2003+ LX projector beam head/fog lamps

[SR.GRINGO]

I have been reading about 100's for a while--came up with a few questions..... First one has to do with the lights. I want to gain everything possible with the factory lights on the LX-- I want to upgrade the low/high and fogs---after that maybe a pair of aftermarket HID's on an arb guard.

Integrated projector-beam foglamps
Automatic on/off projector-beam headlamps with dynamic auto leveling

So for 2006 LX the headlamps are autoleveling was this offered in 2003?

LandPimp put some pretty neat looking Yellowstar lamps in for low beams--these low beams are focused so high wattage would be fine correct? These put out 2500 lumens with a 150 hour light span-- 110 watts, there is also 55W--1550 lumens with a 350 hour light span--I was wondering if I could do the same with the fog lights? I live in Mexico there isn't regulation regarding lights here. For the high beam I just figured on using HIR's from John Deere--unaware of other solutions.

Also I have been reading and it sounds like Hoser changed for HID, also read slee did something at one point. This is a projecter style the light would be focused--are there any plug and play kits available or do you have to piece together ballasts and such? Also any HID forums to read?

 

[hoser]

The LX does not have auto-leveling headlights. The AHC helps a bit but it isn't instantaneous. For the low beams, the Xenondepot.com kit at $379 is the easiest way to get HID's and many people are happy with the performance. The HID retrofit I did requires a lot more work. The worst part about HID's is when you pull up behind a shiny metallic black car at night--the reflection from your headlights hit you back in the eyes!

The 9005 Hi-beams are also the DRL's (at a lower output). So any upgrade would mean the DRL's get brighter. You can disable the DRL's if you choose. You have several options for high beams including the 65W Yellowstar bulbs, 65W HIR 9011 bulbs which can be modded to fit in a 9005 socket and there are also higher output 100W 9005 bulbs. If choosing the 100W bulbs, I would probably make a new relayed wiring harness to resist meltdown.

If you did an Bi-xenon HID retrofit, you could integrate both HI/LO beams but, again, that is a lot more work. As for HID forums, try HIDplanet.com-- if you can sift through the crap, there is some good information.

 

[Jim_Chow]

I think I would advise against high beam HID's unless you live in the middle of nowhere and can drive miles without encountering another vehicle. Otherwise, you'd be turning them on/off many times, affecting the life of the bulbs/ballasts. Also, the HID's take maybe 20 sec to reach full intensity, so they're more suitable if you can leave them on for a prolonged period. Note that on the LX w/ DRL's, when the low beams are on and you turn the high beams on, the lows remain on (as opposed to most vehicles w/o DRL's, when you turn the highs on, the lows turn off). This is good if you plan to run HID's for the lows.

I installed the xenondepot H1 kit...lots of light, beam pattern is controlled and doesn't spray light all over as with some kits. The key is, they've rebased the philips bulbs so the light appears at the focal point of the halogen projector. This is the key to controlling where the light shines. Either you need to do this (drawback is you have to buy rebased bulbs for like $130 ea in the future), or change the projector to a HID type and use cheaper stock HID bulbs.

I've been very happy w/ the xenondepot kit, peripheral lighting is far superior than w/ the stock lights. The bulbs and thin ballasts are by philips. I used a photographic ambient light meter capable of measurig light differences of 10% 1 meter in front of the halogens, then again after installing the HID's. I gained 2 stops in light, which translates to four times the light output! (halogen bulbs were 3 yrs old, so unlikely they were outputting the 1000 lumens or so as when new). I think HID's output around 3200 lumens, so my stock halogens were probably down to 800 lumens from use. Or you could get those new 55w HID's sold in Japan...supposed to be like twice as bright as normal HID's.

 

[hoser]

Just for the record, the stock LX low beams H1 bulbs are approximately 1400 lumens. The high beams are 65W 9005 bulbs at 1700 lumens

LC low beams are 55W 9006 bulbs at 1000 lumens

 

[mot]

Or you could get those new 55w HID's sold in Japan...supposed to be like twice as bright as normal HID's.

With beefier bulbs (200hrs), ballasts (55w) and everything, they're selling them for about $800US.

