caliness

Does anyone know if there exists JDM headlights for the LS? I have a 96.

Kansas

Well, I guess you could obtain JDM headlights from a 96 Toyota Celsior but they would be useless in the U.S. since the Japanese drive on the left side of the road. The beam patterns of JDM lights would really irritate other drivers and might get you stopped by the authorities quickly. The earlier LS with H4 headlights sold in the U.K. and Europe had a manual headlight beam level adjustment switch on the dash - similar to the current Toyota Sienna van with HID. Or at least they did through 1994 which is the last year of European spec LS with which I am familiar. I considered installing H4 headlights from the LS sold in Germany on my first LS about 12 - 13 years ago but it was far from "plug and play". It just wasn't practical to wire in the dash beam control switch.

Your 96 LS should have some very decent H4 headlights and with a pattern far better than the earlier LS. In fact the pattern is similar or maybe identical to the 96 LS sold in Europe. You might consider some of the non-coated Xenon/Halogen mixture H4 bulbs from Phillips, Wagner, etc. - they produce a very nice pure white (not blue) light and fill in the gaps in the beam pattern.

caliness

Thank you for your reply. My LS lights up the road very well, but I want to install an HID kit. Also, I want to go with the clear headlight lenses (which is the reason why I wanted the projector assembly). I don't like the look of the headlights anymore. I guess I just got used to seeing HID's everywhere!

Vik

What's wrong with old headlight assembly ? Can't you use HID with that ?

caliness

Yes, I can. But I want the "crystal" or clear headlight lenses. If you notice, most or all cars that come with HID's have clear lenses. It just looks "cooler".

Kansas

HID is not always better than Halogen. I was surprised when a couple of years ago a magazine - Consumer Reports or Road & Track - found that lots of cars with Halogen systems provide better light than cars with OEM HID. I thought it was rather funny that one of the cars with the best headlights was an inexpensive Mazda Protege. I suspect that modifying your 96 to HID will be an expensive mod with little or no improvement and perhaps provide even poorer lighting. And HID's without leveling can be blinding for other drivers - the DOT is considering banning HID without leveling systems.

lspower

they just had some on ebay

i dunno if they sold or are getting relisted

RA40

iTrader: (6)

The beam pattern on the '95-'97 is pretty good even if it isn't the trend in lighting. I had an ES330 for 3 days and though it had self leveling HID's, the pattern was short and IMO did not provide enough even illumination. The color temp may be 4100-4200K but it appeared dim to me. High beam was a joke...threw light everywhere except where I wanted it. (Poor reflector design.)

I've taken my LS into the back areas when travelling through Oregon and along HWY1 in central and northern Calif and I think it does very well. Not very wide but it puts the light in front where I want it.

I want to see Lexkost's at night though.

caliness

The good HID's are illegal (8000+K). I'm not sure which intensity is the legal limit but I'm sure that's why the OEM HID's are not as good as halogens, it gets too bright for other drivers on the road. It's a catch 22.

RedAE102

I agree... I think the '95-'97 LS400's beam pattern is great... my Corolla's 9006 dipped beam illuminates just a tad better, but produce a good bit more glare to oncoming traffic. The main beam, on the other hand.... WOAH.... brightest lights on a car I've seen since my friend's old Mazda 323 GTX with four 100W lights mounted on the front bumper . The US LS400 headlights actually have a slightly farther throw than the Euro and JDM models, but not by much. It seems that Toyota took the superb E-code beam pattern and tweaked it just enough to conform to DOT regulations, which has resulted in an excellent set of headlights IMHO. And besides that, they're GLASS, which is unheard of in this day and age. What's not to love? Oh, and btw, the '95-'97 headlights use an H4 (60/55W) for both main and dipped beam, PLUS a 9005 (65W) for even more main beam punch. They also incorporate the 9006 (55W) fog lights... Toyota/Lexus put a great deal of research into these wonderful headlights, and it shows. So just get a pair of blue headlight bulbs and be done with it. I'll stick with my tintless Philips high efficiency H4s.

When you have the time, check out http://www.danielsternlighting.com/ ... everything you wanted to know about automotive lighting.

caliness

Do you have pics of your 96 LS with the Philips bulbs? Are they blue? How long do they last? Do they damage the wire harness?

You're right about the lights, the 96 LS has the 3 different sets of lights in the headlight assembly and the H4 is low/high beam.

Vik

There are low/high beam HID kits on the market. Not cheap but not extremely expensive.
bellof.co.jp kit is a good one. All kits are in $1000 range.

You can get clear headlights from Japan but if you add HID it may cost you a fortune... Clear lamps for 2-nd gen are very rare... I think it maybe cheaper to upgrade your car to 98-00

Wide LS

The 96 LS400 has a one-peice Headlight, the JDM headlights are also one-peice, so it's not worth it to try and getting JDM Headlights unless you have a pre 94 Model LS. Pre 94 Models have two-peice Headlights. Now if you want to get your headlights clear, then you can upgrade your headlights to a 98+ LS and do a front conversion. That might cost a bit but a well experienced body shop can do it, or you can send your headlights to Japan and get them cleared, but that's gonna run around $1,000. I have a 93 LS and got the JDM Headlights and also got a set of JDM Headlights cleared. It wasn't cheap, but I did it. For me it was worth getting the JDM Headlights because my 93 Headlights were two-peice USDM reather than the JDM I got is a whole one-peice. The JDM Headlights fit perfect and lights up well, there is no problem like someone else mentioned with light beaming wrong or blinding oncomming traffic. I do have aftermarket HID's 8000K, but they are not illegal in FL, if they are gas filled HID's. I think if they are HID's with a fillament then they are illegal here, but every state has different laws. All I can tell you is if you want clear headlights, get a 98 LS's headlights and do a conversion, or just get aftermarket HID's

Celsior Master

i think i saw a set on ebay

Kansas

Wide LS,

If you bought something labeled JDM headlights and the beam patterns are for right hand drive, then you were not provided with "Japanese Domestic Market" (JDM) headlights. You probably have something made for some other non-U.S. market where they drive on the right side of the road - perhaps for mainland China.