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Replaced Turn Signals, Fog Lights, High Beams, Parking Lights & Rear License Plate Bulbs

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by stream, Jun 13, 2009.

  1. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    I upgraded most of the exterior lights (except the LED headlights) on my Prius today. I've used these brands/types of bulbs on many previous cars with great results. For the pix below, I left the stock bulbs on the passenger side to contrast with the upgraded bulbs on the driver's side. Bulb types and replacement instructions are in the owners manual.

    Front and rear turn signals replaced with Philips Silver Vision bulbs, which are silver coated so you don't get the "fried egg" look, but still blink amber. There are other silver coated blinker bulbs on the market, but what I like about the Silver Visions is they blink just as bright as stock, unlike one brand I bought years ago, which blinked so dimly the other cars would have a hard time seeing them, especially in bright sunlight. Got them from Powerbulbs.com:
    Philips Silver Vision WY21W from Power Bulbs | Free Worldwide Delivery

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    Fog lights replaced with PIAA Xtreme White bulbs, which are 4000K and match the LED headlights very well, and have a whiter light than the stock bulbs, and are noticeably brighter, providing 110 watts of light using 55 watts (the difference in color is more pronounced than the pix show):
    PIAA 15211 H11 Style Xtreme White 55=110-Watt Bulb - Twin Pack : Amazon.com : Automotive

    [​IMG]

    High beam bulbs replaced with PIAA Intense White bulbs, which are 4100K and again match the LED headlights very well, and have a whiter light than the stock bulbs (I wasn't successful in getting pix that were worthwhile, but there is a big difference in color). Not only are the high beams whiter in color, they are noticeably brighter as well. According to PIAA, the bulbs provide 120 watts of light using 60 watts--more info here:
    PIAA:
    PIAA 10925 9005 (HB3) Intense White - 9005 60W=120W Xtra Intense White Bulb, Twin Pack : Amazon.com : Automotive

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    For the front parking lights and rear license plate lights, I used Philips Blue Vision bulbs, which are 3400K (again, it was difficult to capture the true difference in color, but the upgraded bulbs are a much closer match with the LED headlights than the yellowish stock bulbs). You get a set free from Powerbulbs.com with any order over 15 GBP:
    Philips Blue Vision W5W from Power Bulbs | Free Worldwide Delivery

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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  2. brad_rules_man

    brad_rules_man Hybrid electric revolutionizer

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    Thank you, very good post! That will be one of the first things I do with the car. :)
     
  3. jsharpe

    jsharpe Member

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    Agreed. Very useful post!

    I understand that the color of your PIAA highbeams now matches the LED low beams better, but how is the intensity and beam quality compared to the stock halogen bulbs? Color is important to me, but maximum punch for the high beams is even more, since I do lots of rural driving where wildlife is present.
     
  4. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    Good question--I agree with you about light quality, and forgot to mention this aspect of the replacement bulbs. Not only are the high beams whiter in color, they are noticeably brighter as well. According to PIAA, the bulbs provide 120 watts of light using 60 watts--more info here:
    PIAA

    The fog bulbs are also noticeably brighter, providing 110 watts of light using 55 watts.
     
  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Thnanks you for the detailed post!

    I've used PIAA bulbs in all my cars since 1995. They are much better than the stock bulbs and last a lot long than most of the competition's bulbs like the Sylvania Silverstars.

    My question is on the Phillips Silver Vision bulbs. We used to sell a similar bulb but over time the coating wore off and you got this cracked paint look on the bulb and it was just plain funky so you'd have to replace them often. How long do these ones last you or have you ever had a problem like this?

    I was considering replacing some of my non-headlight bulbs with the new high powered LEDs. I've done similar mods on my truck and they look amazing compared to a regular bulbs. We'll see how far I get with this idea though.

    Here is what the LEDs (daytime running lamp) looked like in my 2001 GMC truck.
    [​IMG]
     
  6. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    I've used the Silver Visions on cars for over 10 years, including the BMW I just sold for 4.5 years, with no issues.
     
  7. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    Any way to capture the silver vision illuminated?
     
  8. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    I installed them as well last Tuesday when I got the car...

    Illuminated they just light up amber like the standard amber turn signal.

    I also changed out my front parking lights with Philips Blue Vision. They are 3300K and are noticeably whiter than the standard parking lights. I also used them to replace the rear license plate bulbs as well and they are brighter and whiter.
     
  9. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    Ok, here are some pics of the front and rear turn signal lights lit with Philips Silver Vision bulbs and more of the Blue Vision for the front parking lights and rear license plate lights.

    [​IMG]

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    [​IMG]
     
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  10. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    I don't have a digital video camera, and my still camera takes such crappy vids, they're not worth looking at.

    Unlit you see nothing, lit they are amber and the same brightness as stock.
     
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  11. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    No problemo, pics on page 1 in my post above yours of them lit :)
     
  12. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    I think you'd agree that the pix (yours and mine) don't do justice to the color and brightness difference of the front parking lights with the Blue Vision bulbs. Before upgrading, the parking lights looked really yellow next to the LED headlights (and given their proximity to the headlights and the fact that they're always on when the lights are on, the difference really detracted from the attractiveness), and the Blue Vision bulbs, while not nearly the same color/brightness, are much closer to the LEDs.
     
  13. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    Oh yeah, without a doubt... Pictures do not accurately show the difference between the Blue Visions and the stock bulbs. I wish I had taken a picture of the rear license plate bulbs before changing them out, but I doubt they looked anything like what is shown in the pic I put up on the prev page...

    Hey, I guess great minds think alike eh Stream? lol I'd love to get those fog lamp bulbs you got from Amazon but wow are they expensive.
     
  14. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    But they're so worth it. The increased brightness and whiteness is a great safety factor, plus they match the LED headlights pretty closely.
     
  15. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    I'm noticing most of the places that sell Silver Vision are outside the US. Are these generally not available here in the USA?
     
  16. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    When I was looking for them too Rick I noticed most if not all the places were overseas. I did find people selling them on eBay, but went with powerbulbs after reading nothing but positive reviews from them. Their delivery was very fast, and if you buy the silver visions from them you get a set of 5w5 blue vision bulbs for free...
     
  17. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    Powerbulbs.com are the least expensive (especially when you consider you get a free pair of Blue Visions for the parking lights), and they arrived from the UK (with free shipping) in 3 days. I've been buying from them for a long time--highly recommended.

    I found a site in the US that sells them but were much more expensive.
     
  18. hptsang

    hptsang Member

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    I am planning to get my 2010 Prius III in Oct this year. I am gonna have a trip back to Asia for a few weeks in the summer time. I wanna know the bulb size you mentioned about, so I can get them in Asia since they are cheaper. Can you post all the bulb sizes for me please? It would be even better if you know the bulb sizes for the interior lights. I tried the powerbulbs.com but it only show Gen 2 06 onwards, are they the same as the Gen 3? Thank you!
     
  19. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    Bulbs.jpg
     
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  20. hptsang

    hptsang Member

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