Added the Hikari Megatrons for low and high beams on my 2011. The results are literally night and day. Last night was a good test driving on wet roads, which tend to absorb a lot of light and make it hard to see. Not the case with the Hikaris. I almost feel like I am driving in cheat mode compared to the cars around me.
Upgrading stock low-beams - what are you using?
- Thread starter eatSleepWoof
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It may be adjustable with Carista. I'll check on mine and see if it is a feature. Although just because it is available on my '11 does not mean it will be on an 08. Carista is only $20 with a 30 day trial. And you can return it to Amazon if it doesn't work... Also works great for programming TPMS sensors (have to have the sensor ID numbers).
- Thread starter
- #63
I feel the same way about my Hikari high beams. The aftermarket bulbs in my high beams added little more than a glitter of light over the low beams, but the Hikaris are a whole different ballgame.
My PHILIPS D4S X-tremeVision (for low beams) are on the UPS truck, out for delivery. Really hoping they arrive before ~5pm, as that's when I'm heading out of town for a few days and will have an awesome opportunity to test them out.
supercarrera
Club Esprit de Four
You need to use techstream for the earlier years.
2010 has the screen-based option as well. Must have been introduced when they introduced Bluetooth streaming.
Markuson
SILVER Star
Interesting.
Guess I have s stone-age model.
Thankfully, I have no desire to get rid of DRL since no flicker...although it would be nice to have a DRL kill switch when pulling to dark camp grounds where it’s nice to douse the lights. Even in DRL mode, these IPF LEDs are pretty dang bright—maybe brighter than stock 2008 low beams—which were pretty bad.
Piling on here as I just installed ARB/IPF H11 low-beam upgrade on 2009 model.
Did the whole side by side. IPF clearly put out more light than upgraded halogen and appear to have a better cut-off for beam, although not sure why given that’s more a function of the housing reflector. Not worried about DRL at this time. Actually will leave that alone to ensure something is lit when my wife is driving...lol. Driving/Fogs are next to at least match and maximize illumination in poor conditions. My 2 Cents...
Did the whole side by side. IPF clearly put out more light than upgraded halogen and appear to have a better cut-off for beam, although not sure why given that’s more a function of the housing reflector. Not worried about DRL at this time. Actually will leave that alone to ensure something is lit when my wife is driving...lol. Driving/Fogs are next to at least match and maximize illumination in poor conditions. My 2 Cents...
P.S. I was looking at Baja Designs applications for fogs where I would replace whole housing. That’s a no go as I found out on my FJ40. Even on Baja Designs’ “Low Setting” their product is way too bright for on road urban. I even worked with their engineers for a dimmable solution, but no-joy there as digital LEDs are nearly impossible to dim as you would with an analog rheostat.
So LP9s look cool and turn night into day, just can’t use them for other than what they were designed for. Fortunately Truck-Lite LED plug and play provide tons of light in an urban setting and the LP9s have an Amber DRL feature.
Off 200 topic, but relevant for those that are looking to replace full fog assembly.
So LP9s look cool and turn night into day, just can’t use them for other than what they were designed for. Fortunately Truck-Lite LED plug and play provide tons of light in an urban setting and the LP9s have an Amber DRL feature.
Off 200 topic, but relevant for those that are looking to replace full fog assembly.
I have the Hikaris as well, but I had to adjust them drastically to stop blinding people. It doesn't have the nice, flat cut off area around where other drivers heads are. It also doesn't have a distant focus point, instead it throws more of a "random blob of light" forward. It's incredibly bright, even adjusted down significantly over stock.
Zero flicker on my 2008 LC, I have been running them since Feb 2018 according to my order history on Amazon. I went with the highs, lows, and fogs. The fogs... are bright. DRLs don't work. I use the city lights mode when I want DRLs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077B7GJ5J/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077BT6M6Z/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077BTQJFM/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Edit: I'm going to try the 9005 AuxBeam error free wiring harness adapter to see if the DRLs wake up. I'll report back when it shows up.
