Uprated Headlamp Bulbs For Ls400 Mk 3

[JellyBean]

Need a new h/lamp bulb for my '96 LS. It is the "High and Low Beam" one, a 60/55W H4. Price seems to be about £4.00.

There are also supposedly brighter versions with the same wattage - e.g. Osram Silverstar, at about twice the price. Has anyone tried them? Are they an improvement?

You see, when I rang Lexus, they wanted £23 each. Seems a bit absurd, even by their standards.

[DJ Wozza]

I used to have Osram Silverstar bulbs in my Honda Accord. They are very good, probably about

the best of the normal halogen bulbs, maybe a third better, but they are expensive (£20 the last time I bought any).

For even better results you could get HID's from eBay, 4300k or 6000k bulb temperature is best

for really clean white light effect. Only buy from sellers with good feedback.

Hope this helps ya.

[passman53]

I fitted 4500k off e-bay which from memory were about £8 a pair, and was very pleased with the result. They gave a really white light without looking too blue. I think the higher the "k" the more blue they get.

[Glenn007]

Hi

Just a question on the HID bulbs, do you need to fit a modification kit for these or can they be used in a standard unit?

Glenn

I fitted 4500k off e-bay which from memory were about £8 a pair, and was very pleased with the result. They gave a really white light without looking too blue. I think the higher the "k" the more blue they get.

[DJ Wozza]

I'm sure passman has just fitted replacement Halogen bulbs, not HID's for that price.

HID's come as a kit with fitting brackets or sticky pads for the HID Ballast boxes,

and the wiring your headlamp connector goes into, plus the HID bulbs. :D

[passman53]

I'm sure passman has just fitted replacement Halogen Bulbs, not HID's for that price.

HID's come as a kit with fitting brackets or sticky pads for the HID Ballast boxes,

and the wiring your headlamp connector goes into, plus the HID Bulbs. :D

Yes you're right. They are listed as uprated Xenon bulbs, genuine HID bulbs(D2R), as fitted to later models are around £60-£70 each, or , if you go to Lexus, £140+ vat per bulb. For the price I paid they were brilliant-no pun intended.

[JellyBean]

Many thanks, Gents, for the responses. In the end, I meekly bought another ordinary 472 bulb from Halfords for £5.99.

I wonder what Lexus would have charged to change it, on top of their silly £23 quote for the bulb? Hmm...