My 2010 R3 has some cosmetic issues, both headlights are very "milky" I had them restored but years of Amarillo heat has left them less then desirable. Also the drivers has a half inch deep burn that is not going away. Question... why cant I buy some halogen Series 2, bake, take off lens, bake mine, apply?

 

I think there is some HID-specific stuff attached to the HID headlights, like the self-adjusting leveler.

 

I'm talking about just the clear lens, the "guts" are all in the projectors etc. the back of the light.

 

Then I don't see why you can't do what you want to do. The lens should be the same.

 

Did this ever work? I'm dealing with the same milkyness on mine. Was thinking of just replacing the whole fixture but they're expensive

 

I probably have to revise my answer above a bit, as I would think the HID lens has more resistance against the UV lights HID lights emit. A lot of it gets blocked by the quartz glass of the bulb itself and other components but over time, that small amount of UV light can fog up the inside of the lens as well.

It all depends on whether the fogginess is on the inside or outside of the lens. You can just put some water on the lens to see if they become more clear. If they did, then you just need a polish. I paid some professionals $80 to have my Speed3 HID headlights polished and they look brand new.

 

I picked up a polish kit and was going to try it over the coming days. Hopefully it's just an outside fog and not an inside. Really don't want to pay to have the headlight fixtures replaced. Between needing versa Tuner and upgrading Coils I've got enough committed to it for the next couple months

 

I used the kit before on my RX-8 and the result is okay, but nowhere nearly as nice as the shop's work that's done to my Speed3 headlights.

The kit itself I think was like CAN$30 at the time, and there are people on Facebook Marketplace who are willing to do CAN$40 in my area. Not sure how well they do the work, but CAN$80 for professional quality work that way beats my DIY work is worth it IMO.

 

I had good luck with a kit from Dr. Colorchip. UV cure type where you have to leave it in the sun for a few hours. It's been a few years (2), and they still look good. Another car project is hogging the barn, so it's been in the car port with the headlights in the high altitude sun since October or so.

 

Similar question to what the OP started with.... Has anyone tried replacing their headlight lenses with with products such as the ones in the following link?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/30536251212...7CMake%3AMazda

That particular ad claims the lenses fit all years of the RX-8. I know there are differences between S1 and S2 headlight assemblies. However, I'm not sure if same lens would fit both versions.

My 2009's headlights have micro-cracking in the lenses that appears to be on the inside and I'd rather not drop 2K on new OEM units.