Lx470 Low Beams

[ipaquser]

New member and Lexus owner. Bought a CPO 1999 LX470. Noticed that the low beam don't really light up the road that well. Has anyone upgraded their low beams with an HID conversion kit? If so, did you notice a significant improvement?

Has anyone tried using a 100 watt H1 bulb instead? Any concerns that it will melt the wiring? Thanks.

[magnetic1]

check out:

http://www.liteswap.com/Merchant2/merchant..._Code=lx4704500

Pics of LX470 w/ Catz 4500K HID kit.

[bcheng4jc]

i was surfing online and came across this lexus forum. i was so shocked! a pic of my car is posted so i decided to register and share my happiness. i have a 2003 LX470 and the H1 low beam output is just poor! i had a 1999 LX470 and they were poor as well. so, i upgraded with CATZ 4500K HID kit. it's AWESOME! SO HOT!!!! i get ALOT of compliments from people in the parking lot and get alot of stares and turning heads. not everday you see a LX470 with HIDs! haha. :D in seriousness, HIDs makes driving at night a whole new experience. the CATZ HID kit is excellent quality. JDM! i recommend http://www.liteswap.com . that's where i purchsed my kit, awesome customer service. i have installed 3 of their HID kits thus far and have no problems whatsoever with them so far and very pleased with each of them. Mercedes S-class, LX470 and Prelude. ;)

[ipaquser]

Thanks for the feedback. I ordered the CATZ 4500 HID kit from http://www.liteswap.com a couple of weeks ago before the ban on all aftermarket HID kits went into effect. I got my order in just in time (at a good price since they have to move out their existing inventory) as Liteswap stopped the sale of all their CATZ HID aftermarket kits shortly after. I have since received my kit and will be installing it in the near future. A couple of questions for BCHENG4JC:

Where did you mount the ballast and igniter on the drivers side? There's not much room there as the battery is in the way. Did you have to mount the ballast and igniter in seperate locations? I had no problem finding a spot to mount the ballast and igniter together (zip tied together) on the passenger side.

Also, after the installation, did you have to re-aim you headlights.

BTW, on the http://www.hidforum.com site, there is a thread on the poor low beam performance on the GX470 also.

[wlee69]

I acutally just did the same as you and purchased the HID lights kit for my 2001 LX470 right before the ban took effect (he was offering great prices!)

I already have them installed so I think I can answer you questions!

On the drivers side, I mounted the igniter on the side of the engine bay sorta by the side of the battery. I mounted the igniter behind the battery (there is a portion flat metal to mount it.

For both sides, I mounted the igniter and ballast by just using their plastic ties and nothing more...everything stays perfectly!!

One thing to note is that I had to enlarge the hole in the light for the H1 HID bulb to get in there properly...sorta a PITA because to do this you need to take the light housings out, to make sure you are filing the metal in the right places. Make sure you don't break anything when you take the lights out!!! The body work around the light is tough to release and is pretty delicate!

Good luck!!!

BTW - the lights are awesome and I've had no issues with too much glare! (or at least nobody is give me the finger or high beams!)

Will

[ipaquser]

Thanks for the info Will. I installed my kit over the weekend and had to enlarge the hole with a file to get the capsule to fit properly. If anybody wants a picture of it, let me know. It will save you some time in inserting and taking out the capsule multiple times to get the capsule to fit. I kept banging the capsule during the fitting and was afraid that it would be damaged, but everything worked. Also, I managed to retrofit a bracket to mount the ballast and igniter in front of the battery. It was a tight fit though.

The lights are so bright now. I can see so much better at night now. One thing that I noticed is that there are a few spots above the cutoff line in the beam pattern that can cause glare. On the road, those spots were probably desinged to light up the road signs as they seem to shine above the oncoming cars. Never noticed these spots with the halogens because the light output was so poor. However, with HID's, the light output is so bright now that it is very noticable. So far, no one has flashed me yet either. FYI, here is a picture of the beam pattern. Don't know if there is a way to fix this though. If I come up with something, I'll post it.

[stanigu]

I'm about to do this mod. Any pics would be greatly appreciated!!!

[ipaquser]

Here is a picture of the enlarged opening. I used a 6" slim (triangular profile) file purchased from Home Depot. That seemed to work the best. Good Luck!

[stanigu]

Has anyone resolved the 'UFO' issue mentioned above by ipaquser? I believe I saw a post about it a while back but can't seem to find it anymore.

[Rookie]

Another option (which I just did this last weekend), is to get an upgrade wiring harness from sleeoffroad and higher wattage Hella bulbs (I used 80w for lows and 100w for highs) It's makes a moderate difference on the lows and a huge difference on the Highs. May kick up to 100W bulbs on the lows next time around.

Anyways, I'm sure it's not as nice as the HID kits, but it's a good upgrade for under $100 and the install is pretty easy. Especially if the HID kits aren't going to be available to much longer.

