lighting FAQ -- READ THIS FIRST!
03-15-04, 10:49 AM
#1
MISC on lighting stuff - FAQ
from time to time i see the same questions popping up here and there, so i think i will try to make this sticky faq. the faq could be model specific or not, it doesn't matter to me. and i will leave it open. if you have any faq that you think is worth mentioning, you are more than welcome to post it up here. i might edit your post a bit if i feel more/less information is needed.
NOTE: please do NOT ask questions in this thread, i will remove them. make a new post if you still have questions. i want this post to be just about faq
NOTE: please do NOT ask questions in this thread, i will remove them. make a new post if you still have questions. i want this post to be just about faq
03-15-04, 10:53 AM
#2
what superwhite to get?
Q: my stock halogen looks horrible, and hid isn't an option due to price. so what other options do i have?
A: you can put on aftermarket superwhite bulbs. they are in general a lot brighter and whiter than the stock halogen. personally i like the piaa extreme white or the razo platinum white zero. they are both very nice in light output and color, and a lot of my friends have them and love them. i have never owned them myself though.
a lot of people have the silverstar too, but i have heard quite a few people telling me that they blow out pretty fast, that's too much hassle for me. but in terms of color they are very nice too.
in terms of power, the spec 9005/9006 they are 51w/55w i believe. so if you go superwhite, i would try to stay around 60w to 65w. if you really choose to put some 80w bulbs you will just need to be careful on the wiring and not to melt the harness. anything over 80w imho is a bit no-no
A: you can put on aftermarket superwhite bulbs. they are in general a lot brighter and whiter than the stock halogen. personally i like the piaa extreme white or the razo platinum white zero. they are both very nice in light output and color, and a lot of my friends have them and love them. i have never owned them myself though.
a lot of people have the silverstar too, but i have heard quite a few people telling me that they blow out pretty fast, that's too much hassle for me. but in terms of color they are very nice too.
in terms of power, the spec 9005/9006 they are 51w/55w i believe. so if you go superwhite, i would try to stay around 60w to 65w. if you really choose to put some 80w bulbs you will just need to be careful on the wiring and not to melt the harness. anything over 80w imho is a bit no-no
03-15-04, 10:57 AM
#3
headlight condensation on GS
Q: HELP! i got moisture inside my 98-04 GS! what to do!
A: that seems to be a common problem for most GS. of course the moisture is not good for the car, if you get them, go to dealership and talk to them. a lot of people have already got them replaced under warranty. apparently lexus never got a real fix of the problem though, coz' i have seen cases where the replaced headlights got moisture too
A: that seems to be a common problem for most GS. of course the moisture is not good for the car, if you get them, go to dealership and talk to them. a lot of people have already got them replaced under warranty. apparently lexus never got a real fix of the problem though, coz' i have seen cases where the replaced headlights got moisture too
03-15-04, 11:08 AM
#4
4100k or 6000k?
Q: my old hid bulbs died, i need to get new bulbs. should i get 6000k?
A: it all depends on you. 4100k is factory, it's good, but to me it's still yellowish. 6000k is what i have on all my cars and i love them. theoretically 6000k has less light output, but honestly, from what i could tell, 6000k put the same amount of light on the road.
anything above that is stupid though imho
A: it all depends on you. 4100k is factory, it's good, but to me it's still yellowish. 6000k is what i have on all my cars and i love them. theoretically 6000k has less light output, but honestly, from what i could tell, 6000k put the same amount of light on the road.
anything above that is stupid though imho
03-15-04, 11:11 AM
#5
do you have "fake" hid bulbs?
Q: i just got these 6000k hid bulbs from ebay for 100 bucks shipped, so what's the deal!
A: well, when it comes to hid, i only stick with the big brothers, philips, osram. they are very nice, and most important, they give you the real 6000k output. they ignite at that color temperature.
a lot of fake 6000k hid bulbs are made in taiwan or korea. they achieve the color temperature by putting a blue tint on the glass, so it lights up bluer and thus the color. yeah you get the color but you also get a lot less light output. so imho, if anyone cliams a bulb is 6000k but it has blue tint, that's fake 6000k hid to me period.
both philips and osram they have clear glass tube, and they still give out the same color
A: well, when it comes to hid, i only stick with the big brothers, philips, osram. they are very nice, and most important, they give you the real 6000k output. they ignite at that color temperature.
a lot of fake 6000k hid bulbs are made in taiwan or korea. they achieve the color temperature by putting a blue tint on the glass, so it lights up bluer and thus the color. yeah you get the color but you also get a lot less light output. so imho, if anyone cliams a bulb is 6000k but it has blue tint, that's fake 6000k hid to me period.
both philips and osram they have clear glass tube, and they still give out the same color
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03-15-04, 11:15 AM
#7
can i put hid housing on GS without hid?
Q: my gs didn't come with hid. i found all these GS hid headlights on ebay, can i buy them and snap them on? plug and play?
A: yes you can put the hid headlights on your GS, it's not full plug and play but the wiring is pretty easy. however, you will NOT have the autoeleveling feature. you need sensors on both front and rear wheels and all the wiring are just way too much for anyone to handle. other than that, the headlights will work just fine
A: yes you can put the hid headlights on your GS, it's not full plug and play but the wiring is pretty easy. however, you will NOT have the autoeleveling feature. you need sensors on both front and rear wheels and all the wiring are just way too much for anyone to handle. other than that, the headlights will work just fine
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03-15-04, 11:57 AM
#8
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Advantages of retrofit?
