To go Black or stay White...

"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike) 07/29/2016 at 23:55 • Filed to: Headlights, 2009 Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Accent, Blacked-out

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This is the question I face my fellow Opponauts...

Somewhere before I bought my DD ‘09 Hyundai Accent hatch, somebody had given the front-left corner a little shunt, pushing the fender back towards the door by a few millimeters, putting a little crack in the bumper cover, and putting a crack in the headlight casing on the drivers side.

Last year I noticed that the fender had been rubbing on the door a bit (although making no noise) and had created a little rust spot there that I didn’t want to get any worse, so I had the door taken off, and the fender taken off, reattached correctly further forward to clear the door edge, and the edge of the fender and door repainted to ward off any future rust. All great, all not that expensive.

I didn’t get the headlight replaced as, at the time, the crack passed safety inspection (it still does), and it wasn’t leaking. I HAVE noticed that it does seem to be leaking a little now as I often see condensation inside the light and even a tiny pool of water after it rains. I could fix this with a little dash of silicon sealant, but the crack is pretty obvious and I’ve thought about replacing the slightly UV-damaged and cracked light with a used or new replacement. This would be the cheaper, factory/OEM ‘White’ option, mentioned above (seen below)...

However, in my travels, I’ve found these too and always liked the look of them:

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The price seems fairly reasonable, plus free shipping and as I want to personalize my car a little more, it would be a nice start.

Does anybody have any experience with aftermarket blacked-housing headlights? The reflector seems to still be fully intact for the hi/low beams as the blacked out part is just structural, not really part of the light reflector area....the turn signals, though...they seem to have lost the part of the reflector that would reflect the light sideways..? Original light for comparison:

Thoughts my friends? :)

Bytemite > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 07/30/2016 at 01:25

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I’m sorry but that looks like someone punched your car’s eyes and it has two black eyes now. Plus it looks like it’ll create a lot of drag. Not worth it.

How does the MC Accent drive? I like the look of the hatchback and was wondering if it’d be fun to drive.

Leon711 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 07/30/2016 at 03:06

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it can work, see Vauxhall/Opel Corsa.

Base

option headlights

but if you do, you must change the wheels man.

Leon711 > Bytemite 07/30/2016 at 03:06

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no increase in drag, they have a full plastic cover like stock.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Bytemite 07/30/2016 at 08:02

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Drag...? The blacked out lights are still covered by clear lenses, it’s just that some of the chrome casing is black now.

It drives well. It’s not fast, only 110hp, but the handling is pretty chuckable and it’s peppy enough with a manual (my mom and brother have the automatic Accent sedans of the same year and they feel so much slower). It’s pretty practical too with the hatch. They’re quite reliable as well, and if you don’t care about options, you can get base trim manual Accents for cheap...mine had 54K kms on it when I got it and I paid $7K all in, including fees, tax, etc, etc which I thought was a pretty good deal (mine has no options at all though).

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Leon711 07/30/2016 at 08:09

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Yeah, doesn’t look bad. I’ve seen a few other cars with blacked out lights as well...Dodge had a few with their ‘Blacktop’ editions a few years back, like the Caravan:

Hahaha, yeah, I fully intend on changing the wheels :P

Currently they are ‘98 Ford Escort rims I got for $70....lots of curb rash up close and pretty dirty, plus oh-so-90's styling. Basically just got them when I first got the car as they were cheap and I wanted a set of rims for my summers and a second set for my winters to save money every winter/spring by not having to get my tires swapped back and forth.

The Escort rims do have custom 3D-printed Hyundai center caps though (currently two are black, one is white, one is gray), so......that makes them SLIGHTLY less terrible.....right? ...Right? :P

Mercedes Streeter > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 07/30/2016 at 08:53

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I vote black headlights! And you can just Plasti-Dip your wheels to save some cash. Matte black dip brings out interesting definition.

jkm7680 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 07/30/2016 at 12:37

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Headlights will look alright. But those wheels need to go ASAP.

Bytemite > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 07/30/2016 at 13:32

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Yeah the sedan looks eww. The hatch is so cute. I can get one with 80k miles for like only 4k so it is quite a deal. But hopefully it is sporty to drive.