Excellent writeup, Thanks! Now, do I leave the stock headlights on my '05 and install XenonDepot kit? Or do I upgrade to '06 projectors then intstall the XenonDepot kit. I like the look of the '05 lights better, but I want reduced glare, hmmm.

the problem with HIDs on a non projector headlamp is that you lose so much output. its like anything with a focused beam you have a better chance of seeing and this kit is almost useless if you dont have these headlight housings such as on the 06'.

Here's a thought, how about using a similar kit for the fog lights? Or does this not make sense at all? Aren't the fog light housing projectors?

The fog lights for 05s and earlier 4Runners are projectors, but in 06, they changed to reflectors. You can still do HIDs in the fogs though... check out j0mama's thread on his HIDs. He did 6000k for the headlights and 3000k yellows for the fogs. Looks pretty good if you ask me...

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T4Runner06,
Excellent setup and writeup. Looks sharp.

Now a few electical questions:
Can you take a closeup pic of the wiring diagram? What size of inline fuse is used? Why do they complicate things with a seperate harness?

JoMama,
I'm thinking of doing the yellow fogs in the '04. What bulb # do the '06 fogs use in that kit?
I would have to look at the budget in order to retro the '06 headlight housings (more involved.)

Excellent write-up... it should definately help anyone who plans on upgrading to HIDs have ideal locations for their ballasts.

Thanks for posting the cut-off shots too.

Kmvreter,

I can send you a pic of the wiring diagram, PM me your e-mail. I have the same kit as T4Runner06 for my Camry. The fuse should be a 20 amp. A seperate wire harness is used to protect the factory wiring. The initial current draw when the igniters fire up on HIDs is much greater than the 55w that Halogens draw; the constant draw when HIDs are running is 35w. I'm not sure to which part of the wire harness you're referring to, but I'll try to provide as much info as I can from my Camry's 9006 kit. All HID wiring harness kits should be the same.

The wiring harness has a relay, which is triggered/switched on by OEM headlight harness. Only one side of your OEM headlight harness is used to trigger the relay to provide power to the HID. There are two plugs that plug into the HID ballasts. There are two more wires with ring terminals that connect to the positive and negative power points on your vehicle.

I think that if you did the black headlights and the HID kit... it would improve alot. Because the surround of the headlight.... in the 2005's it is chrome and it spreads the light out. painting it black would help focus the light and prevent diffusion.


just my two cents .. till I save up to 800 dollars to do it...

?????
There are plenty of members on this site that have installed HIDs in the '03, '04 and '05 stock headlight housings with excellent results. Are the results as good as if the HIDs were placed in projector housings? No, of course not, but they have reported a significant improvement in light output.
There are also plenty of OEM HIDs using reflector type housings on the road. Again, not as good as the projector HIDs, but still a big improvement in light output.

So are we going to do a group buy or what.....

Excellent HIDs.... and great writeup.

Mm... maybe it's time to start thinking of the HID project...

Thanks for the compliments on the writeup. I actually had fun doing it! Just an update for those of you still debating the upgrade... I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THESE HIDs!!! Now that I've had them for a while, I have gotten used to them and every other vehicle I drive (non-HID of course) just doesn't compare. In regards to the kit, and to quote Ferris Bueller, "If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

Hey T4Runner06, thanks for the AMAZING writeup! I have an 06 4Runner also and now I really want to get these for my car....and with my Birthday coming up..... . Just one question though, I'm quite inexperienced when it comes to cars or life in general since I'm only 16 (yes I know I'm spoiled) so I was wondering where I could get some help installing these lights? I would really love to learn from the experience of installing them myself, but I really don't trust myself fiddling with my new 4runner yet. Is there any specific auto place I can take my 4R to and get some help? I live in norcal.

Thanks again!

RockyRoad, the install is really quite simple. My writeup was WAYYYY more detailed than it had to be, so don't get discouraged if it looks like a lot. I just wanted to take a picture of every little step along the way so others wouldn't have questions about how to do it. If you follow the instructions, you should be able to do it yourself with simple hand tools. Just take your time... there aren't very many electrical connections, so it's hard to mess it up.

Of course, if you feel more comfortable having someone professionally install it, you can definitely go that route. Just keep in mind, it will probably cost you a couple hundred bucks or more. Then again, you're 16 and have an 06 4Runner, so perhaps money isn't that big of an issue! Hey, what city do you live in? I'm in NorCal, too (the east SF bay area). If you're close by, I could coach you through the install.

How come your PS fluid if yellowest and not red? I trough ATF fluid use in the PS was red??