Q: What are the advantages of a retrofit?
A: A retrofit gives you optimal output and brightness from D2S bulbs. They are designed for these specific purposes. In addition, you get the cutoff color flicker.
follow-up question:
Q: What does doing a retrofit involve cost- and effort-wise?
A retrofit can cost about $200 for the projectors, $100 for the 4100K bulbs, and $200 for the ballasts, on current average prices. This does not include wiring or labor. Labor can involve dremeling, cold-welding, and heating (baking or heat gun methods). A search for companys that do this labor can be found on the internet or recommendations can be found on this forum.
A thorough introduction of HIDs can be found here:
http://intellexual.net/hid.html
A: A retrofit gives you optimal output and brightness from D2S bulbs. They are designed for these specific purposes. In addition, you get the cutoff color flicker.
follow-up question:
Q: What does doing a retrofit involve cost- and effort-wise?
A retrofit can cost about $200 for the projectors, $100 for the 4100K bulbs, and $200 for the ballasts, on current average prices. This does not include wiring or labor. Labor can involve dremeling, cold-welding, and heating (baking or heat gun methods). A search for companys that do this labor can be found on the internet or recommendations can be found on this forum.
A thorough introduction of HIDs can be found here:
http://intellexual.net/hid.html
03-31-04, 12:51 PM
#9
hid vs non-hid?
Q: I am still fairly new here and after reading over several threads regarding lighting and HID conversions, I still don't quite understand the options that I have. I was hoping that you could possibly simplify it for me. I have a gs300 non HID. I am hoping to get HID lights for my car, but from what I read, it will require much more than just the replacement bulb and ballast. If I just replace the bulb and ballast, it is my understanding that the light pattern will not be good and I will also need to replace the headlight housing. Is this true? If this is the case, then will it involve a lot more money? If so, then what are my options with regard to bulbs that will give me the HID look? I'm sorry to ask these questions when I know they've been answered on previous threads, but I simply can't quite understand what an HID conversion involves. Thanks for your help in advance.
A: yes it's confusing so let me clear up a bit.
the hid and non-hid headlights they are totally different, VERY different. from the front yes they look similar but from the back, the mounting, wiring, covers, etc... are all different. keep in this in mind.
if you have non-hid housing, it uses 9006 bulbs. you can get hid kits for the car, get the 9006 and it will work. prices are usually around 500 bucks. that includes ballasts, wiring, bulbs, and probably some relays.
the problem with hid kits on the stock non-hid housing is that the light pattern isn't perfect, that's correct. if you want hid nice cutoff, you need something more -- hid housing.
now hid housing for the gs, they are using the d2r bulbs. d2r bulbs are TOTALLY different from the 9006, they look nothing alike. so if you get the oem hid housing, you get ballasts and the d2r bulbs too. prepare for heart attack, a set of oem hid headlights will run you a good 2 grands. yes you heard me, 2 grands. that will give you the clear cutoff, except you wo't have autoleveling.
if you have the oem non-hid housing and hid kits, you are stuck. you canNOT get hid housing coz' it's not going to solve any of the cutoff problems. plus you can't even fit the 9006 bulbs in anyway. it just won't work.
so in short, what to do? if you want really cheap and easy solution, get superwhite halogen bulbs. i have another faq about this. if you want hid, get hid kits, but you have cutoff problems, which if you can live with that's fine. if you are picky as me and you want the perfect setup, get the oem hid headlights with d2r bulbs, etc... it's good but watch out for your saving account.
A: yes it's confusing so let me clear up a bit.
the hid and non-hid headlights they are totally different, VERY different. from the front yes they look similar but from the back, the mounting, wiring, covers, etc... are all different. keep in this in mind.
if you have non-hid housing, it uses 9006 bulbs. you can get hid kits for the car, get the 9006 and it will work. prices are usually around 500 bucks. that includes ballasts, wiring, bulbs, and probably some relays.
the problem with hid kits on the stock non-hid housing is that the light pattern isn't perfect, that's correct. if you want hid nice cutoff, you need something more -- hid housing.
now hid housing for the gs, they are using the d2r bulbs. d2r bulbs are TOTALLY different from the 9006, they look nothing alike. so if you get the oem hid housing, you get ballasts and the d2r bulbs too. prepare for heart attack, a set of oem hid headlights will run you a good 2 grands. yes you heard me, 2 grands. that will give you the clear cutoff, except you wo't have autoleveling.
if you have the oem non-hid housing and hid kits, you are stuck. you canNOT get hid housing coz' it's not going to solve any of the cutoff problems. plus you can't even fit the 9006 bulbs in anyway. it just won't work.
so in short, what to do? if you want really cheap and easy solution, get superwhite halogen bulbs. i have another faq about this. if you want hid, get hid kits, but you have cutoff problems, which if you can live with that's fine. if you are picky as me and you want the perfect setup, get the oem hid headlights with d2r bulbs, etc... it's good but watch out for your saving account.
Last edited by rominl; 03-31-04 at 12:52 PM.
11-14-05, 09:54 PM
#11
Light Bulb information for the IS300
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lighting/17074-light-bulbs-information-for-is300.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lighting/17074-light-bulbs-information-for-is300.html
11-14-05, 09:54 PM
#12
98-05 GS300/400/430 lighting information
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lighting/71226-98-gs-lighting-information.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lighting/71226-98-gs-lighting-information.html
04-08-07, 12:31 PM
#15
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