DIY Blackout Headlights: Yes or No???

[JaCkaL829]

Hello:
I'd currently like everyone's opinion on whether or not I should blackout my headlights. I have a couple small mods I want to do to my car since I'm going to be working on it soon for some small maintence things (oil change, manual transmission fluid change, etc.) I already have lined up to paint my brake calipers, been meaning to do this for a while. I'm also pretty sure I'm going to order a generic OEM fog light kit off eBay too. My next mod, the title, is up in the air though. Everyone on CRSX blacks out their headlights, and it usually looks really good. It would have been a no-brainer if my car was any color but black, but I kinda like the chrome and black contrast. I'm mainly considering doing mine just to be a little different from all the RSXs around here, they are extremely common in my area. Anyway I got mixed opinions from my friends, I'd like to know what you think. I wanna research how hard it is with the whole baking the headlights in the oven thing, that kinda has me worried

Heres my RSX now (bone stock baby )


Heres how the blackout headlights look on NBP (Autopia's 03k20a2's car). Keep in mind his car is dropped and has a lip kit, so it's already hot looking

[GearHead_1]

Leave it as is!

[Maxima Lover]

When you were first talking about it, I was going to say no for sure, but after seeing the picture with it done, I don't know. I have seen some tinted headlights that don't even put any light on the ground. I don't think with that light of a tint it would effect the lighting though.

If your going to keep light colored rims, I would leave the headlights alone. Unless you were going to black out the whole car (rims, tint, emblems), I think it would be best to leave the contrast.

[audiboy]

I say leave it as is. I got tinted protective film for my A4 and it looked a bit off. Also, the loss of light that is emitted is very annoying and potentially dangerous. I regretted it very much.

[kaos]

Originally Posted by audiboy

I say leave it as is. I got tinted protective film for my A4 and it looked a bit off. Also, the loss of light that is emitted is very annoying and potentially dangerous. I regretted it very much.

Actually that's not done by film. You actually open the unit itself up and paint the chrome black, then reseal the unit. Much, much cleaner looking than film. And your point about light output is why I would never, never advocate any film or plastic overlay blackout kit.

That being said, I think the blackhoused lights do look good. However, I personally wouldn't go cracking into my headlights just for that. If I was going to crack the headlights open, it would be to do a HID retro. Unfortunately, the ROI on that just doesn't justify the cost for me.

-Kaos

[RedLight_Si]

How about some Type R headlights?
http://www.jhpusa.com/catalog/produc...60a68a2eabe3c3

[SNike05]

Go ahead and do it. It looks really good. I will be doing mine soon as well. I've done it on a Acura EL opening them up is such a pain. Getting the right temp for the oven is key.

[Maxima Lover]

Originally Posted by SNike05

Go ahead and do it. It looks really good. I will be doing mine soon as well. I've done it on a Acura EL opening them up is such a pain. Getting the right temp for the oven is key.

I've taken apart head and tail lights several times and I found the easiest way is with a heat gun. It puts the heat right where you want it and goes much faster IMO.

[Djmigs]

yes, do it...
blk out the headlight..
get the yellow sidemarkers jdm
get front and rear red honda emblems
and lower your vehicle just a tad.....(coilovers-this way you can raise and lower whenever you want)
also paint your caliper red so it can go with your emblems......just a suggestion....jdm only

oh and lose the front license plate if you can in your state....
get some tint on it plus maybe an intake header and pipe....
also if you decide to get fog light get the yellow one .....

[pogo123]

Originally Posted by Djmigs

yes, do it...
blk out the headlight..
get the yellow sidemarkers jdm
get front and rear red honda emblems
and lower your vehicle just a tad.....(coilovers-this way you can raise and lower whenever you want)
also paint your caliper red so it can go with your emblems......just a suggestion....jdm only

oh and lose the front license plate if you can in your state....
get some tint on it plus maybe an intake header and pipe....
also if you decide to get fog light get the yellow one .....

OR, since it's YOUR car, you may want to customize they way YOU like!

[JaCkaL829]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm still unsure If I want to do it or not. I have been gettin some strong opposition from friends; but the more I compare the two pics, the more my chrome headlights look cheap and cheesy to me. They also kinda remind me of a civic.

Maximalover: Doing this doesn't affect the light ouput at all. I'm just painting the surrounding pieces or bezel. I originally had your mentality at first; leave them chrome since I'm not modding it, but I've been having second thoughs on that now.

RedlightSi: Ya I know I can buy a pair of headlights but $500 is crazy. I like the mod but not that much. As I said before I don't want to spend to much money on this car.

Djmigs: Thanks for the suggestions, but those mods aren't for me. The main reason I wanna do the mod is because its very cheap and will improve the look, without people comming up to me every red light revving their car. I also don't want to draw attention to local LEOs. I'm into very subtle and cheap mods...lol. Most of the stuff you mentioned is way too expensive, and I've seen it done on tons of RSXs on CRSX and just don't like it. Maybe if my car was a Type S and modded, I'd consider dressing it up more, but my car's a base with a whopping 160hp..lol. I'm also getting older so car modding is getting old to me.
I'd rather spend the money elsewhere, and not kill the value of my car with all these mods.

Pogo: You speak the truth.