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Upgrade to brighter headlights?

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Old 10-30-15, 06:19 PM
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Brandon593
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Default Upgrade to brighter headlights?

I apologize in advance is this question has already been asked, but I have a 2003 ES 300 with the reflector xenon headlights. They are much less brighter then the newer, projector xenon headlights. Converting to projector headlights is not something I'm interested in spending my money on, however, I would like to know if it is possible to buy a brighter xenon bulb to replace my current ones
Old 10-30-15, 06:34 PM
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Chocolate
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You could, but the reflector headlights themselves suck. The D2R bulb itself is covered in shielding and then the headlight assembly blocks all direct forward output of the light, so spending money on newer xenon bulbs won't do much. I upgraded the reflector assemblies in my 04 to the 05/06 projector assemblies with quality D2S bulbs and it is worth the cost. It's the single best upgrade I have on my car. I also put an LED kit for the 9005 high beams and rerouted the 194 parking light bulb to the turn signal reflector.

Last edited by Chocolate; 10-30-15 at 06:41 PM.
Old 10-30-15, 07:27 PM
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Brandon593
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Originally Posted by Chocolate
You could, but the reflector headlights themselves suck. The D2R bulb itself is covered in shielding and then the headlight assembly blocks all direct forward output of the light, so spending money on newer xenon bulbs won't do much. I upgraded the reflector assemblies in my 04 to the 05/06 projector assemblies with quality D2S bulbs and it is worth the cost. It's the single best upgrade I have on my car. I also put an LED kit for the 9005 high beams and rerouted the 194 parking light bulb to the turn signal reflector.
The thing is, I have no idea how to do something like that. If you're saying replacing the reflector assemblies is a lot cheaper then actually buying brand new headlight assemblies, then I would appreciate a little advice on how to do what you did to your 04. The OEM headlights are pretty lousy, even though they were probably good in its day.
Old 11-01-15, 05:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Brandon593
The thing is, I have no idea how to do something like that. If you're saying replacing the reflector assemblies is a lot cheaper then actually buying brand new headlight assemblies, then I would appreciate a little advice on how to do what you did to your 04. The OEM headlights are pretty lousy, even though they were probably good in its day.
I replaced the entire headlight assemblies with new 05/06 Xenon projector assemblies, reusing the ballasts and replacing the bulbs with the proper D2S bulbs. You could dremel out the back of your existing headlights and use a projector kit if you wanted to save a few hundred dollars, but a new set will be crystal clear and clean (these headlights craze after ten years of sun) and also uses top notch optics.
Old 09-15-21, 09:36 AM
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Last edited by zgadson1; 09-15-21 at 09:42 AM.
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