what is the recommended watts for the low beams on this 92 es300? 9006. 80w safe?

 

No. The '92-'96 ES300's stock 9006 bulbs draw 55 watts at 12 volts (actually 51 watts at 12.8 volts). The stock wiring was NOT designed to accomodate anything other than stock wattage. Run anything higher and you'll melt the harness sooner or later. Further, plastic headlamp lenses and covers will wear prematurely due to the additional heat of higher wattage bulbs. Also, the typical Korean-made, blue-coated, 80-watt bulb is woefully short of the quality OEM standards of Philips, Osram, Stanley Raybrig, Koito, etc. The heavy blue coating robs light output, making night time driving in the rain tremendously risky. You can purchase an upgraded wiring harness from a place like suvlights.com. Still, 80 watt bulbs have 1/3 the lifespan of stock bulbs, regardless of quality. Buyer Beware.