I have a 98 GS400 with HID's and noticed the light output seems to be really inferior when I have been beside newer LS's, Acura TL's and BMW's. I have replaced the bulbs with "new" factory ones from ebay with no real effect. Any ideas?

 

are the housings clear or are they dull and varnished looking? That may be your problem right there.

 

try cleaning the lenses with Plastix by Maguires. It works awesome...

T

 

 

Well... Your outside and inside lens may be dirty.
also, you cant compare Reflector HID to Projector HID's

 

I had the same problem as you, on roads without roadside lamps at night, my beam barely penetrated 15 feet ahead. I religiously kept the plastic lense housing clear and scratch-free but to no avail.

Finally, I searched and came across this thread :

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ove+headlights

from the picture on that thread. If you look at the windshield washer resorvior on the right hand, you will see the gray connector next to it. Next to the gray connector on the left you will see an 8mm screw that's the one to adjust the headlight.

How to adjust the vertical level of the beam :

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lighting/84622-how-high-do-you-aim-your-hid-lights.html

From SOARISTO's post, the bolt you want to adjust is bolt#2. That corresponds to bolt#1 in PHML's post.

Exactly what to do---

1 ) ensure all headlights are off,make sure the ignition is totally switched off, pop the bonnet of your car.
2 ) standing in front of your car and looking down, you'll see the jagged teeth of the bolt#2 that SOARISTO is talking about : VVVVVV
3 ) Use a small cross teeth (looks like + end on)Phillips screwdriver and click the teeth of the bolt counterclockwise. Every 10 clicks corresponds to roughly 1/4 inch of elevation of the beam so you may need to click a lot! Do it for both driver's and front passenger's side.
4 ) For initial aiming, when the car is on level ground 15 feet away from a wall, the top of the beam should be 1.5 feet from the ground. Turn the HIDs on every few clicks to check your aiming.
5 ) For fine tuning of the aiming, don't bother with the level bubble adjustment since it may be malfunctioning. Instead take your car for a test drive in stop-start traffic. If there is car 2 carlengths ahead of you at the traffic lights, the top of the HID beam should be level with the top of the front car's rear license plate or the bottom of its trunk lid--that should be correct aiming. ANY higher and you are blinding oncoming traffic and liable to be pulled over by the police.

Do the above, keep your plastic lenses oxidation/scratch free(meguiars plastic X or scratch X ) and assuming your battery and bulbs aren't failing-- you'll feel as if your HIDs just got a new lease of life!

For your info, on lighting forums, the stock GS HIDs are rated 4/5 for quality of light/penetrance--not the best but not too shabby either. The main problem is the overly conservative default aiming that Lexus dialed into the cars from the factory :

http://faqlight.carpassion.info/car-oem-hid.htm

Best of all, this mod is FREE

 

save up for a projector retrofit i see 2 for sale on for sale forums!

 

The factory HID of the GS is no match for the new LS and TL. Those two are some of the better stock HIDs out there as far as beam output. The LS has the widest beam and that may be why you feel like your HIDs are inferior. Cleaning the lens may help but I think it wont make a huge difference, unless they are really hazed over.