RX350 projector retrofit: clear lens mod and distance blindness

I'm looking for feedback on my next big-ticket purchase, a RX350 HID projector retrofit for my 2015. Lightwerkz (who will be performing the work) includes a clear lens swap as part of their tuning process. Poor-quality screenshot of a video comparing performance is below:


Stock RX350 projector on top, RX350 projector with STi-R clear lens on bottom. Bulbs and ballasts are identical between the two.

Taken from this video (performance comparison starts at 5:22):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPjupWFxE34

I know what you're thinking. It's a no-brainer, right? The hotspot is way more concentrated with the clear lens, and the light cutoff is way sharper. I was blown away by the performance difference too, but then I started thinking about what these performance traits would mean during daily use.

I have no problem with the ultra-focused hotspot. This is essential for distance projection, which is the entire purpose of having headlights. If I need to amp up the near-field lighting, I can kick on my Diode Dynamics SS3 Pro fog pods, so that's a non-issue.

The sharp light cutoff is where I can see an issue arising. Most factory headlights have a more diffuse cutoff line, meaning they throw a bit of light upwards to illuminate stop signs and other surfaces that typically appear above headlight level. In addition, the transition from light (area illuminated by headlights) and dark (areas above headlight cutoff) is more gradual, resulting in less eye strain when trying to identify non-illuminated surfaces.

I asked Lightwerkz for their opinion. Their reply:

What do you guys think? Do the clear lens swap, enjoy the distance projection, and try to somehow compensate for the lack of "up-light"? Stick with the OEM Fresnel lens, deal with the less intense hot spot, and don't worry about blowing an unseen stop sign at oh-dark-hundred?

@Island Cruiser, @hyper15125, @crashnburn80: feedback from some more experienced voices would be greatly appreciated.

 

It could be because I kept my reflectors and bowls chrome, but I still do get sign reflection. It doesn’t appear that I would die to the cutoff but it definitely exists for me

 

I plan on keeping my reflectors chrome as well. Trying to make it look as OEM as possible.

It's possible that I'm overthinking the sh!t out of this, as per usual.

 

My cutoff, as crisp as it is, didn’t affect my sign reflection so you oughta be good. I didn’t really pay attention to that sort of detail until I got my retrofits because I began analyzing everything I could see, and in comparison to the darkness above the cutoff, the signs still illuminate

 

For the benefit of others who stumble across this thread in the future, what's your light setup? Do you have a clear lens fitted, or is it the stock diffuser lens?

 

-OEM Headlight Housings(kept chrome)
-LS460R Projectors/Shrouds(unpainted)
-Morimoto XB35 5000K HID Bulbs
-Morimoto 35W Ballasts
-Morimoto Moto Control Bi-Xenon Relay Harness
-Paired with Morimoto XB LED Fogs

Pic taken immediately after adjusting cutoff back in February 2015:


The most recent pic I have while heading home from work this past March:


Pics of it when off during the day, on during the day and on at night:
(Don’t mind the tape, I was polishing it)








All iPhone pics since I don’t own a nice camera to capture the lights properly

 

I had Morimotos in my old non Toyota truck with a very sharp cut off. I didn’t like them. Great light but I couldn’t see the street signs. The other issue is that there are a lot of hills in my area and when I would be heading downhill with the road then pitching up, the lack of light above the cut off would make the road truly disappear on the uphill section.

 

I can understand how the sharp cutoff would be a problem when traversing areas with hilly terrain. Not that the cutoff itself is the issue, since all headlights have a cutoff line. I think it's more of the contrast between light and dark, which is much more extreme with HIDs. The HID hotspot is focused right at the cutoff line, which is great for distance projection but awful for seeing anything above headlight level.

I'm a lifelong flatlander, so I hadn't considered this particular issue. Thanks for chiming in.

 

Update: got the RX350 headlights with clear lens mod installed and aimed. I don't have any meaningful feedback to provide yet, since I haven't used them much. I did make a quick comparison video to show the difference between my old headlights (OEM headlight assemblies with Philips LED bulbs) and the new ones. Note that the pattern saturation and width is MUCH better on the new headlights. The brightness is noticeably better as well, but the video doesn't show that very clearly.

https://youtu.be/DVSE8oiWBfI

 

Looks good! Did you get flashed a lot with the LED setup? Here is a high/low beam pic of my setup:

Morimoto D2S 5.0 Projectors
5500k HID Kit
Chrome Apollo 1.0 Shrouds
Chrome Bowls

 

Nope, I never got flashed. That's partially because I had them aimed correctly, and partially because I opted for Philips LED bulbs. They aren't great performers, but they don't scatter and glare like cheap Amazon LED bulbs. I'll be honest: if I didn't spend the first half hour of my day in heavy pre-dawn traffic, I probably would've kept them for their ultra-long service life.