Unfortunately, it's on the list of my future mod for though.

BTW, I've seen a few LX470's (Cygnus) with HID projector lows here.
Toyota dealers sell/install them, but/and they told me Toyota does not sell different headlight assys/housings for HID application, but just do the simple HID swap.

Hard to imagine them getting proper light pattern/spread, etc... though.

 

[cary]

Do not start running 100 watt or 130 watt bulbs in your housings. They are plastic and will melt from the heat. You either need to use a +50 bulb (like a narva or hella) that will get you about 1700 lumens for your low beams, and HIR high beams, or HID conversions (which may ruin your pattern unless done like Hoser did, which is the proper way).

I would highly recommend you check out the new hella Rally 4000 FF (Luminator) driving lamps. They are a full free form lamp and much more efficient than the last generation luminator. The driving lamp puts out more output with a 55 watt bulb than the last generation did with a 100 watt bulb. Run a set of these with 100 watt bulbs relayed to come on with your high beams and you will be in nirvana.

 

[SR.GRINGO]

The LX does not have auto-leveling headlights. The AHC helps a bit but it isn't instantaneous. For the low beams, the Xenondepot.com kit at $379 is the easiest way to get HID's and many people are happy with the performance. The HID retrofit I did requires a lot more work. The worst part about HID's is when you pull up behind a shiny metallic black car at night--the reflection from your headlights hit you back in the eyes!

The 9005 Hi-beams are also the DRL's (at a lower output). So any upgrade would mean the DRL's get brighter. You can disable the DRL's if you choose. You have several options for high beams including the 65W Yellowstar bulbs, 65W HIR 9011 bulbs which can be modded to fit in a 9005 socket and there are also higher output 100W 9005 bulbs. If choosing the 100W bulbs, I would probably make a new relayed wiring harness to resist meltdown.

If you did an Bi-xenon HID retrofit, you could integrate both HI/LO beams but, again, that is a lot more work. As for HID forums, try HIDplanet.com-- if you can sift through the crap, there is some good information.

Hoser,

My favorite mod is to get maximum light possible--I believe you mentioned something about using Acura tsx units or units from a S2000? How hard is to allign these in the Lexus Housing? Also are there any other units you would recomend--such as the SC430 or audi lights? I plan on running HID's on the low beam side only. Thanks for all of the thought--I live outside of the U.S. and I want to piece the lighting system together before I purchase the LX--sourcing the parts will probably be harder than finding a good clean LX. Were there any changes in bulb type 00 vs 03?

 

[SR.GRINGO]

With beefier bulbs (200hrs), ballasts (55w) and everything, they're selling them for about $800US.

Unfortunately, it's on the list of my future mod for though.

BTW, I've seen a few LX470's (Cygnus) with HID projector lows here.
Toyota dealers sell/install them, but/and they told me Toyota does not sell different headlight assys/housings for HID application, but just do the simple HID swap.

Hard to imagine them getting proper light pattern/spread, etc... though.

Mot,

How much for the replacement bulb? Does the Cygnus run projectors like the LX?

 

[SR.GRINGO]

Do not start running 100 watt or 130 watt bulbs in your housings. They are plastic and will melt from the heat. You either need to use a +50 bulb (like a narva or hella) that will get you about 1700 lumens for your low beams, and HIR high beams, or HID conversions (which may ruin your pattern unless done like Hoser did, which is the proper way).

I would highly recommend you check out the new hella Rally 4000 FF (Luminator) driving lamps. They are a full free form lamp and much more efficient than the last generation luminator. The driving lamp puts out more output with a 55 watt bulb than the last generation did with a 100 watt bulb. Run a set of these with 100 watt bulbs relayed to come on with your high beams and you will be in nirvana.

Cary your ruining all of my fun! Looks like Hosers way is the way to go--I guess HIR high beams will have to work--running HIR's high and low in the 80. I checked out the new Hella 4000's they sound pretty neat. How would you compare them to an HID from IPF or Lightforce, or even Hella? Where I live we drive at night and there aren't other cars much of the time--thats why I was thinking HID for the aux lights. Currently I run 3 lightforce 240's they are about 9"--they put out good light I would just like more--they are fine for the 80 but with the 100 I want to explore more of the Country.

