Headlight Replacement - Ls400

[intellivised]

First off - thanks to everyone who helped me with my p/s issues. I got a new pump (and a free ACV replacement - garage broke mine and offered to replace it for free) and I sincerely think that the solenoid filter might be so clogged its creating some pressure issues. I'm looking into having it done while I'm out of town - the garage parking lot will be a lot cheaper than airport parking areas.

That's not the point of this post though...

I recently had one of my front ambers out on my '92 LS400 go out. No big deal. I did a search of the forums already but couldn't find the post I've convinced myself I read earlier... basically I'm looking for info on headlight upgrades. I live in a mountain area - it gets dangerously dark in places around here at night. My questions are:

1.) Any info on a amber bulb upgrade would be greatly appreciated. I read *somewhere* on this board of someone who did such a thing. A part # would be helpful so I can go out and order it.

2.) The main headlights? I was thinking of going for Silverstars or something along those lines? Anyone have any positive/negative experiences to share?

Anything I should know about before going in and replacing them? I'm eager to do so soon... Wyoming mountain passes at night are no fun with sub-standard headlamps.

[wwest]

First off - thanks to everyone who helped me with my p/s issues. I got a new pump (and a free ACV replacement - garage broke mine and offered to replace it for free) and I sincerely think that the solenoid filter might be so clogged its creating some pressure issues. I'm looking into having it done while I'm out of town - the garage parking lot will be a lot cheaper than airport parking areas.

That's not the point of this post though...

I recently had one of my front ambers out on my '92 LS400 go out. No big deal. I did a search of the forums already but couldn't find the post I've convinced myself I read earlier... basically I'm looking for info on headlight upgrades. I live in a mountain area - it gets dangerously dark in places around here at night. My questions are:

1.) Any info on a amber bulb upgrade would be greatly appreciated. I read *somewhere* on this board of someone who did such a thing. A part # would be helpful so I can go out and order it.

2.) The main headlights? I was thinking of going for Silverstars or something along those lines? Anyone have any positive/negative experiences to share?

Anything I should know about before going in and replacing them? I'm eager to do so soon... Wyoming mountain passes at night are no fun with sub-standard headlamps.

If you mean amber as in the totally useless fog lights the 92 had amber glass covers over standard halogen bulbs.

The best upgrade is a set of hi-lo switchable HID lamps, $100-150 on Ebay.

[jcrome04]

Go with Silverstar ULTRAS, they are amazing! and cost about $27 off eBay rather than $150! And yellow fogs are shown to work a lot better in incliment weather and neutralize fog when it's pretty thick, I can see my yellow fogs on the ground during that twilight hour when my headlights or bright will not even show up on the road.

But it's just up to your and your personal lighting tastes!

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...p;hl=silverstar

let us know what you decide on!! :)

[wwest]

Go with Silverstar ULTRAS, they are amazing! and cost about $27 off eBay rather than $150! And yellow fogs are shown to work a lot better in incliment weather and neutralize fog when it's pretty thick, I can see my yellow fogs on the ground during that twilight hour when my headlights or bright will not even show up on the road.

But it's just up to your and your personal lighting tastes!

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...p;hl=silverstar

let us know what you decide on!! :)

Personally I ditched the fog light glass cover in favor of Philips AW, All-Weather, bulbs. AW's slight yellow/amber tint works well. But then I also rewired my light switch so I could use fog lights alone without the interference, degradation of fog light effect, of low beams.

It isn't that the headlights don't give out enough light, it's a problem with the headlight assembly high/low reflector design. The problem with early LS models is that if you adjust the low beams correctly then the high beams will be illuminating the night sky and not much else.

For a friend a few years ago I disabled the high beams in favor of a set of aftermarket driving lights so that high/driving lights and low beam lights could be adjusted independently.

[intellivised]

Go with Silverstar ULTRAS, they are amazing! and cost about $27 off eBay rather than $150! And yellow fogs are shown to work a lot better in incliment weather and neutralize fog when it's pretty thick, I can see my yellow fogs on the ground during that twilight hour when my headlights or bright will not even show up on the road.

But it's just up to your and your personal lighting tastes!

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...p;hl=silverstar

let us know what you decide on!! :)

Thanks for the info - I'm going to start hunting for some eBay ultras pretty soon!

My friend works at a Lexus dealership as a tech - so I have a free source of Lexus bulbs for the 'fog' lights. I have no interest in replacing the covers to make them clear at all... I live quite literally 'in the mountains' and have to cross a mountain pass that's 8000'+ to get anywhere worthwhile - on a cloudy day clouds will quite literally sit right on the road and I've found amber/yellows to be great for neutralizing the fog and helping visual acuity.

I was just wondering if there was a better bulb available for those specifically? Are there any tricks to bulb replacement that I should be aware of?

[jcrome04]

You could break out the yellow glass, and get NOKYA Hyper yellow bulbs, they work amazing! That's what I've got for my fogs.

[1990LS400]

intellivised,

There have been many threads about the awful gen 1 LS lights. They were the main reason I moved on to my current LS as I got older and it got more difficult for me to see at night.

I think auxilliary lights are your best bet since there is nothing you can do to improve the light pattern of your headlights. As for bulbs, a 2-pack of Sylvania Xtravision bulbs cost less than $15 where I live. Xtravision bulbs are sold as Silverstars in Europe and the capsules are clear and not tinted like the American Silverstars. Xtravisions put out a bit more light than the standard bulbs and the light is whiter. Unfortunately, according to the chart on the Sylvania website, Xtravision bulbs have the same short expected short life as the American Silverstars. But at the cheap price, you can more easily afford to replace them once or twice a year.