Rookie

[ipaquser]

I did find a solution to my problem :D . I had cut out some covers for the slots out of some metal that I had. The shape was more or less the shape of the slots. I then used some JB Weld to glue the covers over the openings. I used a magnetic screwdriver in order to hold the cover so that I could insert it into the housing opening. Once I positioned the cover over slot, I then used a small wooden dowel to press and hold the cover onto the opening while I pulled out the screwdriver. I then laid the headlamp flat overnight. After curing overnight, I installed everything back and voila, no more UFO's.

I am very pleased with the results. I don't notice any dark spots and the light on the ground is pretty evenly distributed. I do like the more defined cutoff line on the side of the road now.

I've attached a pic showing the covers that I made and the beam pattern afterwards. This solution worked for me. Good luck!

[stanigu]

Thanks Ipaquser--I think your post was the one that I couldn't find earlier.

Another question--where are these slots located? Somewhere in the light housing, I assume--is it really obvious once you peer inside?

Thank you.

[ipaquser]

Stanigu,

Yes, it's obvious once you peer inside the light. Look at the attached file called LX470_AFTR.jpg in an earlier reply to this post. In the picture, you will see one of the slot that is in the cutoff shield in the housing. There are two slots in the cutoff shield. The picture only shows one. . .

[Reed Hunt]

Another option (which I just did this last weekend), is to get an upgrade wiring harness from sleeoffroad and higher wattage Hella bulbs (I used 80w for lows and 100w for highs) It's makes a moderate difference on the lows and a huge difference on the Highs. May kick up to 100W bulbs on the lows next time around.

Anyways, I'm sure it's not as nice as the HID kits, but it's a good upgrade for under $100 and the install is pretty easy. Especially if the HID kits aren't going to be available to much longer.

Rookie

Rookie,

Is the sleeoffroad kit a true plug and play, or did you have to do some cutting?

I ask because while I am a big believer in enhanced lighting (and I like Hella stuff), I don't want to mess up my warranty by cutting wires...

Thanks,

-Reed

[Rookie]

Reed,

The upgrade harnest is plug and play. No cutting holes, factory wires or anything. You basically abandon the factory plugs on the passenger side and plug in the harness there, then run the harness wiring over to the drivers side, remove factory plugs, plug in harness plugs, then plug fartory plugs into harness. Besides hooking up a couple of grounds and the power to the battery, thats it.

You can pull up the actual installation instructions at sleeoffroad.com.

They recommend running the harness wiring along the same route as the factory wiring, so you have to unbolt the top cover plate adjacent the radiator to run the wires. If you know what you're doing, it's about a one hour job. Took me about 2 1/2. I was trying to take off all kinds crap you don't have to, front lights, bulb housing etc..

You probably do need to remove the battery and the radiator overflow reservoir.

Good luck,

Rookie

[Reed Hunt]

Good stuff, thank you. ;)

-R

[Rookie]

Your welcome.

Let me know how you think it turns out. FYI, you can get the higher watt halogen hella bulbs from rallylights.com. One thing you should know, there have been somewhat sparatic problems with the bulbs from some of the guys that have done this upgrade. Some said they blew within 5 mins, some have had them in for hundreds of hours. Me, I've had them in a couple of weeks with know problems yet. For the cases where the bulbs blew very prematurely, I understand that rallylights replaced the first one. But they include a little flier in their shipment that says that the life expectancy of higher watt bulbs is not the same as low watt bulbs (approximately half) and that if they are used in the applications that we are using them, it could be even shorter. Basically saying the space within the lens is designed for a certain wattage bulb and it you increase the wattage in that space you get higher temperatures that shortens bulb life.

Later

Rookie

[dougjohn]

Gee Rookie -- you're spending a lot of time with the guys at sleeoffroad...are you going to get their new 6" lift? ;)

Seriously though, the guys at sleeoffroad are really great and extremely knowledgable. I got pretty much all the major accessories and components from them.

I bought the wiring harness last spring, but still haven't gotten around to installing it. :o I'll do it this weekend for sure. I have a bunch of other stuff to install, so I'm planning on doing it all at the same time.

Did you notice a difference in light output with just the harness or did you swap your bulbs at the same time? I've heard there's quite a difference with just the harness upgrade.

Doug

[Rookie]

Gee Rookie -- you're spending a lot of time with the guys at sleeoffroad...are you going to get their new 6" lift? ;)

Hey Doug,

I haven't jump in that deep. I'm not ready to part with stock look just yet. I'm sure once I start getting into some serious wheeling, that will have to be evaluated.

I did replace the bulbs at the same time. It would be interesting to see the difference side by side with the new. Maybe I'll run into someone out there with the stock set-up, so I can get the side-by-side comparison. I know the hi-beams are much brighter though.

Let me know what you think about them once you get them in.

Rookie

[Reed Hunt]

Your welcome.

