Are HIDs worth the trouble?

[CookieRoe]

HIDs???

Complete waste of time!!!!!!!!!!!!

In all seriousness: They are the best mod you can do if done properly. I'm not going to get into an argument on what constitutes proper. I live and drive often rurally so they are "needed", LOL.

 

[WI_4Runner]

Prior vehicle was an Acura that had stock OEM HID's. Knew I needed to upgrade once I got my 4Runner as the downgrade to halogen's is tough to get used to.

Not that the 4R threw minimal light with the standard halogen bulbs, but the difference is night and day post HID-Retrofit.. Best $150 you could spend on our rigs. Also did the fogs, both are a 5000k Xtreme Digital HID kit thru KBcarstuff. Seems many members use these kits. Completely happy, had them out at night in the mountains over the weekend under heavy rain & snowfall, fantastic output.

I occasionally get flashed, once every few months, but the light is necessary for the rural road driving I do.

 

[GMZ]

Through good and bad luck I've had 3 4th gens. My first mod is always a 4300k HID kit from Xenon Depot. Second mod is always interior LED lighting kit from same. Excellent products and vendor.

Just make sure you do the squirrel finder mod and aim them correctly for any lift and you're gtg. Ive never had a burnt bulb or any type of issue on either of my 3 kits.

 

[Erkelbot]

No, the point is not blinding people. The squirrel finders WILL blind people if your headlights are mis-aligned -- and most are, even if you never messed with the headlight alignment. Amplifying bad alignment of your headlights is VERY problematic.

And, most folks on here like themselves a lift -- yet, never realigned their headlights. Even more reason to "aim them down" before they ruin people's retinas.

That's why I said that.

i always laugh when guys say to throw in HIDs, but just aim them down...isnt that defeating the purposing of getting better light on the road? one would then actually be able to see less of a distance. but i guess if you factor in the glare...



HIDs are a HUGE improvement...if done right. TRS makes a quick retro kit for your '06 lights. simply crack open your headlights, replace the projector (only takes 4 screws) and you are in business. much easier than retro'ing the 03-05 lights.

throwing a HID bulb into a halogen projector may give you more lumens than a halogen and may look decent on a garage door at 15', but it will not be as good of an output as a true projector designed for an HID bulb down the road. optics are optics, i dont care what anyone says about that!

spend an evening on HIDplanet.com, and you will see what you are missing.

i will be retro'ing some RX330 projectors in my 05 housings. i will be using OEM philips D2S bulbs and OEM Matsushita ballasts. entire setup will run me under $300 for parts and its all OEM stuff.

 

[chompster4runner]

i always laugh when guys say to throw in HIDs, but just aim them down...isnt that defeating the purposing of getting better light on the road? one would then actually be able to see less of a distance. but i guess if you factor in the glare...



No issues with glare and i see just fine. To each their own.

 

[lcbjr77]

For all of you who have gone with the Xenon Depot 4300k Philips bulb, did you switch out the 9006 fog light bulb also, and if so which one did you use?

 

[Erkelbot]

For all of you who have gone with the Xenon Depot 4300k Philips bulb, did you switch out the 9006 fog light bulb also, and if so which one did you use?

I left my fogs as halogen, only went with yellow Nokya bulbs to get less reflection with them on. The Philips are awesome FWIW.

 

[Krayziekid]

Through good and bad luck I've had 3 4th gens. My first mod is always a 4300k HID kit from Xenon Depot. Second mod is always interior LED lighting kit from same. Excellent products and vendor.

Just make sure you do the squirrel finder mod and aim them correctly for any lift and you're gtg. Ive never had a burnt bulb or any type of issue on either of my 3 kits.

How hard is it to move the squirrel finders? Once you move them, can you move them back? As in if I move them, put in HIDs, but want to go back to Halogens, is it easy to move around?

 

[lcbjr77]

I should have mentioned that, I will leaving the fogs as halogens but switching color. Thanks

 

[Erkelbot]

How hard is it to move the squirrel finders? Once you move them, can you move them back? As in if I move them, put in HIDs, but want to go back to Halogens, is it easy to move around?

Easy to move them back -- as long as you don't break them. They're a thin metal piece, and you'll want to bend them down. Just don't bend them all the way down and you can bend them back if you like.