 

[SR.GRINGO]

I think I would advise against high beam HID's unless you live in the middle of nowhere and can drive miles without encountering another vehicle. Otherwise, you'd be turning them on/off many times, affecting the life of the bulbs/ballasts. Also, the HID's take maybe 20 sec to reach full intensity, so they're more suitable if you can leave them on for a prolonged period. Note that on the LX w/ DRL's, when the low beams are on and you turn the high beams on, the lows remain on (as opposed to most vehicles w/o DRL's, when you turn the highs on, the lows turn off). This is good if you plan to run HID's for the lows.

I installed the xenondepot H1 kit...lots of light, beam pattern is controlled and doesn't spray light all over as with some kits. The key is, they've rebased the philips bulbs so the light appears at the focal point of the halogen projector. This is the key to controlling where the light shines. Either you need to do this (drawback is you have to buy rebased bulbs for like $130 ea in the future), or change the projector to a HID type and use cheaper stock HID bulbs.

I've been very happy w/ the xenondepot kit, peripheral lighting is far superior than w/ the stock lights. The bulbs and thin ballasts are by philips. I used a photographic ambient light meter capable of measurig light differences of 10% 1 meter in front of the halogens, then again after installing the HID's. I gained 2 stops in light, which translates to four times the light output! (halogen bulbs were 3 yrs old, so unlikely they were outputting the 1000 lumens or so as when new). I think HID's output around 3200 lumens, so my stock halogens were probably down to 800 lumens from use. Or you could get those new 55w HID's sold in Japan...supposed to be like twice as bright as normal HID's.

Jim,

How has the 03 LX treated you? Do you ever wish you would have gotten a different year? My dilema is between an 00 vs 03. I agree I only plan to use HID's on the low beam side and maybe as an aux light as well--at night sometimes other cars don't pass by for over 20 minutes. The Xenondepot kits sounds much easier than Hosers install--but it sounds like the extra work may pay off. Would it be possible to put the Xenondepot kit in the fog light?

 

[cary]

First you are going to have compare beam types. Lightforce and IPF lights are more of a pencil beam, they are spotty but light up a long ways out. The Hella's in a driving config are going to throw a lot of light out, but will not project as far. The upside is they give a nice broad beam that allows you to see more of the surrounding area.

As far as the Hella HID lamps, listen carefully to what Jim Chow said. They work well if you can run them for long periods, but HID's do take time to warm up and should not be cycled on and off. This is why cars with HID's still run incadecent high beams, or if they use bi-zenon lights, the low beam tilts up to act as the high beam. If the HID's do work for you, they will put out a good amount of light. See this review:

http://www.vandre.nl/_private/COMPAROWEBVERSION1.pdf

See this thread about the quality of light. I personally would start with a pair the new Hella 4000 FF driving, put in 100 watt bulbs and then add from there if needed.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=107535&highlight=hella+4000

 

[cary]

I'm going to add one more comment here. I do not believe in using pencil beams except for very limited use. IMHO, they limit visibility when not used in multiple sets or in conjunction with driving lamps. The problem is that they have a hot spot that is nice and bright (like your Lightforce lights). This causes you to focus in on the hotspot, which does two things, 1) you get tunnel vision as you follow the hotspot, and 2) your pupils dialate in response to the hotspot, making it harder to see outside the hotspot area.

It is these factors that make me reluctant to post the lighting test I did. They show the beams, but they show them with a combo of 1 driving light, and 1 spot (pencil) for most of the lights. That horrible hotspot is really bad in my opinion. Yes it is bright, but that does not make it good in my opinion. Pencil beams are great for off road racing where you are driving 80-100mph in the pitch black on dirt roads and have 4 driving lights plus 2 pencil beams.

 

[cary]

Jim,

How has the 03 LX treated you? Do you ever wish you would have gotten a different year? My dilema is between an 00 vs 03. I agree I only plan to use HID's on the low beam side and maybe as an aux light as well--at night sometimes other cars don't pass by for over 20 minutes. The Xenondepot kits sounds much easier than Hosers install--but it sounds like the extra work may pay off. Would it be possible to put the Xenondepot kit in the fog light?

