Brighter bulbs for stock HID lights?

[mattblair09]

Hey everyone!

I just bought a 2008 Camry Hybrid (savin' the environment, one commute at a time) - and have had a burning question that I haven't been able to find a solid answer to this evening about the stock HID lights.

Currently, I have stock HID bulbs - and would like something that shows whiter without doing a complete retrofit. When I search on HID bulbs, I find a TON a threads about retrofits, new installs, etc - but not very many of the 'stock' variety.

I'm pretty big into tech (information systems, to be exact) and know my way around general car maintenance pretty well - but have ZERO experience with HID bulbs. I didn't even realize the entire projector wasn't one big bulb until I read a 'howstuffworks' article on it. Ah well, enough of the rant - I'm looking for upgrades. And this is the first one I want to get under my belt :-)

[aznlunatic206]

So if i understand you correctly, you want a whiter light output? just change the bulbs to a higher kelvin.

[CamrySExxx]

unless you upgraded your current bulbs. ... they are HALOGEN bulbs and NOT HID.

So without doing a retrofit ... you can put a plug and play HID kit in. www.ddmtuning.com or check out peaches hid kits he's selling.

Look for the advanced speed shop thread and go towards the end. Good stuff, good guy, he knows his stuff!

Anyways back to the projectors. Yes they werent designed for hid's but it will still give you good output with very little glare COMPARED to reflector housing if you cover your squirrel spotters.

Get a relay harness, I would say 55w would be more than enough for you. Dont bother with your fog lights though.

take a look at my thread. go to post 29 , DO NOT use the vieos at the top of the page, it wont be a good comparison for you. go towards the bottom

who wants hid comparison pics?

You want white, i think a 55w 5000k kit will be what you want.

[mattblair09]

CamrySExx...THANKS. It's all the information I was looking for in one place - I was trying to figure out what made Camry HID projectors so different.

...it's because they're not HID projectors...just HALOGEN projectors. I'll check out the links, thankya sir.

One last quick question - what bulb type are the stock halogen projectors?

[bleachigo]

H11

[workerant]

The Search function also will provide you with many HID threads that covers all HID related and even HID in the trunk. Go for it, try it.. go nuts.

[CamrySExxx]

Originally Posted by workerant

The Search function also will provide you with many HID threads that covers all HID related and even HID in the trunk. Go for it, try it.. go nuts.

I do agree with him, when searching you do yield massive amounts of HID threads, even with the HID thread, going through countless pages finding info is sometimes a bit harder than you would think.

Especially when looking for a specific temp.

[CamrySExxx]

Originally Posted by mattblair09

CamrySExx...THANKS. It's all the information I was looking for in one place - I was trying to figure out what made Camry HID projectors so different.

...it's because they're not HID projectors...just HALOGEN projectors. I'll check out the links, thankya sir.

One last quick question - what bulb type are the stock halogen projectors?

yup as stated H11, fogs are also h11, and high beams are 9005. Dont get hid's for your highbeams, its almost useless and unless your DRL's are disabled you would most likely run into problems running at a lower voltage.

Hope my post earlier helped with your decision. I remember when hid kits were going for 4-500 bucks a few years ago... 2 years back i got my kit for 200...

now they are sold for a measly 30 bucks!

[GT-R]

All Gen 6 Camrys have halogen H11 55W bulbs.

Best color temp for HID is 4300K - 6000K.


Let me say this before njerald... "Another useless, repeat, repeat, repeat thread!!!" LMFAO...

[ItsMeJon]

Originally Posted by TRD-S

All Gen 6 Camrys have halogen H11 55W bulbs.

Best color temp for HID is 4300K - 6000K.


Let me say this before njerald... "Another useless, repeat, repeat, repeat thread!!!" LMFAO...

lol your getting good +1 some guy that actually worked for toyota lost a 50 dollar bet with me that gen 6 Camry's have an option for hids i said nope he never paid up blah.

To Op either order a hid kit from one of our wonderful vendors on TN or ddm tuning has great deals on kits. If you decide on a retro fit best person to contact would be pawel. You can also just go to your local auto store and pick up some sylvania silver star ultra they are bright halogen but for the same price you can find a hid kit up to you.

[mattblair09]

Thanks for the responses, guys. One thing I couldn't figure out is that the projectors and standard reflector headlights both use the SAME bulb.

You know that feeling when you ask where you lose your favorite pen, start asking where it's at - and someone tells you it's behind your ear? Finding out the projectors were H11's gave me that type of feeling...

I'm very tempted to do an HID mod as a Sunday project...now, THAT I know I can find using the 'search' function. -> HID info

[nj0ywatch1np0rn]

Originally Posted by aznlunatic206

So if i understand you correctly, you want a whiter light output? just change the bulbs to a higher kelvin.

Wrong. You want a Kelvin of 4300-5000. 6000K is kinda pushing it. Anything higher you're wasting money and usable light.

[GT-R]

Yea 6000 is the limit, even that is already bluish compare to 5000 and below. I use 6000 mostly for show and my stock fogs to balance it.

[mattblair09]

SOLID setup, TRD-S. I see what you mean about 6000K being a little on the blue side.

Just to confirm...this is what I'm about to order from DDM-Tuning:

DDM HID Kit Slim Ballast (35W or 55W)
-Wattage: 55 watt (instead of 35 watt)
-Bulb Type: H11
-Color: 5000k
-HID Harness: Dual-in/Dual-out
-Error Eliminator: None

[nj0ywatch1np0rn]

I'd stick with 35W ballasts. There has been reports of the 55W ballast causing the bulbs to burn the chroming of the projector bowls!