HID Options, so what is best??

[Radial GT]

I have been searching around this forum for a good headlight option. And I think that I want to go with an HID system. So I ask the guys that have them, are they worth the $$? Are they plug and play? And do they last????

I don't want to buy any crap here. I would rather spend the money and get good headlights. Factory lights are worthless on my truck. It is amazing how my 04 Sienna's headlights are so awesome and these on the 4Runner are utter crap.

Otherwise I love this truck. I just bought it 2 weeks ago, and have got it up to speed with the upkeep that needed to be done. Much smoother ride than my Camry was.

Also as a side note, I would like to commend this forum. It is very well put together and the enviroment is very helpful and inviting. I have been doing lots of reading to get to know my vehicle. Thanks for all the past information that has been posted!


Mitch

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

Ddmtuning is a great source for hids. I run then and know of a lot of other folks who do as well, very good luck with them. They run $40 + shipping for each kit and are backed by a lifetime warranty. Everything is plug and play, very easy to install.

 

[Radial GT]

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DDM-HID-Kit-Slim-Ballast-35W-or-55W

So this kit right here? Should I go with the 35 Watt or 55? I know these things create extra heat, so I want to be sure that I am not over doing it here.


Thanks

 

[snowbrdr033]

I second DDM tuning HIDs, it's what I just installed for my fogs and I love them. Took a while to get them as they come from China, haha. If you're going for fogs, you'll need the 35W, if you're doing regular headlights, go for the 55W lights.
Personally, I like the "white" color for both fogs and headlights, so I went with the 5000K color and did not need an adapter, extra harnesses, or any of those items.

 

[Whitebeauty]

I dont but will help.. I strongly recommend 43k and Either wattage will do fine. You will definetly be pleased.. hopefully whoever u go with has the kit completly plug and play nothing more nothing less. I personally distribute HID kits so i know what im saying..But you will be amazed thats for sure.

 

[j_fuggin_t]

just put 55w 4300's in on saturday, night and day, and surprisingly the 08 projectors do a great job of distributing the light, i have them on my tundra as well and the ol' lady had to have em lol :ybrick:

 

[Whitebeauty]

just put 55w 4300's in on saturday, night and day, and surprisingly the 08 projectors do a great job of distributing the light, i have them on my tundra as well and the ol' lady had to have em lol :ybrick:

Oh yeah man.. i did a set on a tundra and wow those things beam...

 

[Crywolf]

If you want brighter looking headlights, get the plug and play HID setup. If you want the best headlights possible, go to retrofitsource.com, read up on projector systems and then either retrofit your headlights yourself or have a company build your lights. I personally ran the fx-r bixenons on my 3rd gen. Absolutely night and day difference over drop in HID systems REGARDLESS of what others may tell you. :tongue:

 

[riceandpho]

how many hid thread do we need? retrofit is the best answer and money well spent, use the search button please. cookieroe retrofit will blow your crap kit away, but i have more lumens and put your kit to shame.

 

[bjs0131]

DDM kits are complete crap in my experience. I got the kit for the H11 bulbs and they tell you to just jam some terminals into the old socket. The instructions are here to see what I'm talking about (https://www.ddmtuning.com/support/index.php?_m=downloads&_a=viewdownload&downloaditemid=14&nav=0,1

They really expect that to last? they'd fall out, short out or get filled with water/mud in no time. Also the bulb's plastic base broke as I was inserting the bulb. The strain relief going into the ballast clearly wasn't actually a strain relief, just there for looks. Just complete low budget Chinese made crap they are reselling. Can probably find the exact kit on alibaba.com direct from China for a few bucks.

I'm just hoping they will give me my money back, but of course I can't get them to respond to me.

 

[Radial GT]

how many hid thread do we need? retrofit is the best answer and money well spent, use the search button please. cookieroe retrofit will blow your crap kit away, but i have more lumens and put your kit to shame.

