I have a question about the headlight aim. I have a 02 Sc430 with 06 headlights. I saw a post about how to aim the 02-05 headlights and it said to turn two parts. Is the 06-10 headlights the same way?

Second, my headlights have some kind of extra bubble of light above it. Does anyone else have this?

Third, the 06-10 came with the (not sure what it's called IAFS or something) so that when you turn the steering wheel the headlights turned as well. Can I somehow install this so that it works with my car?

Fourth, I noticed my lights aren't bright compared to other cars. When I am at the stop light other cars would pull up beside me and their light would over shine mine. So I can't even see my light and only see theirs

Any help would be much appreciated

 

Black31385,
I am not an SC owner, but let's try to get to the bottom of this anyway.

As far as aim is concerned, on almost all vehicles, there are two *****/screws/bolts that can be turned to adjust the aim for the headlights. One of these will control vertical aim, and the other controls horizontal (left/right) aim.

The extra bubble light you refer to is a part of the headlight design. They are referred to as squirrel spotters. They are there to help light up signs that end up just above the cutoff.

It appears that you have HIDs (high intensity discharge/xenon/gas discharge/metal halide) headlamps, going by the picture. Could you confirm this? How old are the bulbs? Automotive HID bulbs are good for about 5-7 years before needed to be replaced. However, they often last about 10 years before going out completely. HID bulbs are different than other light sources in that they suffer from steep lumen depreciation over the life of the bulb. In other words, they dim over many hours of use. Because of this lumen depreciation, HID bulbs should be replaced every 5 to 7 years. Halogen bulbs don't have this problem as bad, because they benefit from the halogen regeneration cycle.

As far as other people's headlights overpowering yours, keep in mind that a large amount of this is due to perception, as well as ambient light conditions. Sorry if I getting too technical with all this.

Do you have HIDs? How old are the bulbs? Reply back with answers to this and we will go from there.

 

Thank you for your response. Yes, I do have HID bulbs. They are about 6 months old. I purchased them for about $100(Phillips) my only concern is if they are the real ones to the knock off. I do not know how to confirm this

 

Sorry for the overly technical response. It was about 3am and I couldn't sleep, so I do what we all do at 3am, surf car forums.

Where did you purchase your bulbs from? What bulb do you have exactly? Which type (D2S or D4S)?

Attached is a document from The Retrofit Source, INC, on how to spot fake Phillips bulbs. The Retrofit Source is the place to get bulbs and other HID components. I have both from them several times and they have always been good.
www.theretrofitsource.com

For further information on HID bulbs in general (including how to spot fakes), here is a link to a good post (not written by me) about them. I have been meaning to write up something similar for Club Lexus for a while now, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.
http://priuschat.com/threads/not-all...-equal.101472/

 

I recommend LED conversion kits, much much much better then HID conversion kits and there stupid issues and much brighter too with many more positives plus easier installation.

if you want to know more. let me know.

 

@bimmer416,
I don't think we are talking about HID conversion kits here, but rather the OEM HIDs from a 2006 SC430? LED kits seem interesting, but I haven't had a chance to try one yet. LEDs do have several drawbacks as well, so I would definitely be interested in seeing how the manufactures of such kits mitigate them. Do you have a link to a specific LED conversion kit that you have had success with?

@Black31385,
We are talking about OEM HIDs, right?

 

LOL you are not the only one that surf all over other forums.

These bulbs are D4S and are oem hid. I have the 2002 sc430 with 2006 headlights. So these should be better than the older ones.

If I have the fake bulbs does it make a difference on the output? Again thanks for your help

 

LED conversion kits? I never heard of this and you also said that it is brighter than HID?

 

...I'm not sure whether your bulbs are real or not, but that would have been a helluva deal.I have the Phillips D4S bulbs & I spent about $225.

 

$225.00. WOW Check out the link below at Amazon. I thought I got a good deal when I bought them for $42.00 each about 2 years ago. Now $37.74 each.

 

Here's my '06.

 

Thanks for supplying me the picture. It looks like your headlights are a lot brighter than mine. What bulbs are you using .

 

..thanks alot for posting that info, at least I know somewhere I can find them cheaper. When I began looking for them last summer,I kept seeing bulb prices all over the spectrum & some were so low,I just thought they had to be fake ....

 

They're probably not a lot brighter than yours as it may be just the exposure of the photo. They're Philips D4S. I got them here:



Buying Amazon sure doesn't guarantee genuine parts. I got fake Samsung batteries from Amazon last year. They took them right back when I complained.

 

So since this thread also relates to aim, i have a question. My front left ride height sensor has gone bad. Took it to Lexus who wanted $800+ for the new part and repair. I can't afford that so I had them disconnect it. Now the lights do not auto adjust on start up and remain to point too low. I see the turn screws on both side, but it says only 10%. I assume that this will only increase the aim up 10% max. Can anyone confirm this? Is there a way to get them back to a higher level (other than the $800 repair). Thanks.