Any recommendations on FL headlight units as mine need to be COMPLETELY replaced as they have a hazy "crazing" that is thousands and thousands of small cracks all the way through the plastic.... they're not fogging up, but just no light can get out of them with ANY bulb....
I'm looking at ~£400 for a pair of the OEM units (new).
I've also had a look around at aftermarket options, but the only option I've seen is this "MR430" one from Midship Garage (https://midshipgarage.com/products/midship-garage-toyota-mr2-spyder-mr-s-zzw30-mr430-retrofit-headlight-customizeable?variant=31722672914537)... but that's £1400!!
Any other suggestions?
Iirc the lowest price for OE light units is from TCB:
www.tcbparts.co.uk
Quote from: Joesson on November 24, 2021, 16:04Iirc the lowest price for OE light units is from TCB:
www.tcbparts.co.uk
Ta mate, I had already got a quote from Paul... the only one that came close to Paul's price was a short-term "20% off" on the UK eBay Toyota OEM parts... but limited stock and time, so doubt I'd make that.
Right now, I'm waiting to have my next contract renewal confirmed and then I'll pull the trigger with Paul (TCB) if the renewal comes through :s
Just wanted to see if there were ANY other options out there... I'd be tempted by those Midship MR430 lights IF they were RHD and half the price...
The only other option would be a set of good used ones from a breaker like J-Spec. They do get good ones in.
Quote from: tricky1138 on November 24, 2021, 16:16The only other option would be a set of good used ones from a breaker like J-Spec. They do get good ones in.
Thanks mate, I was considering that, but most of the breaker options are ~£200-£300 for the pair.... for headlight units that are >15yrs old....
I'd rather pay £400-£450 for new ones (probably made >12 yrs ago, but at least they won't have seen daylight during that time)...
Quote from: BahnStormer on November 24, 2021, 16:22Quote from: tricky1138 on November 24, 2021, 16:16The only other option would be a set of good used ones from a breaker like J-Spec. They do get good ones in.
Thanks mate, I was considering that, but most of the breaker options are ~£200-£300 for the pair.... for headlight units that are >15yrs old....
I'd rather pay £400-£450 for new ones (probably made >12 yrs ago, but at least they won't have seen daylight during that time)...
If your car is outside all of the time and subject to UV maybe you could consider a UV protectant such as Aerospace 303 protectant. One guy claims to use it on his specs so doubt it is abrasive for a lamp lens, I have used it on my lamp lens but they were 9 years old and showing it when I got the car.
Quote from: Joesson on November 24, 2021, 18:20Aerospace 303
Sounds funky... worth doing that before the units go anywhere near the car :D
edit: purchased... £12 for the bottle, but I now "need" to get the new units... not going to waste that on my current ones as they're utterly shot already... it really would be gilding the proverbial turd!
Quote from: BahnStormer on November 24, 2021, 18:54Quote from: Joesson on November 24, 2021, 18:20Aerospace 303
Sounds funky... worth doing that before the units go anywhere near the car :D
edit: purchased... £12 for the bottle, but I now "need" to get the new units... not going to waste that on my current ones as they're utterly shot already... it really would be gilding the proverbial turd!
It is useful for vinyl hoods, which you do not have, but also many plastic surfaces in your car and home.
Could also be used on polycarbonate covers which I recall seeing used on Le Mans type race cars.
Why not on road cars?
Apparently not an original thought, several references to how it might be or has been done, for instance:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=30&t=1682756
At around £400 for replacements compared with a sheet of polycarbonate (and a bottle of Aerospace 303), once a reusable mould is made the cost of replication should be comparatively low. As said, just a thought.
You could always buy the cheaper pre facelift lights and swap the lenses with your old lights. It's a pity nobody sells the lenses on their own.
Quote from: steveash on November 27, 2021, 23:05You could always buy the cheaper pre facelift lights and swap the lenses with your old lights. It's a pity nobody sells the lenses on their own.
Hmmm... thanks for the suggestions, but I'm not so sure on that option: Those lenses would either be cheap 2nd hand ones (>18yrs old) or "new" and not THAT much cheaper (>£300 for the set?).... and require a lot of hassle + potential risk of trashing new units. I'd rather pay the £100 extra and get the units as Toyota intended them....
