Headlight Retrofit for 2008 - 2011 LX570

[UCrazyKid]

@grinchy any particular reason why you want to operate your DRLs in conjunction with high beams?

The high beams ARE the DRLs. In a halogen system the bulb is the same illuminated with lower voltage producing less light. The problem can be non-dimming LEDs or an electrical system that requires seeing a particular resistance across the circuit.

 

[airforce1]

Aha....thanks!

 

[EJC]

My experience with the PIAA Xtreme White bulbs has been a reduced life in the DRL mode. Based on my experience with 2 FJ100s and 1 FJ200...

 

[grinchy]

My experience with the PIAA Xtreme White bulbs has been a reduced life in the DRL mode. Based on my experience with 2 FJ100s and 1 FJ200...

That's not good news

 

[grinchy]

You can also take the DRL box out of the loop. It's behind the front passenger headlight where the second battery tray goes. I did that and just run my low beams as DRLs when I want (which is basically all the time). No error messages or dash lights.

Tabraha is onto something here for sure. This part is dropping the voltage too much for LEDs.

Unfortunately, since LEDs are primarily on/off, if the voltage is raised to the point they come on, they may be too bright for DRLs, so although taking it out of the chain allows the lights to work, they are now too bright.

We really need a light option which runs fewer of the LED array on the low voltage, and more on the high voltage.

Example: 16 led array. Voltage 10V or less -> 6 LED. Voltage 10V or more -> 16 LED

Off to Alibaba . . .

 

[Docboy]

Can someone recap the findings so far? So for the LX570 08-10 in particular, are there any aftermarket LEDs or HID bulbs for low beams mudders found so far that:
1) Allows the OEM DRLs and fogs to continue to work properly?
2) Do not need dust cap modifications?

 

[grinchy]

The low beams will work using either of the Hikari parts. It looks like the Philips version is preferred due to the LED layout. Search H11 Hikari Philips on your source of choice. I have these and they are great, though a touch above market price. They fit behind the dustcaps.

The high beams are the troublemaker. LEDs here are not mixing well with the DRL use which puts a big ole resistor inline to drop the voltage.

Fogs aren't to my knowledge an issue, and can be switched to the H11 LED of your choice. I couldn't get the fog light to twist out of the housing, and haven't been to the FSM to see how those are put together. I'm sure it is straightforward once you know the secret.

 

[Docboy]

The low beams will work using either of the Hikari parts. It looks like the Philips version is preferred due to the LED layout. Search H11 Hikari Philips on your source of choice. I have these and they are great, though a touch above market price. They fit behind the dustcaps.

The high beams are the troublemaker. LEDs here are not mixing well with the DRL use which puts a big ole resistor inline to drop the voltage.

Fogs aren't to my knowledge an issue, and can be switched to the H11 LED of your choice. I couldn't get the fog light to twist out of the housing, and haven't been to the FSM to see how those are put together. I'm sure it is straightforward once you know the secret.

Thanks. Are these the ones you bought for the low beams? Simply remove dust cap, unscrew OEM halogens, insert new bulb, and replace dust caps? https://www.amazon.com/HIKARI-Headl...1525365213&sr=8-3&keywords=H11+Hikari+Philips

How would you compare the Hikari Philips to that of OEM Lexus HID low beams? The ones on my wife's NX300H are nice and bright, as well as the ones I had on my Acura TL and Porsche 996tt. My current OEM low beams has the output of a few candles.

 

[grinchy]

@Docboy Yes, those in the white box. They are a lot brighter. I don't have any of those cars handy to compare, but I'd put them on par with my Acura RL HIDs.

yes. The low beams are an easy install. Totally . You will probably pull the battery to do the driver side, but that isn't hard to do.

 

[electro992]

I just did the Hikari low beams a few weeks ago. Like EJC, I’m not completely convinced it was an upgrade in my case, but the jury’s still out as I’ve only used them a few times.

