XenonDepot's Xtreme HID 4300K Review

[icec0ld]

XenonDepot’s Xtreme HID 4300K H11 Kit Review...

The Good:
- cheap
- easy to install
- greater light output
- great color

The Bad:
- took a month for it to get here
- some of the connectors were poorly done and needed to be bent/fixed in order to plug in properly
- needed to fix the glare from “squirrel” spotters (not the product’s fault)

So over a month after ordering the product (I was informed immediately that it would be a month’s wait as they had been backordered), I received the product. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for me as I didn’t even have my Camry until a week before the Xtreme HID kit shipped out. I chose the 4300K kit for a few reasons. First, the light output is the stock color / temperature so I wouldn’t have to worry about pigs pulling me over. Second, I wanted the greatest color/light output choice. Lastly, I don’t want this car to look “rice” and wanted it to look as stock as possible.

The installation was fairly easy and self explanatory. The directions actually didn’t come with the package and I had to print them out from XenonDepot’s website (www.xenondepot.com). Product came via DHL Express so I got it fairly quickly and it came well packaged (see pictures). Prior to this, I have had ZERO experience when it came to “modding” a car but this was easy. The only negative thing was that some of the connector pins were not well put and I had to bend some so that the receiver would plug into them easier. On top of that, those very same connectors that needed some bending easily loosened so I had to zip-tie them together to prevent any future problem of disconnection. Aside from this nuisance, the product was installed and up and running within an hour or so without many problems.

The biggest “problem” of these HIDs was actually not really a problem that came from the product itself, but rather the Camry’s projector housing. As many people who are familiar with the Camry’s housing, there are metal flaps inside the housing that deal with “squirrel” spotters that were designed for standard halogen lights. These spotters are not needed when dealing with HID lights and needed to be fixed. So the majority of my time was spent not dealing with the HID kit but rather the projector housings from the Camry (required removing front bumper to do the fix).

All in all, I would have to say that I am fairly pleased with the product minus a few hiccups along the way. The XenonDepot Xtreme HID kit is a great quality product that I wouldn’t have much qualms about purchasing again for any other car(s) that did not have HID lighting.



NOW for the pictures (what I'm sure ALL of you have been waiting for)























BEFORE HID w/Stock Halogens...


















AFTER W/XENON DEPOT XTREME 4300K Kit


















Thank you guys for viewing!

[akide]

nice review, i share the exact same thoughts about the xtreme kit and had the same issues with the harness being a bit off and having to play around with the pins and zip tieing them together to have a solid connection.

[white3ch0c0late]

I think its a bit early for a review. You don't even know how long this kit is going to last.

[Yazovets]

Your headlight leveling is off. The right headlight is supposed to point higher than the left. The reason is because if you lift the left one, too then you'd blind oncoming traffic too easily.

[cdtran]

Originally Posted by Yazovets

Your headlight leveling is off. The right headlight is supposed to point higher than the left. The reason is because if you lift the left one, too then you'd blind oncoming traffic too easily.

nope. The highest point of the cut-off on both sides should be level. The midpoint between the step should be 2.1" below the headlight height at 25 feet. But your passenger side does need to be raised slightly. okay results, but....I wonder how long that kit will last...since it's xenon depot, and not ebay, I'll guess 1 year

[jofrad]

so which route did u take on getting rid of the glare on the squirell spotters?

looking good by the way

[Yazovets]

Originally Posted by cdtran

nope. The highest point of the cut-off on both sides should be level. The midpoint between the step should be 2.1" below the headlight height at 25 feet. But your passenger side does need to be raised slightly. okay results, but....I wonder how long that kit will last...since it's xenon depot, and not ebay, I'll guess 1 year

Nobody follows the specific numbers which you suggest. If the right headlight is slightly higher, then you're OK. The reverse is not.

Who cares how long the kit lasts? At $225, it's perfectly OK to re-invest in one each year.

[icec0ld]

which way do u turn the knob to adjust the headlights? i know it says "clockwise" but is it clockwise facing the car or clockwise facing away from the car? thanks.

