coleco

I know this has been asked and addressed in different areas. I have been researching this for several days and still cant come up with a conclusion so I thought I would ask. I would like to buy a HID upgrade kit - there are a gazillion places to choose from but there is one company I would like to buy from. Without getting too technical (because I then know this would belong in the lighting section of the forums) I would like to know if anyone has put a plug and play HID kit in there ES 350 and been satisfied with the results. Or, is it not possible without some major upgrades including housing, projectors, etc. (I dont really know what the last two terms mean but I have seen them used in the numerous web sites, articles, tutorials, etc I have read.) I really dont want to blind other drivers or be ticketed which I have read about. Really I am just looking for some modest improvement in night time vision. Any thoughts would be really appreciated. Afraid to pull out the credit card without more information.

Coleco

ng123ray

i put HIDs in my non HID ES350.. my only complaint is that the halogen projectors dont project the light as well. meaning i have a pedestrian search light off to the right... not too bad...... the set up for it was pretty simple.. i had ballast and bulbs.. jsut popped out the halogens and plugged it in... i did have to take off a peice of the housing because the ballast was too big.... and i also have two blocks of wood to help stablize the lights..... if you're doing it at shop... you shouldnt worry too much cause the workers will make it right for you... if you doing it yourself..... make sure you know what you're doing... its a fairly simple process...

larrynimmo

My wife has a 2002 Toyota Avalon...she wanted HID's...I bought a complete set on ebay (direct from a chinese company) Paid 145 including freight. They came in 3 days and were easily installed. The hardest part is bayonet twist lock of the bulbs were not precisely cut and were a bit akward to install. Of course I had to shoot in a screw on each side of the engine compartment to hold the ballast in place. Once installed, had to adjust the lights height and that took quite a bit of tweaking to get it right for her and her head-on traffic. No regrets what-so-ever.

coleco

Thanks guys for the input. You answered my questions. A. without additional housing, etc. it wont look quite correct, but will function reasonably ok.. B. it is not exactly plug and play with additional screws, blocks of wood, etc. may be needed.

both of these issues scare me a little so I may search for a shop in the Charlotte, NC area. I wonder what the Lexus dealership would charge me, I will need to give them a call also.

larrynimmo

they will charge you an arm and a leg to do it. If you buy the parts, you may be able to get a local garage to do it for you. My guess is the Lexus dealer will want 1200 to do it.

07LexusGuy

The halogen projectors were not meant to be used with HID so the beam pattern that you'll get out of them using "plug and play" HID bulbs are not optimal. Furthermore, because the beam pattern is not aimed well, you will end up with glare to oncomming cars...

I know some people will say "well, nobody flashed their lights at me yet, so my lights are okay" - I feel that may not be the most objective way to measure your glare.

Anyways, perhaps spend a bit more money and do a complete job with a retrofit using perhaps projectors taken out of and HID equiped car. I've read about Gen6 Camry owners on toyotanation.com using TSX HID projectors in their cars with very good results.

just my $0.02

coleco

Thanks everyone for the replies. I think you all hit the nail on the head with the posts. My night vision is not the best so I will need to do something I think. While it doesnt have to be perfect, I dont want to glare anyone while I am driving so it looks like I will need a little more than the plug and play kits from wherever.

Does anyone know if I can order projectors that would match a H7 kit and do this myself, or am I dreaming??

Edit: nevermind, i see you can get TSX projectors off ebay or other places. I dont mind spending more for this along with the HID kit, just not sure if I would know how to install them.

Damon B.

Can you take pictures and post them up here on how/where you put the ballasts? kinda curious to see the wood blocks.

toneman

Keep in mind that if you choose to go the retrofit route--installing it isn't gonna be nearly as easy as installing an aftermarket plug-and-play kit, as you will need to find a way to get the retrofit projectors (e.g., TSX ones) to mount correctly in the ES headlight housing...and to install it in such a way so that excessive moisture/condensation doesn't find its way into the housing.

ng123ray

coleco, dont worry too much about screw or wood blocks... i've had my lights converted about a year ago.... no problems.. wood is nicely wedged... i check them every now and then and its all safe and sound.... as for picture... i'll post some up when im done with my finals for college... a bit busy at the time... =D

coleco

Thanks guys, I appreciate the responses. I have 2 threads that are almost identical on these forums and I have to apologize for that. I really should not have started the other one while this one was active. In this one, I was asking for help on can I put HID in, and in the other I was noting that the dealership in Charlotte would not do it, and if they did it would cost over $5000. (thats what the parts guy said - I could tell he was not enthusiastic about my request, but no matter 5K is not an option at all).

So... essentially if you look at both threads it boils down to several different persons replying on what a plug and play would look like. Some persons feel it will be acceptable and realatively safe, others say I will glare others, have to wide a beam, etc. It has to do with reflectors, projectors, etc.

I think in the end I will think about it and perhaps try a plug and play kit around $250 or so. If it does not work out I can go back to what I had and at least I know that I tried. But a retrofit by myself with water issues, TSX projectors, etc. is also not an option. If I were to locate a shop in the Charlotte area that does this type of job I would consider but for now no luck with the internet. Another option is trying to upgrade the halogen bulbs such as Ostram Nightbreakers or Philipps X-treme. This may be worth a shot.

Thanks again all. Appreciate the responses.

jinnjia

Can anyone confirm if its the H7 or H11 that should be used ?
Sylvania is showing H11, but many sites are indicating H7 to be used
to replace the regular halogen low beam.

ng123ray

H7.... sylvania is just out of wack...... i also believe you can pull out your stock bulbs and it'll say on the bulb what size it is...

rikkus256

For those of you who swap low beam from halogen to aftermarket HID, does your HID light project correctly? I did the swap but notice my HID project much lower than halogen with a sharp cut off. Anyone else have the same problem?

jinnjia

yes, I have the same problem, I had to adjust the height of both headlight to highest level only to have small improvement, some cars turned out great but unfortunately not the case with ES350, I even upgraded the ballast to 55w but still not good enough.
The original halogen actually appears to be brighter......