rcpeters

I am restoring this ES300 and both the high and low beams are not as bright as newer cars. It is sometimes difficult to clearly distinguish objects on the city streets and I have no problem with my newer model Lexus cars.

I had the contacts cleaned and the lens polished. Rebuilt alternator and new high capacity battery. That helped some. I am reading about different types of aftermarket lamps but have not focused on what to look for. Any information would be helpful.

Thanks.

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

90s tech vs new tech. Thats quite a difference. Put HIDs into your low beams. That will help a lot. Another thing to do is to bake your housing apart and polish up the projector bulb itself. Sometimes crap gets into the light and sticks to it

shawnlexus

hid for your lows and clean your housing. I have had good luck with ddmtuning.com. They are 50$ shipped and a 1 yr warranty. HId's will make a night and day difference. Get a 3000k or 4500k bulb so you do not look like a ricer. here is a link:

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DD...ast-35W-or-55W

dcapo

yup hid good quality fogs conversion kit also

QuachmanES

iTrader: (4)

3000K will give you very yellow light, which is not normally used for low beams. Generally, the whitest and best light output comes from 4300K to 5000K lights.

shawnlexus

ya sorry get 3000k for your fogs, and 4500k for your low beams. I would not go above 6000k on lows. 6k will be a blue tint to the light while a 4500k will be a very bight white like on the new lexus's or tahoe's. sorry for the confusion.

Nberke

Hi I'm new to this club. I just bought a 1999 ES300 with 61,000 miles. I'm not to familiar with these HID lingo can some on explain. I'm looking for bright White lights no tint like blues for both the headlight and the fog light.

Thanks for your help in advance

Nberke

QuachmanES

iTrader: (4)

HID's (High Intensity Discharge) lights come in a variety of color temps, usually referenced by their Kelvin (K) ratings. As you progress higher in color temp, the color changes through the visible spectrum. Typical setups range from 3000K (Yellow light) to about 12000K (purple light). For your requirements, I would recommend a 4300K (warm white, most often seen in OEM HID setups), or 5000K (pure white).

rcpeters

Very helpful info on HID lamps. So I guess I should get 4500K bulb color for my low beam and leave the stock bulb in for the high beam. Also, I guess 35 watt is adequate. Now I need to look up the bulb type for the low beam on my 1992 model ES300. If that does not do it, then take the housing apart and polish inside as someone suggested.

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

If your projector bulb is cloudy, clean it regardless. Would you have a fuzzy cutoff or a sharp one that is safer for other drivers on the road?

Specter

Before you start tearing out wiring.... I had great results with the plain old Sylvania Silverstars. My 99 'rolla was hard to drive at night these replacement bulbs helped tremendously. Nothing fancy just better night light.

nine3es

iTrader: (3)

DDM tuning - 4500k, thats exactly what I did a year ago and OMFG its night and day difference. absolute best money I have spent on renewing my car.

tomf

Forgive my ignorance but what is the projector bulb you guys recommend cleaning?

QuachmanES

iTrader: (4)

They are referring to the projector lens, which is the glass dome you can see when you look into your lights. It can get dirty over time and will result in reduced light output or a blurry cutoff line.