DefendHI

I have a 2000 ls400 and was just wondering if i need to get the whole kit ballast,bulbs, wires or just the d2r bulbs..

Note: It has stock hid..

Thanks..

DonCorleone

iTrader: (6)

what are you trying to do? if you have stock HID and just need new bulbs, all you need is new bulbs.

EXE.UCF10

iTrader: (3)

You just need a pair of D2R bulbs.

DefendHI

Im trying to upgrade the hid...thanks guys!!

DefendHI

One more question does it matter if its a 35w,45w,55w bulb??

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

35w D2R.

don't bother getting any temperature over 6000k as you significantly lose light output over stock.

deanbrown

So is 6000K a nice sky-blue color, or going on purple? I don't like the white or the purple, but the blue makes me foam up!

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

6000k is bluish white.

8000k is blue going on purple (and a huge drop off in visible light output)

DonCorleone

iTrader: (6)

Agreed, 6k is as high as you want to go. Almost all stock HIDs are 35watt.

ikant

So 35W instead of 55W is also recommended??

DonCorleone

iTrader: (6)

In order to run 55w bulbs to their full potential, you'd need 55w ballasts too. Not sure but some 55w bulbs may not even light up at 35w. Then you'd have to worry/account for the higher heat output as well as added load on your wiring. Higher heat may cause headlight housing damage depending on design and proximity to components, reflective coating and lense mainly. Wiring could be solved with a relay kit.

Keep in mind not all 55w ballasts/bulbs are built the same, wouldn't be surprised if there were 35w ballasts juiced up and misleadingly labelled as 55w.

Stock upgrade? GOOD new bulbs at something close to 4300k will be brighter than 11+ year old bulbs and last longer than cheap no-name chinese bulbs. Good being any of the Philips or Osram brands.

For a decent value/quality compromise I read good things about Morimoto bulbs and will probably put them in my IS3 soon. They seem to only come in D2S so the base may need to be modified a bit. There's a few more differences between the two types but I'll spare you the confusion as it is not really relevant to your question.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

don't run d2s or even D2c bulbs in your stock reflector, unless the bulb is specifically a D2r with the right focal point, the beam pattern will be crap.

deanbrown

Different d2r bulbs have different focal points?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

d2r and d2s do, most D2C are just rebased D2s with D2r bases and the D2s focal point.

DonCorleone

iTrader: (6)

Fixed that for you.

D2R is what your stock Lexus LS400 HIDs use. D2R bulbs are designed to be used in reflector HID housings.

D2S is meant for projector headlights, don't have a ceramic strip which is there to reduce glare and may, as PureDrifter mentioned, have a different focal point. My reason for going that route is I have a retrofit in the wings, sorry for bringing D2S bulbs into the mix, they aren't really relevant to this topic.