08-11 LX570 Factory HID retrofit (1 Viewer)

[electro992]

I tried LED bulbs in the factory projectors but they were not as good as HID. Started looking in to a projector retrofit using OEM parts. Turns out RX350 bixenon projectors are a good fit in to the LX’s mounting bracket and our headlights already have a mounting point for a Toyota D4S ballast. Since its a bixenon projector you get HID high beams which come on in addition to the factory halogen high beam. Low beam and high beam performance are both hugely improved and AFS and auto leveling are fully functional. Highly recommended if you are willing to open your lights.

RX on the left, LX on right

LX projector in bracket

RX projector in bracket

OEM ballast in factory mounting point

RX projector is 3" vs 2.5" for the original, fills out the opening a bit better. Hard to tell in this picture but I also slightly tinted the chrome headlight surround.

 

[dal20402]

Which generation of RX are these from?

 

[electro992]

2010-2012 RX350. I bought a busted LX headlight on eBay to test with before using my actual lights. If anyone is interested in this project and would like to do the same, happy to pass on the light for the cost of shipping.

 

[RyanR]

This is awesome, I have the IPF LED's as well but love the idea of a factory conversion with a larger HID projector. Did you buy the RX parts new or source them from ebay as well?

What did the conversion cost, minus the eBay LX test headlight?

 

[electro992]

The projectors were sourced from eBay. You want to get a set that includes the brackets and shrouds as some of these parts will be needed (the shrouds and the metal clip that holds the top of the projector in place).

Cost wise, roughly:
Projectors - $150
Ballasts - $50 per side. There are a lot of brand new ones available from various vendors but they appear to be Chinese clones. Wanted to be sure I got genuine units so I purchased used ones removed from OEM lights.
Bulbs - $70 OEM Phillips
Misc parts - $50

 

[ton504]

Any reason you chose the RX350 bixenon projectors?

I should have read lol. I guess its cool to have dual highbeam haha. I have a set of the RX330 AFS D2S 2.5” projectors and they look alot like the LX570 projectors. They're just sitting around since I went with the SC430 projectors in my LX470. PM me if anyone is interested.

 

[electro992]

I was originally looking at RX330 projectors but they are a bit shorter than the LX projectors. In order for the projector to mount easily and retain AFS the critical dimension is the height:

 

[dal20402]

This is fascinating and I really appreciate your writing it up.

How did you figure out that these particular projectors were the right ones? Did you have to buy samples, or did you find dimensions somewhere? I'd love to do this but availability of these projectors on their own is quite limited and buying full headlight units to get them is spendy.

 

[ton504]

I was originally looking at RX330 projectors but they are a bit shorter than the LX projectors. In order for the projector to mount easily and retain AFS the critical dimension is the height:

View attachment 1650385

I just attempted to measure my spare projectors and this correct. The RX330 AFS projector are too short. It was around 83mm but my batteries died in my digital capliers so I don't have an exact number.

Thanks for your work. This will be my first mod if I ever get my hands on a 08-11 LX570.

 

[electro992]

How did you figure out that these particular projectors were the right ones? Did you have to buy samples, or did you find dimensions somewhere? I'd love to do this but availability of these projectors on their own is quite limited and buying full headlight units to get them is spendy.

I was able to find the dimensions online. The RX350 projectors are available from various sources (theretrofitsource.com, lightwerkz.net) but they are just the bare projectors which are missing a few pieces needed for this conversion. Complete sets pop up on eBay once in a while. Probably highly likely that projectors from other Lexus models will fit as well.

 

[TeCKis300]

Great find and nicely done! Nothing feels better than an upgrade from the OEM parts bin.

 

[airforce1]

The projectors were sourced from eBay. You want to get a set that includes the brackets and shrouds as some of these parts will be needed (the shrouds and the metal clip that holds the top of the projector in place).

Cost wise, roughly:
Projectors - $150
Ballasts - $50 per side. There are a lot of brand new ones available from various vendors but they appear to be Chinese clones. Wanted to be sure I got genuine units so I purchased used ones removed from OEM lights.
Bulbs - $70 OEM Phillips
Misc parts - $50

@electro992, I apologize but I have a few questions on your retrofit:

1. Which OEM Phillips bulb did you buy? Do you have a model number?

2. Is it necessary to remove the entire headlight to retrofit the projectors?

3. What miscellaneous parts did you use?

4. Do the ballasts have to be model specific? Also, I'll have to double check but I don't recall seeing ballast mount points on the top housing like yours pictured above.

