chromedome

I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations on what bulbs to use for the high beams to get a whitish color that's close to the DRLs and xenons, as compared to the usual yellow HB3 halogens.

I was thinking of switching to Philips or Osram white halogen bulbs. A crazier idea is to use LEDs for the high beams but I don't know which brands. I'm concerned about cooling as bright LEDs can run very hot and I don't want to melt the light housing.

txes

Or blind oncoming traffic. 😯

chromedome

Thanks for being snarky.

High beams on the stock bulbs blind traffic already, wouldn't you know?

Nelexus88

Here is a link to a discussion on swapping HIR1 (9011) bulbs for the original 9005 high beam bulbs on a LS. Its supposed to be a direct swap and provide more lumens. I have not changed my high beams but also noticed they are somewhat yellowish, so Im interested to see how it works on an ES.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...m-upgrade.html

SW17LS

The question is do you want:

1. Better, more usable light

or

2. Light that looks more like the lights from the HIDs

The two are more or less mutually exclusive. You mention LEDs, they do make LED bulbs that will fit the high beams on your ES...but they will project no light down the road. Halogen bulbs that promise "whiter" or "bluer" light but these will always be yellower in color temperature than the HIDs, and sometimes that look is achieved by tinting the glass in the bulb...which again results in less usable light.

I had this issue when I upgraded the fogs in my GS to the 2014+ LED fogs. The LEDs are more like 5000k color temperature while the OEM HIDs are 4100k. So compared to them the HIDs look a little yellower when they are warmed up. I considered upgrading to 5000k HIDs, but I would have to sacrifice light output for looks, and at the end of the day your headlights are there to illuminate the road, not look cool. Osram has come out with their CBI bulbs in D4S which are supposed to have 5000k color temp with no lumen loss...might try those.

In any event...nobody ever sees your high beams because you drive presumably with them on in areas nobody is around. I'd stick with what works best, not what looks best.

chromedome

Thanks for the responses everyone. The idea first came to me after seeing a discussion on Rennlist, some Panamera owner changed his halogen high beams to Philips Crystalvision and Diamondvision bulbs.

I'm only using high beams on quiet rural roads and unlit highways at night. I do realize whiter bulbs trade lumens for greater definition within the illuminated area whereas blue bulbs aren't useful at all. I'm OK with the compromise. My stock white LED fog lights are next to useless anyway.

The stock bulbs are 9005/HB3 fittings at 60 watts. I'm interested in either Osram Nightbreaker Unlimiteds (60W, 3900 K) or Philips Crystalvision (65W, 4100 K). I prefer the whiter look of the Crystalvisions but I don't know if the slightly higher wattage will damage the wiring or lenses.

I haven't seen Philips or Toshiba HIR bulbs in 9005 fitting and I'm not comfortable with modding the existing housing. They do look a lot brighter though.

VLEDS has some 35W and 55W LED high beams but they're very expensive and I don't know how much light they actually throw down the road, especially as the ES high beam assembly uses reflectors.

kamslexus

I just purchased 2014 ES300h with HID lights option, at low beam it's nice white light, but at high beam it's not the same. I am also looking to change mine so it's similar to low beam HID, any option for that?

I owned BMW 528xi 2008 which I traded in, and that had HID for both low and high beams.

Was any one able to just change a bulb to get equivalent light?

SW17LS

If it were that simple we all would just buy bulbs instead of paying money for HID optional lights.

HID is an entirely different sort of lighting system, it requires special bulbs, an electronic ballast, different reflectors/projectors.

kamslexus

Why did lexus only did for low beams, it was like $500+ extra package.

I should have test drive it at night too but it's too late now.

chromedome

I don't know why Lexus didn't use a bi-xenon setup, with the same HID bulb for low and high beams. A motorized mirror changes position when you use high beams and it looks like a supernova going off. VWs and Audis and most European cars have had this for ages.

Anyway I wouldn't bother replacing the HB3 high beam bulbs with an aftermarket HID setup because they take longer to warm up and the light will go all over the place, probably pointing at the sky instead of towards the ground. I hope to get Philips Crystalvisions soon to test.

airforcejo

Hi everyone, I read over and over about folks wanting cooler looking front lights -- especially the high beams. I replaced my 2013 ES 350 fog bulbs with the JDM Astar 1200 Lumens Extremely Bright 144-EX Chipsets H16 (type 2 with 90-degree angle) LED bulbs. They run approximately 5500 to 6000K and look fantastic! The OE fog lamps do very little to light up the road anyhow, but the LEDs tend to widen the visibility more than stock. I also have placed extra DRLs in my right and left corner of the lower "spindle" grille which also runs around 5500K (Philips Daylight9 -- ordered from England; not available in the States). To match the whiteness of my two new sets of front lights, I purchased Osram Cool Blue Intense (CBI) 5000K HID bulbs; they also look terrific and offer the same lumens and the same down-the-road light projection of my stock HIDs. However, they are almost pure white once they burn in. You can view many guys using the CBI HID bulbs on YouTube and you'll see they first spark on blue and within seconds start glowing white with a tinges of blue on the edges. After about 20-hours of use they are pure white. They are a great upgrade to your stock HDI bulbs and to me, I see further and wider. Back to the subject of high beams --- I agree with many other members that raising your Kelvins just lower your usable light. If you think about it (and lower your desire to be a cool driver around town) you really want a great bright bulb for your high beams. Installing the "newest" LED high-beam lamps may disappoint you too. They are very bright, but the optics don't project very far in front of the car -- the light pattern is scattered, not concentrated. The new LED headlights should only be used with projector lenses. I have found that Philips X-treme 9005 bulbs offer the brightest and furthest projection of light down the road of any bulb I've tried. They also project further to the right and left than stock. I've tried tip-colored halogen bulbs to get the "cooler" 5000 to 6000K color of HIDs, but I'm always disappointed in the dimmer light. Besides, you're suppose to have the "brights' on when no one is seeing how cool you are in the fist place right? For overall appearance around the city, I highly recommend adding the Osram CBI to replace your stock HIDs, change the fogs to the JDM Astar LEDs, and add the extra safety factor of Philips DRLs . For your high beams stay with the lower Kelvin Philips X-treme.

chromedome

We need pix!

The stock HIDs are around 4300k, slightly yellowish, compared to the whiter stock LED fogs on my 300h. Those fogs are about as useful as a Zippo in a hurricane... I don't know if it's because of their brightness or color temperature. It gets insanely foggy in winter here so yellow JDM-style fogs would probably work better.

I'll try looking for yellow LED fogs and keep my stock HIDs and halogen high beams, or maybe also switch to Osram CBI HIDs. Good idea to go for safety and visibility instead of looks.

Arty101

Off topic, is there a way to turn on the fog lights without turning on the headlights? I see Prius running the white LED fogs all the time - perhaps it's their running lights?

Mike728

No, not without modifying the circuit.

Arty101

Based on Chrome's comment, I guess I won't change out my fogs then. If I could use them with my DL running lights, than I might have changed them out to LEDs to match the color. But for fog, I guess the halogens will work better than any other white light.