Quote from: BahnStormer on November 28, 2021, 10:33Quote from: steveash on November 27, 2021, 23:05You could always buy the cheaper pre facelift lights and swap the lenses with your old lights. It's a pity nobody sells the lenses on their own.
Hmmm... thanks for the suggestions, but I'm not so sure on that option: Those lenses would either be cheap 2nd hand ones, but >18yrs old or "new" and not THAT much cheaper (>£300 for the set?).... and require a lot of hassle + potential risk of trashing new units. I'd rather pay the £100 extra and get the units as Toyota intended them....
Didn't think there was any interest in lenses only. I posted a link to how this could be achieved and was totally underwhelmed by the response!
Quote from: Joesson on November 28, 2021, 13:47Didn't think there was any interest in lenses only. I posted a link to how this could be achieved and was totally underwhelmed by the response!
Similar to the recycled lenses: it would be such small batch, I assume the costs would make it less appealing considering the effort / risk involved.
I'm guessing lenses would still be fairly expensive ~£200 (?) for an aftermarket pair of lenses that may/may not have comparable UV longevity... and they'd still have to put a certain amount of effort into baking and separating their headlight units, only to potentially crack/damage them...
Quote from: BahnStormer on December 6, 2021, 11:49Quote from: Joesson on November 28, 2021, 13:47Didn't think there was any interest in lenses only. I posted a link to how this could be achieved and was totally underwhelmed by the response!
Similar to the recycled lenses: it would be such small batch, I assume the costs would make it less appealing considering the effort / risk involved.
I'm guessing lenses would still be fairly expensive ~£200 (?) for an aftermarket pair of lenses that may/may not have comparable UV longevity... and they'd still have to put a certain amount of effort into baking and separating their headlight units, only to potentially crack/damage them...
I was thinking that perhaps someone with access to "broken" 2's could make a mould and form new lenses from polycarbonate. At around £400 for a new set maybe some margin in it, but the "Look" might be more for track than road.
Okay - the MidshipGarage units had some really middling reviews... seems like they really were just about the cosmetics... so I'm going with a new set from TCB.
Any good guides on replacing them? IS it a pretty easy job that I could do where the car is parked up on the street or do I need to find garage + ramp?
Ramp not needed. Undo top & sides of bumper. Maybe also bottom corners underneath. Wheelarch fixing into wing can be fiddly...go easy with amount of leverage. Bolt that sits vertically holding bumper into wing is a bit awkward,- a long reach slim socket is best. Stud mount on back/lower base of light goes through round hole in wing. The threads catch on the wing, resisting it going through. Leave the nut on a couple of turns so that you have something to push against. The plastic tab on the bottom for the height-adjustment resists coming out too. The rear of the lamp needs a knock to release it from it's 'mate'. If your car is tidy you might want to protect the paintwork. The lamp is unwieldy when undoing the bulbs.
As a matter of interest
@BahnStormer what was the cost of the FL set from TCB ?
Not sure if you asked MrT to double check if they could move on price. I know we have a culture in the UK of the price is what it is, but I sucked my teeth a bit and asked for some discount and they went from £200 per light to £180 per.
Might be different up north (I'm London based). If you went into a northern MrT they might suck their teeth right back at you and tell you no.
This was maybe 4 years ago mind.
If your not already sorted with new ? ive got some pretty decent used FL ones in my loft, need to dig out and get them sold!
brand new I was looking at £350 for the set 4yrs ago... Dec 2021 MrT wanted £500 and TCB was £450.
If you watch out for an ebay 20% off you can get them delivered for £400
Quote from: Gaz mr-s on February 16, 2022, 20:29If you watch out for an ebay 20% off you can get them delivered for £400
If that's the Toyota "20% off", I'm sure I saw something like that at Christmas and even with the discount, I'm sure it only got down to around £450, so I waited until I knew I could afford it and then pulled the trigger on the TCB (almost exactly the same price).
Quote from: BahnStormer on March 2, 2022, 12:25If that's the Toyota "20% off", I'm sure I saw something like that at Christmas and even with the discount, I'm sure it only got down to around £450, so I waited until I knew I could afford it and then pulled the trigger on the TCB (almost exactly the same price).
Nope, £402 or so.