sleeper408

iTrader: (6)

Hi everyone,
I recently upgraded the fog light bulbs on my '07 RX350 with 6500K COB LED lights rated at 4000 lumens each bulb and so far, I've been impressed with the light output. It was purely plug and play.

I'm now considering swapping out my 6000K D2S low beams for high-powered LEDs. Has anyone successfully done this to their 2nd gen RX? If so, would you mind sharing any vids/photos and your thoughts? Any difficulties or things to consider?

I've seen LED light low beam videos on other vehicles but not the RX.


Theo

Lexuswiz

iTrader: (1)

I'd be cautious putting LED's into lows. I tried it on my Camry which stock is H11 and although output looks brighter towards the foreground, the beam pattern of LED just doesn't replicate the D2S bulb and doesn't penetrate as deep. I can't explain its just funky with a huge hot spot in the middle. At the time the LEDs I bought were rated at 3200 lumens and used a fan for cooling (junk) but I ended up going full HID retro after with 4500K Philips 85122, less foreground and more background light.

Do LEDs comes in D2S mount? I can't imagine an LED bulb in an AFS housing LOL.

sleeper408

iTrader: (6)

I've seen a few videos mainly of Subarus with 6500K LEDs (6000 lumens each) installed as their low beams inside of projectors. The light output looks crisp with a nice, clean cutoff and the distribution of the light looks very even. Unlike, HIDs where you kind of have a focal point then light distribution starts to taper off more as you move away from that focal point.

I'd like to give a 12,000 lumen kit for low beams a try, but not sure the best way to approach this on the RX. I assume AFS will need to be disabled. Then there may need to be some re-wiring involved because the connector that goes onto the back of the D2S bulb looks like a large single ball joint. Most led kits I've seen have 2 pin connectors.

I have seen D2 and D4 kits and the plug just ends with a black and red wire and no plug and play connector, so this is where is re-wiring comes into play.

sleeper408

iTrader: (6)

SBMGS4

Which bulbs did you use?

sleeper408

iTrader: (6)

Lexuswiz, in the photo above, you can see on the left side, it is 8000k HIDs and you can see the light distribution taper off away from that focal point. On the right, he has 6000 lumen 6500K led installed. You can see the light distribution is even throughout when you look at the cutoff all the way to bottom of the garage door. I know 8000K is much lower lumens than 4300K HIDs. In my lows, 6000K HIDS, I believe it's rated around 2900 lumens. 6500K in LEDs is actually a pure bright white than xenon gas 6000K HID. At least to my eyes. Since I've installed LEDS in my fog lights, they just blow away my low beams in terms of light output. That's why I'm really interested in upgrading my liw beams to LED also.

sleeper408

iTrader: (6)

Sorry, forgot to mention that photo is not mine. The photo was in response to Lexuswiz comment about LEDs for low beams. It's one example of many videos I've seen on YouTube of Subaru and Accord owners swapping stock HIDs for high-powered LEDs (12,000+ lumens) and retention of sharp cutoff line (but also projector type and glass and how it sits in housing also factor in), and bright and even distribution of light is impressive.

It seems the newer Subarus and Hondas are better suited for direct plug and play for LED conversion in the videos I've seen. No metal prongs, AFS, and weird connector to worry about. Their plugs are a 2 pin connector which is direct plug and plug play like our fog lights.
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Lexuswiz

iTrader: (1)

Where did you get that pic and what kind of car is it? I'm asking because in my experience whatever projector that is cannot be a D2S projector. The hotspot in the middle of the left side is identical to my stock H11 projector which has squirrel spotters and produces that exact hot spot with any PnP HID kit regardless of color (I've used 8000K, 6000K, and 3000K hyper yellow in it). But I'm not sure why the LED is not producing a hot spot either unless the bulb was inverted inside the projector....

But I agree, I have HID fogs on my camry (bad idea but anyways...) and they blow my low beams away simply because my eyes focuses on foreground lighting right in front of the car and not the background lighting that HID's punch through. I can only see the power of my HID's when I visit family in the country with zero lighting.

All this talk and now I want to do lots of lighting upgrades to the RX lol, just got new switchbacks for the camry, might need to try them on in the RX.

sleeper408

iTrader: (6)

The picture I posted was a screenshot of a YouTube video and the headlights were from a 2014 Impreza WRX. I believe his LEDs are high-powered CREE or COB. I believe you when you say it cannot be a D2S projector just based on the lack of results from searching. It makes me tend to believe it's not a viable swap to do on our projectors. You're right about our eyes focusing on the foreground. After the LED fog light upgrade, the foreground lighting has been substantially increased versus with HID low beams only. Almost all of my night driving is in the city area with lots of street lamps, so I think additional lighting there would be helpful. Thanks for your insightful responses. I was hoping converting D2S HIDs to high-powered LEDs would be a simple and beneficial swap.

sleeper408

iTrader: (6)

If you're referring to my fog lights (not in the photo I posted), they are JDM astar COB LED 6500K. I have another thread going with a video of them.

