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Headlight upgrade - recommendations?

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Old Aug 13, 2019 | 06:22 AM
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Default Headlight upgrade - recommendations?

As far as I can tell - these cars have Xenon kits and ballasts already from the factory. (correct?)

Are there better bulbs I can add to really provide crisp brilliant light? Moreso than the recommended bulbs. I think it was a 9005?
I had an old xenon kit I threw in my S10 I keep around. Those bulbs were way brighter than my lexus bulbs.

What should I add to my car to get it up to date?
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Old Aug 13, 2019 | 06:38 AM
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Originally Posted by biacs
As far as I can tell - these cars have Xenon kits and ballasts already from the factory. (correct?)

Are there better bulbs I can add to really provide crisp brilliant light? Moreso than the recommended bulbs. I think it was a 9005?
I had an old xenon kit I threw in my S10 I keep around. Those bulbs were way brighter than my lexus bulbs.

What should I add to my car to get it up to date?
If you have a 04-06 you are not getting any brighter low beams, ls430 projectors are super expensive and very sought after projectors for headlight retrofits. Try putting in a brand new bulb that will be brighter than what is in there now because bulbs degrade over time.

Also I think there might be some other issue because I have a tinted windshield and can see perfect when driving at night. Take the headlights out and check the ballasts they can sometimes get moisture and start to corrode over time as well.

Also something to keep in mind did you have projectors in you old s10 headlights? If not it may have seemed brighter bit it deffintly was not led and hid bulbs need to be put into projectors so they disperse the light properly.
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Old Aug 13, 2019 | 07:00 AM
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Originally Posted by 05ls430518
If you have a 04-06 you are not getting any brighter low beams, ls430 projectors are super expensive and very sought after projectors for headlight retrofits. Try putting in a brand new bulb that will be brighter than what is in there now because bulbs degrade over time.

Also I think there might be some other issue because I have a tinted windshield and can see perfect when driving at night. Take the headlights out and check the ballasts they can sometimes get moisture and start to corrode over time as well.

Also something to keep in mind did you have projectors in you old s10 headlights? If not it may have seemed brighter bit it deffintly was not led and hid bulbs need to be put into projectors so they disperse the light properly.
^^^Good info here.

The Bi-Xenon LS430 has the widest beam pattern out there, and the output is seriously impressive. Bulbs do wear out over time as well as the ballasts as mentioned above.

What year is your LS, OP?
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Old Aug 13, 2019 | 12:01 PM
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The left is old right is new these are ds2 Xeon bulbs I’ve been getting all my light at ddm tuning for 2 bulbs it’s 35$ with life time warranty the passenger side was easy to change from up top but the driver side I had to go in from the wheel well
for both my fog lights I have hids For them as well so basically 4 low beam hids super bright at night I run headlights and fog lights as one but rainy weathers they all reflect off the floor I’m not sure if leds do the same when it rains



Last edited by Bsavage; Aug 13, 2019 at 12:59 PM.
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Old Aug 13, 2019 | 05:15 PM
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TIA! Ordered 2 pair and a set of 9006 for fogs as the free gift ;-)


Originally Posted by Bsavage
The left is old right is new these are ds2 Xeon bulbs I’ve been getting all my light at ddm tuning for 2 bulbs it’s 35$ with life time warranty the passenger side was easy to change from up top but the driver side I had to go in from the wheel well
for both my fog lights I have hids For them as well so basically 4 low beam hids super bright at night I run headlights and fog lights as one but rainy weathers they all reflect off the floor I’m not sure if leds do the same when it rains


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Old Aug 13, 2019 | 05:36 PM
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Originally Posted by biacs
TIA! Ordered 2 pair and a set of 9006 for fogs as the free gift ;-)
Nice im not a fan of blue so I always go bright white

When you remove the cap on the headlight you’ll see a metal plug twist it clockwise then pull back the plug should come off that. There 2 metal levers that you need to push in and unhook for both side than the bulb will come out vice versa when you install if you have any questions feel free also where gloves don’t touch the bulb

Last edited by Bsavage; Aug 13, 2019 at 05:40 PM.
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Old Aug 13, 2019 | 10:04 PM
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Finally night time I would say the light ends 60-70ft or so
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Old Aug 14, 2019 | 04:03 AM
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Has anyone fitted LEDs to replace the D2S low beam bulbs? Any problems?
Has anyone fitted LEDs to replace the 9005 high beam bulbs?

The OEM low beams are fine, but I find high beam underwhelming and don't want to fit additional spotlights.
The colour change from 6000k low beam to 3500k high beam also irritates me slightly.

Would be great if I could replace all with 6000k LEDs including the 9006 foglights.
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Old Aug 14, 2019 | 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by BigBoomer
Has anyone fitted LEDs to replace the D2S low beam bulbs? Any problems?
For the low beams you would get a ds2 style led bulb remove head lights from car than unplug oem ballast the 12v plug that goes to the ballast is what you want to tap into to power your led low beams a lot of work
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Old Mar 21, 2021 | 12:16 PM
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wondering if there are any current updates to this thread?

I just contacted DDM and bought ultra D2S to install in my 04 LS430.

did you find much improvement using the D2S?
might take some comparison photos during the R&R.

another question, have you adjusted your lights?
the procedure sounds easy, but again access might be another issue.

my existing lights seem bright, white, enough.... but again, i was thinking of raising the cutoff a bit.
as I don't think current light is thrown far enough down the road.
even though dealer says they are adjusted correctly.....
obviously, I am sensitive to not blinding oncoming traffic.
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