CajunYota
New member
**Updated with beam pic***
This will be a short review of the Xenon Depot Xtreme HID 5000k Kit.
PRICE: XD offers a $25 discount to T4R members. Not too shabby. The kit was less than $150 delivered to my doorstep. I didn't go with the Phillips bulbs b/c I didn't feel like the extra $45ish would make a big enough difference to justify the relative increase in price. Could be wrong, but I'm happy with the results regardless. I would consider it a good value.
CUSTOMER SERVICE: I wouldn't have much to put here, except that my autocomplete accidentally entered my old address for shipment when I checked out. I immediately emailed customer service to request the change to my new address and they complied. Package arrived on time and as promised.
INSTALLATION: Although the kit is nearly PnP, the wiring is not very straightforward. The supplied diagram does show how to plug everything up, but I feel it could be improved upon to be a little more clear. There is a fairly detailed troubleshooting section, although thankfully I didn't need it. Triple checked all connections and everything fired up on the first try. During the checking phase I did come across a couple of connections which were swapped, which you must take extra care to catch. There are a few identical plugs, so care must be taken to ensure the correct connection for each. The part which really disappointed me was that they were only supplied with one pair of 3M sticky pad for mounting each ballast. There is a relay and another small box thing which also need to be secured. It would be nice if there was some 3M pad included to mount these as well. All together though, it was a fairly simple install. If you can swap a car stereo, you can do this.
*Update* the connector which plugs into the stock harness doesn't fit quite tight enough and mine came loose while driving. This caused the relay to"chatter" and rapidly turn the light on and off.this is bad for hids.I ended up fixing it by clamping it closed with a zip tie. A little bit jerry rigged, but it works.
RESULTS: Drastically increased light output. The bulbs seem to be pretty compatible with the stock halogen projectors. The cutoff is sharp and I haven't been highbeam flashed yet. For all of the concern people seem to have with swapping HIDs into Halogen projectors, I have to say it wasn't an issue in this case. Definitely not worth (to me) the extra expense and complication of a full HID projector retrofit. Those with regular reflector style may want to consider at least grabbing the projectors from an 06+.
The 5000k color is exactly what I wanted...ice white without being too blue. Looks very slick. You can see some of the difference in output in the photos below, although the empty lot next to my house (where the pics were taken) is somewhat lit up already. In areas with no ambient lighting, the difference is even more severe.
I need to correct the aim on the drivers side headlight. The 4runner was in a minor front end collission in its previous life and when they replaced the headlight they never bothered correcting the aim. When I do this, I'll post up pics of the beam pattern.
Also during the swap, I pulled the housings, painted the insides black, wet sanded and polished them, and installed XPel clear bra to keep em looking good. And without further ado, on to the headlight porn:
here's the beams on a wooden fence from about 15-20 ft. You can clearly see one of the "steps". The other is just as pronounced but I was having trouble catching it bc of the brightness washing the photo out. cutoff looks clean to me. Again I will reiterate that it would take a lot to convince me that a "proper" hid projector retro fit would be worth the time or expense in this application.
This will be a short review of the Xenon Depot Xtreme HID 5000k Kit.
PRICE: XD offers a $25 discount to T4R members. Not too shabby. The kit was less than $150 delivered to my doorstep. I didn't go with the Phillips bulbs b/c I didn't feel like the extra $45ish would make a big enough difference to justify the relative increase in price. Could be wrong, but I'm happy with the results regardless. I would consider it a good value.
CUSTOMER SERVICE: I wouldn't have much to put here, except that my autocomplete accidentally entered my old address for shipment when I checked out. I immediately emailed customer service to request the change to my new address and they complied. Package arrived on time and as promised.
INSTALLATION: Although the kit is nearly PnP, the wiring is not very straightforward. The supplied diagram does show how to plug everything up, but I feel it could be improved upon to be a little more clear. There is a fairly detailed troubleshooting section, although thankfully I didn't need it. Triple checked all connections and everything fired up on the first try. During the checking phase I did come across a couple of connections which were swapped, which you must take extra care to catch. There are a few identical plugs, so care must be taken to ensure the correct connection for each. The part which really disappointed me was that they were only supplied with one pair of 3M sticky pad for mounting each ballast. There is a relay and another small box thing which also need to be secured. It would be nice if there was some 3M pad included to mount these as well. All together though, it was a fairly simple install. If you can swap a car stereo, you can do this.
*Update* the connector which plugs into the stock harness doesn't fit quite tight enough and mine came loose while driving. This caused the relay to"chatter" and rapidly turn the light on and off.this is bad for hids.I ended up fixing it by clamping it closed with a zip tie. A little bit jerry rigged, but it works.
RESULTS: Drastically increased light output. The bulbs seem to be pretty compatible with the stock halogen projectors. The cutoff is sharp and I haven't been highbeam flashed yet. For all of the concern people seem to have with swapping HIDs into Halogen projectors, I have to say it wasn't an issue in this case. Definitely not worth (to me) the extra expense and complication of a full HID projector retrofit. Those with regular reflector style may want to consider at least grabbing the projectors from an 06+.
The 5000k color is exactly what I wanted...ice white without being too blue. Looks very slick. You can see some of the difference in output in the photos below, although the empty lot next to my house (where the pics were taken) is somewhat lit up already. In areas with no ambient lighting, the difference is even more severe.
I need to correct the aim on the drivers side headlight. The 4runner was in a minor front end collission in its previous life and when they replaced the headlight they never bothered correcting the aim. When I do this, I'll post up pics of the beam pattern.
Also during the swap, I pulled the housings, painted the insides black, wet sanded and polished them, and installed XPel clear bra to keep em looking good. And without further ado, on to the headlight porn:
here's the beams on a wooden fence from about 15-20 ft. You can clearly see one of the "steps". The other is just as pronounced but I was having trouble catching it bc of the brightness washing the photo out. cutoff looks clean to me. Again I will reiterate that it would take a lot to convince me that a "proper" hid projector retro fit would be worth the time or expense in this application.
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