Hid retrofit question

[michaelreed]

Hey guys. So eventually I'd like to do an hid retrofit, however, I have a 2005 sr5. New headlight and trim pieces would be to the tune of 500 bucks. Pricey, but not terrible. I've also read of guys doing retrofits on reflector headlights as well as projector and hid retrofits. I feel like buying 06 headlights would be the cleanest, but just wondering what you guys think is the best route to take?

 

[Runner27]

If you buy the 2006+ headlight, you still need to do a retrofit as the 2006+ has halogen projector, not hid projector. So doing a retrofit on a new 2006+ headlight would cost you about ~$800.

 

[michaelreed]

I understand that, I just meant for the units themselves. I'm just curious what everyone thinks is all around "best" way to go.

 

[gaterose]

Hater's gonna hate but I did the '06 retrofit and the squirrel finder mod and I have much better than stock light output and don't get flashed like I did when I had the HID bulbs in my '03 reflector housings.

I thought about doing the retrofit on the '06 housings but the people I've talked to said it wasn't worth the money over the '06 projectors with squirrel finder mod.

edit- also I took my time and picked up the '06 housings on ebay for about $120 for both although I bought them separately. One was $70 (and included the trim piece) and the other was $50

 

[michaelreed]

Hater's gonna hate but I did the '06 retrofit and the squirrel finder mod and I have much better than stock light output and don't get flashed like I did when I had the HID bulbs in my '03 reflector housings.

I thought about doing the retrofit on the '06 housings but the people I've talked to said it wasn't worth the money over the '06 projectors with squirrel finder mod.

edit- also I took my time and picked up the '06 housings on ebay for about $120 for both although I bought them separately. One was $70 (and included the trim piece) and the other was $50

Whats the "squirrel finder mod"?

 

[Runner27]

If you have $$ and want easy, straight forward retrofit, buy 2006+ headlight, then get one of those Morimoto retro-quik system from the retrofit source. It's a direct swap of the projector as the kit provides brackets and hardware. So no cutting, drilling, alignment...

If you want to save $$, then retrofit on a 2005 headlight is a bit time consuming because it requires you to mount and align the projector in the reflector housing. Here is the link on how to do it:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/87465-quad-xenon-hid-retrofit-project.html

 

[gaterose]

Whats the "squirrel finder mod"?

If you search you'll find it. Basically you push the light shield inside where the bulb goes forward so it's halfway closed. This creates a more pronounced cutoff

edit- and I've only seen a couple of people purchased the morimoto retro-quik system. One of them was the person who told me it wasn't worth it vs. squirrel finder mod'ed stock '06 projectors

 

[Runner27]

edit- and I've only seen a couple of people purchased the morimoto retro-quik system. One of them was the person who told me it wasn't worth it vs. squirrel finder mod'ed stock '06 projectors

not worth it in terms of glare? cut off angle? spread of lights?
I'm about to pull the trigger on that so that's why I ask.

 

[riceandpho]

I did the quick retro, it is better than stock, but then i wanted something better, so i changed it out and did a rx afs projectors in my 07 housing, lot of time and effort, but well worth the major upgrade and performance. I do have a thread about my retros.

 

[gaterose]

not worth it in terms of glare? cut off angle? spread of lights?
I'm about to pull the trigger on that so that's why I ask.

This is what I'm referring to, you can ask simple for more info.

From somebody who has done the exact same thing, the trs conversion isnt really worth it IMO. They may be halogen projectors but their performance is just fine compared to the one trs gives you. If you go with higher end projectors maybe there will be a huge difference but that will be a PITA to retrofit.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/89711-08-projector-headlights-my-05-limited.html#post787279

 

[Jrunr]

I do have a retrofit for sale in the classified section. LS430's. They are awesome!

 

[CookieRoe]

Hater's gonna hate but I did the '06 retrofit and the squirrel finder mod and I have much better than stock light output and don't get flashed like I did when I had the HID bulbs in my '03 reflector housings.

Who's gonna hate? That's actually a good way to execute HID light. Yes, those projectors are made for halogen light, but the cut off is very good. As far as putting HID in reflective housing, well, that's a subject that is beaten to death. BUT, That's how I started :naughty:

michaelreed: The best route to take is what you suggested (getting the 06 lights and throwing HIDs in them). If you want to save $$, get the projectors on ebay. Lots of info here on how people performed that.

Good Luck

 

[zimdba]

CookieRoe - is this what you're talking about? Those headlights, squirrel finder mod, and HID's are all someone with an 03-05 would need?

 

[gaterose]

Yeah, for a decent HID setup that's what you'd need but you'll also need the under-the-light trim which goes for about $28 per side I believe. If you don't get the trim you won't be able to reuse your '03 trim, and it's gonna look pretty crappy with no trim pieces.

If you want a high-end, max output setup you'll need to do a retrofit which won't be cheap.

And CookieRoe I think I actually was referring to you (no offense intended) but I know there were also several other who joined in that argument that I was referring to as well. And my H11 Philips HID kit works very well As I said earlier I was told that the drop in retrofit (that uses D2S bulbs) wasn't much better so I doubt I'll ever find the time or money for a full retrofit.

 

[CookieRoe]

CookieRoe - is this what you're talking about? Those headlights, squirrel finder mod, and HID's are all someone with an 03-05 would need?

Yep! That's it. B/C your is a pre-2006 model, you need the 2006 projectors WITH the bottom garish (thin piece of trim under the lights). You will have a small gap btwn the lights and grille, but it isn't too bad. check out pic:

check out this thread to convert your lights:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/15459-projector-head-lamps-3.html#post138177

And CookieRoe I think I actually was referring to you (no offense intended) but I know there were also several other who joined in that argument that I was referring to as well. And my H11 Philips HID kit works very well As I said earlier I was told that the drop in retrofit (that uses D2S bulbs) wasn't much better so I doubt I'll ever find the time or money for a full retrofit.

No offense taken dude. I'm sorry if I seemed militant on past threads, but I do remember being called out on the subject (I don't remember by who). At the end of the day, people are going to do whatever they want and what their wallet allows. Anyway, we all gotta start somewhere. :thumb3:

 

[HOJeepster]

The "easiest" would be to upgrade to the 2006 projector headlamps, then install the Retrofit Source Morimoto quick retro.

If I were you, I would keep the 2005 housings, buy shrouds, 50w ballasts, CBI bulbs, and FX projectors. wham bam you'll have some great output.

I personally did the Quik Retro and thought the output was better than stock projectors, but not worth the time or money. I then upgraded to 50w ballasts and CBI bulbs, now I'm loving the output. Keep in ming the CBI's bulbs were ~$200. I think you'd get better output just going with a better projector from day 1.