sorry about this thread if the topics been done to death, but I was wondering if anybody could specify the size and recommend some nice, bright white bulbs to put behind the gauge cluster(or possibly link to an older thread that had some suggestions). I also remember somebody painting the needles with a red sharpie and was wondering if anybody knew anymore about that. thanks

 

Go to www.superbrightleds.com
They should have everything you're looking for....by the way, the bulb size for the gauge mod is 194. Good luck and show pics when you're done.

-Lieb-

 

Are those plug-in? Or do they need to be soldered?

 

I tried them all from superbrightled white LEDs to Polargs. Polargs are bright but have a pink tone to them if you use them in the guages. LEDs look too "hyper white". stock is about white as it gets

 

anyone know which bulb would make our gauges as bright as the lexus one's??

 

do you know where to order the OEM lights from? and also, do you know anything about what effect coloring the gauge needles with a red sharpie will have?

 

not shure where to order, all I can say is try the dealer? the oem lights are just clear 194 bulbs with blue rubber caps on them. not shure about the sharpie. never tried it

 

I have 99, and my bulbs are diffrent then 194. I think the year they made the car with digital ODM they changed the Bulb size.

 

If you go with the LED's make sure you get an inverted tip to spread the light

 

I tried those too, too dim for me and not white enough

 

I'm not so sure if stock bulbs are the brightest. I tried LEDs and Polarg Super Whites on my 96 GXE and ended up Polargs. Granted stock bulbs I saw have faded, Polargs are whiter than stock bulbs IMO

 

Has anyone ever tried PIAA bulbs, and if so how did they look? I've had polargs and super white LEDs and I wasn't happy with either.

 

I use the Xenon Blue 194's in mine and they come out extremely white(I know blue shouldn't be white ) I put a couple stock ones in and a couple of the Xenon to compare and it made a huge difference.
I think the local buyer here gets them from Ractive(Tucan Industries) not positive though.

 

i posted this question a few days ago . i think what confuses some people is that the 98 and 99's have digital odo's. so i think that using the 194 bulb wont work unless you sodder it to make it fit. ive asked the dealership what size it is and they usually couldnt tell me.i currently have the #74 leds in my dash its smaller than the stock bulbs. so im guessing that #72 would be our size for the 98-99 cluster. but its hard to tell.

 

god get indiglo's! they make the ones where just the number glow! for all the bulbs you buy ,you can get those for cheaper.

and do not paint the needles, do it with sharpie like i did on my se....went from orange to red.

 

I have PIAAs too and they are terrible, they have a blue ricey hyperwhite tint to them.

 

i've used some cheap hyper whites from ebay 194's
I have a 98 so the bulbs aren't plug and play. Had to dremel and solder. They're kinda bluish whitish. Just a little whiter than stock though. I think it's the film behind the actual gauges that diminish light.

 

Let's see some!

I personally love the stock SE gauge lighting, but brighter and more vivid bulbs would look better.

 

all right all right! Here's a coupla pics of gauges. They look white during the day but at night, the bluish hint comes out. Also a pic of blue led temp lights

 

why are the ac lights so bright?

 

how did you go about painting the needles? didn't remove them right?

and did you get all the sides or all sides except the one facing the gauge, which would be kinda hard to reach

 

i did mine when they were still on the car. i pput a paper towel under them so i did not mark on the gauges, and i coloed the sides and the top with a red sharpie.

 

Wow those look great. Almost like the Lexus guages when lit. But at night it turns bluish? What kind of bulbs does Lexus use for their guages.

 

Wow those look great. Almost like the Lexus guages when lit. But at night it turns bluish? What kind of bulbs does Lexus use for their guages.

 

I think I remember reading somewhere that the lexus's use electrolumenst gauges...(im guessing similiar to the indiglo ones but white?)

Also, has anyone tried the mtec brand of 194 bulbs? They offer a lifetime warranty and I hear there as good as PIAA, if not better.

 

cuz they are really damn bright. It actually hurts to stare at them at night. I believe they're 5000mcd 3mm blue's.