Had My Is250 For 6 Weeks

vinny048 · April 13, 2010

I’ve had my 56 plate IS250 auto for around six weeks now and I’m loving every minute of driving in it although I only get to drive it at weekends (astravan in the week). ML audio is amazing!!!

Fuel consumption isn’t to bad town driving I get anything between 24mpg – 31mpg. Recently doing a 250 mile motorway trip I got 39mpg averaging at 80mph where possible so I’m happy with that.

I have a few questions regarding the lights….

Has anyone changed the puddle light bulbs for cool white/led bulbs? If so any recommendations?

The parking light looks yellowish compared to the whiter looking main beam…can these be changed to a cooler white bulb? Same goes for the high beam.

How do I know if the low beam bulbs are H11 bulbs or D4S bulbs?

Sorry if I’m asking silly questions about the lights but I’d like them to have a cool white look about them.

Thanks

Vinny

ahmed24 · April 13, 2010

Has anyone changed the puddle light bulbs for cool white/led bulbs? If so any recommendations?

Do you mean the puddle lights under the mirror or the ones by the leg space? I've changed my mirror puddles lights. In order to get anything white colour you need to go for leds. the bulb type is 501 W5W 194. go for the SMD leds with a minimum of about 5 SMD LEDS per bulb for a good level of brightness

The parking light looks yellowish compared to the whiter looking main beam…can these be changed to a cooler white bulb? Same goes for the high beam.

Exactly same type of bulb as the puddle light. once again get yourself SMD leds but for the parking light you might want something much higher in terms of SMDs per bulb

How do I know if the low beam bulbs are H11 bulbs or D4S bulbs?

If you have HID system then you will have D4S, when you startup the car the AFS light on the dash will light up for a few seconds and then turn off (unless AFS is set to off). If no AFS light shows on the dash, then you do not have factory HID, which will mean its H11

vinny048 · April 13, 2010

Has anyone changed the puddle light bulbs for cool white/led bulbs? If so any recommendations?

Do you mean the puddle lights under the mirror or the ones by the leg space? I've changed my mirror puddles lights. In order to get anything white colour you need to go for leds. the bulb type is 501 W5W 194. go for the SMD leds with a minimum of about 5 SMD LEDS per bulb for a good level of brightness

The parking light looks yellowish compared to the whiter looking main beam…can these be changed to a cooler white bulb? Same goes for the high beam.

Exactly same type of bulb as the puddle light. once again get yourself SMD leds but for the parking light you might want something much higher in terms of SMDs per bulb

How do I know if the low beam bulbs are H11 bulbs or D4S bulbs?

If you have HID system then you will have D4S, when you startup the car the AFS light on the dash will light up for a few seconds and then turn off (unless AFS is set to off). If no AFS light shows on the dash, then you do not have factory HID, which will mean its H11

Cheers for the quick response Ahmed, I'll go for the 194 leds for the mirror lights and 194 leds for the parking lights. Any idea on how SMD's per bulb I should go for the parking lights?

I'm not sure if I've seen AFS on the dash but will check next time i start it up.

Thanks

Vinny

ahmed24 · April 13, 2010

Cheers for the quick response Ahmed, I'll go for the 194 leds for the mirror lights and 194 leds for the parking lights. Any idea on how SMD's per bulb I should go for the parking lights?

For the parking lights i've tried 13SMT LEDs but now on 19SMTs which are much better. its all about preference. You could get SMTs or SMDs both are good.

vinny048 · April 16, 2010

Cheers for the quick response Ahmed, I'll go for the 194 leds for the mirror lights and 194 leds for the parking lights. Any idea on how SMD's per bulb I should go for the parking lights?

For the parking lights i've tried 13SMT LEDs but now on 19SMTs which are much better. its all about preference. You could get SMTs or SMDs both are good.

Where did you get yours from?

I've seen some on ultraleds.

I've also seen some ultra white H11 bulbs at hids4u which I think i'll throw in to get rid of that horrible yellow colour in the lights.

ahmed24 · April 17, 2010

Where did you get yours from?

i got my leds from v-leds.com and eBay

I've also seen some ultra white H11 bulbs at hids4u which I think i'll throw in to get rid of that horrible yellow colour in the lights.

H11 bulbs? H11 is for the low beam which would mean you dont have HID? if so then dont replace this with another H11 type bulb that gives you better colour because the visible light is going to be seriously effected. I mean yes you can get like PIAA spark blue 6000k bulbs and they will look really nice and blue. BUT.... at night you wont be able to see much. The visibility is terrible. My recommendation is that if you dont have factory HID, then fit an aftermarket HID kit for the IS250. XenonDepot.com are very reputable and i've used them many times.

These replacement bulbs that have higher kelvin ratings are not really for replacing main low beams, they are more costmetic and used for things like high beam, fogs etc.

vinny048 · April 17, 2010

Where did you get yours from?

i got my leds from v-leds.com and eBay

I've also seen some ultra white H11 bulbs at hids4u which I think i'll throw in to get rid of that horrible yellow colour in the lights.

H11 bulbs? H11 is for the low beam which would mean you dont have HID? if so then dont replace this with another H11 type bulb that gives you better colour because the visible light is going to be seriously effected. I mean yes you can get like PIAA spark blue 6000k bulbs and they will look really nice and blue. BUT.... at night you wont be able to see much. The visibility is terrible. My recommendation is that if you dont have factory HID, then fit an aftermarket HID kit for the IS250. XenonDepot.com are very reputable and i've used them many times.

These replacement bulbs that have higher kelvin ratings are not really for replacing main low beams, they are more costmetic and used for things like high beam, fogs etc.