So have been reading the back threads for about a month on lighting. I just got my baby ('07 LS460L) back from the body shop after a family member backed into the door. Very sad, but this gave me the chance to get some rock chips & scratchs fixed and now I want those yellow lights gone.

So local "car guys" at my company have been consistently telling me NOT TO PUT LED's in for lighting. Said that though there was a lot of surrounding light, that there was very little "directional" light on the road and that I would be VERY VERY disappointed. Now these are 4 guys (2 corvettes, 1 Shelby, 1 Audi something), and two of them run their own private body shop for race cars, so I tend to believe them.

I had already ordered the 9005 & 9006 LED (both 6000K) equivalent replacement and they will arrive tomorrow via Amazon. After talking to my guys, I also ordered the D4S (6000K), 9005 & 9006 HID bulbs with ballast kits in 6000K. I already have some T10 (I think they are 20SMD in 6000K) bulbs and will do the Nike lights, and try to convert Low, High, Fog, and Nike at the same time while in there.

Question: What's your opinion on the LED vs HID kits on the '07 LS460? I would like to know I've got my options covered. I do plan to stick both in and try them, while the piece parts (grill, fender wells, etc...) are off.

 

Also, just fyi, I have read all the stickies here...https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...iy-thread.html

Most of these posts are years old, and though the processes for replacement are the same, much of the lighting industry seems to be evolving. All the talk is still confusing between Pulse Width Modulation and LED Decoders, and some manufacturers say they have fixed that or don't know the answer relative to my "older" vehicle. Whatever.

Then you've got guys like CJITTY doing some incredible mods with LS600 bumpers/fixtures on his 460, which are cool, but don't help my needs.

What I'm saying is...I would like bright light with as little effort right now. It's a 111 degree heat index (96 degrees with 90% humidity, which means you still can't hide in the shade very well).

thanks guys...

 

Although the concept of LED's is intriguing, they only work well in factory designed and engineered systems, not aftermarket. The housings/lens' are designed for an incandsent system. LED's do not "project " light well in a system designed for IB's. Better to upgrade to a higher lumen and Kelvin bulb like a Morimoto or OSRAM.

 

That is where I'm leaning as well RoadFrog, but there simply seems to be this overwhelming fascination with LED's, so wanted to see what I'm missing in my analysis.

Another question, does anyone see any problem upgrading from a standard 9005 or 9006 light to HID? I don't want to melt anything. But hell, I'm getting older and would like to see more.

 

Out of curiosity; could LS600h LED headlights be fitted on an LS460, and would they work?

I was positively surprised by the headlights on my LS600h; they seem to put out noticeably more light than my previous car, which had factory HID headlights with Osram Night Breaker Unlimited bulbs.

 

This was discussed in another thread. Not with out changing fenders and hood., never mind all the other gear needed to make them work.

There was enough changes to not fit in a 460... I would of looked at this option as well if I could.

 

LED's work well for interior lighting which I have done as well as backup lights.
But that is the extent of it in my book.

 

So as I stated above, I had ordered an economy version of the 6000K HID D4S ($23), 9005 ($28), & 9006 ($28) versions, after so many negative positions on LED. The 9006 version for the Fog lights was in the right box, but the wrong bulb inside (H1 bulb instead of HB4), and I already had the wheels off and wheel well open. I already had the LED versions...

Got a return headed my way, but didn't want to button the car back up and then start over in a couple of days.

I installed HID 9005 in High Beam, HID D4S in Low Beam, and for giggles, installed the LED 9006 in the Fog Lights. They work great! Well, as far as I can tell by them shining on the inside of the garage door. Hurricane Barry is still dumping a lot of rain here in Louisiana, so I plan to stay off the road and work on my baby in the garage. I'm pleased with the new color so far, and will update soon.

Also updated my Nike lights, and what a pain to get to them if you have big hands.

good news is the HID 9006 & LED 9005 bulb fit my 2003 GMC Sierra 2500 HD Truck, so it's not a loss.

 

Ok, this is weird. This morning looked at that DRL's since putting in the HID 9005 and they are flickering. Work fine in High Beam mode, but Flicker in DRL mode. So do I have bad lights or is it that the HID will not work in DRL mode. Assuming the power is being reduced from High Beam to act as a Daytime Running Light (DRL)?