Advice Please - Tinting / Xenon HIDs / Interior Lighting - Plus a tip from me =)

[pcpower]

Hey All,

I would really appreciate some advice, I've scoped a bunch of messages on this board but haven't really found what I'm specifically searching for. p.s. - I drive the Altima Coupe 3.5 SE (Blue), stick-shift of course

I read a few places describing the brands of Xenon HIDs that are good for this car, but I can't figure out exactly which ones will fit (I am a noob at car mechanics...). For instance, if I wanted a Xenon HID kit by Hella, and I visit any website that sells them, there are so many types/sizes/volts/whatnot to choose from. Could anyone please send me a direct link to the exact HID kit which will fit the Altima Coupe perfectly.

Also wanted to take out the cheap stock dome lighting and replace it with brighter bulbs... But again I am not sure what size/type bulb to purchase. Looking for something bright white/blue-ish. Any link to a reputable site that has the correct size bulbs?

As far as tinting, I'm sure it would look nice w/ the car (maybe even a gradual fade tint silver-black?), but I think I have bad night vision or something, because at night it is already hard enough to see out of this car (on the sides and rear). Will tinting decrease the visibility even further? Or rather is there a more expensive tint that I can get that will not decrease visibility from the inside-out?

Thanks for any help, it is appreciated..!

So here's my tip, you can laugh at it if you'd like... =),,, but I went to Autozone and saw they had a bunch of decals, for only like $5.00 or so. Some of them were cheesy, but I found some dragon decals that were hott.... Very refined (not showy), yet at the same time looks very good. They fit perfectly on the two side-rear windows of the vehicle. Small details like that can make a big difference.

thx,, ttyl.

[audtatious]

For foglights you will need a H3 Xenon kit (assuming the coupe has the same bulbs as other Nissan products). I believe my ballasts are 35w. For interior lighting, look for LED lights that replace the factory bulb altho I doubt there will be a specific "kit" for the coupe right now.

Stay away from the black to silver tint. Cops hate it and it will look pretty crappy on a coupe. Stay legal based on your state regs to avoid cops and potential tickets. 35% is usually a safe number and your local tinting place should know the appropriate state laws.

[guitarmn07]

Tinting: In a few months, 3m will be coming out with a new tint. It's similar to those glasses that darken in bright light. When exposed to sunlight, the tint will darken, and when night falls, the tint will lighten...thus increasing night time visibility. And of course, check with your local state laws on how dark you can tint your windows.

Plus make sure the tint doesn't have any metal in it. The tints containing metal have been known to interfere with radio and possibility bluetooth, GPS, satellite radio.

[SHIFT_COUPE]

Ok. You can use a plug and play HID kit for your Coupe if you wish. BOTH your headlights and your fogs use an H11 size. Visit http://www.xenonking.com, they sell McCulloch brand HID kits. The plug and play kits use your existing lighting harnesses for power. There is no splicing, no direct battery hookup, etc. My suggestion is don't use anything with a light output greater than 6000k. You'll lose light output on the road with anything higher than that.

As far as interior goes. Check your owners manual for the specific bulb sizes that you would like to replace (doors, dome, map light etc). Visit http://www.superbrightleds.com and take a look at what they have to offer.

If you have bad night vision than good luck with tinting your windows You will of course lose some visibility even if you decide to stay legal.

[audtatious]

H11 bulbs huh.... I'll make a note of that for the next time...

[SHIFT_COUPE]

H11 bulbs huh.... I'll make a note of that for the next time...

Yep, the 2007+ have them. Also the 2004-2006 Sentra as well. Probably a few more as well.

[Chamillionaire]

I recently installed an HID kit from retro-solutions , a buddy of mine owns the company and I got a really great deal. Really affordable and the lights look great (H11 8k HID Conversion Kit)

I have 20% all the way around , looks great and really helps with the privacy/ sun and looks of the car.

[pcpower]

thanks all for the advice and for the links to the Xenon & LED sites. I actually had a buddy of mine over earlier (who's good at mechanical stuff unlike me :P ), and we temporarily took out the bulb from the stock lights,, and it is confirmed that it is an H11 bulb. We also popped out the plastic covers over the dome lighting (which was really easy with a flathead screwdriver) and discovered it uses a small size bulb, with the specs of 12V8W.

cool.

[LongBeachCoupe]

did you have to take the wheels off?

[pcpower]

nope, the wheels stayed on... just kinda reached in front of the wheel and was able to unscrew the headlight bulb. I'm not positive it would be that easy though for the actual install of an HID kit.

[LongBeachCoupe]

anyone have experience buying these like $90 delivered sets from ebay?http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW

[SHIFT_CR]

I was considering the HID kit but wouldnt some Piaa h11 bulbs give me the same effect? what would be the difference between the HID kit to just some hyper white h11 bulbs?

Another question, so when installing some h11 bulbs, i do not need to remove anything? just unscrew and screw in the new bulbs?

[SHIFT_COUPE]

anyone have experience buying these like $90 delivered sets from ebay?http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW

These look really cheap, I wouldn't recommend them. Remember you get what you pay for.

[audtatious]

I was considering the HID kit but wouldnt some Piaa h11 bulbs give me the same effect? what would be the difference between the HID kit to just some hyper white h11 bulbs?

Another question, so when installing some h11 bulbs, i do not need to remove anything? just unscrew and screw in the new bulbs?

Trust me, there is no way PIAA can replicate the color nor output of a true HID system. If you install a kit, there will be a few more tasks to perform in installation than simply replacing the bulb as you will need to mount the ballasts somewhere and work out a way to integrate the ballast power requirements with the factory harness.

[alphapig]

Small details like that can make a big difference.

I respectfully disagree.

Stickers cannot be subtle, and an overall clean and composed car is what makes the biggest overall difference.

[enomis]

So here's my tip, you can laugh at it if you'd like... =),,, but I went to Autozone and saw they had a bunch of decals, for only like $5.00 or so. Some of them were cheesy, but I found some dragon decals that were hott.... Very refined (not showy), yet at the same time looks very good. They fit perfectly on the two side-rear windows of the vehicle. Small details like that can make a big difference.

thx,, ttyl.

PLEASE..for the love of God and all that is right in this world, do not add dragons.