Zero flicker on my 2008 LC, I have been running them since Feb 2018 according to my order history on Amazon. I went with the highs, lows, and fogs. The fogs... are bright. DRLs don't work. I use the city lights mode when I want DRLs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077B7GJ5J/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077BT6M6Z/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077BTQJFM/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Edit: I'm going to try the 9005 AuxBeam error free wiring harness adapter to see if the DRLs wake up. I'll report back when it shows up.
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Don’t have any experience with Hikari, so can’t pass judgement. What I can tell you is I have a professional relationship with ARB. If you look at their products they are always quality and tested. Before ARB agrees to team with other companies, in this case IPF, they consider real-world application and have good comms with engineers in OZ.
I haven’t bought the IPF high-beams yet, but did notice they have a “box” inline with the connector. That may be to mitigate the flicker issue for DRL. Don’t know that for fact though. Will post when I drop the cash on highs.
Also, my thinking is that better to spend more on quality LEDs for long term value. I’m thinking these will last at least until I upgrade to a newer 200, when budget allows. What I don’t want to do, is continue to repurchase LEDs, like I had been with upgraded halogens...
If you contact ARB USA. Josh, out of Jacksonville office, will cut MIL/USG a break on price with credentials.
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Hi folks, my head is spinning from all the research I’m doing on improving my 13’ HID low beam. Is the consensus that I stick to HID and swap the OEM D4S to the Phillips Extreme Vision? Is it better than Stock HiD?
I’ve been searching a lot, but it’s still unclear to me because a lot of discussion seems to be around 08-2012 halogen swaps to LED and minimal specifics on HID improvements. Thank you!!
I’ve been searching a lot, but it’s still unclear to me because a lot of discussion seems to be around 08-2012 halogen swaps to LED and minimal specifics on HID improvements. Thank you!!
- Thread starter
- #74
You're not likely to find a consensus (on any topic) on the internet, but that's the swap I did, and got a noticeable improvement. Photos can be found in the first few pages of my build thread (link in signature).
Ok thank you. Looks better! Have you heard of anything else since that install? I’ve read your post on the Baja fogs, really well done. I have to spend some more tome researching if they fit on the LC just as easily. Nice RTT...mine is on order. Cheers
- Thread starter
- #76
I didn't really look into lighting after doing the upgrades I did, so I've no idea whether there are any better options now. These lights have been a solid performer for me - no complaints. And that's especially so when driving in pitch darkness through FSRs as they carve their way through the forest; that's when I really appreciate the improved lighting. In the city, with light pollution and all that, the improvements are less evident.
Ok thanks again. I’m coming from a wrangler where I easily upgraded Everything to top of the line LED and a BMW with active HID so I was a little surprised when I drove my LC back from buying it on first long drive at night that the lack of light made nervous. OEM high beams & OEM fog were fine, just an issue with low Thanks again
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bloc
SILVER Star
I was just about to ask what you drove that you find the 13 headlights inadequate.. or suggest they weren't working or aimed correctly. I'm extremely happy with mine.
bloc
SILVER Star
I don’t know of a post but I had to aim mine as well. Just found a big brick wall (mortar lines help with measurement/level) with a level parking lot against it and aimed them at varying distances to get the left/right correct, then the up/down. For L/R I go for dead-ahead on each, which means you won’t get any side to side movement as you pull forward and backward. Up/down is more subjective, and I basically figured out which one seemed correct and copied the height on the other side. This is pretty easy to do because the beam cutoff is so sharp, though you do need to keep in mind each beam will be lower on the left side for oncoming traffic.@bloc ha, thanks! I did notice the passenger side was not in alignment with driver. Do you know of a good thread or resource to aim them? I only drove the LC once at night so far! Lol
To help determine which lamp is hitting mortar lines I put a rag over the lamp I’m not currently working with.
I believe the manual shows where each of the adjusting screws is. Note that I seem to remember high beam being separate from low, so you’ll need to repeat this. Also as you’d expect high beam doesn’t have the sharp cutoff so it’ll be tougher to get it super precise, but that’s fine due to the nature of the pattern.
Also count your turns and consider taking notes.
Keep in mind you have the little headlight adjuster knob by your left knee to go up/down on the fly to account for different loads in the back. If you end up with your lights only having correct placement at setting five you’ll need to adjust your up/down later to fix this.