The Hoser install is a lot of work, but is the right way to do it. Don't waste your time, money, or energy on HID fog lamps, it defeats the purpose of fogs.

 

[hoser]

Hoser,

My favorite mod is to get maximum light possible--I believe you mentioned something about using Acura tsx units or units from a S2000? How hard is to allign these in the Lexus Housing? Also are there any other units you would recomend--such as the SC430 or audi lights? I plan on running HID's on the low beam side only. Thanks for all of the thought--I live outside of the U.S. and I want to piece the lighting system together before I purchase the LX--sourcing the parts will probably be harder than finding a good clean LX. Were there any changes in bulb type 00 vs 03?

Yeah, nix what I said about using the 100W high beam bulbs. People do it but the risk probably isn't worth it. There were no changes in the low beam bulbs from '98-'06. However, there was a change in the outside lenses. At some point, maybe '03, the outside lense went from glass to plastic.

Both TSX and S2000 projectors are better than the Bosch E46 projectors I used. But both might be too deep not too mention expensive (~$350/pr for the S2000). If I was to do it over again, I'd search for DOT projectors that are slightly smaller than the ones I used. If you don't mind cutting/modding the shroud (the chromish part in the headlamp), you could fit many other projectors. There have been many new and donor (used) projectors that have come out since I did my retrofit, I need to see what's new out there.

 

[cary]

I say skip both and go straight to the top for a retrofit. Start here:

http://www.rallylights.com/hella/headlamps.asp

You can use 120mm projectors which use 1700 lumen H1 bulbs. You can get 100 watt H1 bulbs and step it up to 2300 lumens.

90mm projectors give you all kind of options. H9 bulbs that provide 2100 lumens is an efficient lamp fixture. Not enough you can try 100 watt H9 bulbs (not clue on how long they last) and boot out 2900 lumens. You also have two FACTORY HID options, using seperate low and high HID lamps (3000 lumens each) or a new style BI-Xenon lamp.

BTW, I am baised against HID lights because I can't stand their color rendering. They put out a lot of light, but contrast sucks, their CRI is only in the the 70s, while incadecent bulbs are in the high 90s. The additional lumens HID lamps put out, do not make up for the lower CRI for me.

 

[Jim_Chow]

Jim,

How has the 03 LX treated you? Do you ever wish you would have gotten a different year? My dilema is between an 00 vs 03. I agree I only plan to use HID's on the low beam side and maybe as an aux light as well--at night sometimes other cars don't pass by for over 20 minutes. The Xenondepot kits sounds much easier than Hosers install--but it sounds like the extra work may pay off. Would it be possible to put the Xenondepot kit in the fog light?

The only other year would be a '06, but way too much $$$$. I got the '03 because it was the first year w/ the 5spd auto and last year w/ the ATF dipstick and type IV ATF. From monitoring this forum for the past 3 yrs, my feeling is to go '01 or newer. There were a couple of trannies on '00 LX's that blew way back, but I can't recall any major issues w/ '01+, plus I know one guy w/ a 01 and another w/ a 03 LC and both have been problem-free.

There is a shop in LA called illusion lighting (illusion-lighting.com) that will convert your lamps into HID's. They basically select a HID (e-code or DOT, you choose, but keep in mind e-code isn't street legal) projector housing and splice it into your existing lamps. They then use the normal HID bulbs/ballast. Cost is something like ~$1K and some change. That's the easy way to do what hoser did. I was thinking about doing that until learning about the xenondepot kit w/ rebased bulbs.

 

[mot]

How much for the replacement bulb? Does the Cygnus run projectors like the LX?

-J-,

The Cygnus is what LX470 is elsewhere in the world. So yes, the ones I've seen run projectors (haven't kept up on the latest models though)

They run between about $200 and $300US (each), depending on the type.

They say that at 6000k, it puts out about 6000 lumens. I'm not here to argue whether it's superior or not to halogens, cary. I've attached a comparison pic with the normal 35w HID bulb (on the right) and the beefed up one for the 55w on the left. Although I fancy them, neither do I have any personal experience with them nor am I endorsing them.
I liked seeing what I saw with the Hella Luminator (Rally 4000) HID driving lights when I tried them out in Utah enough though (with normal 35w ballasts/bulbs).

