Lexus Ls400 Clear Headlamps Do They Exist?

[Bwilliams]

Hi, I'm buying a factory oem HID Kit for my 91 ls400 and I want to get clear headlamps to go with it. I'm sick and tired of the factory ones. They do suck. Do the Celsiors hae clear lamps? Does anyone know where I can find these, I'd really appreciate it!!

[SKperformance]

The only possibilities are to modify the housing by polishing the insides and adding projectors

[Bwilliams]

How do I go about polishing them, what tools do I need and what chemicals??

[1990LS400]

Hi, I'm buying a factory oem HID Kit for my 91 ls400 and I want to get clear headlamps to go with it. I'm sick and tired of the factory ones. They do suck. Do the Celsiors hae clear lamps? Does anyone know where I can find these, I'd really appreciate it!!

I've done quite a bit of research on LS400 headlights over the past 16+ years and have never found "oem" HID headlights for the generation one LS400. Do you mean "aftermarket" instead of OEM?

The light pattern on the 90-97 LS400 is formed primarily by the headlight lens. Beginning with the 1998 model year, the beam pattern is formed by a complex reflector and headlight lens is clear.

Almost all "Celsior" headlights you might find would blind oncoming drivers in the U.S. since most cars labeled "Toyota Celsior" were right hand drive. There were left hand drive "Toyota Celsiors" in mainland China in the early nineties but it was never clear to me if they were sold that way or jif they were rebadged LS400's. The Lexus brand was introduced in China a long time ago.

The only other option I know is to obtain left hand drive LS400 H-4 headlight units from Europe. But even in the early 90's when my 90 LS was almost new, the price of a set of Euro spec LS400 headlights and the related parts was at least $2,000. It would likely be a lot more now since the U.S. dollar has completely "tanked" against the Euro. The price of Euro headlights might exceed the value of your car.

Yes, the gen 1 headlights suck. No, they are not even that good. IMO, the best option for improving the lighting on a gen 1 LS is to clear the foglights (break out the amber reflector insert) and drive with them on. Or mount axiliary lights in the bumper and connect them to the low beams.

[SKperformance]

To polish the headlights which have been done to many OEM lights successfully . You need to remove both sides.

Place them in an oven to open the seals ,it takes about 10 minutes to release.

Get sand paper and smooth down the plastic ridges until smooth then keep following up with lighter and lighter grit. Start with 200 and end with 2000.

Then use a compound and a polisher to finish the clear look.

After that you could install set of hid's and projectors from a BMW and have amazing light with factory looks.

[Bwilliams]

Great thanks a lot, Two things, What temp. Should I turn the oven to and what compound and polisher should I use??

[wwest]

To polish the headlights which have been done to many OEM lights successfully . You need to remove both sides.

Place them in an oven to open the seals ,it takes about 10 minutes to release.

Get sand paper and smooth down the plastic ridges until smooth then keep following up with lighter and lighter grit. Start with 200 and end with 2000.

Then use a compound and a polisher to finish the clear look.

After that you could install set of hid's and projectors from a BMW and have amazing light with factory looks.

Yes, by all means, what oven temperature and how long should one expect it to take for the sealant to be soft enough?

[Bwilliams]

Are there any other suggestions? I'm using 60 grit and it's taking forever!!

[SKperformance]

I guess since you are sanding already that you have them apart already.

The best temps i like is 250-300 degrees as it is not hot and takes about 5 minutes before i start to pry slightly ,then retry ever few minutes after heating again.

Make sure you remove all clips bulbs and small plastic pieces before inserting into the oven.

Sorry it may take alittle to sand it down , Also make sure you use a flat sanding block to reduce optical distortion. A palm sander would speed up the process as well.

[maniek_LS]

Great thanks a lot, Two things, What temp. Should I turn the oven to and what compound and polisher should I use??

I used oven set to 160-170st C (don't know how many in F) when I opened lamps in camry . In the past I polished one lamp in my camry to install bi-xenon lens :D - it took lot of time and was not exactly transparent :-( Second lamp I send to service and pay about 20USD to polish - work was done excellent. In my country I found offer from car service to make clear lamps - it is very cheap. Try search ebay ?

[Bwilliams]

ive put in 9 hours and I havent even finished one lens yet :cries:

[SKperformance]

OMG , i heard it takes time but not that long, the most is usually 2 hours a side.

Have you gotten the ridges out or smoothed yet?

[GRAND_LS 4]

ive put in 9 hours and I havent even finished one lens yet :cries:

I strongly suggest you sign up here and look up more info... You will find lots of info:

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/

Were you going to retrofit projectors? Or just clear the headlights and stick in some HID bulbs and move on?

Reason I ask is because if your having problems sanding it down, retrofitting a projector is not going to be easy at all.

[Bwilliams]

I finaly finished one, however, im using 3m medium cut polish and I cannot get the lens to clear out, any suggestions???

[SKperformance]

What was the last grit you used on the lens?

Are you using a medium cut with a high speed or orbital polisher?

[ko90ls]

get one of those mouse sanders. but you'll have too wet sand the lenses until about 2000 grit then polish them with Mother's or something. the best place to look for REAL retrofit instructions and pics is clublexus.com. GS, ES, SC you name it. but an easier solution would be to install the hid's and aim your headlights down so the light isn't horrible. i read somewhere that this works too.

[SKperformance]

Aiming the lights down would be of no real consequence as the light distribution on the earlier LS lenses are horrible to say the least.

Adding HID's and not a projector to focus the beam is a little better for the driver but unbelievably annoying for every oncoming driver.

[Bwilliams]

Maniek, What place did you go to to get your headlamps cleared??

[maniek_LS]

Maniek, What place did you go to to get your headlamps cleared??

I'm from Poland Warsaw :-) One head lamp I cleared by myself second one cleared xenon service (took 10USD for clearing) I think you need to search for firm who make polishing of glass.