Thank you for providing absolutely no good information to this thread. Congratulations to adding another post to what I am certain is 1400+ very good and insightful posts up to this point. Yes, how dare we talk about something on this site that has been talked about already. Every Forum I have ever been on there is always a group of people that hold their knowledge at a premium, and feel after it is hidden somewhere in the archive it should never be brought up again.

I did use the search function, and like every other search function on a forum it is very difficult to find the exact answer I am looking for. I have 9 posts now and have been on this forum for 2 weeks reading. I have read multiple HID threads, but did not find the information that I was looking for with my situation.

DDM kits are complete crap in my experience.

Thanks! This is what I was hoping to find out by starting this thread. I wanted to get some real world experience from the different kits available. Thank you! Has anyone else been having problems recently with this kit? It would seem that a majority have had good luck with them.

I really would like to do the Projector Install, but that is a bit more $ and work than I would like to perform right now. We just had our second child and have very little time with wrenching on my truck.

Thank you again for all the information.

 

[Nickdsvt]

Yeah man, I NEVER understand why every forum has to have their "search police". The search functions are only so good and its much easier to post a thread for a quick answer, no? I mean, I thought thats what these forums were for? Seems to be a lot of GREAT help around here, people who dont mind sharing, time and time again, its what every forum needs.

Anyway, I had a head kit, and a fog kit from Sharphid.com in my 02 Lightning and I LOVED them. Plug and play, and looked great. I had the 6000k so they were more white I believe, 55w in both and I really couldve driven around with my fogs on all night, thats how bright they were. They're a little more expensive than DDM, though. I will definitely be doing HIDs in the near future, well worth the money.

 

[07RunnerV6]

This might help some for you. After reading up on here, and then checking out this thread, I went with the Volt's that are sold on this forum site by for about $25 off. Well they are not for me, but for my dad's Lexus.

On my previous car I went the retrofit route and it was amazing. But if you are not wanting to spend the bucks (easily $350+) then I would just go HID. Just be warned that the glare may be bad for oncoming drivers. Oh and I would stick with 4300K temp because you will lose some output with 6000K but it will "look" brighter.

HID comparison of DDM, JDMLighting, Volt, HID to Stock : Honda CBR 600RR Sportbike Forum : 600RR.Net

 

[darkie3495]

Thanks! This is what I was hoping to find out by starting this thread. I wanted to get some real world experience from the different kits available. Thank you! Has anyone else been having problems recently with this kit? It would seem that a majority have had good luck with them.

I really would like to do the Projector Install, but that is a bit more $ and work than I would like to perform right now. We just had our second child and have very little time with wrenching on my truck.

Thank you again for all the information.

First off welcome!!

I currently run DDM HIDs in my Lightforces and they light up every time. In the process of modding my truck, I've gone through several kits (Philips, XD Xtreme and DDM) and the DDM's perform as well as any Plug and Play kit I've owned. There are many others that run the DDM kits with no issues.

With that said, from your signature I see that you have a 05 with reflector headlights. I strongly recommend that you save your money for either 06+ projector headlights or a retro-fit. As you mentioned, you have read through many HID thread over the past two weeks and I'm sure you have seen this debate.

The reflectors on the 03-05 4Runner were specifically designed to maximize the light from a halogen bulb and direct it forward rather than control the light. With most Plug and Play HID kits, the light source is on average 3x brighter than halogen. By placing them in a headlight not able to control the additional output, you will create a large amount of glare. This can and will blind oncoming traffic. The cars (is300, wrx, etc) that come from the manufacturer with non-projectors HIDs are designed specifically to focus this light away from oncoming traffic and onto the road.

Some will argue that you can negate the stray light by aiming them downward, however, all this does is lower the light "hot spot" but doesn't eliminate the glare. This is why HIDs in halogen reflectors "appear" to be brighter because the light is scattered everywhere. Even at approx 4-5" of lift, i still get blinded by small CRV's running HIDs in halogen reflectors.

