jzdulexus

Comparing to other cars headlights on my 2007 SC430 are way too dim. I think there are several possibilities: a). they are just dimmer (in comparison to others) to begin with; b). weaker alternator; c). HID bulbs are too old. Can you SC owners chime in and tell me if its due to a)? I know its unlikely to be b) as voltages seem to be fine. If its c), which HID bulbs would be best for brightness and quality? Thanks much.

Caflashbob

Replaced my 08 with the ones in my signature. White light low beams. Not yellow.

much better

Coleroad

Towards the end of the life, of hid bulbs. They do dim and have a change in color. So I don't know if it is that, or if you have a different issue.

jzdulexus

Mine show tint of blue in color. Is that typical for SC430 bulbs of ten year old?

Coleroad

This will answer your questions. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High...discharge_lamp

OBP

My OEM HID bulbs on my 2005 were 4300k which were a little yellowish. Hated the look so switched to Phillips 6000k and got a nice clear white light. Usually a blue-ish look is associated with higher than 6000k. But you lose out a bit on illumination with blue light at night. Makes the car look cool though. If you are on the OEM bulbs, I recommend switching to 6000k.

jzdulexus

It looks like my HID bulbs are fading out (perhaps that's why they are bluish). I am looking at this and that on amazon. Toshiba is OEM but Osram promises better light no reviews though.

yardie876

Usually HID will emit a pinkish hue towards the end of life. theretrofitsource.com is a great website to get a replacement and they have a decent selection of genuine bulbs to choose from. I personally prefer higher lumen count more important than color output (it still matters, however) so I would recommend 5k bulbs. Also, are you headlight lenses hazy?

Caflashbob

Here is what I installed

Osram 66440CBI Xenarc CBI D4S Light.

yes you have to pull the bumper out zone.

jzdulexus

I think my lense are pretty clear but a little yellowish. Is this Osram brighter than OEM Toshiba? I would prefer a brighter bulb to higher color temperature. Is there any consensus here that installing low beam bulbs would require removing the bumper?

Buggeroff6

Until it blows, the bulb changes aren't going to matter halfway near as much as the low factory cut off point. In states like mine (MA) any upward adjustment is going to be readjusted to pass the safety inspection. All I can say is I was driving in rain from Montreal, and couldn't believe how low the cut off line is. I had the high beams on almost constantly-that's only adding wimpy halogen!
In rurual Lincoln, I passed a jogger in full reflective gear..the low beam was running out at his heels!!
I don't know if there's a sweet spot on the aiming board to recommend,(or number of screw turns to adjust low beams), but I consider this low aiming just as crappy as all the US DOT tested cars shown on their ficeo not being able to see a deer at 200ft!!

jzdulexus

I agree that the low beam height should probably be adjusted on these cars and the adjustment is not very intuitive . Here is what I do that I find helpful: park the car 20ft away from a wall and put a small ladder against the wall so that you can see easily very small movement of the light beam. On SC430 it takes about 20 turns to move the beam only about one inch at 20ft.

iolmaster

iTrader: (1)

The brightness is mandated by the government. All of them are 35 watts. You can have bulbs that focus a bit differently, but there is a limit to the brightness. Most people perceive a whiter light to be brighter.