Upgrading/Changing the Headlight Bulbs on the GT-R

My GT-R is now about 5 years old. While I have not been driving it at night as much, I recently did and the lights seemed dim. Also, compared to the LED headlight on out new Infiniti Q50, the retrofit job of HID I did on my Frontier Pro 4-X, the GT-R simply seemed dimmest and oldest. I am guessing after 5 years of time and usage Xenon HID bulbs do dim. Also,  the GT-R lights are more ~4300K and the newer lights are closer to 5000K.

The GT-R uses D2S 35W bulbs. As replacements, I considered 5000K bulbs, Phillips, Sylvania, Morimoto (which are in my truck) but finally settled on MaxLux based on the Amazon User reviews an the fact that the cost $35 for a pair with Prime shipping. After having Sylvania and Morimoto one's I'd say keep away from them as I have had issues with both of them. The Morimoto ones started flickering after 2 weeks. With Maxlux, at the cost, even if they burn out in 1 year, that is super cheap.

They came and I installed them. So here are the instructions on how to change the HID bulbs on the GT-R.
Unfortunately, this cannot be done from the engine bay, but on the other hand the entire bumber does not need to be removed. Hence it is a 30 min job per light. I started with the passenger's side.

In retrospect, this can also be used to get at an LED that has fallen into the headlight housing. I have had to remove the bumper once to get a darn LED out and this is easier if your fishing skills are not so good.

Step 1: Jack up the Passengers side front wheel and remove the wheel.
I am not going to go over steps on jacking up the GT-R, as that is covered in previous blogs.

Passenger's Side Jacket Up

Step 2: Remove about 16 plastic tab fastener and 1 screw from the inner front shield.
Using a flat head screw driver or Tab removal tool, remove the tabs and 1 screw as per the pictures below. Note some are 4 way tabs, others are 3 way.

Remove these from under the GT-R.

Remove these from inside the wheel well.

Remove this one from behind the strut.

It may look like the wheel well cover is one piece, but it is actually two, note the divide. The rear half does not need to come off:

Remove this screw.

Another Angle of the Top

Step 3: Now peel back the cover from the edge of the bumper carefully using your hands and no tools.

Peel back cover.

The plastic piece will not come out completely, which is fine, it can just hand around, and you will have enough access to work on the headlights.

Cover Removed.

Step 4: Remove the White Dust Cover of the Lo Beam to expose the HID connector. It will turn about 20 degrees or so, then stop, so pull it off/ Not the position as it will only go back in that position.

Passenger Side Lights Covers

Step 5: Make sure the car is OFF, Lights are OFF, not AUTO, and to be safest, you can disconnect the battery. Whatever you do do not turn the headlights on while the HID connector is removed from the bulb. Turn the connector about 20degrees and pul back. Gently, no force needed.

Remove by Turning.

Unlocked. But not removed.

Step 6. Remove the Bulb, by first disconnecting the each metal spring. Gently push each side of the spring IN to clear the tab, slide it inwards to the center of the bulb and then let it left up. Be sure to let it clear the notches on either side of the bulb.

Remove HID Bulb.

Step 7: Swap Bulbs. It is key that the bulbs are handled properly. This means the electrode on the outside of the bulb if not bent when removing and inserting the bulb into the holder. This means that the glass surface does not come into contact with dust, dirt and most importantly oils from the finger tips. This is the #1 reason for after market bulbs to have reduced life expectancy - human finger oils.

Save the stock bulbs in the maxlux packaging as spares.

Stock Bulb

Maxlux 35W 500K HID

Step 8. Re-Asseble.
 Insert the new Bulb into the Holder - CAREFULLY. Note that the maxlux bulb is a D2S/D2R, this means it supports D2S and D2R and has an extra notch, which we do not care about. The important thing is that the top square notch is kept to the top and fits back into the holder.

While gently holding the bulb into place, put each spring holder back into place, and make sure it is "latched".

Put the HID connector back onto the bulb and twist right to ensure that it is connected fully.

Put the Dust cap back on the housing.

Test the bulb by turning on the lights. Wouldn't want to find out the bulb is bad after everything is back on.

I found that i had an electrical harness rubbing up against the intercooler piping and the adhensive on the protective tape has lost its life,  so I zip tied that back as so.

Zip tied a harness back.

Install the plastic wheel well cover back into place. and replace all the plastic tabs.

Before I started on the other side, I decided to see the difference in the maxlux vs. stock. So here it is. Note that the shot against the garage door, was taken at twilight, before it was completely dark and my driveway is sloped. Also note that all these pictures are taken with my iPhone so it is hard to get the same light intensity capture.

Left = MaxLux 5000K, Right = Stock

Left = Stock, Right = Maxlux 5000K

Step 9: Repeat for other side.

Driver's Side.

Difference between stock High Beam Halogen and MaxLux 5000K HID. I will tackle those next, what I would really like to do is restrofit a projector and have a proper HID.

High Beam On.

After having driven the GT-R a few times at night now, I can definitely say that I like the 500K white temperature, it has no hint of blue. It is every s slightly dimmer at twilight times, as the lower temperatures show better in that light but once it is dark, the 5000K shows better. I thin overall brightness went up 20% or so, the long term usage of the maxlux will show if they deteriorate quicker or more. Still have the stocks handy.

I'd be willing to try other HIDs now as the procedure is fairly simple to perform.