I have noticed that the HID headlights are for the lows only and I am guessing that the high beams are halogen.

a. Does it make sense to change the high beam bulbs?
b. If you were going to change what bulb type is it and which brand might you recommend?

Thanks, Peter

 

Isn't the high beam also the DRL too (if you have DRL's)?

These bulbs are 9005 I believe...

 

Unless you plan to use the high beams at night a lot, I wouldn't necessarily upgrade them. They do the job pretty much all the time and don't require as much use as the low beams. Plus, your high beams operate the DRLs, so whether you upgrade the high beam bulbs or not, the DRLs will still look the same; they put out 50% wattage from the high beams as designed.

 

agree. i upgraded a lot of bulbs on my cars, but never touched the high beam.

 

I wouldn't replace the highbeam bulbs for HID's. Two reasons:

1) If your highbeams run DRL's as well, if you use HID's you will either lose that function, or your HIDs will burn out faster because it lacks enough current
2) In highbean situations, (esp in the city) all you need is a quick flick. If you have HIDs, you can't get that 'flick' because they need a warm up period.

If you need more light, consider HID fogs.

 

My idea was to replace the high beams with Hoen HID color bulbs (blue-white color) on my ES350 to eliminate the beige lighting associated with halogens, the new Hoens would match the HID blue / white colors. I have them on my 2004 LS and they have lasted and look good too.

 

Seeing how this thread got bumped, I have a somewhat-appropriate comment I would like to offer--on my two-month old ES 350 I discovered that my highbeam/DRL bulbs have a very-light brown discoloration on the glass itself. The discoloration isn't that dark, as I can still see the filament...but it is clearly discernable. Can any other ES 350 owners see if they have similar discoloration on their OEM highbeam/DRL bulbs--and if so, does anyone know that this discoloration is simply a by-product of the bulb being run at a lower power output in order to function as a DRL?