Headlight!
Thread Starter
Pole Position
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 227
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From: So Cal (of
Headlight!
why didnt anyone warn me of the horrible headlights on the SC !!!
man are they all that bad, or am i just the lucky one? is there anything i can do to actually see the road at night?
my LS400 head lights work fine, can see plenty, but the SC, geez im lucky to see 25 feet ahead of me.
my sister has a 94 integra (round headlights) and they also suck, but when i upgraded the frontend to a 2000 integra and used the 2000 headlights (still round) they worked GREAT, they are so bright that they even light up a lil rainbow around the beam on the payment. they are also projetor head lights, so is it brighter because there brand new? cus my SC headlights are 10 years old, maybe new lights? i dunno need some feedback here people.
man are they all that bad, or am i just the lucky one? is there anything i can do to actually see the road at night?
my LS400 head lights work fine, can see plenty, but the SC, geez im lucky to see 25 feet ahead of me.
my sister has a 94 integra (round headlights) and they also suck, but when i upgraded the frontend to a 2000 integra and used the 2000 headlights (still round) they worked GREAT, they are so bright that they even light up a lil rainbow around the beam on the payment. they are also projetor head lights, so is it brighter because there brand new? cus my SC headlights are 10 years old, maybe new lights? i dunno need some feedback here people.
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 819
Likes: 1
From: DC
mine are aweful aweful aweful
and i'm too much of a newbie to change the bulbs =(
fog light broke too... i swear i'm driving in complete DARKNESS!
i bet if i drive w/ my high beam on .... ppl'd think that's just my HID's ...
and i'm too much of a newbie to change the bulbs =(
fog light broke too... i swear i'm driving in complete DARKNESS!
i bet if i drive w/ my high beam on .... ppl'd think that's just my HID's ...
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 8,387
Likes: 1
From: bat country
Old bulbs. 10 years is way too old. I replace perfectly fine halogens every two years just to keep up lumen maintenance. The SC400 headlights are supposed to be brighter than LS400 headlights. The cheap fix is to buy new bulbs by PIAA, Hella, Osram, Narva, or the like. The Toyota factory bulbs aren't as bright brand new and they cost just as much. They are also pretty yellowish which is fatiguing on the eyes at night. Just shop for any 9006 or HB4 halogen bulb at 55-65 watts, and look for the WHITEST (not bluest or purplest) color temperature possible. They are usually advertised as "Super White" or "Xenon". Do not exceed 85 watts or you'll melt the wire harness. The pair will cost you, oh I dunno $30. The foglights are a bit more expensive because they are H3 bulbs. Those are maybe $50.
Install is cake for anything in the headlight. Foglights are a little trickier.
The real fix of course is aychhhhh...... eyeee... deeeeez!! HID. I'm researching OEM HIDs at my leisure. So far I've taken pictures and measurements inside out and I figure we can retrofit a projector as large as the BMW X5s. In the words of Derek Zoolander, that would be really, really, really, really, ridiculously good looking.
Install is cake for anything in the headlight. Foglights are a little trickier.
The real fix of course is aychhhhh...... eyeee... deeeeez!! HID. I'm researching OEM HIDs at my leisure. So far I've taken pictures and measurements inside out and I figure we can retrofit a projector as large as the BMW X5s. In the words of Derek Zoolander, that would be really, really, really, really, ridiculously good looking.
Driver
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 154
Likes: 0
From: Tewksbury, MA
my experience, hid
I upgraded to an HID kit and am very happy.
I don't see very well at night and the stock lights were just dangerous for me. I have wanted to take pictures for people but don't see how that would be a good representation of the light output (do I take a flash picture?).
Anyway, if you rationalize that it's for safety, maybe $500 for HID is not bad.
I don't see very well at night and the stock lights were just dangerous for me. I have wanted to take pictures for people but don't see how that would be a good representation of the light output (do I take a flash picture?).
Anyway, if you rationalize that it's for safety, maybe $500 for HID is not bad.
Rookie
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: SC, USA
I have two white bulbs in each housing, one is obviously regular headlights, but the others don't light up. Are thiose the fog lights? Is there some secret switch to turn them on that I never knew about? Is it possible to remove them without taking out the headlight assembly?
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Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 1,195
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From: California
Himm....X5 PROJECTORS!
YOu have my FULL attention lex400sc!
I've had the "WHITE" Phillips HID kit
I've had the "Greenish Blue" Vision HID kit
I currently have the "Bluish-white" Hella HID kit.
But the giant projectors on the bmw X5 Projectors would look INCREDIBLY good.
Let me know if I can help make that happen.
I've had the "WHITE" Phillips HID kit
I've had the "Greenish Blue" Vision HID kit
I currently have the "Bluish-white" Hella HID kit.
