eBay hid's worth a damn?

DeclansDaddy

New member
So even my brights in my '86 don't put out a whole lot of light so I was thinking the H4 conversion with hid's. I was surfing eBay and was wondering if any of you had any luck with the cheap kits. They got the housings, ballast and bulbs for like $60. I don't want to dump a bunch of money in the headlights but I have to do something. I was thinking about getting the 6K kit as I'm not a big fan of the blue light. I just want white. Any feedback would be appreciated.
 
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To do it safely you most likely need projectors from another vehicle or as part of the kit. And the lenses on the front of your headlights need to be very clear, not hazy, cloudy, or yellow, otherwise you will just create a lot of glare. Glare is obviously unsafe for oncoming traffic because it makes it hard for them to see, but it's unsafe for you, too! Rather than projecting light where you need it, an improper setup will throw a lot of light in front of the car (and in all other directions). It will look brighter right in front of the car, but you actually won't be able to see in the distance well because your eyes adapt to the brightness right in front of you. It's the same reason you shouldn't use fog lights unless it's actually foggy.

You might be able to get away with it for just the brights, but please don't convert the low beams unless you do it right (properly aimed projectors). I don't know how the high/low beams are set up on your truck, if you can do just one or the other?

You could start by making sure your lenses are clear (polish them or whatever, if needed), and then try one of the halogen bulbs that's a bit brighter than standard. You might be able to do HIR bulbs, which are brighter than standard, as long as they are not too bright and don't throw off too much glare.
 
Just do the H4 conversion and see what you think. That's what I have on mine, and they're plenty bright for street driving.

HID bulbs would actually be a downgrade if you don't install a projector retrofit. The lights on my wife's truck got so much better when I yanked out the plug and play HID kit.
 
You might be able to get away with it for just the brights, but please don't convert the low beams unless you do it right (properly aimed projectors). I don't know how the high/low beams are set up on your truck, if you can do just one or the other?

His stock setup is a sealed beam - the back of the connector on the sealed beam is the same as an H4 bulb. He's talking about buying a set of buckets that replace the sealed beam assembly and then putting a plug-and-play HID in the bucket instead of an H4 bulb.
 
His stock setup is a sealed beam - the back of the connector on the sealed beam is the same as an H4 bulb. He's talking about buying a set of buckets that replace the sealed beam assembly and then putting a plug-and-play HID in the bucket instead of an H4 bulb.

Exactly. So Kevin you're saying just get the housings and some regular halogens like Silverstars or something like them? I don't need super bright lights I just thought the crappy wiring was to blame for my dull lights and I figured the wiring would just be feeding voltage to the hid ballast so it would be enough juice for the ballast. The wires on the back of my headlights look pathetic. They look like a piece of thread compared to most I've seen.
 
I know they're popular, but I don't like Silverstars personally. I run Phillips Nighthawks in all my rigs. Probably not a huge difference either way, but definitely go for the H4 conversion before you think HID. It really does make a big difference.
 
Here's some info on upgrading that wimpy harness, by the way: Toyota 4Runner and Pickup: Brighter Head Lights
Well I finally got around to getting this stuff ordered. I ordered a set of glass housings and also picked up one of the upgraded harnesses. The harness seems like a simple but very effective fix. I was thinking I'd have to cut all into my stock wiring and upgrade but this kit saves me the trouble. Pretty cool. Now I just need to pick out which lights I like. Are the nighthawks you were talking about whiter than regular halogens? I don't need pure white but hate yellow lights.
 

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