Anyone have long term report on clear headlight covers?

[processengr]

Hi All,
I have the smallcar headlight covers on our garage dwelling 97. We like them, but they seem very easy to scratch...We have put on less than 2000 mi. in dry weather on the 97.

Thinking of putting them on the dailey driver...anyone have these that has racked up some time/mileage?

[SVXyGirl]

Originally Posted by processengr

Hi All,
I have the smallcar headlight covers on our garage dwelling 97. We like them, but they seem very easy to scratch...We have put on less than 2000 mi. in dry weather on the 97.

Thinking of putting them on the dailey driver...anyone have these that has racked up some time/mileage?

Well the red SVX I have has the clear headlights. You'd have to ask Sicksubie how long they've been on there. So far so good...they still look great!

[solarsvx]

mine are so far sogood, a few scratches as expected, the clear corners a diffrent story i have resealed them 4 times and they still leak water !

[sicksubie]

the ones on rebecca's brilliant red have been on for about 10k miles I would guess....

[Crazy_pilot]

Originally Posted by solarsvx

mine are so far sogood, a few scratches as expected, the clear corners a diffrent story i have resealed them 4 times and they still leak water !

Do you have JDM clear corners or the SmallCar kit?

[solarsvx]

Originally Posted by Crazy_pilot

Do you have JDM clear corners or the SmallCar kit?

small car kit, im thinking of switching to the jdm clears

[Mike621]

Overall, I was not impressed with the quality/durability of the smallcar lenses.

[Tim]

Yes... bill must hurry up with his lexan covers

[Crazy_pilot]

Originally Posted by solarsvx

small car kit, im thinking of switching to the jdm clears

Ah, thought so. I have JDM corners that I bought from Mychailo, I've been very happy with them for the past several months I've had them, they've survived winter not problem.

[94SubieSVX]

Originally Posted by TE1221

Yes... bill must hurry up with his lexan covers

My name shouldn't be YB, it should be Slacker.

[WestCoastSVX]

Originally Posted by Crazy_pilot

Ah, thought so. I have JDM corners that I bought from Mychailo, I've been very happy with them for the past several months I've had them, they've survived winter not problem.

JDM corners are a non-issue for sure. They are as solid as the USM ones and they should be because they are an OEM part. I've had the JDM clear corners on for 7+ years in harsh conditions with no problems.

Back on topic, I've had the Smallcar clear lenses on for almost 2 years (same harsh conditions, stored outside, lots of debris hitting them, etc) and they still look good. My main issue is one has developed a leak because I scraped away too much sealer to try to make them look better when the hood is up. Need to reseal them.

With the hood closed and the job done right (which is very hard to do), these look awesome and really update the look of the car. They are too expensive for what they are though, especially considering all the work you have to still do once you buy them. That said though, I prefer this look to the stockers so much so that I have a pair of brand new headlights in boxes that I will probably just let gather dust.

[Tim]

Originally Posted by MacGyver

JDM corners are a non-issue for sure. They are as solid as the USM ones and they should be because they are an OEM part. I've had the JDM clear corners on for 7+ years in harsh conditions with no problems.

Mine leaked water into them when I didnt have my fender liners in, but now that the liners are back in I havent had any more issues.

[processengr]

Hi all!
Thanks for the input! I think I'll "risk" another set. They are delicate, but easy to replace lens only after you hack off the face of the original assembly. I worried about not being airtight and water leakage at 1st, but noticed the vent tubes on the original that gave me confidence...but then, I washed the car in ~40 weather, the car was colder than the ambient air (unheated garage) and they fogged internally...never do that again!
They cleared ok, but made me wonder...is the thermal conductivity of the light weight polycarbonate sheet that much different than the heavy wall, dense (injection molded at ~ 20,000 psi) acrylic (sensitive to UV/yellowing with aging) prismatic OEMs?