35W v 55W Hid - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

suprwhtecamry · 02-02-2011, 07:21 PM

Hi TN i have a 2009 camry SE 4 banger, i want to put a 6000k HID kit but idk the difference b/t the 35 and the 55 watt kits. Someone please explain to me the difference and what your recomendations are.
P.S. i called my toyota dealer and they said my stock bulbs are 55W, idk if that would help

11LE · 02-02-2011, 07:26 PM

Go with 35w. 55w is much brighter and also washes out the color that you chose, not to mention it runs hotter. Most people run 35w to not run the risk of messing up the wiring, though you could just throw in a relay, which is recommended with 55w kits. I prefer 35w.. it's more than enough.

fatngs · 02-02-2011, 09:27 PM

i have tsx retro projector headlights with OEM D2S bulbs..... this is a newb question but can i run 55W ballasts without hurting the bulbs? i'm already running on cheap 35W ballasts w/ a relay kit and more intense light would be nice

aznlunatic206 · 02-02-2011, 10:26 PM

most cheap hid kits that are 55watts usually just pushes out more power to the 35watt bulbs to have more light output, not acutal 55watt hid bulbs. also the reliability is decreased because of the increase in power to the bulbs. i suggest you just stick with 35watt bulbs, its more than enough for an average person.

Prynce3 · 02-02-2011, 10:52 PM

careful 55w HID will melt your housing happen on my freinds Maxima

ArmY1 · 02-03-2011, 01:13 AM

i've got 8000K 55W+relay no problems at no no burns nothing

so after colorwash itz about 6000K

drew05 · 02-03-2011, 10:22 AM

Im runnin 55w+relay in my headlights for over 2 yrs now with no issues.

jatin · 02-03-2011, 10:31 AM

I have 06/Camry/LE.
I installed 55W ballast about 5 months back. Used relay kit, harness to battery etc.
After all these time I strongly feel 55W is too much. I don't think intense light is nice. I had to llower headlights and still I receive comment once in a while that its too intense. I would suggest to go for 35W ballast.

BTW the most HID bulbs are made to handle 35W and 55W. I don't think my 55W HID will melt housing or any other part.

tengiday · 02-03-2011, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jatin

I have 06/Camry/LE.
I installed 55W ballast about 5 months back. Used relay kit, harness to battery etc.
After all these time I strongly feel 55W is too much. I don't think intense light is nice. I had to llower headlights and still I receive comment once in a while that its too intense. I would suggest to go for 35W ballast.

BTW the most HID bulbs are made to handle 35W and 55W. I don't think my 55W HID will melt housing or any other part.

The reason is your 06 Camry has reflector halogen headlights. Putting HID there (35 or 55W) just blinds people on the roads.

I think 35W is enough. Imaging that many people still drives safely with halogen; they're able to see things. 35W is what OEM used. I don't think any reason to go for 55W. Too much light makes your pupil dilates, and you actually see things less far.

PS: If you want to go 55W, go with OEM bulbs (though the bulb lifespan will be reduced greatly.

badbadtz560 · 02-03-2011, 03:13 PM

as far as I know you can't get oem hid bulbs for your camry's projectors unless you do a retrofit since our camries use h11 bulbs.

There's very little quality control on pretty much all of the hid ballasts and bulbs, so 55watt's going to run a much higher risk of damaging your chrome on the projector as well as your stock wiring. of course.. YMMV - there's a huge variation b/w how good or bad each bulb or ballast can be so you'll hear lots of stories about how good or bad each one is.

55watt reduces the lifetime of the bulb to less than half from what I've read (never tried it).

Don't compare halogen to HID wattage. Halogens take in a lot more power and produce less light, but its power intake characteristics are much flatter. HID ballasts take in a huge jolt of amperage and then slowly stabilize (depends on the ballast of course) - it's during this activation that the ballasts can fry your wiring.

tengiday · 02-03-2011, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badbadtz560

as far as I know you can't get oem hid bulbs for your camry's projectors unless you do a retrofit since our camries use h11 bulbs.

There's very little quality control on pretty much all of the hid ballasts and bulbs, so 55watt's going to run a much higher risk of damaging your chrome on the projector as well as your stock wiring. of course.. YMMV - there's a huge variation b/w how good or bad each bulb or ballast can be so you'll hear lots of stories about how good or bad each one is.

55watt reduces the lifetime of the bulb to less than half from what I've read (never tried it).

Don't compare halogen to HID wattage. Halogens take in a lot more power and produce less light, but its power intake characteristics are much flatter. HID ballasts take in a huge jolt of amperage and then slowly stabilize (depends on the ballast of course) - it's during this activation that the ballasts can fry your wiring.

I know our Camry uses H11 bulb. My friend just did a retrofit for my car (S2K), and I'm using 85122+ bulbs and Denso ballast.
The reason I mentioned halogen is I wanted to tell that there's really no need to run 55W. Halogen, putting less lumens than a usual HID, can be used safely for driving. Going 55W is really unnecessary (I don't mean any power consumption here).

For the initial activation, damage may not be seen instantenously.

***Cking*** · 02-03-2011, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drew05

Im runnin 55w+relay in my headlights for over 2 yrs now with no issues.

I also run 55W in ebay heaadlights. It makes up for the poor projection lenses. I was in my friend's stock camry with 35W..I have to say 55W is really bright.

aznbigbearjohn · 02-04-2011, 12:21 AM

35w 55 w not much difference if you want bright ditch the 6k and get the 4.5k they are perfect blue makes a dark tint imo 4.3 and 4.5k is the best temp ever

aznlunatic206 · 02-04-2011, 12:33 AM

go with 5k, pure white and you get the best output, 4300k is a little yellowish. also there is not such thing as 4500k, most likely some cheapo ebay crap / false advertisement to make more money.

tengiday · 02-04-2011, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aznbigbearjohn

35w 55 w not much difference if you want bright ditch the 6k and get the 4.5k they are perfect blue makes a dark tint imo 4.3 and 4.5k is the best temp ever

4300K - <5000K produces the most lumens (3,200-3,400 lumens); that's why OEM bulbs are in this range. You lose some brightness when going above 5000K (given the same power). You think blue is birghter bc our eyes are more sensitive with blue; in fact, it is less brightness.