Projectors, even the ones designed for halogens, are able to control this light and creates a cutoff line that allows the driver to experience the benefits of HIDs without the negative effect on other drivers.

This is your truck, your money, your decision. Do with it as you wish.:thumb3:

 

[Radial GT]

This is your truck, your money, your decision. Do with it as you wish.:thumb3:

From what I was reading I guess that I missed the fact that people were talking in regards to having the 06 headlight style. I was imagining that people were just slapping these bad boys into the reflective style headlight assembly. This may change plans.

HID comparison of DDM, JDMLighting, Volt, HID to Stock : Honda CBR 600RR Sportbike Forum : 600RR.Net

This write up off this forum is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you very much for sharing this!


Are there anyone out there that has complained about being flashed alot? I see all kinds of people with super bright headlights on the roads, it just seems to be a new norm with new cars. Or is it people are just slapping there HIDs into their vehicles without considering their fellow man?

Very good point Darkie, thank you for the input. It would seem as though I may be putting more $$ into this deal than I thought..

 

[snowbrdr033]

I response to you asking about people complaining about being flashed/having HID bulbs in their non-projector housing:
I think it's a two-fold answer: 1. It is more or less "common respect/courtesy" to NOT put the HID in a regular housing that it is not designed to be in due to the altered light output. I know there are a ton of people out there who could give zero &*$(#@ how it affects other drivers, even if it means they have improved visibility. 2. It is not (from what I understand) DOT approved, meaning if you live in a state where they require vehicle safety checks, etc. to be able to drive it, then you could fail since it's techinically illegal.

Hopefully that makes sense; I know, I'm in the same sinking canoe as you....I want HIDs for my low beams yet don't wanna fork over all the extra cash to get the projector housing or to the retro-fit myself....if that makes sense. ha.

I'm debating whether to just be happy with the halogens I've got or to save up and get the brand new projectors from an aftermarket company.

Hope my input helps ya! :uzi:
:fishing:

 

[Radial GT]

Hopefully that makes sense; I know, I'm in the same sinking canoe as you....I want HIDs for my low beams yet don't wanna fork over all the extra cash to get the projector housing or to the retro-fit myself....if that makes sense. ha.

I priced out replacement assemblies at 126 shipped a piece off Amazon. Those plus the Ballast might be a project better suited for next summer. I don't want to be yet another jack-wagon on the road blinding fellow drivers. This thread has been very educational for me, hopefully it helps someone else down the road in their searches as well.

For now I am dreaming about crisp 6000K light with a sharp contrast line. :moping:

 

[snowbrdr033]

I priced out replacement assemblies at 126 shipped a piece off Amazon. Those plus the Ballast might be a project better suited for next summer. I don't want to be yet another jack-wagon on the road blinding fellow drivers. This thread has been very educational for me, hopefully it helps someone else down the road in their searches as well.

For now I am dreaming about crisp 6000K light with a sharp contrast line. :moping:

hahaha, I completely understand and we're definitely in the same boat. I actually learned quite a bit despite my never-endless reading on here. I will warn you though and I've heard of other guys having issues: be careful where you get replacement parts, like for the headlights/tails online, I know Amazon can be a great place but I've heard of some getting them and not being happy with the sub-par quality in the product.

Just do some research before you actually pay!!! Be sure to check out the forum sponsors too, they help us out and often will give discount codes and have great products!!

 

[riceandpho]

If u are going to spend around 200 for xenon depot kit, put another 100 to a complete retrofit kit, theretrofitsource morimoto mini h1 projectors will work for your housing, only takes 4 hours to complete for fist timers. These new post from tge first 2 pages has been hid related, save your money towards a retrofit and u be way happier.

 

[Crywolf]

save your money towards a retrofit and u be way happier.

x2 I think maybe your best bet at this time would be to get some high quality halogen bulbs and maybe upgrade your headlight harness to be sure you're getting full power to the bulbs, then save your money and retrofit. You'll never look back.