Xenon headlamps
04-20-06, 08:55 AM
#1
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Xenon headlamps
I have 2003 GS300 and I would really like to put those cool HID xenon headlamps on the car. Does anyone know if this is an easy process, and where can i order/buy them??????????
04-20-06, 09:15 AM
#2
you can put it on, and it will work except you lose the auto-leveling option. however, those headlights aren't cheap at all, new ones are over 1k per side, good luck. you can try carson toyota
another good option is try on ebay
you can search on this item, it's been discussed a lot of times. i have this setup on my car
and welcome to clublexus
another good option is try on ebay
you can search on this item, it's been discussed a lot of times. i have this setup on my car
and welcome to clublexus
04-20-06, 12:16 PM
#6
9006 hid kits are plug and play. very easy to do. some people complain that these kits produce glare to oncoming traffic.
some people swop out their whole headlights with factory HIDs so the beam pattern is good for both the driver and oncoming traffic.
HIDs are great upgrades and a must.
some people swop out their whole headlights with factory HIDs so the beam pattern is good for both the driver and oncoming traffic.
HIDs are great upgrades and a must.
04-20-06, 01:17 PM
#7
Heres a breakdown:
Parts and labor are listed. Labor will range from zero if you are experienced or very high if you don't know what you are doing.
HID Kit, Plug and play. Basically plug it in and thats it. If you can change the bulb, then this will be easy for you. Parts: $170-300 on ebay for both sides. It all depends on the seller. I do think that all the kits are of similar build quality though. They are all from china and most aren't quite the best spec. Point being, they are cheap, they are HID, and they work. I have one of the $180 sets in my fogs it looks like my friends $300 set and it hasn't let me down yet.
Installation: $0 if you DIY. Shops shouldn't really charge more than $20 since its pretty much just pluggin in a bulb and a box. But some shops may want $50 just becuase it is HID
Point is, HID Kits are the simplest and cheapest option but the light output wont be as good and it will glare a bit. The GS headlight housing is designed pretty well so it shouldn't glare as bad as some cars with HID kits out there. However, the glare is still going to be there.
OEM HID Housing swap. Basically you buy housings that come with HID reflectors, hid bulbs, and ballast intergrated on one unit. Just pull out your stock housing and bolt this new one in. You will need to do some soldering and wiring knowledge to hook up the new ballast to the stock harness. Cost: $1200 PER side new from lexus. I highly recommend you DO NOT buy them new! You can usually find them on ebay for $600-700 a pair for a set in relatively good condition. Installation: again $0 if you DIY. It's not too bad. Just pull the bumper and unbolt lights and rebolt new ones. Wiring is not too difficult, only 2 wires to splice into. If you take it to a shop, they will probably charge around $100-150 since it requires bumper removal and basic wiring.
HID retrofit. By far the best option in my opinion. Thats why I did it on my car
. Basically you get the best light output and beam pattern out of all the choices. The price of the parts will usually run about $400-500 or so for 2 ballasts, 2bulbs, & 2 projectors. There is a LOT of custom work and fabrication that goes into retrofitting a set of HID projectors that I will not go into detail here. Unless you are a DIY guy like myself and do the retrofit yourself, you will be paying a boatload to get a retrofit done. I think most places charge around $600-1k or so for the labor. I don't charge anywhere close to that when I do retro's. If you are a good DIY and fabrication guy it is not hard to do. Especially on the GS. It is one of the easiest cars to do a retro on because the housing is HUGE.
It's up to you what you want to do. Your options are listed. From cheapest/worst light output to most expensive/best light output.
Parts and labor are listed. Labor will range from zero if you are experienced or very high if you don't know what you are doing.
HID Kit, Plug and play. Basically plug it in and thats it. If you can change the bulb, then this will be easy for you. Parts: $170-300 on ebay for both sides. It all depends on the seller. I do think that all the kits are of similar build quality though. They are all from china and most aren't quite the best spec. Point being, they are cheap, they are HID, and they work. I have one of the $180 sets in my fogs it looks like my friends $300 set and it hasn't let me down yet.
