HOWTO: NA Headlight replacement, Sealed Beam vs non sealed

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zorruno
Black is the new black.
Black is the new black.
Posts: 601
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 11:20 pm
Location: An Eastern Beach

HOWTO: NA Headlight replacement, Sealed Beam vs non sealed

Post by zorruno » Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:05 pm

After a few questions about the relatively poor output of the standard "sealed beam" units on the NA, it can be said that many people change out the standard 7 inch headlights for a set of reflectors and then choose a bulb (the bulbs can vary wildly in price).

This means that if a bulb blows in the future you don't have to replace the whole reflector/lens unit. Also, the non-sealed beam ones tend to better manufactured and give much better light spread. There are plenty of bulb options too, depending on your budget (or taste...).

It also means that if you are budget restricted... there are often people who will give you (or sell you cheap) their old sealed bean units. I changed mine pretty early on when one of my sealed beams blew and gave the other away when someone needed one for a warrant.

How do you replace or change the headlights? It is pretty easy and all you need is a screwdriver.

Quote from Grant in one of the below topics:
"Undo the four screws holding the black plastic cover and remove it. Loosen the three screws holding the thin ring around the edge of the light. You only need to loosen these and you can then rotate the ring to remove it. Don't loosen the adjusting screws! Careful though as it holds the light in, so support the light with your other hand. If you have sealed beam units then replace them with Hella or similar (if the budget allows) with replaceable bulbs. Otherwise just remove the bulb and replace. "

Here are some previous topics on the subject with various options, part numbers and pricing:
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=167
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=3161
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=6038
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=8132
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=7986
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=7986
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=4621
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=5287
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=5287
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=5492
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=5249
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=7421
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=7319

This topic shows the ones I replaced them with:
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=6043

What about those cool, low profile dual headlight replacements?
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?t=6701

Note that some of the above confuses NA models with NB... remember the NB doesn't have pop up headlights.

Finally, if you are still stuck for ideas... here is an article on miata.net by Aaron Smith about various lighting options:
http://www.miata.net/garage/lighting_options.html

Hope this helps, feel free to post your comments, or additions below (especially pics if you have any)

cheers
(z)

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