Let me know how you think it turns out. FYI, you can get the higher watt halogen hella bulbs from rallylights.com. One thing you should know, there have been somewhat sparatic problems with the bulbs from some of the guys that have done this upgrade. Some said they blew within 5 mins, some have had them in for hundreds of hours. Me, I've had them in a couple of weeks with know problems yet. For the cases where the bulbs blew very prematurely, I understand that rallylights replaced the first one. But they include a little flier in their shipment that says that the life expectancy of higher watt bulbs is not the same as low watt bulbs (approximately half) and that if they are used in the applications that we are using them, it could be even shorter. Basically saying the space within the lens is designed for a certain wattage bulb and it you increase the wattage in that space you get higher temperatures that shortens bulb life.

Later

Rookie

It will probably be a while - no hurry on this but it sounds worthwhile.

I put Hella 80/100s in my former BMW 1985 535i several years ago (kept the stock wiring) and had a very similar reaction to yours - nice bump in the lows and a SERIOUS jump in the highs. Highs were like aircraft landing lights!

I didn't keep close track, but I don't recall a significant drop in bulb life (probably was, though).

Bulbs are cheap enough that it's no big deal, typically.

[jarcara]

Lighting is one of the first thing I experimented with this December when we picked up our 2000 LX470. I experimented with the OSRAM Silverstars ($50 pair) and some Hilite Superwhite bulbs from ebay (the sellers have the best customer service I have encountered) http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=2460135965

I like the white/blue color and it does improve things as much as possible without going to actual xenon. The Silverstars were whiter and the ebay lights were a tad more blue. Each about equal brightness. I have replaced every white light in the front with these "blue" bulbs. It certainly is an improved look. I also picked up some blue side/parking lights on eaby $1.50 each.

I also tried to upgrade to a higher wattage after asking the local lexus dealer about higher wattage bulbs (they said it would be fine). The higher wattage (100 w) worked great on the high beams but the low beams (65 or 80 can't remember) were actually dimmer since the wiring didn't seem to support the current draw. I ended up putting back in the 55W HiLites. Perhaps the upgrades wiring harness would help. I returned the Silverstars (I also had one of these fail) because they seemed to perform the same as the Hilites that were 1/2 the price.

I did have a bulb fail and they told me to send it back to them and they sent me a new twin pack at no charge (so now I have an extra). Overall I am happy with the lights. I would prefer actual xenon but they are difficult to come by these days.

For about $50 I was able to replace all 6 of the front lights and the 2 sidemarker lights.

[dougjohn]

Hey Doug,

I haven't jump in that deep. I'm not ready to part with stock look just yet. I'm sure once I start getting into some serious wheeling, that will have to be evaluated.

I did replace the bulbs at the same time. It would be interesting to see the difference side by side with the new. Maybe I'll run into someone out there with the stock set-up, so I can get the side-by-side comparison. I know the hi-beams are much brighter though.

Let me know what you think about them once you get them in.

Rookie

Okay Rookie...here's what I found out.

I finally got around to completing the wiring harness upgrade. I put mine side by side with my wife's LX 450 and there's absolutly no difference as far as I can tell. Mine with the harness upgrade and hers without -- both with the same factory bulbs.

That said, I am happy that I did it because I can now upgrade my bulbs to a higher wattage without worrying about blowing bulbs or frying wires. So, it's an easy enough install and a farily inexpensive enough purchase that I'd recommend people do it. But only if you plan on upgrading your bulbs.

That's my experience.

...

Doug

[jarcara]

let us know when you upgrade the bulbs. To me that is the only reason to improve the wiring harness. Otherwise I will have to install at "off road/show car" xenon kit.

[LndCrsrMIA]

I just bought an '01 Landcruiser last month and was wondering if you guys had any info on low beam upgrades. I've been searching e-bay but have no clue, I'm new to the game and there isn't a lot of info out there.

P.S. A good buddy of mine sells HRE's and a ton of other stuff for toyota/lexus, I saw some other posts on rims etc... he's well known on supraforums so if you need a good deal on something toyota/lexus check with him.. it's AdrockTT@aol.com Supra Pics

Thanks, let me know if there are any other fun toys to add, I'll see what I can find through him and let the forum know

[prharper]

First, I like to say thanks to all who have contributed to the lighting feedback. My night vision is not the best combined with the stock lights on the 99' LX470.

I live in the rural South. Lots of narrow and winding roads with barely any street lighting. In my area, much of the roads have thick green canopies of vegetative growth which doesn't allow for much star or moon lighting combined with occasional fog.

After reading these posts, I tried a few options. I upgraded the low and high beams with PIAA X-treme White PLUS. Pricey bulbs. However, they seem brighter and provide a crisper color output.

The folks at www.eautoworks.com can help you out. Great service and able to get the PIAA H3 yellow fog lights if needed.

The above still didn't quite resolve my driving conditions and poor night vision.

After reading the posts on HID and testimonies from others over the past few months, I made the switch. See next email for pictures.