SCFAQ: Interior and Exterior Lighting Upgrades
01-16-05, 05:10 PM
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SCFAQ: Interior and Exterior Lighting Upgrades
Info Provided by Rich @ http://www.intellexual.net/faq.html#001
INTERIOR & EXTERIOR LIGHTING UPGRADES:
This section covers various lighting upgrades from headlamps to tail lights, console to dash lighting, and everything in-between. There is much room for improvement from stock lighting to aftermarket. Many of these mods help refresh the look of your coupe to late-model standards.
Halogen Upgrade: The stock headlights on any given SC are comparably pretty dim. The cheapest effective upgrade is to replace the stock bulbs with higher output bulbs. The best halogen bulbs out there are Sylvania Silverstars. The SC lowbeam uses the 9006/HB4 socket, which is 55 watts. The Lexus 9006 OEM bulbs operate at a mere 51 watts. The simple upgrade is to buy a pair of plug-and-play 55 w 9006/HB4 Sylvania Silverstars. You will see a significant increase in whitness and brightness in the light.
The next upgrade is to complete a 9005 "hack". This entails using a pair of 65 w 9005/HB3 Sylvania Silverstar bulbs. This is a different, but similar bulb socket---which is used in the SC's high beam assembly---but which works safely in the low beam assembly as well. They are priced the same as the 55 w 9006 bulbs, so it is technically a better value to just buy the 9005 version. The main difference between the 9006 and 9005 is 10 watts more power and the 9005 does not have a painted glare cap on the tip of the bulb, which works to reduce output. The two differences together create a visibly brighter output. The only compatibility issue between the two is a pair of fiberglass tabs located inside the bulb's socket. In order to plug a 9005 bulb into a 9006 socket, you must clip, sand, or cut the incompatible tabs. It is very self-explanitory once you see them in person. The mod itself takes no more than two minutes. The halogen Silverstar upgrade works well with the high beam lights as well, only without the option of hacking for a more powerful bulb. Sylvania Silverstars can be found off the shelf at most auto parts stores for around $25/ea.
When handling any halogen light bulb, be sure that you minimize bare-hand contact with the quartz glass. Skin oils left on the bulb can cause premature failure or explosion. It is not recommended that you use any bluish no-named ultra-high wattage ricer bulbs that are commonly false-advertised as "xenon" and "h.i.d". They have a high failure rate and the possibility of heat damage to wiring or explosion inside headlamp.
HID Kit Upgrade: The SC coupe comes with halogen projector headlights. In my opinion, they are quite dim, even when you upgrade to ultra-bright Sylvania Silverstar bulbs. The best alternative to halogen is to upgrade to high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting. HID is a completely different technology than halogen. Do not be duped into scams that offer HID with a simple bulb replacement. HID requires an electronic ballast/ignitor and a gas-discharge bulb. So real HID conversions are sold in kits which include two rebased gas-discharge bulbs, two ballasts/ignitors, and a battery relay/wiring harness. Before you pull the trigger on any HID upgrade, please read through my HID Lighting Tutorial and educate yourselves on the proper HID purchases... HIDo's & HIDon'ts - The HID Lighting Tutorial.
My personal recommendation is to get a genuine Philips D2S bulb and a genuine Philips, Hella, Bosch ballast. AutoLamps Online offers the highest quality HID lighting kits around. The owner is a veteran Philips employee and his current company is the only HID kit producer around endorsed by Philips Lighting themselves. The kit comes with all-Philips genuine equipment and heavy duty wiring harnesses to ensure safety and longevity. Prices start at around $450-550 for parts.
HID Retrofit Upgrade: Illusion-Lighting.com has custom fabricated the world's first HID retrofit for the SC300 and SC400. An HID retrofit differs from an HID kit in that it includes high output OEM HID optics (projector lenses) that have upwards of a 200% increase in light transmittance compared to stock projectors. In essence, an HID retrofit will yield you the best and brightest lighting performance possible. The standard retrofits include parts from a BMW E39 (5-series or X5) headlight, which are transplanted directly into the SC headlight housing with a very OEM appearance. Other custom options are available including other BMW and Audi (bi-xenon) applications. Prices start at around $700-750 for parts and labor.
Interior Lighting and Customization: LexTech Lighting lextech.org has served hundreds in the Lexus community by specializing in restoring Lexus gauge clusters and console (climate control & stereo) displays. Lex Tech has since expanded its services to include full customization of Lexus instrumentation. Lex Tech can add extra flair and personalization to your Lexus interior by replacing OEM backlighting with an assortment of custom color combos and brightnesses as well as alternative lighting technologies (LED, SMD, etc).
JDM Clear Sidemarkers: Taka Kaira takakaira.com sells D-Speed JDM clear sidemarkers for $127, fits all SCx00 models. Carmake T&E makes JDM clear sidemarkers under the brand Gratte Ciel for ¥14,440 (~$94USD). These are available through your Vertex dealer.
