HID's!!!! Returned from SEMA

darktiger said:
What about when I lock my 4runner, which lights stay on for about 10-15 seconds?
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darktiger,

That should not be a problem. My Lexus IS300 has the same functionality. My HIDs stay on 30 seconds after I lock my car. My HIDs came from the factory and there should be no problems leaving them on for the 15-30 seconds. If it bothers you, you can lock the car again and the lights will turn off.

The one bad thing, common to most cars, is if you leave a door open or the trunk open. The lights will stay on until all doors and the trunk have been closed.
 
darktiger said:
What about when I lock my 4runner, which lights stay on for about 10-15 seconds?
Click to expand...

from what i've read it's not the turning off that's a problem as the required wattage is lower to run hid versus halogen. but the problem is in supplying enough power to the ballasts to turn them on, as in before the engine is started. that's why i asked about the stock alarm going off with the headlights flashing while the engine's not running.

other aftermarket hid kit makers have said to turn off auto headlights, which turn on before your motor can start to avoid this problem, but has not mentioned what to do for headlight flashing alarms.
 
here is the comparison between the E class and the 4runner (left).
 

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you can see that there's more stray light comming from the 4runner, but that's a given because it does not have projectors. the intensity of both lights seem equal. the only difference is that the benz has a nice cut-off (no stray lights), and i's not blue. overall, i think the retrofit is a good deal. you get what you pay for. it'll cost 300 more for a custom fit projector. i'm still debating.
 
$300 more, allot of personal work and allot of luck to get it right and looking good you mean. Adding projectors won't be easy, especially to make it look "stock". I would suggest going with this retro kit and spend your efforts on other mods.
 
do the retro...to me thats the "real" way to do it, its a good project, i had fun doing mine because I like the fabrication aspect of it. Plug and Play is easy but to me I dont trust those kits. Just my 2 cents.
 
zvachalek,

I mounted the ballast on the metal of the car with velcro like yours. The coverages are okay in my opinion.

What projector are you guys talking about? I'd like to find out how it looks like.
 
I have not been pulled over and suspect that I won't. Too many vehicles with HIDs these days to be singled out. Opinion only. I don't think this kit is over the top on the kelvin scale. Also, I think the 4runner sits low enough and the headlights are angled in such a way that you're really not "brightlighting" anyone.

El_do33: Thanks for the response. For the money, I very pleased thus far.
 
HID KITS/ NEW CONTACT INFO

Hey guys. I found CA Sunshine's direct contact info and they apparently had a booth at SEMA, as well. Anywho, I've got some good news............. For those of you that feel like 8000 is too high on the Kelvin scale, they sell other kits in the 4K to 6K range and you can also purchase replacement xenon bulbs for your kit at $150/pair. They're currently out of stock, but Patrick said call back in two weeks. Also, I didn't approach him about a group buy, but since he's a company rep, that may not be a bad idea for those of you still interested. I think I might try a lower K bulb to see the difference. Here's Patrick's info:

Patrick Au
Ca. Sunshine Inc.
10501 Valley Blvd #1188
El Monte CA 91731
Tel : 626-442-1678
Fax : 626-350-9808
Email : [email protected]
 
i'm waiting for parts to start working on a projector retrofit like brian and vortec did. i don't want to risk blinding people being that i drive in the city a lot.
 
No blinding, or the risk of blinding anyone on this end. You've got a better shot of blinding someone with a homemade projector kit that's improperly aimed than you do with a brighter light in a factory aimed housing. In fact, my tr4 just passed state inspection with the HID kit in it.
 
zvachalek said:
No blinding, or the risk of blinding anyone on this end. You've got a better shot of blinding someone with a homemade projector kit that's improperly aimed than you do with a brighter light in a factory aimed housing. In fact, my tr4 just passed state inspection with the HID kit in it.
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Partially true...yes projectors in a retrofit can be aimed wrong but our housings like any other halogen reflector housing are not meant to handle HID lights, they are meant to handle halogen bulbs and nothing more, that is where the problem lies....by putting in HID projectors you are converting them to the proper fixture for HID. I am not arguing whether yours blind people or not just stating that the housings arent meant for that type of light output.
 
HIDs and housings.

live4swell:

I must preface by saying your retrofit is very cool, much more labor intensive than I have time to deal with, but nonetheless, a good mod. I had quite a long conversation with a friend and Lexus tech about the HID upgrade utilizing the factory housings. He said " the reflectors in your T4R are of the same quality and build that Toyota/ Lexus uses for the ES 330 and IS 300 equipped with HIDs without the auto leveling system. The misconception is that HID bulbs produce more heat and use more system power, which is not the case. Your light pattern will not be altered, but I bet it's a lot brighter." The point is that there are many luxury vehicles on the market with HID systems that do not use projectors. So, why do you believe that reflectors are an "improper fixture" for a HID system if Toyota and Nissan obviously believe otherwise?
 
Well when HID first came out the standard halogen reflectors were not made "tight enough" in terms of stray light to prevent the extra light and HID produces from blinding oncoming traffic and lighting up the fog in front of the driver. Now however that is, for the most part, not a problem. Toyota's reflectors are "world" reflectors, meaning they make one for left hand drive cars and one for right and drive cars no matter where they are sold in the world. Since, in some countries, the 4Runner comes with HID bulbs in the stock housings we should be fine.

That said, will they be a nice and have as sharp a cu-off as projectors, no way! Will they work fine and be a huge improvement over stock, they certainly will. Part of the reason there is confusion is that the US automakers took a long time to develop HID compatible lights. Some still have not and the ones that have use different reflectors for Hid vs. regular. This happens because US automakers do not have nearly the export market as foreign car makers do and, as a result, they find it cheaper to make 99% of the lights cheaper/not as good halogen compatible reflectors only and spend the extra money required for the 1% of HID cars they produce.

Long and short of it
 
Re: HIDs and housings.

zvachalek said:
live4swell:

I must preface by saying your retrofit is very cool, much more labor intensive than I have time to deal with, but nonetheless, a good mod. I had quite a long conversation with a friend and Lexus tech about the HID upgrade utilizing the factory housings. He said " the reflectors in your T4R are of the same quality and build that Toyota/ Lexus uses for the ES 330 and IS 300 equipped with HIDs without the auto leveling system. The misconception is that HID bulbs produce more heat and use more system power, which is not the case. Your light pattern will not be altered, but I bet it's a lot brighter." The point is that there are many luxury vehicles on the market with HID systems that do not use projectors. So, why do you believe that reflectors are an "improper fixture" for a HID system if Toyota and Nissan obviously believe otherwise?
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I thought Reflector housings for HID (ie. Lexus, Acura, Cadillac, etc) had an additional shroud underneath the bulb to block/prevent stray light from reflecting too high. Maybe new Halogen reflector housings can handle them, I was never really sure and didnt want to chance it and blind people on the road. I went with the way I knew would work, more work intensive yes, but i found the whole project rewarding and to see projectors in the 4Runner is something different and it looks great. But if you have had no problems that is great, the more options out there the better.
 
Just out of curiousity, will our housing melt? I have seen a few cars out there that have had housing melt with aftermarket hid and xenon kits..
 
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