BayOptiks Headlights
Since I bought my car my passenger side headlight would fog up a bit whenever I washed it or drove in the rain. It looked stupid (and when it should be looking it's best - after a wash!) and I didn't want to risk any water/electrical damage. I wanted to reseal them, but it’s a relative pain in the bum on this car: the headlight covers are glued to the housings, so they need to be baked until soft and then pried apart. That also means the headlights need to be removed from the car, which is a bumper removal too.
This work is doable, I did this same thing with my S2000 way back in 2005 (JDM reflectors, baby). But now I'm in a condo with a family and can't tear apart my car in the underground garage nor do I want to bake headlights. So who’s the best in the biz for headlight rebuilds? BayOptiks.
These guys are the e9xM headlight specialists. Their focus tends to be more exotic builds, but I just wanted them resealed and upgraded though still stock-like. I dropped the car off and they got right to removing everything.
Over the next few days they did the rebuild/modification work and garaged the car. Really nice guys, great work and communication, etc. I couldn’t recommend Jeff and Jimmy enough for any headlight work on this car (if you aren’t local, you can remove and ship your lights to them).
Spec:
ZKW-r Clear Projector Lenses
Osram CBI Xenon Bulbs
OE Headlight Lens Covers and Sealant
(Note: I have Osram halogen AEs coded to 13.6v and Adaptive Headlights II)
The bulbs are still burning in and my photos are dog poo, but the difference in person is stunning. The fresh covers (and mine weren’t bad at all, they were totally a “while you’re in there” thing!) make the front end look, well, brand new. The projector/bulb combo is gorgeous. I had this same setup in my E46 so I’d been lusting for it since I got this car, the "fogging up" was just the rebuild excuse I needed.
... Onto the photos.
They are right by Sharkwerks, which was a cool surprise. I dropped in and met James.
Halfway there.
The goods:
Going back in.
Cold start.
Warm (though brand new, needs a 20hr break-in).
Awful photos, but I tried. The intensity, width, and cutoff are all obvious and awesome in person. In the first two, left is before and right is after (duh). Ultimately it's a lot of coin for the upgrade, but I justified it with the need to reseal them, and am very happy with it all now. BayOptiks can easily do a lot more to the lights once they're opened up like this.
I went straight from BayOptiks to my detailer (JD Morse in Lafayette, for anybody in the East Bay). After picking up the car this evening, I hit it with a clay mitt and a thick coat of Sonax Net Polymer Shield. I’ll give it another coat tomorrow and it’ll be good for a long time. The paint is in really great shape and this Sonax stuff is awesome/easy.
Combined with the Eagle One clay mitt, I give the combo a 10/10 for ease of application, 8/10 for longevity (handily beats wax but can't compete with ceramic coatings), but a 3/10 for depth/gloss (no surprise since its a sealant, and I'm looking for protection first and foremost and value ease, but worth noting that it's not a "show quality" finish). That all said, at some point it’d be cool to get it polished and coated by the pros.
And the lights were dry after the wash tonight – success!