HID Headlights

Register to hide this ad
If you look around the net a little bit, you'll find people who retrofitted HID into their 3rd generation 4Runners by adding in their own projection headlight assemblies, ballasts and whatever else goes along with HID headlights. As far as I know, the squirrel finders (on stock headlamps that are non HID) give the regular headlight a more broad spread of light, so if you install HID's in the stock assembly without upgrading to projector lenses, you're going to be blinding people left and right
 
Ya i have looked around and I may retrofit some projectors later on if i buy an old set of headlight housings. But do the 4Runner's specifically blind people? From what I have seen in person it really depends on the vehicle.
 
Anyone have a write up on how to upgrade to projector lenses? My stock headlights are terrible and out here it's dark at 5pm. I've replaced my bulbs with crappy e-bay knock offs but all they do is change the light from yellow to blueish white with no real difference in visibility. Do I just need to fork out the money and get better bulbs? And what about bulbs for the corner lamps too? (I've got the chrome bulbs from Burtman. Look clean when the lights are off but don't throw hardly any light in front of the truck).

With snow coming it would be nice to see better. Plus, deer running in front of your 70 mph truck is a real problem here.
 
i just bought a full setup to do the complete HID RETRO, with projectors, ballasts, bulbs, and ignitors. i still need the harness. check ebay and if your gonna put in HID's get everything, not just the bulbs and wiring harness. go to www.hidplanet.com/forums they have information about it all. im still new to the HID and wont be doing my retro until feb, but i have the parts waiting. also search on yotatech.com i know there are a few guys who have write ups about retro's over there.
 
i have a friend who put HID's in his 01 stock housing and it works just fine no obnoxious glare or anything like that.
 
spongerx said:
Anyone have a write up on how to upgrade to projector lenses? My stock headlights are terrible and out here it's dark at 5pm. I've replaced my bulbs with crappy e-bay knock offs but all they do is change the light from yellow to blueish white with no real difference in visibility. Do I just need to fork out the money and get better bulbs? And what about bulbs for the corner lamps too? (I've got the chrome bulbs from Burtman. Look clean when the lights are off but don't throw hardly any light in front of the truck).

With snow coming it would be nice to see better. Plus, deer running in front of your 70 mph truck is a real problem here.
Click to expand...


V-LEDS have the direct replacement LED bulbs for our trucks. I thought at $59.00 they may just be an improvement close to HIDs without the hid price and the retro.
I may give them a try if my bulbs die again.

The best aftermarket bulbs are Eurolite street legal white. They pull the same watts as your factory bulbs and are beautiful. Never BLOW really (knock on wood).
 
Andrew_I said:
I am thinking about ordering a set of 8000k HID headlights for my 99 4runner off xenon depot. Does anyone have experience with these headlights? and does anyone have experience with HIDs in stock headlight housing and are they actually as blinding as people say?

http://www.kbcarstuff.com/Xtreme_Digital_HID_8000k_Xenon_HID_Conversion_Kits_p/xt-8k.htm
Click to expand...

I agree with others, HIDs in non-retro lamps are a waste. They look good but they dont have direction control.

My buddy put some in his Infinity I30 (no high beam now) and they spread nice but just dont have BEAM control. It is all over the place.

I know older caddys and Mercs without projectors had them in there but they looked crappy.
Just my 15 cents.
 
Just remember, halogen headlight housings were designed specifically for halogen bulbs...they were never designed around HID bulbs. Therefore, halogen headlight housings simply have no way to focus the intense light of HIDs.

Whether HID bulbs in stock halogen headlights blind people or not, that's debatable. I've been blinded by some and other running them have not bothered me at all. However, the main benefit of running HID bulbs coupled with projectors, is the huge amount of focused light spread you gain that only projectors can offer. Yes, you gain more light (and color) with HID bulbs, but if you can't focus it, what good is that? I'll admit, HID bulbs in stock housings are a step up from stock (simply b/c of the amount of light HIDs emit)...but, your step up would be so much larger if you swapped in a set of projectors instead.

I've met a couple guys around town that drive 4Runners who've swapped in HID bulbs into their stock housings. I myself have done a projector retrofit. All 3 of us have compared our light output...and guess what, there is no comparison. My lights put theirs to shame. Simply because of how well my projectors focus and spread the light around. Now they both want me to do a retrofit for them. I just tell them to do it themselves. :D

I'll get off my soapbox now...I just wanted to clear up any misconceptions often associated with HID bulbs being installed in halogen housings. Yes, you gain more light with HID bulbs and glare may or may not be an issue for some, but by not focusing the light with the use of projectors, you're really only limiting yourself. :bigok:

Here's my retrofit for illustration purposes:
http://www.yotatech.com/f2/another-hid-bi-xenon-retrofit-install-pics-151917/
 
Rockslide,

Your retro is A++
I swear I have been putting this off for the past 2 yrs.

Just one question, did you disable your DRL?

i figured that would pose a problem for HIDs.

CRAP I have some Euro VW projectors I got from ebay to do my Accord. NEVER got around to it.

Dont know what to do with them.

:(
 
ambush said:
Rockslide,

Your retro is A++
I swear I have been putting this off for the past 2 yrs.

Just one question, did you disable your DRL?

i figured that would pose a problem for HIDs.

CRAP I have some Euro VW projectors I got from ebay to do my Accord. NEVER got around to it.

Dont know what to do with them.

:(
Click to expand...


Thanks for the comps everyone. I've really enjoyed these HIDs. The pictures don't do the light output any justice. They look even better in person. :D

And yes ambush, I disabled my drls about 2yrs ago or so. Had I not done so (now or then), they definitely would have caused havoc for my HIDs.

