R.DUB

OK, I'm in the 7th day of my 2007 GS350 AWD (traded my 98 GS400). Love the car but my passenger side low beam does not stay on with any consistency. I need to have this remedied ASAP.

I've spent the last three nights reading ALL of the threads on bulbs and lighting for our 3rd gen GS's and you have posted great info on bulb temp, brands, mods to the lights, etc. (btw, whlkev's recent DIY is brilliant!). I want to keep everything stock and just change the bulbs.

Anyway, some of the bulb info posted is now a few years old and I need to ask for your help on the latest up-to-date info on HID bulbs for my low beams (please):

-I want to keep all stock wiring and simply replace the bulbs only

-The 5000K-6000K looks better, imo, but I cannot add HID fogs. Is the loss of light output that dramatic? I live in the country and need the light!

-A few of the brands that seem to have the best reviews are Philips (stock), Garax and PIAA? Could you please comment on color and life span if you use these bulbs (or others?)

-Local Lexus dealer will change the bulb for $237 or sell me the bulb for $192. Not horrible compared to other posts, but I have a hard time paying this much for a dealer to change my bulb. Is it worth it? Several posts describe that their new bulbs do not stay lit after then installed themselves (most reinstalled and corrected, though). I have never had a dealer install bulbs for me...

Thanks in advance for your comments!

whlkev

lol, thanks for the mention, but it's WHLKEV not DHL.. LOL..

your best bet is definitely the stock bulbs, they are made by Philips and extremely high quality. our D4s bulbs are definitely rare and harder to fine. lower power consumption and mercury free hence they were dubbed xeneco bulbs by Philips.

as you need the light, going higher than stock 4300k is just not going to do you any good, most of us live in the cities, where we can practically drive without headlight with the street lamps.

dealers are ridiculous, look for those on ebay, exactly the same bulbs as factory bulbs can be had for under 60? as another members just bought those.

good luck

BinaryJay

I just bought a pair of new Philips XenEco D4s bulbs on eBay for $52 + Postage.

$250+ at the dealer? Just say no to that jazz... wait a minute... that's just for one bulb too? Yikes. You won't want to switch out only one bulb, there is a chance that the colour/output of the two won't be equal and it will look weird.

Did you already try swapping the bulbs from left to right to see if your problem switches to the other side to be sure that it's the bulb and not something else? The bulb is probably the most likely but it doesn't cost anything for you to do this test.

ItsChris

iTrader: (16)

I've been having a problem with my passenger side flickering on and off latly too, i think my bulb is going out. It's weird sometimes the driver side will do it too. I'm thinking of going to 6k Garax or something of that sort with hid fogs.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

as mentioned, just get the bulbs from ebay, they are cheap, even for factory bulbs. just make sure if you change bulbs, change BOTH. otherwise colors won't match

not of course, you might want to make sure it's bulb problem before you spend the money. if you can swap the bulbs left and right and see if the problem follows the bulb.

R.DUB

Doh! sorry for the typo whlkev... Edited my mistake. Good points on the bulb swap. I know I need to do this but was concerned about the difficulty.

I'll look for TWO bulbs on ebay. GREAT advice on the colors not matching.

I really would prefer to go with 5000-6000K. This would have been ok if I still lived in downtown ATL. Northern IN is full of deer on the roads. Gotta keep them in the headlights to miss them, ya know! I did hit a deer in the daylight in my Acura 4 years ago in the day light.

Anyway, so swapping the bulbs to test & then changing both bulbs is the way to go. I hope I can re-assemble everything!

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

Its really not that hard to change out. If your close to me I can help install them for you. eBay is a great place to purchase bulbs...just make sure they are a good brand/quality. I have the Garax, got them off eBay, and they are the only HID bulbs that have lasted in my car.

R.DUB

Thanks for the offer, Mike! I'm about 2 hours from you but may need to drive up (in the daytime) if I get stuck. How bright are your Garax, without your HID fogs? Much less than stock?

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

I didnt notice any difference. I replaced the HID before I had installed the HID Fogs. IMO the light output isnt very good in our car.

It should be less then the OEM bulbs but very minor difference. If you stay between 5k & 6K your light output should be just fine. I think I went 5k on the GS and had 6k on the IS if I recall.

I also changed the City, DRL, ect so they all match each other. Those are very easy to replace also when your doing the HID and worth it if you change to 5k or 6k.

R.DUB

What DRLs are you running? Were the DRL bulbs plug and play?

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

all are plug and play....that I have used. I have a thread, search my user name, and it will have all the info about what I used. I know I had pics of the DRL bubls, I dont think I took a pic of the VLED's.

my fog light was bad in this pic but it will give you an idea...


DRL Lights:


VLED for the City Lights. I dont have any pics of that. I may have put the part # in my thread if you search. Im sure others may know what it is.

BinaryJay

I'm starting to dislike the LEDs in the parking/city lights more and more, I can't stand that blue color in the middle. I can't help but associate blue lights with cheap cars and tin can loud-as-possible muffler tips.

I might be a bit concerned over getting pulled over for having anything that's too blue on the car, it's one of the colours restricted to emergency vehicles... I've seen people get nabbed for less.

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

^ at night time all my lights match in color. They are not that blue (my picture is not that great). They do have more blue then the OEM 4300k and OEM bulbs. Its all preference. I am probably one of a few that hates yellow lights including Yellow Fog's. Most want Yellow overlay's or yellow bulbs for the fogs and I just never cared for them.

R.DUB

Thanks again, Mike! I just bought a pair of Garax 6000K from mtecpower on ebay for $89.95
I may try your HID fogs, next. your lights look great!

passnu2

iTrader: (33)

Your welcome. I just noticed I posted the same pic twice? 2nd was to be the DRL lights I used. lets try that again for you...


these are what I used for the DRL...