Laramie? I used to ski at a tiny ski area called Medicine Bow near Laramie way back in the 1970s - it had one ski lift and a couple of rope tows but was a fun place.

[python]

i put some hi/low hid's on my car, they work great, the only issue i have is sometimes one light doesnt come on, i have to shut em off and turn em back on then they work fine, the high beams just lift the light up a little, its not like they have another light come on and blast the whole area with lighting,btw i have the 5000k version......one thing i would like to get is some jdm headlights that are one piece

[intellivised]

You could break out the yellow glass, and get NOKYA Hyper yellow bulbs, they work amazing! That's what I've got for my fogs.

I think I'm going to do this along with Xtravisions/Silverstars (still debating). Where can I get the NOKYA bulbs?

[jcrome04]

Get them on eBay along with the Silverstars. About $17 shipped :)

Search ebaymotors.com for "Nokya yellow H3" (i believe thats the bulb for 1LS's)

[Bwilliams]

Get them on eBay along with the Silverstars. About $17 shipped :)

Search ebaymotors.com for "Nokya yellow H3" (i believe thats the bulb for 1LS's)

I did an HID retrofit with LS430 projectors in my 91. It worked out great but it took forever to mount the projectors. I also through in a running light setup by swithcing my turn signals with my running lamps. I installed a generic hid kit for these running lights and it makes the car look a little more modern. The vision at night is incredible with the 1200k. If you are not experienced with building wiring harnesses I would suggest just buying a generic HID kit instead of the real ones for your headlights. They are almost as bright and are very easy to install. However, I have heard that their lifespan is not as long as factory HID kits.

[intellivised]

Get them on eBay along with the Silverstars. About $17 shipped :)

Search ebaymotors.com for "Nokya yellow H3" (i believe thats the bulb for 1LS's)

Do I need a new wiring harness for these - something heavier duty? I've been reading this is adivseable.

[wwest]

Get them on eBay along with the Silverstars. About $17 shipped :)

Search ebaymotors.com for "Nokya yellow H3" (i believe thats the bulb for 1LS's)

Do I need a new wiring harness for these - something heavier duty? I've been reading this is adivseable.

The problem, a MAJOR problem, for the early LS series, is that the "angle" between high beam use and low beam use is simply too great, by factory design. If you set the headlight assembly for good, proper, forward low beam coverage then the high beam mode will mostly illuminate the night sky.

There is a HIGHLY effective, simple, and relatively inexpensive solution.

Add a set of driving lights and power them with the OEM high beam circuit which you have disconnected from the headlight assembly.

[jcrome04]

You don't need a new harness unless you're running high wattage high performance bulbs. I believe they are 75W, or whatever the same as stock is.

[qha_vn]

do you still use the OEM lens? i heard that OEM would make the beam glare. come pix of how you mount the projector would be appreciated

[wwest]

do you still use the OEM lens? i heard that OEM would make the beam glare. come pix of how you mount the projector would be appreciated

Yes, I suspect that arrangement does more, a LOT more, to contributing to BLINDING oncoming drivers vs extending the night distance night vision for the owner. I can't imagine that the forward beam pattern of the foglight assembly/reflector, even if the lens were of the clear type available on Ebay, would contribe anything anything significant to night distance vision.

Note that all of the provided pictures are with the camera look AT the car, no pictures of the forward beam pattern. But then those would really be worthless absent Before and After pictures.

To be fair I have often thought of somehow putting bi-xenon projectors in the main headlight assembly of my "92 LS. But if I do so I will first switch, DIY, to a CLEAR lens. Almost all bi-xenon projector assemblies also use a standard halogen bulb for high beam "fill in", enhancement, so a separate set of driving lights would still likely be required.

[Bwilliams]

do you still use the OEM lens? i heard that OEM would make the beam glare. come pix of how you mount the projector would be appreciated

Yes, I suspect that arrangement does more, a LOT more, to contributing to BLINDING oncoming drivers vs extending the night distance night vision for the owner. I can't imagine that the forward beam pattern of the foglight assembly/reflector, even if the lens were of the clear type available on Ebay, would contribe anything anything significant to night distance vision.

Note that all of the provided pictures are with the camera look AT the car, no pictures of the forward beam pattern. But then those would really be worthless absent Before and After pictures.

To be fair I have often thought of somehow putting bi-xenon projectors in the main headlight assembly of my "92 LS. But if I do so I will first switch, DIY, to a CLEAR lens. Almost all bi-xenon projector assemblies also use a standard halogen bulb for high beam "fill in", enhancement, so a separate set of driving lights would still likely be required.

There are many luxury cars in the 2000 era that do not have clear lenses but have projectors

[90LS400Lexus]

SPEAKING of headlight replacements....

My low beam on the driverside went out last week. I finally got around to changing it this evening. The owners manual mentioned the removal of TWO bolts and a nut, but for some odd reason I found myself removing about 5 of the blasted things. My favorite part is always removing the front side marker light. I thought I was going to smash the thing before I finally got it to pop out. <_<

Putting it back together was much easier though. ;)

I used Sylvania - but not the standard ones... these are supposed to be brighter... hoping the otherside blows out soon too, so I can replace it. :P

The bulb I replaced lasted a good amount of time though... date on the bulb was August of 1998 - exactly 10 years old!