Observations:

1) Hikari LEDS are bright, but I don’t think the color temperature is working as well for my particular situation. Because I also have 6k LEDS in the fog position, both lights are bright in the same focused color spectrum. This seems to cast a single narrow color pallet on everything that is illuminated. Versus the configuration I had before (LED fogs, halogen low beams), that rendered everything more vividly across the color pallet. Another way to say it is there low color fidelity/contrast in the illuminated objects.

I had the same experience with my IPF LEDs and this is the reason why I ended up swapping them out for a full HID retrofit. While the LEDs appeared very bright on the road, the quality of light was somehow poor, and it was just harder to see things. I later read about a spec called the "Color rendering Index," or how well a light source can reproduce colors. If the CRI is low it makes certain colors appear dull or hard to see. I'm guessing the CRI of the aftermarket LEDs may have something to do with what we're perceiving in terms of the "quality" of the light. Interesting graphic here:

Design HMI | Natural Light / High CRI Index LED Lighting for Natural in Door Lighting Color

 

[Docboy]

I had the same experience with my IPF LEDs and this is the reason why I ended up swapping them out for a full HID retrofit. While the LEDs appeared very bright on the road, the quality of light was somehow poor, and it was just harder to see things. I later read about a spec called the "Color rendering Index," or how well a light source can reproduce colors. If the CRI is low it makes certain colors appear dull or hard to see. I'm guessing the CRI of the aftermarket LEDs may have something to do with what we're perceiving in terms of the "quality" of the light. Interesting graphic here:

Design HMI | Natural Light / High CRI Index LED Lighting for Natural in Door Lighting Color

Which HID retrofit do you have? Can you share a link?

 

[grinchy]

So, I dug around in the FSM and found out the value of the DRL resistor. It is 1 ohm. I got the power of a standard 9005 bulb - 65W. I assumed 12.8 as the operating voltage of the vehicle (conservative).
So, Ohm's law to the rescue:
P=V*V/R -> R = V*V/P -> 12.8*12.8*/65=2.52 Ohm as the 9005 internal resistance. Let's figure out the amps to power this resistance. i=p/v -> 65/12.8 -> 5.08 amps (checked with v=ir, awesome).

Now, let's add the DRL resistor, a 1 ohm load before the bulb, and figure out the voltage drop of this fancy heat sinked $136 resistor and our $10 9005 bulb. Then we have to extend that to the resistor + LED system.

Total Resistance is 3.52 ohm. The current in the system is v=ir -> i=v/r -> 12.8/3.52 -> 3.64 a
The voltage drop at DRL Resistor is 3.64a * 1 ohm = 3.64v. The drop at 9005 bulb is 3.64a * 2.52 ohm = 9.2 volts. So 9.2 v = dimmer bulb = instant DRL.

What's the resistance of the LED? One I looked at was '30w'. So . . . 12.8*12.8/30 = 5.45 ohm
The system is 6.45 ohm.
i=V/r -> 12.8/6.45 = 1.98 amp in the system
vdrop at DRL resistor -> 1.98a *1 ohm = 1.98v
vdrop at LED -> 1.98a * 5.45 ohm -> 10.8v

Almost all these bulbs are rated for 9v+ -> it should work . . .

The resistance must be lower than than 6 ohm?

 

[electro992]

From my read of the wiring diagram, in DRL mode (DRL relays #3 and #4 both unenergized), the two high beam bulbs are in series with the resistor, and the polarity on the passenger side bulb is reversed. I would guess that even if you shorted pins on the DRL resistor connector to remove it from the loop, the LEDs still may not work if they are polarity sensitive.

If you are interested in having LED DRLs, Osram makes combination LED fog and DRL unit that fits the LX. I installed a set last year and have been very happy with them.

Daytime Running Lamp Help

 

[electro992]

Which HID retrofit do you have? Can you share a link?

