Advice Needed on Headlight Upgrade
07-20-19, 12:27 AM
#18
Driver School Candidate
So from what I've read from a few posts around here, supposedly our cars all come with the wires for the parking sensors but unless you actually have them in your bumper then theyre just there waiting to be used, in theory if you upgraded your bumper and plugged them in, it could work. Not entirely sure though, my 250 with the auto leveling lights had the extra wire wrapped around the fog light connector. Like i said, idk if its really for the parking sensors but that's what I've read in a few posts
07-21-19, 11:15 AM
#19
I bought OEM 2012 lights, they were expensive but I absolutely love them, just put a coat of wax on them not long ago actually..
I liked the VIPmotoz lights the best and was close multiple times to buying them. The obvious downfall to switching any lights when you have AFS is that you lose it as did I, however I never did enough winding road driving (whatever you wanna call it) to ever make the headlights turn enough for it to be useful, so I didn't mine losing that feature. I also didn't like the fact that I still had to get an HID kit for the headlights as they come with halogen bulbs.. so your $300 headlights become more like $500 with a decent HID kit installed. So I went and spent $2000 on OEM's hahaha
Just my $.02
I liked the VIPmotoz lights the best and was close multiple times to buying them. The obvious downfall to switching any lights when you have AFS is that you lose it as did I, however I never did enough winding road driving (whatever you wanna call it) to ever make the headlights turn enough for it to be useful, so I didn't mine losing that feature. I also didn't like the fact that I still had to get an HID kit for the headlights as they come with halogen bulbs.. so your $300 headlights become more like $500 with a decent HID kit installed. So I went and spent $2000 on OEM's hahaha
Just my $.02
07-21-19, 11:58 AM
#20
Expect to pay about 2000 for a pair. That's how much I paid, and I did a hell lot of price shopping on eBay. It was worth every penny though, as the fresh lens and internal reflectors put out a hell lot more light than the old units.
There was a left/driver's side OEM 2012 headlamp for $650 on eBay, but it had a broken wiring harness tab and a small cosmetic chip inside the headlamp. I wasn't worried about the chip, as it has 0 effect on the functionality of the lamp, but the wiring harness clip was broken, and I ended up returning the lamp because I didn't want the thick headlamp wiring harness to be bouncing around while I was driving. Last thing I need is for the wiring harness to fatigue and fail. Rebuilding the car's wiring harness can't be fun, especially when like 10 wires are involved.
There was a left/driver's side OEM 2012 headlamp for $650 on eBay, but it had a broken wiring harness tab and a small cosmetic chip inside the headlamp. I wasn't worried about the chip, as it has 0 effect on the functionality of the lamp, but the wiring harness clip was broken, and I ended up returning the lamp because I didn't want the thick headlamp wiring harness to be bouncing around while I was driving. Last thing I need is for the wiring harness to fatigue and fail. Rebuilding the car's wiring harness can't be fun, especially when like 10 wires are involved.
07-21-19, 08:03 PM
#21
Do you have pics of your OWM headlight in the day, also of the night/ night output. Mines are chipped from a fender bender years ago. But the headlamps have gotten smoky/ yellow and my lights flicker when there on, but for the most put don’t even light up. It’s on the edges that are chipped which you can’t see.. but maybe over the years weather gotten in and wore them out? Which is why I don’t t wanna eats time getting HIDs
07-22-19, 10:18 AM
#22
What is "OWM"?
Yes, sounds like it's high-time for you to replace your headlamps. New, fresh headlamps with Osram Night Breaker Laser +200% bulbs are pretty amazing. The headlamps on the IS are exemplary, like all of Lexus' recent headlamps.
At the very least, I would do a quality headlamp polishing job and get fresh HID bulbs.
Factory/OEM/long-life type HID bulbs start with only 3050 lumens as opposed to 3200-3650 lumens, and 97% last for 1500 of operation. At 1500 hours, however, lumen output is a mere 75% of the original figure, so ~2300 lumens. And at 1500 hours, the electrodes have been worn down considerably, and beam focus will be pretty much non-existent. That's why I find it hilarious when people claim that the IS' headlamps are trash; they are actually extremely thoughtfully designed, state-of-the-art HID headlamps, and are among the best HID lamps in the market. And just like any other lamp, of course they're going to appear pretty bad when the exterior lens and bulb are worn out.
Yes, sounds like it's high-time for you to replace your headlamps. New, fresh headlamps with Osram Night Breaker Laser +200% bulbs are pretty amazing. The headlamps on the IS are exemplary, like all of Lexus' recent headlamps.
At the very least, I would do a quality headlamp polishing job and get fresh HID bulbs.
Factory/OEM/long-life type HID bulbs start with only 3050 lumens as opposed to 3200-3650 lumens, and 97% last for 1500 of operation. At 1500 hours, however, lumen output is a mere 75% of the original figure, so ~2300 lumens. And at 1500 hours, the electrodes have been worn down considerably, and beam focus will be pretty much non-existent. That's why I find it hilarious when people claim that the IS' headlamps are trash; they are actually extremely thoughtfully designed, state-of-the-art HID headlamps, and are among the best HID lamps in the market. And just like any other lamp, of course they're going to appear pretty bad when the exterior lens and bulb are worn out.
Last edited by OldLs400; 07-22-19 at 10:24 AM.
07-27-19, 08:06 AM
#24
Yes, I'll take some pictures later.
I have recently tested some Philips XtremeVision D4S +150% bulbs for my IS, and I'm going to be honest: I think I prefer the Philips +150% bulbs over even the Osram Nightbreaker Laser +200%. The Osram's are supposed to be a little brighter because of its +200% rating, but I can't tell if that's the case. The Philips does appear to be more intense and definitely whiter, while the NB's are almost like halogens in terms of color temperature.
I need to do some more driving, but so far, I'm not that impressed anymore with the Osram's, even though I was comparing a brand new set of them to a brand new set of Philips XV's.
I have recently tested some Philips XtremeVision D4S +150% bulbs for my IS, and I'm going to be honest: I think I prefer the Philips +150% bulbs over even the Osram Nightbreaker Laser +200%. The Osram's are supposed to be a little brighter because of its +200% rating, but I can't tell if that's the case. The Philips does appear to be more intense and definitely whiter, while the NB's are almost like halogens in terms of color temperature.
I need to do some more driving, but so far, I'm not that impressed anymore with the Osram's, even though I was comparing a brand new set of them to a brand new set of Philips XV's.
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