2005 Headlights- HID Retrofit?

[LTDSC]

do my likes really look like they from ebay? aww, sorry you think that. i am actually quit fond of them and proud i did it. it is my first car i ever did a retrofit on.

haha everyones got different opinions. I just am filterless and quite frank with mine

 

[yosh2000]

it still lights up more overall, even aimed down. Its not like i threw in HIDs and aimed them directly at the ground. Dont be ignant. Light projection is still vastly greater than that of a halogen bulb. No odd or horrific glare.

I refuse to retrofit because its far too much work and if the housing wasnt designed for it in the first place its ugly and looks like an eBay special.

did i say you aimed them directly on the ground...no. if you aimed them down (no matter how far), there is no way your throw is now better than halogens. that is, unless that glare above the cutoff line is making up for it. its physically not possible.

show me your 25' cutoff and lets compare it to a HID projector cutoff, or even a halogen cutoff...i guarantee you have glare, no way around it.

you are swapping to '06 lights anyways right, i believe TRS makes a drop in HID projector swap.

optics are optics, and HID bulbs are not meant for halogen reflectors, no getting around that fact. some may think they are "good enough", but they arent.... in my opnion...

and looks are all personal preference, but a nice retro with a gatling shroud looks sweet and so much better than any egay specials...in my opinion...

 

[chompster4runner]

it still lights up more overall, even aimed down. Its not like i threw in HIDs and aimed them directly at the ground. Dont be ignant. Light projection is still vastly greater than that of a halogen bulb. No odd or horrific glare.

I refuse to retrofit because its far too much work and if the housing wasnt designed for it in the first place its ugly and looks like an eBay special.

You sound like a "retrofit errything! ZOMG!" kinda sir.

X2s^^^....I stuck hid in my halogens and tilt down by 1-2 degree and it's fine with no crazy glare. I even had my wife drive the Runner towards me as I'm in my lowered Acura Legend. Not blinding to me. Bright? Yes! Blinding? Nope! Not all halogens are the same. :artist2:

 

[TiN]

I loved my retros so much, I retrofitted a few lights in the house as well :rofl:

 

[J053619]

Since my 2005'sheadlights are not the brightest, I was thinking about upgrading. The only thing I am aware of is the Morimoto HID setup from the Retrofit Source. Is it significantly brighter than stock? Since I also have a slight crack in one headlamp housing, I may have to replace one but thats fine. I can buff the other one to make them look somewhat similar.

So without going into a week of detailed work, is the Morimoto HID setup the best out there? Are there other options that fit well? I have seen some threads and I think I can manage the retrofit process. I have not found any other better options yet. Any info will be helpful. Thanks!

Hey if you're looking at the morimoto setup i have one from hokierunner. Didn't realize when i bought his headlights that he had an earlier 4th gen. I did not installed it since it didn't fit my newer 4th gen plugs but don't want to throw it away. I can send you pics and just cover shipping plus whatever you like. Shoot me a message if you're interested.

He had it setup so its just plug and play with your original headlight plugs.

 

[preacher35]

I am currently running HID's in my '05 and I am THRILLED with them! I have had them for almost two years now and no problems whatsoever. Yes they are brighter and give me a much broader pattern on the road in front of me. They are one of my favorite upgrades on my Runner (and I have several of them!). Do not let others, telling you that you should only put HID's in '06-'09's as they are wrong.

 

[yosh2000]

X2s^^^....I stuck hid in my halogens and tilt down by 1-2 degree and it's fine with no crazy glare.

so you dropped your cutoff by 1.75-3.5" at 100' and it reduced all your glare...? interesting....

Yes they are brighter and give me a much broader pattern on the road in front of me.

...also known as glare.... its physically impossible to get a broader pattern with the exact same optic bowl and focal point by simply changing the bulb. any possible broader pattern seen would be glare from a bulb that is now at a different focal point.

OP, you should only put HID bulbs in HID projectors...anyone else that tells you otherwise is wrong

 

[preacher35]

so you dropped your cutoff by 1.75-3.5" at 100' and it reduced all your glare...? interesting....


...also known as glare.... its physically impossible to get a broader pattern with the exact same optic bowl and focal point by simply changing the bulb. any possible broader pattern seen would be glare from a bulb that is now at a different focal point.

OP, you should only put HID bulbs in HID projectors...anyone else that tells you otherwise is wrong

OK, you can call it whatever you want. The bottom line is night time visibility was greatly improved due to peripheral light and I would never go back. Thus, how am I "wrong"?

 

[ggunn9]

I had an 04 SR5 that I put a DDM tuning HID kit in and it was much brighter then stock and I didn't blind anybody. No one ever flashed there lights at me.

I had a 35W 6000k kit for $29.95 + $20.00 shipping. Money well spent.

I just bought the same kit again for my 2013 SR5. Works great.

 

[chompster4runner]

I get that this conversation is going to get more technical. Point is if I'm driving towards my Runner in my lowered car and it's not blinding me. I don't know what else to say at this point. LoL

Pretty sure there are some glares but you'll have to be at a certain angle which is getting more technical. if I don't deem it blindly bright then it's ok for me. If the op want to retrofit his for a couple hundred bucks is perfectly fine. Drop a HID kit work wonders for me and I'm just spreading the joy for less than a $100.:hatsoff:

 

[Flyer]

Wow, I am learning way way more about 4R lighting options than I dreamed of. I need to go through this thread again- especially the last dozen or so responses. For some reason, I had stopped getting email notifications on this. Sorry for not dropping in earlier.

Thanks for all this info. I'll soon have lights I really like. I just need to read up on all this a little more. It is really exciting to have significant brighter lighting. Dark mountain twisty roads and trails feel so much safer, being able to see farther and into the trees and woods a bit. I have been surprised by a deer or two near Ouray and some backroads are so twisty and dark that wider headlights would be incredibly useful.



J053619: I sent you a PM.