Don't know what to do with your euro vw projectors...you could always put them back on ebay and try selling them.
 
rockslide, after re-reading your write up i cant wait to get home. i bought me a complete set of infiniti fx projectors, bulbs ballasts and ignitors, only thing i need is a wiring harness. and so far ive only spent 263. now about that wiring harness, you bought a 9004 or H4 PnP off ebay, where? i was un able to find one, and obviously you have no complaints about the harness, or do you? cuz some people do. i drive an 02 sport, and if i remember correctly i takes 9004 right? i cant just go pop the hood and look or else i would, 4runner is not with me.
Thanks
Turner
 
Last edited:
wyorunner said:
rockslide, after re-reading your write up i cant wait to get home. i bought me a complete set of infiniti fx projectors, bulbs ballasts and ignitors, only thing i need is a wiring harness. and so far ive only spent 263. now about that wiring harness, you bought a 9004 or H4 PnP off ebay, where? i was un able to find one, and obviously you have no complaints about the harness, or do you? cuz some people do. i drive an 02 sport, and if i remember correctly i takes 9004 right? i cant just go pop the hood and look or else i would, 4runner is not with me.
Thanks
Turner
Click to expand...

I purchased a H4 wiring harness from a seller on ebay. When I get home tonight, I'll look on my laptop and see if I still have his ebay ID. I'd look on ebay now, but I'm blocked from it here at work.

Granted, the seller was great to deal with prior and during the sale, but afterwards, he quit returning my emails. I tried contacting him b/c he failed to provide the wiring instuctions that were mentioned in the ad (each individual wire was not labeled or properly color coded when I recv'd the wiring kit). So after multiple attempts to reach him, I quit and tackled the wiring harness myself. However, it was much easier than I had anticipated. After a few trial and errors, I quickly learned how to mate the pnp wiring kit correclty to my oem wiring.

With that said, would I buy it or a similar pnp wiring kit again...definitely. For $30, this wiring kit works great. I've had zero issues with it thus far. It was the exact lenght needed and everything about it was plug-n-play.

Oh and nice find on the parts you mentioned already having! I will say this, do yourself a favor and purchase a set of Acura TSX lenses to swap into the FX projectors. As you can see from my own install pictures, the FX lenses are not as what they seem. They look clear when on a flat surface, but when looking thru them as pictured, they are very blurry. Your bulbs will only magnify this, thus causing a less than desired cutoff. Yes the TSX lenses are expensive, but they are def worth it. They are so incredibly clear, they really make this retro worth doing.
 
Rock Slide said:
I purchased a H4 wiring harness from a seller on ebay. When I get home tonight, I'll look on my laptop and see if I still have his ebay ID. I'd look on ebay now, but I'm blocked from it here at work.
Click to expand...

Wyorunner, I had no luck finding the seller I puchased my wiring kit from. However, do a search on ebay and you should be able to find a similar kit.

From the looks of it, this one appears similar to mine...Ebay auction ID: 180290641374
 
After looking at your write up, yet again, i decided last night that i am going to get a set of TSX lens' and sell the fx. The comparison pics you did were the seller. So those are on my to buy list for tonight, and then ill have all the parts for the retro, i bought the Malibu tops yesterday to modify for my shrouds. And i have the same 4runner, well color wise and edition. Mine has 100k on it and not near the mods. But ive got an every growing list for when i get home. Thanks for the great write ups and information.

turner
 
I found a bunch of the wiring harness last night i just figured id see what you had to say. Because some people have had some rotten luck with the harness' off ebay. Did your harnes plug into both OEM headlight sockets or just one? If it was only one, what did you do with the other. Ive read about people having problems with that.
 
wyorunner said:
After looking at your write up, yet again, i decided last night that i am going to get a set of TSX lens' and sell the fx. The comparison pics you did were the seller. So those are on my to buy list for tonight, and then ill have all the parts for the retro, i bought the Malibu tops yesterday to modify for my shrouds. And i have the same 4runner, well color wise and edition. Mine has 100k on it and not near the mods. But ive got an every growing list for when i get home. Thanks for the great write ups and information.

turner
Click to expand...


Kewl. You'll love the TSX lenses.

You may able to purchase just the lenses by themselves or maybe not. As you can see from my write up, I had to purchase the TSX projectors and lenses. After I removed the lenses, I sold the TSX projectors back on ebay.

And when you get ready to swap your lenses out, you may want to give the "color o-ring" mod a try. I tried it, but I could not find a thick enough gasket to make it work, so I scrapped it. If you need more info on the mod, there's a link to it in my write up.

Yep, from your grocery list of parts, looks as though you'll have a blast when you return! Good luck with all the upcoming mods!




wyorunner said:
I found a bunch of the wiring harness last night i just figured id see what you had to say. Because some people have had some rotten luck with the harness' off ebay. Did your harnes plug into both OEM headlight sockets or just one? If it was only one, what did you do with the other. Ive read about people having problems with that.
Click to expand...

Yeah, with ebay, anything you purchase is hit or miss. I was fortunate and got a great harness.

As for the harness plug on the wiring kit, the one I purchased only came with one socket (IIRC, that's all you will need). Because of the wire lengths in this harness, I was required to mate the socket on it, to the oem driverside headlight socket. My oem passenger side headlight socket is not connected to anything. I just covered it to keep water from getting in and zip tied it out of the way. It's been working great ever since.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 436 (members: 5, guests: 431)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,304
Messages
3,554,041
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top