Improve Headlight Brightness

[lexusisfan]

Hi All,

I wanted to hear from fellow members on ways to improve nightvision on my IS250 SE ( standard lights, not xenon). I've been doing a lot of night driving on A roads and feel that although light range is not extremely bad, it could do with some improvement.

Shall I opt for HIDS upgrade? Or any specific bulbs?

Your replies would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[steve2006]

You can get upgraded bulbs from the likes of Philips and Osram, I fitted some in my works van and it has made a great improvement.

Problem with HID is the original light units are not suited so dazzle is an issue, if you could buy a set of projector headlight units that would be the best solution but not the cheapest.

[Ishaq]

Hi I had the same issue so got a good HID kit and installed them myself. 100 times better now. Also dazzel is not an issue as Lexus already have projector headlights.

Buy a good set off eBay. I would recommend 55w 6000k for best results. I have had mine on for about 1.5 years and no issue. My set cost me £45

Did try upgraded bulbs but they are crap!

[r3dd3v1l]

phillips bulbs are great, been using them for years. isnt it a legal requirement that states hids are only legal if there washer jets as well?

[Ishaq]

The people on the road that have standard headlight, not projector and install HiD are idiots!! They cause so much dazzel which is unbelievable.

If installing on projector headlights then they are okay plus you can direct the bean towards the road. I have MOT done with out any problem.

Don't buy cheap £15 set thou and don't fall for £££ expensive canbus models. Lexus will not show you any error or warning signs with any set.

[lexusisfan]

Many thanks for your replies.

Ishaq, was the kit easy to install? My mechanic mentioned that he may have to remove the bumper to hide the wiring.

Also, would you mind posting a pic of yours?

Thanks.

[Ishaq]

Many thanks for your replies.

Ishaq, was the kit easy to install? My mechanic mentioned that he may have to remove the bumper to hide the wiring.

Also, would you mind posting a pic of yours?

Thanks.

Hi the install takes 30 mins to an hour and you do not need to take the bumper off.

You will need to take the Air Filter housing off and the windscreen washer pipe off and that it. After that you simply take the bulb cover off, pull out the old bulb and insert your new HID bulbs. Finally wire up your ballast, put everything back and your done!!

I would recommend thou if you do change to HID is to have your side lights which are 501 (T10) changed to LED ones as otherwise you will have them not matching your new HID bulbs and spoil the look. Its best to do it together as its a bit of pain changing the bulbs on these lexus's.

Hope this helps.

[johnatg]

I finally got round to fitting HID bulbs in my dip beams. Should have done it years ago! The HID lights are soooo much better!

I used these: http://tinyurl.com/zakl2hd

I would stick at 6000K (which are well blue enough) - this vendor does 8000K ones but that's getting into boy racer blue - maybe 5000K ones would be better but I couldn't find them in H11 at a reasonable price.

Whenever this is mentioned, we are regaled with instruction that Tungsten Halogen headlights are not suitable for conversion and that you'll end up with poor focus and dazzle other people. I think that is what has put me off before and it is no doubt true of reflector or lens focussed lights, but as Ishaq said a month or so ago, IS250s have projector beam headlights and these are suitable for conversion. In fact, I would say that the focus and cut-off are actually better now than with Tungsten Halogen bulbs. (I wonder if the geometry is actually designed for HIDs and the Tungsten Halogen bulbs are in fact the compromised ones?)

Here are a couple of shots of the beams reflected on a garage door:

http://tinyurl.com/jlucwa9

http://tinyurl.com/zepeg2c

The brighter one (normal exposure on my phone) gives a good impression (maybe a bit emphasised!) of the brightness you see - the dimmer one (minimum exposure) gives a better impression of the focus and cut-off and of the detail visible along the cut-off line. The beam pattern gets a bit lost on the left as it hits stonework rather than the door.

Then there's the thing about having to have headlight washers and auto headlight levelling for HID bulbs. That is a requirement for type approval, but once a vehicle has been type approved there's nothing to stop an owner messing (in UK at least) and there's nothing in the MoT test about having washers and auto levelling.

Now Ishaq mentioned that you just put the bulbs in and connect up the ballasts. Well yes, but there are complications, mainly to do with access. Even with the washer filler removed, there isn't much space by the left hand (nearside) headlamp housing - I got the hatch off OK and the old bulb out but found it very difficult to get the new bulb in. (The HID bulbs are straight rather than with an angled connector so there's nothing to get leverage with). It has to be aligned correctly (tabs with slots - only one orientation works), you can't see what you're doing and the bulb needs a strong push to compress the sealing ring then it's quite hard to turn. And you pretty much have to use your left hand. I'll admit to giving up and removing the bumper - I've done it before and it's not difficult as long as you know where all the bolts (some hidden) and clips are. Then you can remove the headlight and it's dead easy. Replacing the bumper is a bit of a fiddle - you have to line up lots of interleaving thin plastic all at the same time.

You also have to cut a 25mm hole in the bulb hatch as the ballast wiring goes outside the headlight housing. The hole is filled in with a well fitting grommet. I used a 25mm spade drill - that worked fine. It would have been a good idea to grind down the fins on the inside of the hatch so that the inside of the grommet can sit flush with the inner surface. The wiring and ballast can just be tucked down around the washer tube but I cable-tied the ballast to a wiring harness to keep it secure. I used silicone grease on all the connections (which are well sealed and good quality in this particular kit) and on the hatch grommet to give extra waterproofing.

One more thing - you have to plug a couple of thin spade connectors into the old bulb plug. These are a bit loose and I feel are likely to fall out. I added extra insulation with shrink fit tubing then tied the two wires tightly together - that meant that when plugged in the spades were pushed outwards slightly giving some extra grip in the plug. It would be better if a proper H11 type socket was supplied for this connection.

If you've removed the bumper you might as well do the right (offside) the same way, but if you did manage to insert the nearside bulb without removing the bumper you can just remove the air box then there's plenty of access.

Hope that helps someone!

Finally - my previous dip bulbs were Osram Nightbreaker Plus and the main beams Nightbreaker Unlimited. The mains looked much whiter than the dips but now the mains are much yellower than the HID dips. Can anyone recommend Tungsten Halogen bulbs to more or less match 6000K HIDs in HB3 format? I know that as bulbs get bluer they put out less light but would somewhat bluer ones look better without losing brightness? Or should I not bother?

[jackcramerr]

I personally like the original color and the contrast of the dip beam and the high beam and the side bulbs. I prefer warmer colors but whiter than a halogen for daily drive. I am not fan of a color that makes it look light cheap Chinese flash light. I also am not fan of oem LED reading lights. Makes it look very cheap and I prefer it should have been warmer.

One thing I would have liked to change is the indicator bulbs to LED ones for sharper cut off. I might never get time to do it.

[Ishaq]

John, that looks like a good kit you have there.

Yes your right I skipped a few steps - Its not as simple as plug and play sorry.

I know what you are talking about the nearside bulb and getting that in place and did take me a while as you have to match exactly and requires a push.

Did you change your side light (501,T10) to match your 6K HID. I just stuck with my LED one which was okay but then got these Cree LED ones and wow what a difference in brightness.

[johnatg]

Yes - I changed the sidelights some time ago - not sure what they are but they are white LED and I rarely use them alone - if it's dark enough for lights I switch on the headlights. They are fine for parking - er..am I the only one who uses parking lights (sometimes) these days?