But the giant projectors on the bmw X5 Projectors would look INCREDIBLY good.
Let me know if I can help make that happen.
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Lexus Test Driver
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From: \
Originally posted by Fantius
I have two white bulbs in each housing, one is obviously regular headlights, but the others don't light up. Are thiose the fog lights? Is there some secret switch to turn them on that I never knew about? Is it possible to remove them without taking out the headlight assembly?
I have two white bulbs in each housing, one is obviously regular headlights, but the others don't light up. Are thiose the fog lights? Is there some secret switch to turn them on that I never knew about? Is it possible to remove them without taking out the headlight assembly?
The screwdriver in the following pic points to where the connector for the city light is located at. The connector feels like two pencils stacked on top of one another. See where that white circle is in the bottom right pic? The connector is a little further in and above it. Just a word, take out the battery for the right side, it's a ***** to take out if you don't.
Last edited by hellasboy; Apr 3, 2002 at 02:22 PM.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 8,387
Likes: 1
From: bat country
Whitmanpc1,
Take pictures with the flash off. You can take close range pics, but the best is a picture from at least 25 feet away head on from different heights and one with the headlights projected on a white wall--picture of the wall. BTW, what kind of kit do you have?
Fantius,
Those are auxilary lights. They are useless 5-watt bulbs that I only see flash when I engage my car security. A more useful light in that small socket would be an LED retrofit, which would use 5 watts MUCH better.
Anthracite,
I'm almost positive the X5s will fit, the problem being that I can't drive around much so I can't shop the dealerships and junk yards for a set of them. Another problem may be that the X5 like my other potentials (S2000 and S8) are rare low production cars so finding a cheap pair out of a wrecker will be hard. I believe they are $2000-2400 at the BMW dealership
If I could find a pair from a salvage yard, they'd be about $150-200 FOR BOTH! I can't drive to any local yards and that is why my HID project is lagging so much.
Here's some pics of a photoshoot I did on the headlight before I disassembled it. The dimensions fit the bill...
My only concern is the depth clearance to the battery pan from the driver side headlight. It most likely will fit, but I want to make sure. You can see some stray wiring here the foglight relay I made.
Take pictures with the flash off. You can take close range pics, but the best is a picture from at least 25 feet away head on from different heights and one with the headlights projected on a white wall--picture of the wall. BTW, what kind of kit do you have?
Fantius,
Those are auxilary lights. They are useless 5-watt bulbs that I only see flash when I engage my car security. A more useful light in that small socket would be an LED retrofit, which would use 5 watts MUCH better.
Anthracite,
I'm almost positive the X5s will fit, the problem being that I can't drive around much so I can't shop the dealerships and junk yards for a set of them. Another problem may be that the X5 like my other potentials (S2000 and S8) are rare low production cars so finding a cheap pair out of a wrecker will be hard. I believe they are $2000-2400 at the BMW dealership
If I could find a pair from a salvage yard, they'd be about $150-200 FOR BOTH! I can't drive to any local yards and that is why my HID project is lagging so much.Here's some pics of a photoshoot I did on the headlight before I disassembled it. The dimensions fit the bill...
My only concern is the depth clearance to the battery pan from the driver side headlight. It most likely will fit, but I want to make sure. You can see some stray wiring here the foglight relay I made.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: bat country
If you have them sitting around, yes they'd fit. I'll disassemble my entire headlight assembly tonight and take some pics of it for you guys. It requires a little bit of technical skill, but is fairly easy to install the retrofits.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 8,387
Likes: 1
From: bat country
Let me clarify, if you had the whole X5 housing, you'd have to extract the optic structure from it, but yes it would fit. Here's what optics look light for an example. OEM BMW HID retrofitted into Honda Accord.
Thread Starter
Pole Position
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 227
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From: So Cal (of
ill get some new lights for now
ill get some new lights for now, then figure out what to do about HID,
hey on the X5 HID's do you have to get the whole harness, balest etc.?
PS i dont want bluish or purpleish, i want BRIGHT and WHITE.
hey on the X5 HID's do you have to get the whole harness, balest etc.?
PS i dont want bluish or purpleish, i want BRIGHT and WHITE.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 8,387
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From: bat country
Re: ill get some new lights for now
Originally posted by Chairmnofthbord
ill get some new lights for now, then figure out what to do about HID,
hey on the X5 HID's do you have to get the whole harness, balest etc.?
PS i dont want bluish or purpleish, i want BRIGHT and WHITE.
ill get some new lights for now, then figure out what to do about HID,
hey on the X5 HID's do you have to get the whole harness, balest etc.?
PS i dont want bluish or purpleish, i want BRIGHT and WHITE.
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