Can anyone tell me the difference between the Triple beam and the regular ones. How much of a difference?

 

I do not have personal experience with this, but when I was looking up the headlights in general, i decided triple led was not worth the cost just to look cool. From my research the standard projection headlights with led bulb were better for my situation because they can throw the light further than the triple led headlights. The standard projection headlights are also led and have been amazing on many camping trips into remote areas, the highbeams on the headlights are standard halogen, but I have not found that to be an issue as I rarely use them anyway. I think one of the best features are the side lighting foglights, they really help you see the edges of the road.

 

According to the headlight ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, for the 2018 NX, both the triple beam headlights and the standard headlights get ratings of "good". However, for the 2017 NX, the triple beam headlights are rated as either marginal or poor (depending on whether they are equipped with the intelligent high beam feature).

The ratings for the 2018 NX are here, and, from that page, you can navigate to the ratings for other model years.

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/ve...-door-suv/2018

In general, though, HID and even halogen headlights get higher ratings than LED headlights because HID and halogen lights are capable of projecting out to further distances than are LED headlights.

 

Thanks for posting it, i couldn't remember where I had seen the information and it was this article. If you compare 2017 nx triple beam to standard you can see the standard low beams throw light to almost 300 feet and are just short of the optimal low beam distance, while the triple led throw light to just past 200 ft and are way under the optimal distance. IMHO the standard lights are the best I have used on any car to this point, including my is350 hid lights, es350 hid lights, and about as good as my brothers ford taurus sho bixenon headlights.

 

I'm guessing you are inquiring on a new model..? I don't know specifics on older models.

Standard Headlamps are LED like the Tri-Beam, they are just one beam instead of three. Also the standard lights use an internal shutter to change from low beam to high beam. I am unable to find the exact numbers But... The standard lights are something around 1200 lumen while the Tri-beam are around 2800 lumen. As well, because 3 beams are produced there is a much wider beam coverage.

 

Hard to say what to do?

 

 

Hi All - I have the triple head light on my NX. Must say it is an excellent lightning system.

Coming from a 2011 Ford Edge with HID and driving my wife's 2015 Murano with LED headlight occasionally, I must say IMHO that the Lexus triple-LED lightning is superior to the 2 other vehicles ... I have no experience with the single Lexus LED.

Also, not sure if it's available in the US but on my Canadian F-Sport, the triple-LED system, one of the LED act as directional headlight, beaming towards where the car is heading in-sync with the steering wheel and at low speed, the fog light send a low lateral beam towards the direction of the car of in-sync with the flashers. These 2 functionalities and the auto-high beam system serves me good.

Like mentioned by olgzr, trying them will allow you to make your own opinion

Enjoy

 

 

I still swear by hid lights as being the brightest/longest/best...my old 06 lexus is250 had hid headlights that turned with road and were pretty much perfect

 

Agree. I had my 2008 IS 250 for eight years, and the HID headlights were indeed perfect.

On my 2017 NX, the low beams are HID, but the high beams are halogen I believe. The light from the high beams is a bit more yellow than that from the low beams, and seems to shine further, although not brighter. I find that I rarely need to use the high beams since the low beams are so good, so it's not a big deal. Not sure what the logic was behind this (cost savings?). The IS had both high and low beams as HID, and that was ten years ago.

 

I went with the extra cost for the triple led just to look cool on my 2017 F-Sport...and it does attract glances!

As mentioned, the triple led was sub-optimal regarding lighting distance, but after asking the dealer to raise the lights a few degrees during my six-month check-up, I now find little, if any difference between my car and the loaner I drove with "standard" headlights.

 

i drove the triple beam and the regular ones i like the regular ones just as well. I didn't like how much the triple beams moved.

 

The reason you don't have have HIDS as highbeams is because the HID bulb takes times to fully warm up and be at peak operating temp/color from the ballast giving it power. It is bad practice for the bulb/ballast to turn on/turn off, turn on/turn off in a quick session... IE: Think of flash to pass. Where you might flick the headlight on a few times rapidly in a couple second time frame. Most of the time you would not get the proper light output and even more common would be that the HID bulb doesn't ignite. Or it would ignite on the 1st pull but maybe not the 2nd, then light on the third quick flash.

You are thinking bi-xenon for the IS, which uses a single projector but has a shutter on the inside. The light is always shining through and is partially blocked by the shutter. When you activate your high beams all that happens is the shutter drops and you have instant high beams. This is how most cars are equipped using HIDS and utilizing a single projector.

Hope that helps to clarify things.

On the topic of triple beam vs single. The looks alone make the triple beam so much nicer than the single. I wish my wife's cut off was a little more clearer but I get why they diffuse the light at the cutoff. The adaptive headlights are awesome. I never really thought I needed or wanted it but after using her NX it's nice to be driving at night and the headlights turn as you turn. Makes it so much nicer.

-Nigel

 

Caution to anyone defining headlight performance as "good" because you see a flood of light right in front of the car. Good lighting projects wide, projects at distance, and causes little to no glare for oncoming drivers. Good light also penetrates (the warmer the temp the better)

Most LED systems dazzle because their output is weak but are aimed right in front of the car giving you the false impression you have "good" lighting. But I say most. The strongest LED on the market right now is the Koito Bi-LED unit out of the Prius V. It pushes a lot of power and has an active cooling system. And is large. All requirements for proper strong LED lighting. This all works in the Prius V due to its large bulbous headlight. It has the space needed.

LED is getting better every generation, give it time. Right now, the best LED is on par with the best HID systems as far as actual performance. But most cars are still playing catchup due to package constraints. Automakers want to design small headlights which is not good if you want a powerful LED system.

On this particular topic, the stock LED system is superior to the triple beam. At least in performance. The triple beam lacks in distance projection but has good foreground and width--good for low speed driving.

All this is from over a decade of retrofit experience. I've torn apart three brand new Lexuses and redid the headlight system from the ground up. Actual headlights in the kitchen. Not to mention other makes as well. I enjoy light modding.