INTERIOR & EXTERIOR LIGHTING UPGRADES:
This section covers various lighting upgrades from headlamps to tail lights, console to dash lighting, and everything in-between. There is much room for improvement from stock lighting to aftermarket. Many of these mods help refresh the look of your coupe to late-model standards.
Halogen Upgrade: The stock headlights on any given SC are comparably pretty dim. The cheapest effective upgrade is to replace the stock bulbs with higher output bulbs. The best halogen bulbs out there are Sylvania Silverstars. The SC lowbeam uses the 9006/HB4 socket, which is 55 watts. The Lexus 9006 OEM bulbs operate at a mere 51 watts. The simple upgrade is to buy a pair of plug-and-play 55 w 9006/HB4 Sylvania Silverstars. You will see a significant increase in whitness and brightness in the light.
The next upgrade is to complete a 9005 "hack". This entails using a pair of 65 w 9005/HB3 Sylvania Silverstar bulbs. This is a different, but similar bulb socket---which is used in the SC's high beam assembly---but which works safely in the low beam assembly as well. They are priced the same as the 55 w 9006 bulbs, so it is technically a better value to just buy the 9005 version. The main difference between the 9006 and 9005 is 10 watts more power and the 9005 does not have a painted glare cap on the tip of the bulb, which works to reduce output. The two differences together create a visibly brighter output. The only compatibility issue between the two is a pair of fiberglass tabs located inside the bulb's socket. In order to plug a 9005 bulb into a 9006 socket, you must clip, sand, or cut the incompatible tabs. It is very self-explanitory once you see them in person. The mod itself takes no more than two minutes. The halogen Silverstar upgrade works well with the high beam lights as well, only without the option of hacking for a more powerful bulb. Sylvania Silverstars can be found off the shelf at most auto parts stores for around $25/ea.
When handling any halogen light bulb, be sure that you minimize bare-hand contact with the quartz glass. Skin oils left on the bulb can cause premature failure or explosion. It is not recommended that you use any bluish no-named ultra-high wattage ricer bulbs that are commonly false-advertised as "xenon" and "h.i.d". They have a high failure rate and the possibility of heat damage to wiring or explosion inside headlamp.
HID Kit Upgrade: The SC coupe comes with halogen projector headlights. In my opinion, they are quite dim, even when you upgrade to ultra-bright Sylvania Silverstar bulbs. The best alternative to halogen is to upgrade to high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting. HID is a completely different technology than halogen. Do not be duped into scams that offer HID with a simple bulb replacement. HID requires an electronic ballast/ignitor and a gas-discharge bulb. So real HID conversions are sold in kits which include two rebased gas-discharge bulbs, two ballasts/ignitors, and a battery relay/wiring harness. Before you pull the trigger on any HID upgrade, please read through my HID Lighting Tutorial and educate yourselves on the proper HID purchases... HIDo's & HIDon'ts - The HID Lighting Tutorial.
My personal recommendation is to get a genuine Philips D2S bulb and a genuine Philips, Hella, Bosch ballast. AutoLamps Online offers the highest quality HID lighting kits around. The owner is a veteran Philips employee and his current company is the only HID kit producer around endorsed by Philips Lighting themselves. The kit comes with all-Philips genuine equipment and heavy duty wiring harnesses to ensure safety and longevity. Prices start at around $450-550 for parts.
HID Retrofit Upgrade: Illusion-Lighting.com has custom fabricated the world's first HID retrofit for the SC300 and SC400. An HID retrofit differs from an HID kit in that it includes high output OEM HID optics (projector lenses) that have upwards of a 200% increase in light transmittance compared to stock projectors. In essence, an HID retrofit will yield you the best and brightest lighting performance possible. The standard retrofits include parts from a BMW E39 (5-series or X5) headlight, which are transplanted directly into the SC headlight housing with a very OEM appearance. Other custom options are available including other BMW and Audi (bi-xenon) applications. Prices start at around $700-750 for parts and labor.
Interior Lighting and Customization: LexTech Lighting lextech.org has served hundreds in the Lexus community by specializing in restoring Lexus gauge clusters and console (climate control & stereo) displays. Lex Tech has since expanded its services to include full customization of Lexus instrumentation. Lex Tech can add extra flair and personalization to your Lexus interior by replacing OEM backlighting with an assortment of custom color combos and brightnesses as well as alternative lighting technologies (LED, SMD, etc).
JDM Clear Sidemarkers: Taka Kaira takakaira.com sells D-Speed JDM clear sidemarkers for $127, fits all SCx00 models. Carmake T&E makes JDM clear sidemarkers under the brand Gratte Ciel for ¥14,440 (~$94USD). These are available through your Vertex dealer.
Last edited by DaveGS4; 06-17-07 at 10:37 AM.
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