If you're set on HID driving lights or if what cary suggests does not suffice, hit me off line as I have two new pairs of Hella FF1000 driving HID's in Utah with your name on them.

Good luck with your search!

Mot

 

[hoser]

BTW, I am baised against HID lights because I can't stand their color rendering. They put out a lot of light, but contrast sucks, their CRI is only in the the 70s, while incadecent bulbs are in the high 90s. The additional lumens HID lamps put out, do not make up for the lower CRI for me.

With HID's, I can see much further down the road and have much better peripheral vision but like Cary said, the color rendering isn't great. Kinda feels like viewing the world in semi-black and white. I would consider switching back to incandescent if I could get the same distance/peripheral vision.

 

[SR.GRINGO]

I say skip both and go straight to the top for a retrofit. Start here:

http://www.rallylights.com/hella/headlamps.asp

You can use 120mm projectors which use 1700 lumen H1 bulbs. You can get 100 watt H1 bulbs and step it up to 2300 lumens.

90mm projectors give you all kind of options. H9 bulbs that provide 2100 lumens is an efficient lamp fixture. Not enough you can try 100 watt H9 bulbs (not clue on how long they last) and boot out 2900 lumens. You also have two FACTORY HID options, using seperate low and high HID lamps (3000 lumens each) or a new style BI-Xenon lamp.

BTW, I am baised against HID lights because I can't stand their color rendering. They put out a lot of light, but contrast sucks, their CRI is only in the the 70s, while incadecent bulbs are in the high 90s. The additional lumens HID lamps put out, do not make up for the lower CRI for me.

Cary,

First off I wanted to say Thanks for all of the fantastic links--I have been reading non-stop since friday! Today took a small break to drive around in a hurricane--not used to rain, and wind! I have many questions but one that went unanwsered is this quote:

You also have two FACTORY HID options, using seperate low and high HID lamps (3000 lumens each) or a new style BI-Xenon lamp.

Where can I see the above product and how much does it cost? These modules that rallylights have look really neat. For the output I believe the 80 may get treated to some 120mm. Here is what I am seeing:

90mm high beam can use H9 bulbs that produce 2900 Lumens for $220
120mm high beam can use H1 Yellowstars producing 2500 lumens for $250
90mm HID with D2S ECE(illegal U.S.) for about $1000

This appears to be a hell of an alternative to the Rallye 4000--It will have much more of a factory look--on the 100 or LX could be placed in the front air dam. I think I would go for the 120mm becuase I can use the Yellowstars. How many lumens does the HID D2S ECE produce?

 

[SR.GRINGO]

First you are going to have compare beam types. Lightforce and IPF lights are more of a pencil beam, they are spotty but light up a long ways out. The Hella's in a driving config are going to throw a lot of light out, but will not project as far. The upside is they give a nice broad beam that allows you to see more of the surrounding area.

As far as the Hella HID lamps, listen carefully to what Jim Chow said. They work well if you can run them for long periods, but HID's do take time to warm up and should not be cycled on and off. This is why cars with HID's still run incadecent high beams, or if they use bi-zenon lights, the low beam tilts up to act as the high beam. If the HID's do work for you, they will put out a good amount of light. See this review:

http://www.vandre.nl/_private/COMPAROWEBVERSION1.pdf

See this thread about the quality of light. I personally would start with a pair the new Hella 4000 FF driving, put in 100 watt bulbs and then add from there if needed.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=107535&highlight=hella+4000

This is a great link and provides great examples--Thanks Cary.

I should have prefaced my statement by saying I am a big fan of a "spread beam" light pattern. With this in mind my first choice would be:

Cibie Oscar SC--favorite light due to spread beam

Rallye FF 4000--does pretty well but I would be more interested if it came in both Eurobeam and cornering patterns--

Lightforce 240's--currently have these and like them with the use of a filter--but the beam is thrown really far

HID

These are pretty expensive but they have a nice pattern:
Rallye FF 1,000 HID $1,100 (too much compared to the options available)