Halogen to LED Upgrade
#1
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Halogen to LED Upgrade
Some of you may recall a previous post where I lamented the fact that our ES only came with Halogen projector lamps. There was some discussion about LED conversion versus HID conversion kits in a previous thread. I started this thread to discuss that in more detail as I didn't want to hijack that earlier thread, which can be found here. I was reluctant to do an HID conversion because it also requires wiring to the battery, which is in the trunk on the ES300h. The nice thing about the LED kit is that it is a plug and play conversion. When I spoke to Car-ID they recommended this kit (they didn't even suggest an HID kit...) https://www.carid.com/lumen/lumen-le...175094448.html.
So my kit arrived yesterday and I installed just one so that I could take the comparison shots shown below. You can tell from the photos that the LED light is much whiter (color temp of 6500K) but not offensively bright. The first picture shows the pattern on the cabinet doors at the front of my garage. You can see the pattern is very much the same for the LEDs as it is for the halogens. In terms of driving with these lights, they are modestly brighter and obviously whiter. The biggest difference behind the wheel is the edges of the road are illuminated much better. Distance lighting seems about the same, but the illumination of the highway up closer to the car is much better.
So my concerns as I embarked on this project were numerous. I was concerned about the lights being too bright and blinding oncoming traffic. I was also concerned about the heat buildup - especially since these lights had their own fans. I was concerned they would be noisy. I also worried about the potential for flicker. I can honestly say none of these are concerns any longer. You can definitely hear a hum from the fans if you are standing directly in front of the car, but it isn't bothersome at all. The heat at the plastic headlamp lens is less than with the halogen, and the heat at the socket seems pretty similar to the heat of the halogen. So while they aren't as impressive as the factory LEDs on our NX, they are better than the factory halogens and it was an easy upgrade. The installation took about 30 minutes, mostly because I had to find good support braces to ziptie the load resister to.
Below are the photos if you would like to get some sense of the results of this lighting change.
Pattern appears very similar on the cabinet doors
Hard to tell from this angle but the halogen almost looks brighter.
Its amazing how the factory halogens seem very yellow from this comparison.
So my kit arrived yesterday and I installed just one so that I could take the comparison shots shown below. You can tell from the photos that the LED light is much whiter (color temp of 6500K) but not offensively bright. The first picture shows the pattern on the cabinet doors at the front of my garage. You can see the pattern is very much the same for the LEDs as it is for the halogens. In terms of driving with these lights, they are modestly brighter and obviously whiter. The biggest difference behind the wheel is the edges of the road are illuminated much better. Distance lighting seems about the same, but the illumination of the highway up closer to the car is much better.
So my concerns as I embarked on this project were numerous. I was concerned about the lights being too bright and blinding oncoming traffic. I was also concerned about the heat buildup - especially since these lights had their own fans. I was concerned they would be noisy. I also worried about the potential for flicker. I can honestly say none of these are concerns any longer. You can definitely hear a hum from the fans if you are standing directly in front of the car, but it isn't bothersome at all. The heat at the plastic headlamp lens is less than with the halogen, and the heat at the socket seems pretty similar to the heat of the halogen. So while they aren't as impressive as the factory LEDs on our NX, they are better than the factory halogens and it was an easy upgrade. The installation took about 30 minutes, mostly because I had to find good support braces to ziptie the load resister to.
Below are the photos if you would like to get some sense of the results of this lighting change.
Pattern appears very similar on the cabinet doors
Hard to tell from this angle but the halogen almost looks brighter.
Its amazing how the factory halogens seem very yellow from this comparison.
Last edited by TechNut; 03-14-17 at 10:35 PM. Reason: correct link to previous thread
#3
Pole Position
Thread Starter
It's a little hard to really show a meaningful photo. The one on the right side doesn't show where I attached the small additional module, I believe it is called a load resistor. You can clearly see the bulbs and their fans though. This is about the best I can do so I hope it helps.
Left light - the load resistor is mounted to a bracket right above the headlight. The space around the left headlight is pretty tight.
Right light - you can see the zip tie near bolt at lower right corner. the load resistor is under that mounting bracket where there was some empty space within reach.
Left light - the load resistor is mounted to a bracket right above the headlight. The space around the left headlight is pretty tight.
Right light - you can see the zip tie near bolt at lower right corner. the load resistor is under that mounting bracket where there was some empty space within reach.
#4
Lexus Champion
Ward, good job and nice upgrade. I like the plug and play aspect with no further connections or mods. I was looking for this on my older Lexus RX at one point. To match oem hid lights, I wonder if they come in 4600K?
#5
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Thanks. Actually, I was hoping for more like 5000k when I started researching but I think most LEDs are a higher temperature. You can look around but I don't think you will find anything below 6000k.
#6
Lexus Champion
I noticed that the halogens on my mother's ES are gradually getting worse as they age. I'm glad that you had a good experience installing an aftermarket system. After some research, I may try to install these: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/al...rict=1#reviews
They seem to be pretty good. I worry about her safety when driving at night with the degrading halogens on her car. Definitely will attempt an install soon and I'll post results.
They seem to be pretty good. I worry about her safety when driving at night with the degrading halogens on her car. Definitely will attempt an install soon and I'll post results.
#7
Pole Position
Thread Starter
I noticed that the halogens on my mother's ES are gradually getting worse as they age. I'm glad that you had a good experience installing an aftermarket system. After some research, I may try to install these: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/al...rict=1#reviews
They seem to be pretty good. I worry about her safety when driving at night with the degrading halogens on her car. Definitely will attempt an install soon and I'll post results.
They seem to be pretty good. I worry about her safety when driving at night with the degrading halogens on her car. Definitely will attempt an install soon and I'll post results.
The set you are looking at is rated at 6000K, so they will be just a tad warmer in color - although I don't know if one can really perceive the difference between 6000 and 6500K. I did see the warranty is three years and the Lumen lights I used have a five year warranty. I imagine they would be just fine though.
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#8
Great thread Ward. Purchased my 2013 used and have no idea if its Halogen or HID but the dealership did give me this....
Would this break down by KBB accurately list if I had HID? Youd think it would list Halogen or otherwise but I dont see it.
Would this break down by KBB accurately list if I had HID? Youd think it would list Halogen or otherwise but I dont see it.
#9
Just look under the hood as it is easy to see the difference between HID and Halogen. I posted photos a while back. See photos of HID socket here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-...placement.html
#10
Lead Lap
Also, if you have HID headlights you will hear a slight humming noise when they're on. I didn't know I had them until another member posted that info and I listened.
#12
Lead Lap
#14
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Coming from a Prius with HID headlights, I would also say it is pretty obvious from the light output. Frankly, you should be satisfied if you have HIDs and even if you have halogens and are fully satisfied, I wouldn't touch them. The only reason I wanted to try this is because I wasn't satisfied with the light output - a problem compounded by the excellent lighting of the NX that we naturally compared it to.
Last edited by TechNut; 03-15-17 at 07:33 PM.
#15