I ended up opening my lights and installing HID projectors from a Lexus RX350. For a plug and play option with the stock lights, I've read good things about the kits at xenondepot.com and theretrofitsource.com.

08-11 LX570 Factory HID retrofit

 

[grinchy]

I wondered if they were going series, and reversing the polarity may indeed be an issue.
excellent information.

 

[TeCKis300]

The LED drivers in the Hikari unit seem to handle polarity.

When I installed mine, I noticed that the clip catch on one didn't seem to be in the right position. Yet, both units turned on. I corrected the plug on the one that had the catch in the wrong position and that addressed it. Both units still turned on fine. If they were polarity sensitive, this wouldn't be the case.

 

[TeCKis300]

I had the same experience with my IPF LEDs and this is the reason why I ended up swapping them out for a full HID retrofit. While the LEDs appeared very bright on the road, the quality of light was somehow poor, and it was just harder to see things. I later read about a spec called the "Color rendering Index," or how well a light source can reproduce colors. If the CRI is low it makes certain colors appear dull or hard to see. I'm guessing the CRI of the aftermarket LEDs may have something to do with what we're perceiving in terms of the "quality" of the light. Interesting graphic here:

Design HMI | Natural Light / High CRI Index LED Lighting for Natural in Door Lighting Color

Yup! That's the parameter to look for. These LEDs while bright, don't have a great CRI. At least when compared to my mixed halogen/LED headlight/fog combination.

 

[airforce1]

An update for those who are interested in the Hikaris. I bought the Hikari H11 LED lights for my low beams:

https://www.amazon.com/HIKARI-Headl...r=8-3&keywords=H11+Hikari+Philips&tag=ihco-20

I also bought their LED highbeams.

While cut off is nice and sharp, I am disappointed with the light output.

I certainly agree with TeCKis300 and electro99 that aftermarket LED lights are dim.

Sitting a stop light with a Toyota Camry with LEDs, I would say these lights are at least 50% dimmer than OEMs out there.

I test drove these last night on the back roads and it was hard to distinguish the light beams on the street.

These LEDS are have the highest lumen output that I know of with a rated 12,000 lumens (6000 lumen per bulb)

I'm going to return both.

electro99 thinking I might go with the RX350 retrofit you talked about and call it a day.

 

[Docboy]

An update for those who are interested in the Hikaris. I bought the Hikari H11 LED lights for my low beams:

https://www.amazon.com/HIKARI-Headl...r=8-3&keywords=H11+Hikari+Philips&tag=ihco-20

I also bought their LED highbeams.

While cut off is nice and sharp, I am disappointed with the light output.

I certainly agree with TeCKis300 and electro99 that aftermarket LED lights are dim.

Sitting a stop light with a Toyota Camry with LEDs, I would say these lights are at least 50% dimmer than OEMs out there.

I test drove these last night on the back roads and it was hard to distinguish the light beams on the street.

These LEDS are have the highest lumen output that I know of with a rated 12,000 lumens (6000 lumen per bulb)

I'm going to return both.

electro99 thinking I might go with the RX350 retrofit you talked about and call it a day.

Thanks for sharing. This was my suspicion, aftermarket LEDs is not at the level of OEMs in terms of brightness and longevity...

What do you think about the Philips HID kit?

 

[airforce1]

Thanks for sharing. This was my suspicion, aftermarket LEDs is not at the level of OEMs in terms of brightness and longevity...

What do you think about the Philips HID kit?

I haven't tried those but at this stage in the game, I wonder what is the point?

Hikari's are the brightest on the market (that I am aware of) at 6000 lumens/bulb so any other bulb will be dimmer.

At this point, there are only 2 options to get an OEM level of brightness:

1. Do like electro99 and open up headlights and retrofit with RX350 projectors and ballasts
2. Have lightwerkz take your existing headlights and pay them to retrofit them for you

You cannot plug and play '13-'16 headlight housings into our older '08-'12 due to bumper differences.