Installation: $0 if you DIY. Shops shouldn't really charge more than $20 since its pretty much just pluggin in a bulb and a box. But some shops may want $50 just becuase it is HID
Point is, HID Kits are the simplest and cheapest option but the light output wont be as good and it will glare a bit. The GS headlight housing is designed pretty well so it shouldn't glare as bad as some cars with HID kits out there. However, the glare is still going to be there.
OEM HID Housing swap. Basically you buy housings that come with HID reflectors, hid bulbs, and ballast intergrated on one unit. Just pull out your stock housing and bolt this new one in. You will need to do some soldering and wiring knowledge to hook up the new ballast to the stock harness. Cost: $1200 PER side new from lexus. I highly recommend you DO NOT buy them new! You can usually find them on ebay for $600-700 a pair for a set in relatively good condition. Installation: again $0 if you DIY. It's not too bad. Just pull the bumper and unbolt lights and rebolt new ones. Wiring is not too difficult, only 2 wires to splice into. If you take it to a shop, they will probably charge around $100-150 since it requires bumper removal and basic wiring.
HID retrofit. By far the best option in my opinion. Thats why I did it on my car
. Basically you get the best light output and beam pattern out of all the choices. The price of the parts will usually run about $400-500 or so for 2 ballasts, 2bulbs, & 2 projectors. There is a LOT of custom work and fabrication that goes into retrofitting a set of HID projectors that I will not go into detail here. Unless you are a DIY guy like myself and do the retrofit yourself, you will be paying a boatload to get a retrofit done. I think most places charge around $600-1k or so for the labor. I don't charge anywhere close to that when I do retro's. If you are a good DIY and fabrication guy it is not hard to do. Especially on the GS. It is one of the easiest cars to do a retro on because the housing is HUGE.It's up to you what you want to do. Your options are listed. From cheapest/worst light output to most expensive/best light output.
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04-20-06, 02:35 PM
#8
Lexus Test Driver
Originally Posted by JeffTsai
Heres a breakdown:
Parts and labor are listed. Labor will range from zero if you are experienced or very high if you don't know what you are doing.
HID Kit, Plug and play. Basically plug it in and thats it. If you can change the bulb, then this will be easy for you. Parts: $170-300 on ebay for both sides. It all depends on the seller. I do think that all the kits are of similar build quality though. They are all from china and most aren't quite the best spec. Point being, they are cheap, they are HID, and they work. I have one of the $180 sets in my fogs it looks like my friends $300 set and it hasn't let me down yet.
Installation: $0 if you DIY. Shops shouldn't really charge more than $20 since its pretty much just pluggin in a bulb and a box. But some shops may want $50 just becuase it is HID
Point is, HID Kits are the simplest and cheapest option but the light output wont be as good and it will glare a bit. The GS headlight housing is designed pretty well so it shouldn't glare as bad as some cars with HID kits out there. However, the glare is still going to be there.
OEM HID Housing swap. Basically you buy housings that come with HID reflectors, hid bulbs, and ballast intergrated on one unit. Just pull out your stock housing and bolt this new one in. You will need to do some soldering and wiring knowledge to hook up the new ballast to the stock harness. Cost: $1200 PER side new from lexus. I highly recommend you DO NOT buy them new! You can usually find them on ebay for $600-700 a pair for a set in relatively good condition. Installation: again $0 if you DIY. It's not too bad. Just pull the bumper and unbolt lights and rebolt new ones. Wiring is not too difficult, only 2 wires to splice into. If you take it to a shop, they will probably charge around $100-150 since it requires bumper removal and basic wiring.
