Info on HID - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

LRBtrooper · 10-10-2006, 09:35 PM

Well, I was reading about yellow fog lights and someone showed how white3ch0c0late's headlight shines at night. I really liked how they shine so I started reading about HID Retrofit. Well, I'm a car noob, so all those info I'm reading just really confused myself. What I really like to know is how to umm.. get some for myself? I found this Xenon-HID CATZ Conversion Kits(http://www.brightheadlights-hid.com/...ights-Kits.htm) and was wondering if that's any good and do I need some kind of conversion kits? Basiclly any info well help a lot. Also if anyone knows any links that would help me better understand HIDs, please link.

white3ch0c0late · 10-10-2006, 10:05 PM

Hehe, thanks for the compliments.

Those "HID kits" are all garbage. They're all made very cheaply, usually have no vent holes in the ballasts, use cheaper parts, have shitty and very narrow output, and usually don't last more than about a year or so.

If you plan on doing a retrofit, you will want to go with OEM products... for example, I used Denso-Koito ballasts, which are OEM for Lexus models, for my retrofit.

Along with that, you will want some OEM projectors... and to retrofit them, you will literally have to open your headlights and find a way to mount them to your stock reflectors (or by any means necessary) and still have the ability to aim them.

And lastly, you will also want to have a wiring harness made that gets power directly through a relay from the battery. That way, your stock wiring is safe.

Now, some popular products for retrofits are:

Projectors - TSX, e46, S2000, FX
Ballasts - Hella Gen 3, Denso-Koito, Matsushita
Bulbs - Phillips, OSRAM

The best resource for HIDs and projector retrofits is www.hidplanet.com. Go to their Discussion Forums and register, and then go to the University section. I spent a couple of months perusing that forum before I attempted my retrofit.

Epsilon · 10-10-2006, 10:06 PM

You might want to start here: http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/view...t=2080&start=0

thapranksta · 10-10-2006, 10:53 PM

^^^^^^^What they said..........lol

The link Epsilon posted will work after you register as a member on hidplanet.com. If you don't plan on having projectors retrofitted, then you will just be a nuissance/ricer on the road. In fact, I will tell you nicely. Please do not buy a plug and play kit and throw it into your stock headlights without a projector retrofit. If you do, I will take a crap on your chest.

Someone else coined that phrase but it is suitable. LOL.

white3ch0c0late · 10-10-2006, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thapranksta

Someone else coined that phrase but it is suitable. LOL.

*Raises hand*

LRBtrooper · 10-10-2006, 11:44 PM

Thanks guys for the info. I guess buying those plug and play are out then.

reyrey127 · 10-11-2006, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epsilon

You might want to start here: http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/view...t=2080&start=0

hey epsilon, i thought you didn't do a HID conversion but did a plug and play right?

or was that netforcer... hmmm.. thanks..

white3ch0c0late · 10-11-2006, 12:08 AM

LRBtrooper, check these videos out. This is why you shouldn't get kits. (Direct quote from HIDPlanet by haknslash, a moderator of the forum).

Quote:

Originally Posted by haknslash

I was doing some searching and found some GREAT videos to show all those people who swear kits don't have glare or they are better than stock halogen. Here is the proof:

the first video is great because not only does he have one HID kit in one headlight and the other stock to show good differences but you can also tell just how much glare you get. Also notice that the halogen side is actually puting out more useable light on the GROUND, where it counts!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcX63...search=Hidding

Check out this HORRIBLE narrow beam pattern. Notice how blue and stupid everything looks. Smurf-style y0!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4Rdi...search=Hidding

Mmmm glare
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcnfA...search=Hidding

Enjoy, now get to spreading these video links haha

Webb26 · 10-11-2006, 12:23 AM

Well not in all cases guys...yes HID is great. but those plug an plays can be very useful. Espcially for foul waether conditions. Adding them as foglights and even adding them on as low beams for fog is a great idea. Using the 3000 k with the hella 90mm are nice. but for general purpose, everyone else was correct

majorgercko1 · 10-11-2006, 12:40 AM

HAHA so funny all noobs should start by complimenting white or else he will tell you to search. If you do, he will help. Notice that a lot. hahha

white3ch0c0late · 10-11-2006, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Webb26

Well not in all cases guys...yes HID is great. but those plug an plays can be very useful. Espcially for foul waether conditions. Adding them as foglights and even adding them on as low beams for fog is a great idea. Using the 3000 k with the hella 90mm are nice. but for general purpose, everyone else was correct

Right. But even still, I would NOT get an aftermarket plug and play kit for fog HIDs simply because for the quality of product and the amount of time they last, they're just not worth the money. I'm actually planning on retrofitting my fogs with mini projectors soon...

Webb26 · 10-11-2006, 02:50 AM

I think, thapranksta tried that too. not to sure if he finsihed that mod. Sound like a good plan. but if there is nothing else, then plug and plays for 3000 k kit it is, lol. Mike, the thing is i wanted my fogs to be a bit more prominant in height, i'm not so sure how that would be at the fog llight level on our gen5's I was thinking of ridding my headlights of highs and move straight to a retro of 3000k into the highs as my foul weather low beams eliminating the drls and higs all together...but thats just thought. OR just try to retro them into the fogs iono..maybe we should work on this one together..fgure somethingout.

thapranksta · 10-11-2006, 11:45 AM

Just because you're going to put it in the fogs, it does not mean you will not have reliability issues. But because you will have a hard time finding complete OEM for 3000k, plug-n-play is probably best in this situation. You should probably go to XenonDepot for one of the best (if not the best) plug-n-play kits. They do use Philips ballast and bulbs so it is generally a better bet than the others.

As for my fog retrofit, I was going to use halogen fog projectors. At the time, it seemed like a really good idea. When I got to the retro though, the fog reflector was hard as HELL. So no I did not finish and was stuck with some mangled fog lights (nice waste of money). Unless you have some patience and some really good cutting and shaping equipment, I do not advise it. A dremel will cut it but it takes it a long time and a few blades plus sanding is out of the question. One of the easiest fog light mods that I recommend to you guys that I personally have not attempted but looks easy as hell is the lexus (or yellow) capsule mod.

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15043

It should give you a golder color than yellow bulbs. Also, that 3000k hid will drown out your headlights from what I hear.

I did not try it because my fog light install is custom. I basically cut a hole in my bumper and glued my fogs in. OUCH. But hey it has been about 2 months with no problems whatsoever and it looks and functions completely OEM (fog lights are integrated in headlight switch). There is no way in hell I would try to remove those babies.

Good luck and sorry for the long post guys but I had a lot to say.

Webb26 · 10-11-2006, 12:08 PM

My main goal with the fog lights is to use in exactly what its meant for, foul weather, not everyday driving. So what i plan to do is to either wire it up toits own switch, or use the faotry turn signal swith but only use the fog light feature withthe parking lights on as well as the drls, which i think should be sufficient if i aim the fog lights a bit higher. My only concer was that i wanted the light to be at low beam height, so maybe 3000 k would be out of the ? And i would have to go in the direction of just yellow bulbs or stick withwhat i got.

thapranksta · 10-11-2006, 12:26 PM

If you use the factory turn signal switch, the fogs will only come on with the low beams so an aftermarket switch would probably be the best bet for what you are doing. I've thought about aiming my fogs higher too. To make sure I can clearly see them, I will have to disconnect my HID though.