Headlight Housing

Vinsanity93 · Jul 27, 2013

Ok so I decided to get HIDs on my 2008 Mazda 3 2.3L after one of the low beam bulbs stopped working. The problem is this: when my dad got the car repaired, the driver side headlight housing was replaced with a new one. Now both of the beams don't match each other.

The new one (driver's side) has a nice, clear, wide beam and an obvious cutoff. The the old one (passenger's side) has a thin, straight beam so the passenger side isn't very illuminated. This side also has a thin, screen protector like, film that my dad put on it which I think diffuses the light too much causing glare

Driver's side close (new):

Passenger's side close (old):

Sketch of light pattern:

Both taken from the center:

See how the left side has more of a glare and the right side is clearer? Sorry for the blurriness.

Would I have to buy a new housing for the passenger side or can I do something else? (Like remove that film on the headlight case)

Mikestony · Jul 27, 2013

I think it may have to do with the reflector in the housing itself. It may be slightly different on the new housing.
In other words, to match both beams, a new housing of the same brand should suffice

I guess the easiest test would be to remove the protective film over the old housing.

I like the HID retrofit myself...did it to my car recently

Vinsanity93 · Jul 28, 2013

Ok, I removed the film and there's a little less glare. The passenger side still focuses a lot of the light in one small spot (It's also still not as bright as the driver side) and now I've noticed that the driver side has a dip in the middle of the beam...

I looked up new housings and they're about $100 -__-

Hrethgir · Jul 29, 2013

Are you just putting aftermarket HID bulbs into the stock housing set up for incandescent bulbs? If so, you're doing it wrong, those reflectors are NOT made for HID and will not give you a proper beam pattern. So if you are driving around and people are flashing their high beams at you, it's not because your HIDs are so bright, it's because the reflectors are throwing light where it shouldn't be going and you are blinding them. So yes, it's your housing that is causing the problem, so either replace both of them with proper HID retrofits, or put the incandescent bulbs back in.

Vinsanity93 · Jul 29, 2013

Hrethgir said:
Are you just putting aftermarket HID bulbs into the stock housing set up for incandescent bulbs? If so, you're doing it wrong, those reflectors are NOT made for HID and will not give you a proper beam pattern. So if you are driving around and people are flashing their high beams at you, it's not because your HIDs are so bright, it's because the reflectors are throwing light where it shouldn't be going and you are blinding them. So yes, it's your housing that is causing the problem, so either replace both of them with proper HID retrofits, or put the incandescent bulbs back in.

I suppose I should clarify, my mazda has these headlights:

The HIDs are in the projectors, I did my research

.

(I don't see the problem with using them in reflectors, my friend has his in reflectors and they look fine, no glare and there is a decent cutoff but then again he has an umbrella thing in the reflector housing as well.)

I'll try and post pics of the cutoffs from each side, they're not straight tho

.

Right now I'm considering getting a new clear lens for the passenger side and seeing what the projector shields look like for each (if they're removable or if it's all one piece) and cut new ones if they are removable. I'm pretty sure the problems are with the cutoff shields and I want to try to fix the issue without having to buy new housings.

Vinsanity93 · Jul 29, 2013

Here are the patterns:

Driver's

Passenger's

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Headlight Housing

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