Lexuswiz

iTrader: (1)

Just did a search, unless they have an option for HID, it's a standard H11. So exact as my Camry. And trust me I'm not trying to be a know it all but I've sunk a lot of money into crap, I've been through it all for my camry: cheap HID kits, cheap LEDs, modified filament bulbs, etc. Anything to get more output before I had to completely strip my headlights for a true HID retro which I should have done in the beginning.

Also, yes street lights wash out most if not all of your foreground HID output, I'm not sure why, even a cooler bulb like a 6K is the same. But OEM LED's like BMW and Mercedes are still bright regardless, must be the lens/projectors........

To be honest, it will be very hard to get LED's into our D2S projectors although possible. First off I don't even think they make LED's for the D2S socket, only standard filament sockets. Next we would have to bypass the ballast for the HID bulb and AFS to get the LED to function which would be a nightmare to wire and keep the headlight housing sealed..... Personally not worth it. Just keep the LED fogs and highs and maybe switchback turns if it functions as your running lights (I haven't really noticed it myself).

sleeper408

iTrader: (6)

I hear you and thanks for all of your input. I was being optimistic when I started this thread, hoping someone might already successfully swapped out their HIDs for LEDs maybe with minor modifications but with very positive results. I was thinking about upgrading the projectors on my RX350 months ago and getting a replacement pair of headlights to be retrofitted, but it seemed like a lot of work and cost in the end. If AFS were rendered non-functional, I would have been fine with that.

When I had my '98 GS400, it had the stock D2R HID headlight which were already an upgrade from my Cobra which used halogens and reflective housing. Then I upgraded to LS430 projector retrofit on my GS400 and I was fairly happy with the much wider beam spread and also a pretty sharp cutoff line. Although, the total light output wasn't as impressive as I'd like.

I guess I'm tired of pulling up next to other newer vehicles with the latest lighting technology (with better lens, projectors, etc.) and looking for a simple way to achieve similar light output without breaking the bank. LED technology seems to keep quickly improving while costs are dropping. I figured a quality set of LEDs are actually less than OEM Philips/OSRAM HID replacements now I've checked. There are more and more cars manufactured today that use LED lighting technology for their headlights because of its advantages and I'm just trying to find an inexpensive way to get RX350 there too.

Here are few references that have fueled my research into D2S LED replacements and the fact it might be possible. Albeit, not direct plug and play:



Theo

Lexuswiz

iTrader: (1)

Interesting, so they have rebased it for the true HID bulb mounts......

In that case, it's very possible and not as hard since a D2S based LED actually exists. But I do not know if the lows are tied into the CANBUS system. Removing the ballast is not hard and to power the LED only needs a positive and negative tap from the old ballast. It also might need a bigger bulb cap due to the size of the LED but some rigging can fix that.

You should try it sleeper

sleeper408

iTrader: (6)

Right. I just wasn't sure what would be the best or most appropriate harness/wire to tap the positive and negative wires. Also, in the second video I posted which actually houses an LED bulb in the 2nd gen RX headlight, I'm not sure what to do about the dust cap situation. Just leave it off? Or try to dremel the center section out to accommodate the LED's heat sink/fan and let is stick past the dust cap?

Regarding the CANBUS concerns, how could this be addresssed? Just find an anti-flickering/CANBUS LED kit?

I am very tempted to try... believe me. I would be more than happy to document the process and the results of the LED swap, but I'm still a bit hesitant because the RX350 is my daily. Measure twice, cut once. Or at least that's what I hope for.

Lexuswiz

iTrader: (1)

Since I haven't touched my RX, not sure what the cap diameter is. Funny, on the Toyota side we use Lexus HID mounts and caps for retros, I had to source a mount cover from an ES. Regardless, it has to be enclosed otherwise you will have a bad time with moisture. Dremeling the old cap and using bits and pieces of food containers epoxied to the cap could work.

For CANBUS, there are in-line canbus eliminators that Xenon Depot sells, only thing is I don't know if they work for HID setups as they're usually used for highs but I could be mistaken. For a normal setup it would go between the LED ballast/input and the 12V source monitored by the CANBUS but with the OEM housing integrating all the wiring for the HID, AFS, and all the other crap into a single harness, you'll need to probe wires to see there is a separate line for CANBUS.

My advice, get a second set of headlights whether used or new. That way the car can still run while you tinker. Might be hard as 1. I never see RX's junked around me and 2. junk yards usually take lights off first and sell them but maybe you will get lucky depending on area. I did this for my camry so I could keep it running while I sourced parts and messed with everything.