I just realized that there are some really cheap HID bulbs on Ebay. I'm talking about $30.00/pair, lol.. Are there any Lexus owners with these cheapo HID's, and how's the color on the 3000k golden yellows? I'm looking for a set for my 97 fogs.

 

they work just fine.. im running cheap-o HID kits from ebay.. $70 per kit.. =P... had them for a year now no problems....

 

That's what I was thinking too. I went on and purchased a pair of bulbs only, since I already have extra ballasts. I paid $30/pair of 3000k bulbs, lol.....

 

jsut FYI.. those bulbs are actually 5k bulbs made with yellow glass... jsut some useless info to throw around...

 

No...! Don't tell me that. I hope it's not because the bulb is yellow. Well, it's only $30, and the picture did look like a clear bulb to me, so we'll see. Just curious, did it ever happen to you before, and that's why you're telling me this? Or is it simply because it's cheap, plus you heard a rumor about it, and then you're assumming they're all 5000k yellow glass. Well, I sure hope I can prove you wrong, so when the bulbs come in tomorrow, I'll post pictures of it.

 

prove me wrong. =] i read it on HID distributor sites...

 

Mr. Ng, you are right on the money! The hid bulbs are in fact tinted with a yellowish (rainbowish) color, if you know what I mean. No need for me to post pictures now of course. But it's okay, because I'll try it out for everybody to see how long will it last. Maybe eventually, the tint will burn off and I'll be with straight 5000k hid's, lol... But if the yellow starts fading, that's when I get pissed, j/k.. The funny thing is, I have yellow h3 bulbs on my 97 fogs already, and the tint is exactly the same on those too. But I guess it'll be brighter since it's still hid's. Very valuable info, and I was doubting you too. Rite on..

 

I have real Philips Ultinon 3000k bulbs and they have the same yellow rainbowish tint on them. They are lime green at startup.

 

The ones I've noticed that are yellow and are standard H3 bulbs or whatever (non HID) are the PIAA Ion Yellow bulbs. I was at super autobacs and I was amazed at how deep the yellow was. Made me sad when it was like $70 for the pair @.@

 

my $62 HID is like that too, lime green at start then turns yellow after a minute.

 

they are lime green at start up cause white HIDs turn blub at start up... bluish HIDs turn purple at start up..... blue and yellow = green... =] just some fyi.... for thsoe who forgot basics of finger painting from way back in elementary school =]

the yellow tint will never come off... its actually yellow stained glass... so it's uniformly yellow... well at least that's what i believe..... otherwish the yellow would burn off with the first use... since the bulb is burning at 5000k which is.... 4500C degrees+...... (just to know... its freakishly hot!)

 

The Kelvin rating is just a reference to the the color produced. That isn't to say that it actually burns at that temp. If your bulb pumped out (5000-273) 4727ºC, all the metal in your projector housing would melt faster than solder, and the glass would melt as well. HID bulbs actually run at a lower temperature than halogens, believe it or not.

Yellow light is the easiest for the eye for perceive and doesn't cause massive amounts of glare. 3000k and 4300k are also the brightest bulbs, (Philips 3000k and 4300ks are rated at 3200 lumens) though as you gain more blueish and purplish hue, you lose the lighting power. While 4100k-4300k OEM bulbs are typically rated at 3200 lumens, even Philips Ultinon 6000k bulbs (highest kelvin rating they produce) produce merely 2000 lumens of light. Blue and purple are also harder colors for the eye to perceive and causes more glare than white light.

These colors were copied/pasted from the automotive lighting FAQ:
Yellow:
1500 k Candlelight
2700-2900 k Yellow painted fog halogen bulbs
-------------------------------
Yellowish white:
3200 k Sunrise/sunset
3200 k Premium H7 non painted halogen bulb
3400 k 1 hour from dusk/dawn
-------------------------------
White:
4100 k Philips/Osram OEM HID D2S
5500 k Bright sunny daylight around noon
----------------
Blueish white
5500-5600 k Electronic photo flash
6000 k Philips Ultinon HID D2S
6500-7500 k Overcast sky
-----------------
Blue:
9000-12000 k Blue sky
-----------------
Purple:
28000 Northern sky
12000-30000 k Ultra Violet light (black light)

 

damn. If anyone needs real 3k bulbs I know where to get them for slightly more

 

ahah makes sense.... hm....... 4 years of high school.. 2 years of college with high levels of physics and calculus... ahaha and i couldnt figure out glass woudl melt at 5000k... =P i feel kinda stupid now..... thanks for clearing that up...

but it is a fact that light bulbs are the hottest object in the house... and the car... althoguht the combustion chamber might rivial/ exceed those temps.. ... so thats why i figured bulbs can be at 4500C+ =]