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Lexus F Sport springs installed. I did the job myself using hand tools. Not too hard. Surprisingly the alignment is nearly perfect, at least as far as the car pointing straight and steering wheel straight and driving straight. It'll do for now. I'll have to make a small small adjustment to one of the tie rods, i'm talking microscopic--cause i'm picky. I took measurements of both wheel angles before working on the car. so i know what needs to go where.
High beam LED adapted bulbs. For $40 why not. So far so good, and they seem "quite bright." I select that term carefully. And it's a compliment as I have high standards. I feel they could use more power though, but with more power comes more responsibility and i don't think the heat management and/or size if the bulb is up to the task. So it's fine. They seem more than adequate though. As bright as stock? Hard to say. They definitely hurt to look at head on, bright enough to be annoying (which is the point).
I haven't worked around my low-beam XENON retrofit though to disable the low beams during momentary high activation during daytime use (flash to pass). I bought the relays i just haven't gotten around to wiring it. I may never as it's a big job for something i'll use very seldomly.
For now flash to pass works just fine, except at triggering my HID bulbs momentarily. I figure this might be acceptable as new HID bulbs don't cost much anyway nowadays.
PS--never use these adapted LED bulbs in your main driving lights (low beams). It's crucial you have fully functioning and reliable AND effective lights for your main driving lights. In my case, I used these for HIGH BEAM application only.
I am thinking of using them for brake lights only. though i think the option exists to use them as turn signals and parking lights as well. I think they might break the flow of the parking lights.
Here's a GIF showing the LED high beam bulbs w/ my low beam bi-xenon setup. My bi-xenon shutters are inoperative right now (working on cleaning up the wiring) but i really don't even need them for another project for another day.
They're pretty effective at night. I haven't tested them on the on position for extended periods. I mostly use them for very short periods or to flash/warn other drivers at night (i prefer it to using the horn)
Here's a GIF showing the LED high beam bulbs w/ my low beam bi-xenon setup. My bi-xenon shutters are inoperative right now (working on cleaning up the wiring) but i really don't even need them for another project for another day.
They're pretty effective at night. I haven't tested them on the on position for extended periods. I mostly use them for very short periods or to flash/warn other drivers at night (i prefer it to using the horn)
Would love to hear back on the high beams when you get a few miles on them. Trying to follow your mods pretty closely on my CT.
Did you have to do any special wiring for the high beams or add anything outside of the bulbs?
Would love to hear back on the high beams when you get a few miles on them. Trying to follow your mods pretty closely on my CT.
Did you have to do any special wiring for the high beams or add anything outside of the bulbs?
nope they just plugged straight in. i linked to the ones i bought up above. i clicked on all of them and they seem to be the best bang for the buck. i didn't want anything too cheap and nothing too expensive for something i'd use so little. so i think i struck a good balance with those. plus i have a feeling once you hit a certain price point, everything above is the same. they all come from china. the ones i bought look identical to ones selling for $200 online so at some price point, someones leg is being pulled. lol
ps i installed them a little while ago so they're still good. i'll report if any issues.
I did this a couple weeks ago but forgot to update. got an alignment at Mac's Auto Care in costa mesa. $50. haven't encountered a deal like this in a while. they seem to be a decent shop that works on expensive european cars. so that's always good. they did a great job and i'm pretty picky on alignments. in and out in about 30 min.
kicking myself for not getting camber bolts for the front so i can squeeze out some more grip out of the front. oh well.. maybe in the future.
Next up, oil change, 49,850mi (call it 50,000) for a 5k interval. I should do a blackstone report so I can have more confidence. I'm sure it should be fine up to 10k.
nope they just plugged straight in. i linked to the ones i bought up above. i clicked on all of them and they seem to be the best bang for the buck. i didn't want anything too cheap and nothing too expensive for something i'd use so little. so i think i struck a good balance with those. plus i have a feeling once you hit a certain price point, everything above is the same. they all come from china. the ones i bought look identical to ones selling for $200 online so at some price point, someones leg is being pulled. lol
ps i installed them a little while ago so they're still good. i'll report if any issues.
Thanks. I appreciate it. I just ordered them from you link. Still debating on how to go about the RX350 approach. Got a guy who quoted me $1000 to put in your exact setup for labor and parts, wonder if that'd be easier since I have no clue what I'm doing haha!
