the OEM headlights, removed everything as I did with the JDM lights and ended up breaking a piece that keeps the spring clip down for the D2S bulb. GO FIGURE! Checked the donor set and realized I can just swap that part as it's removable. Had a different part number but I couldn't tell the difference. Bolted right up without any issues.





JDM Donor part

Now it was time for the lens swap. As mentioned before, I went with forum member @ToXIc build thread. Link here: https://www.myg37.com/forums/build-t...4-sedan-6.html (POST #81) He used 3 spacers to get a clean cut-off as well as modifying the metal tab. I ended up completely removing that metal tab with a metal cutter as me bending it proved to have a funky look when the high beams were on. I used a bright flashlight to test the output. I shined it into the rear of the projector. Can't say that using this method yielded proper results as you'll see later.





I did a test fit on the car before sealing everything up to make sure my cut-off was nice and crisp. I found both sides to be perfect until I actually screwed the lights back into the car with the cover and everything.


THAT CLEAR REFLECTOR THO..........

Here's the final output and results. Ignore the damaged garage door as that's getting replaced soon.



The driver side, wow! This is exactly what I wanted. Nice clean cut-off with that beautiful blue/purple but the passenger side? WTF happened?! Maybe my ghetto flashlight tester proved me wrong. Or maybe I didn't seat the bulb correctly? Which btw I upgraded to OSRAM CBN.




I'm going to go with not properly seating the D2S bulb as I found the light to be shaking when the engine vibrated to much. If that's not it, then I'm just going to have to live with it as this whole process was to much to go through again. I'm not sure if I messed up the metal cut-off shield or what but I'm seriously disappointed with it. Contemplated if I should've just had it done by a shop but hey, you can't cry over spilled milk. Open to suggestions on what you might think it could be. If you're thinking about doing this mod though, DO IT! You can do it yourself! I thought I couldn't and look, I did. Minus the negative result lol but hey, my mistake is your gain.

 

Nice work @Peepz awesome to see the forums are still being used and glad my experimenting helped also!!

 

Would this be considered a mod?? Lol. I got the dreaded sunroof drain issue last week. Only found out the morning after some bad storms the night prior. Had a nice puddle in the passenger foot well. Did some research here on the forums and found out there was an updated sunroof drain grommet. Further research yielded that this new grommet can be found on the newer Nissan SUVs so I guess that's a good thing.



The process included the removal of the A-Pillar and passenger side vent. Not many mention this but removing the glovebox helps a lot. Once you have everything removed, use some long pliers and go from the bottom where the glovebox was. From there you will see the grommet. It's surrounded by this carpet like material which I'm going to assume is used to block out noise from the engine compartment. Put the pliers where the drain plug attaches to the grommet and squeeze. I did a back-and-forth motion and the grommet popped out easily. Next you fish out the grommet which hopefully for you is still attached to the drain hose, through the A-pillar opening. Check out the nastiness in your old grommet. While doing that, check out your drain hose and make sure that not filled with junk either. Attach your new grommet to the drain hose. Now you do everything in reverse. Careful though as the new bushing around the new grommet kept coming off when fishing it back through the A-pillar. Use the same pliers and reach from the glovebox and use leverage to force the grommet back in. DONE! It's tedious but better than spending $800+ at the dealer.



The drain itself wasn't really clogged. Just dirty. The culprit was definitely the grommet. Took about an hour. I can't believe techs at the dealers remove the whole dash. Sounds like a way to get more out of a $10 part.

 

Kudos to you for replacing the drain/ grommet and I hope that solves that issue once and for all for you. However, I hate to play Devil's Advocate, but I would strongly suggest you check your cabin air filter and make sure it is not wet nor there is any standing water in the blower box. While the sunroof drain is likely the culprit, the cowl seals are becoming another issue as they age and deteriorate. Granted, yours is a 2015, but it never hurts to check and make sure.

Good job all around!

 

Thanks for the suggestions! Happy to say I checked both air filter and blower and found them to be dry. Will update my previous post with further details of the fix when I get on my home computer. I find doing an essay style post from my phone to be inefficient so I usually keep it short and sweet.

 

This is such a cool build, I dig it!

 

That grommet is such a poor design and in a poorly designed location. Even for Japan, which tends to have particulates in the rain and most folks park outside under trees etc

 

I appreciate that. Thank you!

 

@Peepz How do you like the Osram D2S bulbs? My Akkon headlights the clear coating is peeling and the edge of the lens is turning yellow. I am refurbishing my original OEM headlights and wanted to use them with the Xenon bulbs.

 

Verdict is still out for me. I was looking for about a 5000k bulb but this is more like 4500k. It's better for inclement weather but we don't get that often here in NY. It is bright though. I find my headlight brightness to be even with modern day LED headlights just at a warmer tone. You cant go wrong with them. If you're looking for more of a bluer tone and can deal with not seeing well on a rainy night, go for the CBBs. My CBI 2nd gens are great overall.

There are D2S led bulbs out there. Wish GTR lighting made some cuz their LED bulbs are amazing. Good luck with the refurbish!!