 

[alia176]

I absolutely HATE being at the receiving end of HID lights. Regardless of how well they're aimed, they are BLINDING when they're approaching you. All of the fancy cars out there these days with HIDs are simply blinding oncoming traffic every time they hit a bump or any roadway irregularities. Even when they're behind me, they still burn my retinas with the reflections off the rear view mirrors.

rant off

Realistically, halogen lights are easier on the eyes during nigh time driving for me and probably most folks. These cool white or bluish white HIDs are super bright but can't be easy on the eyes. It's like reading a bedtime book with bright white LEDs vs soft white/yellowish incandescent bulbs. Maybe my eyes are getting old but they sure get tired quicker with bright white lights.

 

[97BlackAckCL]

Very worth it, night and day difference

 

[MSRP.]

Worth it?
I think so, for something that you may use every single day.

Worth $2-300 for a full retrofit? Yes.
Worth paying premium dollars for what is essentially a standard HID kit that consists of ballasts and bulbs?--maybe.

I'm a fan of TRS, but my DDM kit from 8 years ago that cost me $50 is still running strong. That said, it's not being subject to rock crawling, nor water crossings. If the latter is a common occurrence for you, I would highly suggest getting the ballasts potted by a local retrofitter to minimize future issues.

 

[07V8]

Easy to move them back -- as long as you don't break them. They're a thin metal piece, and you'll want to bend them down. Just don't bend them all the way down and you can bend them back if you like.

Do you have to take the headlights apart to bend the metallic flaps?

 

[TheTurboMRT]

Do you have to take the headlights apart to bend the metallic flaps?

I was able to reach in with my finger, with the headlights still mounted in the car, and bend them and test. Your results may vary.

Also, I don't see the point of the squirrel finders with regular halogens. You can see them at night as well, and I think that getting rid of them is appropriate whether you have HIDs or stock halogens.

 

[rooost]

Hmm.. Honestly I would say it depends on a couple factors...

For example:

-Do you run more than the stock headlight/foglights? (i.e. Are you or do you plan on running LED bars, spotlights, ect.)

-Do you do most of your driving in urban areas or in rural? (Most urban areas are washed in enough streetlamps, secondary lighting you almost don't need any headlights, but you'll notice it on rural highways)

-Do you have a lot of money to spend on extra stuff?

I thought about HIDs for a long time, but I think I'm going to wait for better quality/output LED retrofit kits to come out at this point. I have a nice bright, clean light from my '06~'09 style headlights and the ZXE bulbs I'm running, even out in the boonies I'm getting good light coverage; I also plan on going with LED Bars in the future to get larger coverage, so HIDs seem more of a finishing touch than a need right now.

My point of view as a guy that has trouble seeing and hell I am only 40, is in the city there is so much light on the sides of the road...stores, billboards etc that the road looks like a BLACK river ! Then throw in all the other a-holes in the Audis/Mbnz etc that it is harder to see...

and for my .02 it is a great Mod, does anyone have any good experience upgrading the stock fog light sockets ? I tried a couple things and one turned out green..and what I have now doesnt have much impact

 

[hendy.27]

I did the same thing: 3500k with my fog lights. More functionality for fog and it looks good with the contrast.

Do your 3500k's look really yellow? The ones I got have more of a yellowish tint, but nothing like the pictures I saw before I bought them. I might buy some aftermarket yellow housing to give them that nice yellow look.

 

[hoggy46]

wow, so many people ok with using hid kits in halogen projector lamps, is everyone really ok putting excess glare in oncoming drivers eyes? not to mention it isn't legal

 

[S4TA]

Do your 3500k's look really yellow? The ones I got have more of a yellowish tint, but nothing like the pictures I saw before I bought them. I might buy some aftermarket yellow housing to give them that nice yellow look.

Hard to capture on my phone. The yellow is subtle but noticeable.

4,300k HID Low Beam
3,000k HID Fog Lights

 

[S4TA]

wow, so many people ok with using hid kits in halogen projector lamps, is everyone really ok putting excess glare in oncoming drivers eyes? not to mention it isn't legal

I have less glare than my other vehicle with OEM HID lights. Sharp cutoff. No one ever flashes me.

Also, nearly everything folks do here is for "off-road purposes only".