[white3ch0c0late]

Originally Posted by Yazovets

Nobody follows the specific numbers which you suggest. If the right headlight is slightly higher, then you're OK. The reverse is not.

Who cares how long the kit lasts? At $225, it's perfectly OK to re-invest in one each year.

^Or spend $600 for a retrofit, and it'll last you 7 or 8 years. *shrug* And then you'd probably only need to change the bulbs.. ballasts would probably still be fine.

[Yazovets]

Originally Posted by white3ch0c0late

^Or spend $600 for a retrofit, and it'll last you 7 or 8 years. *shrug* And then you'd probably only need to change the bulbs.. ballasts would probably still be fine.

First of all, for an unempoyed student, it would be very hard to give $600 for a retrofit in one shot as opposed to investing $250 each year.

Second, the whole retrofit process requires knowledge and/or time which many people wouldn't have. Also, it may require skill which people might not have. So even if it's simple to you, it may not be to others.

Third, it is irrelevant if the retrofit will last 7 or 8 years as you say because the car will be sold between its 3rd and 5th year of service.

Besides why are you so concerned with how long something lasts? As long as it's replacable, it doesn't matter how long it lasts.

And that myth about cheap kits lasting less than a year is total bull. I had a cheap kit on my old Echo. And it was used anytime the car was on because the headlights were the DRLs, too. Lasted me over a year. In fact I sold the car with the kit still working properly from day 1.

[white3ch0c0late]

Originally Posted by Yazovets

First of all, for an unempoyed student, it would be very hard to give $600 for a retrofit in one shot as opposed to investing $250 each year.

Second, the whole retrofit process requires knowledge and/or time which many people wouldn't have. Also, it may require skill which people might not have. So even if it's simple to you, it may not be to others.

Third, it is irrelevant if the retrofit will last 7 or 8 years as you say because the car will be sold between its 3rd and 5th year of service.

Besides why are you so concerned with how long something lasts? As long as it's replacable, it doesn't matter how long it lasts.

And that myth about cheap kits lasting less than a year is total bull. I had a cheap kit on my old Echo. And it was used anytime the car was on because the headlights were the DRLs, too. Lasted me over a year. In fact I sold the car with the kit still working properly from day 1.

1. Save money like all the other unemployed students do. Save money and do it big over time rather than cheaping out in the short run.

2. Before I did my retrofit, I'd never used a dremel before, and I didn't know a damn thing about proper light optics, how HIDs work, and didn't have a clue on how a retrofit is done. But I decided to take my time and read, and I found that its not as difficult as people think it is. It just requires a little bit of money, and a little bit of balls.

3. You'd be surprised how long cars AREN'T sold after a few years. I've had my car now for 5... look at all the Gen 2 and 3 owners on here... many of them are the original owners. So your statement on this is invalid.

4. It does matter how long something lasts. As a rule of thumb, longevity is also a sign of good quality. In addition, it might be replaceable, but why would you want to spend so much more money? At the rate that you're talking about, you will have spent more than double the money that you could've just spent on a retrofit, and gotten BETTER output as well.

5. Then you got lucky with your kit. Because its not a myth. Its not a certainty that all cheap kits won't make it to 1 year, but its a very high chance that it will fail before then. More often than not, cheap kits WILL fail quickly.

[icec0ld]

guys guys guys, stop shitting in my thread. if you two wanna go about bitching about retrofit and not, then go do that shit elsewhere. whitechocolate has been perfectly cordial via discussing some things privately and i am very thankful for his help, but seriously, stop fuckin arguing like bitches. thank you.

[white3ch0c0late]

No problem... I've said all that I needed to say. And you're welcome. Always more than happy to answer lighting questions.

[s0uthstar85]

So, despite all the trouble with the harnesses and the squirrel spotters... These are still the best on the market? Was it worth the extra work? What about the legality?

I'm considering upgrading.

[white3ch0c0late]

^Yes. Unless you can get your hands on a "XenonDepot" kit, this is probably the best kit on the market... at least so far. We'll see down the road in terms of longevity, but as of right now, yes.