Yawn... another LS430/GS retrofit

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Nov 11, 2007 | 08:22 AM

#16

JnC

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From: MA

Thanks for the kind words guys, to someone who is thinking about upgrading to HIDs i'd say retrofit or bust, what ever you do just dont go the HIDkit route.

Some day time shots

Nov 11, 2007 | 08:56 AM

#17

JnC

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From: MA

Quote:

Originally Posted by PureDrifter

great retro

ive been thinking of going LS430 with color mod but i dont wanna give up the auto-level in my OEM hid setup

and havent been able to find anyone who wanted less than my first born in exchange for a retro that can keep it.

The last GS retro i did with the LS430s was on an 400 and it had factory HIDs with autoleveling. If you play your cards right you still can keep the autoleveling, which I did in those headlights case.

Nov 17, 2007 | 08:10 PM

#18

RX469

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From: MD

Simply awesome!

Nov 19, 2007 | 07:00 AM

#19

greenvy2k

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From: Maryland

i kept the autoleveling in my ls 400 with the ls430 retro

Nov 20, 2007 | 11:42 AM

#20

eliteskill

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From: Ca

thats amazing will these projectors fit into a sc300 houseing without major cutting?

Nov 21, 2007 | 10:31 PM

#21

kit cat

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From: US

Now that's how a GS should have came!

^wow...I'd love to this to my GS...

Nov 22, 2007 | 09:14 AM

#22

smarti

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From: SO*CAL

anyone know of a person or company that does retro's? i have the ls430 projectors and attempted to do it myself but i messed up big time so i bought new bowls, but this time i want them done right.

Nov 22, 2007 | 06:51 PM

#23

KiPod

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From: All Around Our Nation's Capital

What did you use to / how did you refinish the lenses? I read in another thread it was without wetsanding.

Nov 23, 2007 | 12:09 AM

#24

emoshun

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From: Cali

Quote:

Originally Posted by eliteskill

thats amazing will these projectors fit into a sc300 houseing without major cutting?

Nope, not a chance. You have only 3"h by 3.5"w inside the SC headlight/shroud.

Here is an example of what can be done. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=315602

Nov 23, 2007 | 04:14 AM

#25

JnC

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From: MA

Quote:

Originally Posted by KiPod

What did you use to / how did you refinish the lenses? I read in another thread it was without wetsanding.

Wet sanding leaves uneven spots along with very fine scratches, I use the following method to rework the lenses. Along with the polishes mentioned on this page I also use Novus 4 step ploish, meguiars plastix. Using a buffer is essential, working with your hand wouldnt get the job done. Even with the buffer I spent close to an hour on each lens to get the desired finish

.

http://thedetailinghandbook.com/Head...storation.aspx

Nov 23, 2007 | 04:52 PM

#26

URDONE

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From: IL

Very nicely done JNC.

Mar 10, 2008 | 07:32 AM

#27

chrisroc

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From: Florida

Damn that looks sick! a lot of the pictures arent loading up though? I have
rx330 projectors that my friend gave me that works at lexus. I also have phillips ballasts and bulbs from an infinity G35 coupe. what do you think about using those?

Mar 18, 2008 | 02:59 AM

#28

rocker44

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From: CA

Hi guys, I did a lot of reading in this forum about HID retrofit and HID kit. but i still have some confusions here. When i read the thread : "Sticky: lighting FAQ -- READ THIS FIRST!" by ROMINL, he said that the hid conversion kit will give you cutoff problem, and the OEM HID headlights with d2r bulbs will give you the clear cutoff". So why does PureDrifter want to do retro while he has OEM HID headlights with autolevel already???

Quote:

Originally Posted by PureDrifter

great retro

ive been thinking of going LS430 with color mod but i dont wanna give up the auto-level in my OEM hid setup

and havent been able to find anyone who wanted less than my first born in exchange for a retro that can keep it.

I have an original halogen headlights, so i bought an HID conversion kit to have the HID output but i am still not happy with the output. Therefore, i am planning to go to lexus dealer and have them install the HID headlight for me. but after reading this thread, i'm so confused 'cos some people already have HID headlights wanna do retro.
so which way is good to go for???

Mar 18, 2008 | 04:07 AM

#29

JnC

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From: MA

^^ The point of doing a retro, nevertheless doing an LS430 retro is to get the optimum lighting performance. Even though GS HID headlights are an upgrade over the halogen headlights but they still arent as good as the LS430 retrofitted headlights and lets not even talk about putting a kit in a set of halogen headlights.

BTW I am not good at taking night shots but here are some of a LS430 set up in a fellow HIDplanet members car

These pictures should give you an idea why these projectors are considered Godlike in the HID world.

Quote:

Originally Posted by skizot

So I finally got around to taking some decent output shots. And let me tell you, several of these really do rival Hak's famous "165+ degrees of driving pleasure" (LS430 / Highlander) shot. =P~

Also, after taking my car outside city limits I am truly amazed at these projectors. I can honestly appreciate them much more after seeing their full capabilities. I guess before when I've posted about how I didn't think they were that bright was because they were being drowned out by the super yellow high wattage street lights everywhere. They're definitely bright enough.

Anyways, on to the pictures!

Just a normal driveway shot:

The following shots were underexposed to show the perfect alignment between low beam and high beam.

Low Beam:

Low Beam and High Beam perfectly aligned:

Now for the awesome shots. :P

Full-sized image: http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3497-1/DSC_0066.JPG

Full-sized image: http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3518-1/DSC_0073.JPG

Full-sized image: http://skizot.com/gallery/d/3539-1/DSC_0080.JPG

Thanks for looking.

Mar 18, 2008 | 03:40 PM

#30

rocker44

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From: CA

omg, that looks amazing!!! do you have any pictures of the OEM HID headlights' performance so that i could have some idea how much better the retrofit can do.
BTW, is the LS430 retro the best comparing to S2k or any other projectors?
and do you know any person who can do retro around orange county ?? cos i have no experience about this at all !!! so i rather pay some one to do the right job than messing up big time.
p/s: as i say i already have the hid conversion kit. i am wondering if i could use the ballast of that conversion kit for retro work and just buy the projectors, and the bulbs, or i have to buy a completely whole new kit??