LexusDaisy

About 6 months ago I installed a set of blue headlights in my ES300. Last week one bulb died, and I forgot what brand I had, so I bought a replacement bulb that was supposed to be "very blue". Now I have one blue and one whiteblue light. To ballance things, I want to buy a new pair of bulbs (and keep the packaging so I know what I have).

I'd like to know if blue bulbs have a habit of lasting only six months like my experience. What brand/model bulb would last the longest? Be the bluest? Be the brightest? I drive with the lights on during daylight, and want to be seen, yet I don't want to blind on coming traffic at night.

Any suggestions? What have you had the best experience with? Thanks

PS... anyone make a green tinted bulb to match my green car?

GATO

iTrader: (1)

you should really consider an HID conversion kit

but as far as the regular bulbs,my best experience was with RAZO super premium white (they are really blue, and last a long time)

EL GATO

juan01

I have Sylvania Silverstars and they work great.

lexusk8

PIAA Xtreme White user here (rated 4150K, I have had the bulbs over a year and still doing great)

LexusDaisy

""you should really consider an HID conversion kit""

EL GATO, what is HID? Are they the lights that change color somewhat depending on the angle that you see them?

How much would they cost? Any "legal" problems? Hard to install? Any info like a vendor web site appreciated.

thanks

jhenty

HID is high intensity discharge. They are the lights you will see on most high end cars. Lexus and Acura in particular use HIDs. Its the brightest light you can get for your vehicle legally (as far as I know). You should not run into any legal problems but I hear that now they are hard to find aftermarket HID kits. They go much further than just a bulb replacement. The cheapest I've seen them for was $400. My father's X5 (bi-xenon rather than HID but same idea) has them and I will tell you that they are amazing, they really light up the road. It gives you the feeling you have high beams on on the time. Personally I think they are worth the extra cash for looks and safety.

edit: they look really blue from far away but as you get closer they become a bright white.

flipspeed

piaa plasma blue is 7500k hot! you will get pulled over though.

flipspeed

hey doug, im planning to get silverstars for my fog lights. they're 4000k but about half the price of the xtreme white. is the 150k difference noticeable and do the piaa's last longer?

lexusk8

FLiP, the difference in lighting between 4000K and 4150K is not much at all. I got the PIAA fogs for free last year from steviej (he prefers the PIAA Ion Crystal yellow fogs in his ES) The fogs have been in use for the past 10 months in my ES (maybe close to a year in total use between me and steviej), and I always have the fogs turned on with my headlights. You can't go wrong with PIAA, the lights from this brand last longer than a year. You can also say the same thing about the Silverstars (I had them in my prior ES), but I heard from other people here that they burn out not too long after a few months of use. Maybe just bad-luck bulbs To me, I view the Silverstars as the less expensive version of PIAA Xtreme White, but as far as product quality and reliability, that's your judgement.

Here's a comparison shot between the stock fogs and PIAA fogs. Note the bluish "halo" around the PIAA fogs (just a camera effect). Anyway you'll be amazed of the light output to the ground with the white fogs installed, whichever brand you choose

juan01

I was amazed just by how much foglights help light up the road. I was running with no fogs for a while because one was broken, but when I finally got the yellow ones in.... they lit up the road!

flipspeed

one of my fog lights is busted too so i drive with no fogs. that and worn wipers makes it difficult for me to drive on the highway late at night when it rains. so im ordering toyota wipers, silverstar fogs, and oem reinforcement beam which i need to replace b/c its bent. so much money hey doug, thanks for posting pics of the lights!

lexusk8

No problem FLiP. I hope to see you at a nearby meet soon (maybe at FBF in Brooklyn, check the NE regional forum for that thread)