phillies

I'm looking at getting my first IS250 AWD base model and I'm trying to decide if it's worth getting the HID headlights. Most IS250's in the Northeast seem to come standard with the HID but there are some cars here and there that don't have them. I never had a car that had HID's so I really don't know if they are worth it for somebody who is trying to keep the cost down.

Fearlessfx

from a practical point of view the difference between normal halogens and HID's are pretty negligible.. both light up the road infront of you at night so you can see; but the former does so in a manner that is slightly less intensly bright and more yellowish.

ultimately its just a cosmetic thing. its undeniable that a car looks better with HID's... it just looks meaner. but if you'd rather have those few hundred bucks in your pocket then i say go for it... you could buy alot of tanks of fuel with that money

llamaboiz

Get the HID's you'll regret it later if you dont and you will just end up spending a couple hundred bucks on a kit that may or may no go wonky on you later on.

Sash

You can buy a HID Kit and install them yourself. You'll end up saving a load of money that way.

socalJD

Get the OEM, not only are they Hids, the AFS self levels and swivels with the road on sharp turns - aftermarket won't do this. That and it's covered under factory warranty 4yrs/50k, find an aftermarket vendor that'll match that . . .

Perfection

get the HID's and you won't regret it.

l1tech

IMO this post is 100% wrong. The difference between HIDS and regular haolgens is night and day. Drive the same car with both sets of lights and you will see the difference...as for me I will never own another car without a set of HIDS. I personally wouldn't get the factory HIDS just because of the self leveling and turning, IMO it's just to much to go wrong...and it will when the warranty is out. For the price you pay for the factory HIDS you could buy multiple sets of quality aftermarkets and still come out money ahead.

llamaboiz

Yea and when mine do i wont bother to get them fixed either... no one said you have to fix them.

Cleric

Hey Phillies, I would suggest you test drive an IS with both HID and Halogen headlamps at night. Different cars have different lighting performance and to really gauge a performance difference you have to see it for yourself on the car you want to drive. I have been in many cars equipped with Halogen, HID, reflector, and projector style headlamps and I can honestly tell you that headlamp performance is relative and heavily dependent on the the actual vehicle.

FrankyJ

+1

Cleric

Even going aftermarket has its own risks which can generate costs of its own over the life of the car. The self leveling system in our cars is definately not a complicated system to implement, pretty much just a small stepper motor behind each lamp.

Tchan1

iTrader: (1)

If you are going to get HID you should get the OEM HID, because aftermarket is not good, because if you get the halogen projector and put a hid kit in you won't get the same intensity and output as the OEM HID. The halogen projectors aren't designed to handle HID, you will just get mostly glare and hot spots. OEM HID is like night and day compared to after market HID. IMHO sometimes halogen looks better than a after market HID because at least the halogen light spreads more even. The aftermarket kit that everybody puts on with 6000k or above just gives it the blueish color and its just a optical illusion making you think its brighter but its actually not.

Tangerine

Depends on what cars you've driven. I was surprised by one of my mom's daily driver, the halogen projector in her 07 Camry had a nice cut off and output. My advice, is go to the dealer and have them show you an IS with and without HID (go at night for obvious reasons).

ben_r_

I will never buy another car without HIDs...

fdelement

iTrader: (1)

get HIDs for sure, it really makes a difference driving at night