riot

i was thinking about ordering a ddm hid kit for my 97 es300. i have the stock halogen+reflector setup, can i just install the kit as is? ive read about glare issues but also seem to see many people who have gone ahead and done it.

whats the drawbacks? is it worth it? or should i just get some brighter halogen bulbs? i dont really want to fork over the cash for 00-01 hids as they seem to be rather pricey as well as modifications needed. retrofitting isnt an option as far as im concerned, wouldnt trust myself to pull that off.

opinions please

Kansas

Hey, did you ever get your fog lights to work?

I've done a lot of reading about HID conversion kits. I hope some of the HID kits actually work but most of what I have read expresses the same opinion. Here is an example from one of my favorite lighting guys with some interesting videos: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...nversions.html

If you are looking for better lighting rather than the "HID look", one thing to check is the condition of your plastic headlight lenses. If they are hazed or scarred up you can restore them with a temporary type product like PlastX ( http://meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G12310 ) or do a more permanent fix by refinishing the lenses with a product like Crystal View ( http://www.myheadlight.com/ ).

I noticed a big improvement after I refinished the badly hazed headlight lenses on my LS400 (it has factory HID) with a Crystal View kit. Our 98 Camry headlight lenses weren't nearly as bad as the LS so I used PlastX on them. I also used PlastX on the fog lights of both the Camry and LS -- I'll eventually do them all properly with the much more expensive Crystal View.

You might want to read the article on the Daniel Stern website about tinted blue bulbs like the American Silverstar producing less useful light than clear blubs.

I've experimented with a huge number of different halogen bulbs in our Camry and our previous non-HID LS400 and the biggest bang for the buck I've found so far is a $15 2-pack of Sylvania Xtravision bulbs. Xtravision bulbs are clear and sold in Europe (at least that is what I have read) under the Silverstar name. The clear Wagner Brite-Lites are also good (and cheap) but not as widely available.

If you purchase an HID kit, it would be interesting to hear how well it works. I keep hoping some of these HID work well, but I find it easy to tell which cars have OEM HID and which ones have aftermarket HID kits.

I assume you know that most cars including Lexus with factory HID have autoleveling motors on the headlights and level sensors on the car's suspension to reduce glare to oncoming drivers when the car is heavily loaded. It's bad enough that Lexus often omitted headlight washers on their US spec cars with HID. In Europe, cars with HID are required to have headlight washers since dirty headlight lenses can increase glare for oncoming drivers.

Mmarinich

iTrader: (1)

I have a 99 es and i tried out a 6000k hid conversion kit. let me tell you, they were wicked bright and i got flashed by several other drivers at night....they lit up everything; however, if you are concerned about blinding others, you wil need to find another option such as the 00-01 hid headlight assembly (which i am considering myself). For now i have the silverstar ultra ($50) and i buffed the headlight lenses with a high speed buffer and some 3m perfect it compound to make them newer looking. I also put in some Yellow H3 foglight bulbs, which look cool.

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

there's nothing wrong with an HID kit. The reason you were getting flashed is becasue they were not properly aligned/ installed.

My friend has done retrofits, and is an expert in general, very good electrically.

What do most manufacturer's use?
4300K - 5000K

there is a reason.

Why will you never get flashed using these? well becasue they are wee bit brighter than the Sylvania's, and the light output is fantastic. I did not have time before winter to get my kit, i will be going 4300k for the DRL, long lights will remain the halogen, and fogs are going to be 3000k.

The Es 300 can run them no problem, since it has the reflector cap. My area, all the rice boys in their honda civic's get flashed becasue they will opt for an 8000k kit in the civic housing, now that is guaranteed glare. As well the reflector shape is key. he civic has a huge housing so it will make a dispersion of light all over, making it very hard for oncoming traffic to see. The Es and ANY car can run on the 4300k NO PROBLEM!!! once you get into improper installations, and ridiculous color temps then you have a problem.

Now you wonder why then are there different colors avail, well i do not know, but anything over 5000k *needs* a projector type headlight/retrofit to properly transmit the light and it output. You need to have proper cutoff range with htose, therefore a projector is what makes that cutoff/proper light output on the 'high' color temps. I am no scientist, this is what i have been told/seen.

Lastly for a more scientific perspective, the higher the number the less amount of USABLE light avail. I get a laugh every time i see some clown with a 10000k and up light! because in reality a 4300k is million times more useful and practical...

riot

Interesting information 01LEXPL... does anyone else agree with what has been stated? I only wanted 4300K kit as ive heard its true white light and also the most useable.

@Kansas: no, fog lights still dont work

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

np. but trust me... this is ideal.

Just as a side note, i was saying that civic's with HID's look horrid, and dispersed? Well to prove that, any civic even with a 4300K hid kit looks like it too has a slightly brighter, but clearer Sylvania bulb. And it does work, and it does NOT blind oncoming traffic. I helped a buddy install these on his mother's car [civic] to improve to OEM horrid bulbs for night time driving. And it looks and performs like a charm, from the front it looks a proper bulb, and its well aligned, therefore this results in no blinding! Its been on for 6 months now, and no warnings or any problems by other commuters...

As you mentioned it will give off PURE white and is MOST usable. Nonetheless good luck with this! I cannot wait for spring to drop my two kits in!