Head Light Replacement!

[arahman84]

wassup guys.

I was going to change my headligths on my 99' Es300 from those old yellow ones tto some super white ones. I am deciding on which ones are the best....sylvania's Silverstar, Philips Xtra White or what!!! I don't knnow which ones whould be best.

and how the hell dod I install them...any tutorials out there.

thankns

[steviej]

do a search as this has been asked and answered many times.

Sylvania Silverstars are probably the best bet for the money.

PIAA Xtreme Whites are very nice but a little more pricey.

here is a web site that has good prices on all sorts of bulbs.

http://www.performancecenter.com/products/...iary+Lamp+Bulbs

just look in your manual for the proper bulbs. I think your lows are H7 and highs are 9005's.

It is a piece of cake to do them. I can walk you through it on the phone or, again, search, as there a threads that discuss this.

If you change the headlights, please do the fogs at the same time to keep the peace (ok-balance, but peace sounded so much better).

steviej

[BRAKATK]

I did the Silver Stars and they work great. They had some 50% rebates going for a while on their site, but they might be over. I agree, do the fog lights, and hi/lo beams all together and see the road in all its glory.

[arahman84]

thanks guys for your rep[lies.

[Wubbman]

I agree with everyone else. Silverstars are the way to go. Good luck.

[eman_be_lexin]

I saw in an older forum that Nokya makes really nice headlights. They are a tad cheaper than the silverstars and look more like H.I.D. I have H7 Nokya headlights and H3 Nokya yellow fog lights on my 97 ES. I have received nothing but compliments about them. I put my car beside a Mellinia with silverstars and hands down, mine were better and brighter. The headlights were rated at 7000K and the fogs are rated at 2800K. I bought them from www.autothing.com

[branshew]

I have ... H3 Nokya yellow fog lights on my 97 ES.

eman - are those Nokya fogs the ones with the yellow coating on the bulb? If so, are they really bright yellow like the 92-94 ES300? I've tried quite a few different sets that claim to be yellow (Hella, PIAA, etc), but they are just yellow looking from the side reflection and not head on. The bulbs I have tried have no yellow coating on the glass.

I came across the Nokya H3s with the yellow coating a few weeks ago, but I have been reluctant to order them since I have already spent a small fortune on other bulbs with poor results.

[BRAKATK]

One thing to also consider is wattage. The Silverstars are similar wattage to stock, while some others (not sure about Nokya) are higher wattages. In comparing lights, also consider on the Gen I GS cars we have a lense over the lowbeam that gives the lights a distinctive "cat-eye" vertical slit as it diffuses the beam over the road. Again, not sure about ES's. The bulbs on the comparison car might not be the same wattage, type, or diffused the same way as the early Lexus cars. Food for thought.

[HoeBag]

no halogen bulb looks like HID.. not even silverstars... just get HID, youll be happier in the long run

[mburnickas]

I tried PIAA and they sucked so I got the Phillips 6000K HIDS...Have a look...GOD I LOVE HIDS!!! :D

http://home.comcast.net/~94gsxr1100/lexus/lexus.htm

[BRAKATK]

HID is superior light-no argument from me. But if one is only after better/whiter light just using bulbs (which is what the original post was about), then there are several options. The SilverStars on my 93 GS are shown below (Low w/Fogs and then Hi Beam). That said, are Philips the best HID upgrade kit? What others are in the running now?

[mburnickas]

So far I have also tried some higher up Sylvania brand a few years ago in my gsxr and the light was the same as OEM bulbs.

I think in the end you will not like regular bulbs but that is me. You might get a "whiter light" from some bulb but the amount of light will decrease.

I thought my Lexus bulbs were very good until I compared to HID.

For example, your light looks good alone; but switch one side to HID and then look. You will not go back.. Plus the warmup on HIDS is the best part! :D

***You really can't say one kit is the best since many people like 4,300K (most light output), 6000K (less light but best color look), and so on up the kelvin scale. I think Phillips or Hella Ballasts are the best. Also make sure you buy a correct and OEM bulb and not some fake bulbs or rebased.

Here is a link from my Homepage: http://www.hidforum.com/

[eman_be_lexin]

branshew- I had the Nokya H3 bulbs in my car and they are similar to the stock bulbs as far as visibility but give off a hint of yellow. They still look good though. However I was involved in an accident last week so Hopefully I can salvage my bulbs if it is totaled.

[arahman84]

WOW....very informational discussion here adn nice pics of the cars...Im thing about just going with the Silverstars for the whole headlights/fog. Maybe later on when I get money i'll be able to put on a HID system which is truly awesome as some of my friends have em.

[steviej]

sounds like a sensible and economical plan.

steviej