Thanks!

 

[electro992]

@electro992, I apologize but I have a few questions on your retrofit:

1. Which OEM Phillips bulb did you buy? Do you have a model number?

2. Is it necessary to remove the entire headlight to retrofit the projectors?

3. What miscellaneous parts did you use?

4. Do the ballasts have to be model specific? Also, I'll have to double check but I don't recall seeing ballast mount points on the top housing like yours pictured above.

Thanks!

1 - I used the regular Philips D4S bulbs. I have read that Toshiba D4S is the OEM for Lexus. You want to make sure they are sold by Amazon, as I've read there are a lot of counterfeits.

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-D4S-..._6?ie=UTF8&qid=1528291750&sr=8-6&keywords=D4s

https://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Xeno...F8&qid=1528291981&sr=1-1&keywords=toshiba+d4s

2 - Yes, and the headlight must be opened up.



3 - It's been a while now, but you will need things like extra wire, heat shrink tubing, etc. to make the connections. Dremel with a cutting wheel to make some small modifications to get the projector to fit properly.

4 - The ballast cutout is on the bottom of the headlight. The light must be off the car to see it. You'll see the shape of the cutout that matches up with the OEM Toyota ballast. These ballasts are used across a bunch of Toyota/Lexus models under different part numbers, but the casing shape and mounting remains the same.

 

[electro992]

Quick pics showing the tinted chrome surround in the lights. Actually surprised how much this changes the look of the truck.

 

[airforce1]

Looks great!

But looks a bit involved for an amateur like me.

I wonder if the '13-'16 LX headlights are plug and play into the '08-'11?

 

[electro992]

I wonder if the '13-'16 LX headlights are plug and play into the '08-'11?

Electrically they can be made to work, but unfortunately the bumper shape is different.

#13

 

[jlin011]

@electro992 When you were doing the conversion, do you by chance have pictures of the LX bracket modifications needed? I’m looking at the fitment of the RX projector and it looks like one upper corner of the projector frame hits the LX bracket, impeding AFS, and the bixenon solenoid is also scraping the bottom of the LX bracket (not to mention the plug is blocked. Just curious how how much whittling away you ended up doing. Thanks!


Edit: I just zoomed in on the section in question and I can see you trimmed the corner frame on the RX projector so that answers my first question.

 

[electro992]

Sorry for the late reply. I did have to trim the upper corner of the RX projector. Also opened up the LX bracket on the back to allow the bixenon connector to plug in. Both were straightforward with the parts in hand and seeing how they fit together.

 

[supercarrera]

This thread is inspiring me to do a retrofit of my headlights although I'm thinking of using bi-led projectors instead of HID. @electro992 what paint did you use to tint the chrome surrounds?

 

[zerogarda]

1 - I used the regular Philips D4S bulbs. I have read that Toshiba D4S is the OEM for Lexus. You want to make sure they are sold by Amazon, as I've read there are a lot of counterfeits.

Amazon.com - https://www.amazon.com/Philips-D4S-Xenon-HID-Headlight/dp/B00480J4I2/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1528291750&sr=8-6&keywords=D4s

Amazon.com - https://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Xenon-Bulbs-4300K-Toyota/dp/B004CP40LE/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1528291981&sr=1-1&keywords=toshiba+d4s

2 - Yes, and the headlight must be opened up.



3 - It's been a while now, but you will need things like extra wire, heat shrink tubing, etc. to make the connections. Dremel with a cutting wheel to make some small modifications to get the projector to fit properly.

4 - The ballast cutout is on the bottom of the headlight. The light must be off the car to see it. You'll see the shape of the cutout that matches up with the OEM Toyota ballast. These ballasts are used across a bunch of Toyota/Lexus models under different part numbers, but the casing shape and mounting remains the same.

Do you have any wiring diagrams or other info on exactly which wiring connections need to be made to make the retrofit work?