Sweet =) Is he going to physically work on your car and remove the headlights and do all the wiring for $1000 too? if so you're basically paying him $500 for labor as all the parts are around $500. i guess that's ok if it's worth it.
But if you have to send your headlights to him, you've done 75% of the work. you may as well do the work yourself. but yes you would have to have some basic knowledge of wiring and have a dremel to make the slight cuts you'd need to the headlight frame (it's minor) so i'm not sure your particular level of DIY skills.
It's a project I recommend doing yourself but i know it can be intimidating.
Sweet =) Is he going to physically work on your car and remove the headlights and do all the wiring for $1000 too? if so you're basically paying him $500 for labor as all the parts are around $500. i guess that's ok if it's worth it.
But if you have to send your headlights to him, you've done 75% of the work. you may as well do the work yourself. but yes you would have to have some basic knowledge of wiring and have a dremel to make the slight cuts you'd need to the headlight frame (it's minor) so i'm not sure your particular level of DIY skills.
It's a project I recommend doing yourself but i know it can be intimidating.
Yup, that's basically how he quoted it. At first he wanted to have me send my headlights in or provide a second pair but he thought I was going for more of a "show car" approach with halos and variable turn signals, etc. Once he realize I just wanted a straight swap his quote came to how you mentioned above.
Honestly, I'm just more worried about the wiring than anything. Don't really understand the whole ballast stuff and worried about "balancing" the projector once it's in there. Otherwise I'd probably do it myself since you have a great write up and there are some handy youtube channels!
The wiring is simple. You have to ground the harness to two body locations--one on each side--i used existing 10mm bolts that go into the body. and you tap the 12V power at the white plug in the fuse box. This is where your ballasts will pull power from. Then you just plug the stock headlight plugs into the ends of the relay, this triggers the relay when you turn your headlights on, then the relay in turn pulls power from the fuse box. The point of the relay is to protect your stock wiring which isn't designed for the loads the ballast requires.
Plug and play dual relay harness (commonly sold on ebay for $20 or so). the harder part is routing the wires and zip tying them =p i did everything so it's hidden and routed neatly. satisfying.
the ballasts, you can use any that plug into D2S HID bulbs. my personal favorites are Denso slims (OE in Lexus/Toyotas). but you need to waterproof them by using electrical grade conductive epoxy. It's called "potting the ballasts." (look up online how to do it) using MG Chemicals epoxy (link). the chemicals are VERY toxic and strong so do this in a ventilated area like outside. they are $50.
here's a pic from a reviewer pouring the epoxy into the denso ballast:
There's nothing to the ballasts, they're just the power supply for the bulbs. Just make sure you use extreme caution around them and don't touch them or the plug when powered on as you can get shocked really bad. So have your battery disconnected as you work with them since you are new to working with the stuff.
The wiring is simple. You have to ground the harness to two body locations--one on each side--i used existing 10mm bolts that go into the body. and you tap the 12V power at the white plug in the fuse box. This is where your ballasts will pull power from. Then you just plug the stock headlight plugs into the ends of the relay, this triggers the relay when you turn your headlights on, then the relay in turn pulls power from the fuse box. The point of the relay is to protect your stock wiring which isn't designed for the loads the ballast requires.
Plug and play dual relay harness (commonly sold on ebay for $20 or so). the harder part is routing the wires and zip tying them =p i did everything so it's hidden and routed neatly. satisfying.
the ballasts, you can use any that plug into D2S HID bulbs. my personal favorites are Denso slims (OE in Lexus/Toyotas). but you need to waterproof them by using electrical grade conductive epoxy. It's called "potting the ballasts." (look up online how to do it) using MG Chemicals epoxy (link). the chemicals are VERY toxic and strong so do this in a ventilated area like outside. they are $50.
here's a pic from a reviewer pouring the epoxy into the denso ballast:
There's nothing to the ballasts, they're just the power supply for the bulbs. Just make sure you use extreme caution around them and don't touch them or the plug when powered on as you can get shocked really bad. So have your battery disconnected as you work with them since you are new to working with the stuff.
This is amazing. Okay maybe I will try it. I'm trying to plan on doing something, either from a guy or myself in late December, so I really appreciate all the help!
09-26-19, 08:07 AM
