First 100 Series - 06 LX470, lighting questions

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Bud Dieselman

Bud Dieselman

10 Year
Joined
Sep 27, 2015
Threads
4
Messages
11
Location
Texas
Picked up an 06 LX470 with 90k this week. Drove it 1300 miles back to Dallas with no issues.

First thing I want to do is improve the headlights, stock are awful, could barely see with low beams on. I've searched and have stumbled across so decent info. What do y'all suggest doing?

I don't have any experience installing HIDs. Which kit is the "simplest" to install? Interested in something in the 4500k range. Thanks in advance.
 
Hi Bud,

I just installed some HID's on my 2001 LX470 (a few days ago). Prior to that I had sylvania zxe's, which were a decent improvement over stock. My issue with the HID's is that the ones I bought from DDM seem to have little halo's above the headlight projection. The halo's are quite bright. I think others on this forum have referred to them as "Squirrel Blinders", and they can be blocked, if you disassemble the lens. I will probably do the whole disassembly thing in the future, but I will likely install TSX-R lenses at that point as well (as in the following thread):

LX470 Projector - TSX-R Lens Swap

That's a bit more work than plug and play...I also had to grind down part of the bulb housing, where the bulb is seated, because the HID bulbs were a bit too big for the stock housing. HID's require a bit of handy work, but are distinctively brighter than stock, or my previous ZXE's.
 
Bud, I don't have an LX so I cannot speak to the capabilities of the stock lighting, but my '06 LC was certainly not up to par so I did a projector retrofit.

Just so you know, even though you have projectors, the OEM ones are meant for halogen bulbs and NOT HID bulbs, so will not have a clear cutoff and will likely blind oncoming drivers. I strongly encourage people considering light upgrades to save up for a proper retrofit, I promise you it is worth the extra time/money.

As for color, if you want the brighter white/hint of blue then I would recommend 6000k, which is what a lot of high-end manufacturers use for their OEM headlights. I have them on my LC and I find they are just the right amount of white/blue without looking over-the-top.

Best of luck!
 
Bud Dieselman said:
Picked up an 06 LX470 with 90k this week. Drove it 1300 miles back to Dallas with no issues.

First thing I want to do is improve the headlights, stock are awful, could barely see with low beams on. I've searched and have stumbled across so decent info. What do y'all suggest doing?

I don't have any experience installing HIDs. Which kit is the "simplest" to install? Interested in something in the 4500k range. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Regardless of price/brand the installation effort, if you can call it that, is very straight forward and minimal. Probably the only variables are: with or without relay harness; there's a small chance you'll need to swap polarity of the trigger wire connections and maybe you'll need to slightly enlarge the headlamps' seating bases with a jewelers file to properly seat the new HID bulbs. You also need to follow through and check/adjust aiming post installation.
I installed a Xenon Depot Extreme kit - slim 35w ac ballasts, 4300k (relay harness not required) - over four years ago in my LX low beams. It's been trouble free and throws a very nice light pattern with good, defined cut offs. XD claim their HID bulbs are engineered to match the focal characteristics of the halogen bulbs they are replacing. I haven't compared their output to other kit bulbs so I really can't say if they are better than other bulbs or not. The XD extreme kit is certainly not the lowest priced set available, but I'm very happy with the quality of their system, the light color and intensity match, they warm up to full intensity in a second or three, no noise or EMI and my only regret is I didn't install them sooner. Their customer service rep answers the phone and returns emails as well.
HTH.
 
Bud, I too am new to the platform with a recently purchased 06 LC. I know there are differences but I'm considering doing the same. Where in Dallas are you (pm me) and if time permits I'd offer a hand at install just to learn on the fly with someone.


Sent from my iPhone
 
Bud Dieselman said:
Thanks for the input all, the Xenon Depot kit seems like a good option with some good reviews from folks who installed them in LXs. Thinking of going with the Philips 4300k. Are y'all doing the fog lights too?

H1 HID Headlight Kit | H1 HID Upgrade
Click to expand...
I'm in the market for HID fogs too, been watching the threads that have popped up over the last few weeks. Seems there are three price points: $30s, $70s, and $160s. I'm definitely very satisfied with the $160s XD extremes and will probably get a set for the fogs too, in 4300k. But, those $60 -$70 Kensuns and DDM ultras meet my first pass requirements of low current ac ballasts and, on paper, seem very similar to the more expensive options. The XDs have been %100 reliable too, and that matters to me.
 
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