HID retrofit. By far the best option in my opinion. Thats why I did it on my car . Basically you get the best light output and beam pattern out of all the choices. The price of the parts will usually run about $400-500 or so for 2 ballasts, 2bulbs, & 2 projectors. There is a LOT of custom work and fabrication that goes into retrofitting a set of HID projectors that I will not go into detail here. Unless you are a DIY guy like myself and do the retrofit yourself, you will be paying a boatload to get a retrofit done. I think most places charge around $600-1k or so for the labor. I don't charge anywhere close to that when I do retro's. If you are a good DIY and fabrication guy it is not hard to do. Especially on the GS. It is one of the easiest cars to do a retro on because the housing is HUGE.
It's up to you what you want to do. Your options are listed. From cheapest/worst light output to most expensive/best light output.
Parts and labor are listed. Labor will range from zero if you are experienced or very high if you don't know what you are doing.
HID Kit, Plug and play. Basically plug it in and thats it. If you can change the bulb, then this will be easy for you. Parts: $170-300 on ebay for both sides. It all depends on the seller. I do think that all the kits are of similar build quality though. They are all from china and most aren't quite the best spec. Point being, they are cheap, they are HID, and they work. I have one of the $180 sets in my fogs it looks like my friends $300 set and it hasn't let me down yet.
Installation: $0 if you DIY. Shops shouldn't really charge more than $20 since its pretty much just pluggin in a bulb and a box. But some shops may want $50 just becuase it is HID
Point is, HID Kits are the simplest and cheapest option but the light output wont be as good and it will glare a bit. The GS headlight housing is designed pretty well so it shouldn't glare as bad as some cars with HID kits out there. However, the glare is still going to be there.
OEM HID Housing swap. Basically you buy housings that come with HID reflectors, hid bulbs, and ballast intergrated on one unit. Just pull out your stock housing and bolt this new one in. You will need to do some soldering and wiring knowledge to hook up the new ballast to the stock harness. Cost: $1200 PER side new from lexus. I highly recommend you DO NOT buy them new! You can usually find them on ebay for $600-700 a pair for a set in relatively good condition. Installation: again $0 if you DIY. It's not too bad. Just pull the bumper and unbolt lights and rebolt new ones. Wiring is not too difficult, only 2 wires to splice into. If you take it to a shop, they will probably charge around $100-150 since it requires bumper removal and basic wiring.
HID retrofit. By far the best option in my opinion. Thats why I did it on my car
. Basically you get the best light output and beam pattern out of all the choices. The price of the parts will usually run about $400-500 or so for 2 ballasts, 2bulbs, & 2 projectors. There is a LOT of custom work and fabrication that goes into retrofitting a set of HID projectors that I will not go into detail here. Unless you are a DIY guy like myself and do the retrofit yourself, you will be paying a boatload to get a retrofit done. I think most places charge around $600-1k or so for the labor. I don't charge anywhere close to that when I do retro's. If you are a good DIY and fabrication guy it is not hard to do. Especially on the GS. It is one of the easiest cars to do a retro on because the housing is HUGE.It's up to you what you want to do. Your options are listed. From cheapest/worst light output to most expensive/best light output.
This is great base info
04-21-06, 02:34 AM
#10
Originally Posted by URDONE
Very nice writeup. What exactly do some of you have against the stock xenons?
04-21-06, 09:40 AM
#11
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Jeff,
Are you willing to help do another retrofit for a new fellow ClubLexus member? I love the Q45 retrofit and want it done to my car.
Are you willing to help do another retrofit for a new fellow ClubLexus member? I love the Q45 retrofit and want it done to my car.
Originally Posted by JeffTsai
The stock HID housing isn't bad. However, it is still reflector based. The cutoff and light output will never reach that of a good HID projector. Also, that blue/purple flicker you see on some HID cars. That effect is only produced from the projector's cutoff. A reflector based HID won't have that. Most people that I have done HID retrofits for, or asked me about them always wanted the cutoff color flicker effect. This can ONLY be achieved using projectors.
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