HID's

[AlphaQup]

Alpha, how does the HID shine in the immediate vicinity in front of your 4runner? Or does your HID just shine far off in front?? My Sienna with OEM HIDS (reflector-based) shines bright and clear in the vicinity of the nose...it does not shine far off & high as your HID i think.

Disclaimer...i have no idea on this topic.

Thai,

The immediate vicinity in front of the 4Runner is not lit up in the pic due to the rain. There is more than sufficient light on the ground in front of me, if that was the intent of your question. As far as reflector based OEM hids, Prius headlights should all be recalled. They are practically high beams. I haven't seen Siennas with HIDs, but maybe I just don't look at family vans. lol

 

[Thai]

Thai,

The immediate vicinity in front of the 4Runner is not lit up in the pic due to the rain. There is more than sufficient light on the ground in front of me, if that was the intent of your question. As far as reflector based OEM hids, Prius headlights should all be recalled. They are practically high beams. I haven't seen Siennas with HIDs, but maybe I just don't look at family vans. lol

Ahh...that makes sense from the pics. Not sure about Prius, but my Sienna has manually adjusted HIDS. They are pretty effective at night...and so far, no one has flashed me yet coming from the other direction. BTW, the HIDS come only on some Sienna Limited.

 

[lawwailok]

hi alphaQ, no offense to anyone here but yes, 06+ with hid kit has a little bit hot spot. i can show you in the picture below, see the part i circled is bit brighter than the rest of the area? it is minor hot spot. i used to have hid kit in my 07 and yes, they do work really good honestly.

and i think my picture below has similar distance to the wall, and you can see how the light spreads more evenly and almost no hot spot in the middle (still has very very little bit, TSX projectors have very very minor hot spot too).

and even though the projectors are made for HID, it doesn't mean they do not have hot spot at all. for example some lower output quality projectors like "bosch" used in bmw, mercedes, their width is very limited and have hot spot, and "valeo" projectors also.

i think either HID kit or retrofit, as long as you did the job to reduce/eliminate glare and avoid blinding the road users, it should be fine.

 

[AlphaQup]

lawwailok,

I knew sooner or later you'd chime in. Just put my beam pattern to shame, why don't you. lol As I stated, it's not going to be the same light output as any OEM HID, but it's still better over stock for the money.

So you haven't gotten rid of the TSX retro yet?

 

[lawwailok]

lawwailok,

I knew sooner or later you'd chime in. Just put my beam pattern to shame, why don't you. lol As I stated, it's not going to be the same light output as any OEM HID, but it's still better over stock for the money.

So you haven't gotten rid of the TSX retro yet?

LOL... i have no mean to do so, but just stating fact that even though OEM HID projectors still have hot spot. and as long as user know to do the trick, hid kit or retrofit won't harm the other road user.

nah, haven't get rid of the tsx yet, still waiting on my s2k done....

 

[p nut]

Just put my beam pattern to shame, why don't you. lol As I stated, it's not going to be the same light output as any OEM HID, but it's still better over stock for the money.

You said it best. Proper set up does put yours to shame. In your pictures, it honestly doesn't look that bad, HOWEVER! because of your scattered light pattern, one of two things will happen. 1) Your visibility is WORSE, because of the cutoff point, in addition to the unfocused light pattern. 2) If you decide to raise the cutoff point, you will blind others.

Here is something I remember from my old S2000 (which came with HID's stock). Parts where the light hit were very bright, compared to halogens. However, I had a harder time seeing anything above the cutoff point, especially over a distance. I have a much better time seeing in my 4Runner and Civic. I still think they're cool, but honestly, regular halogens do just fine, if not better in some instances, than HID's.

I found the article I read a while time ago. I think it will be a good read for you. LINK

 

[AlphaQup]

You said it best. Proper set up does put yours to shame. In your pictures, it honestly doesn't look that bad, HOWEVER! because of your scattered light pattern, one of two things will happen. 1) Your visibility is WORSE, because of the cutoff point, in addition to the unfocused light pattern. 2) If you decide to raise the cutoff point, you will blind others.

Here is something I remember from my old S2000 (which came with HID's stock). Parts where the light hit were very bright, compared to halogens. However, I had a harder time seeing anything above the cutoff point, especially over a distance. I have a much better time seeing in my 4Runner and Civic. I still think they're cool, but honestly, regular halogens do just fine, if not better in some instances, than HID's.

I found the article I read a while time ago. I think it will be a good read for you. LINK

To each his own. You've got your opinions, who cares. I like my cheap upgrade. Sealed deal.

Law has an OEM HID retro, of course its going to be better over my halogen upgrade, how many times do I have to refrain this statement? I'm still intrigued by the fact that you say so much crap for not even owning a 06+ 4thGen 4R.

Stick to halogens since you're content with what you have. I'm sure you woudln't stick "ricey" aftermarket projector headlights on your 3rd Gen, would you?

 

[p nut]

To each his own. You've got your opinions, who cares. I like my cheap upgrade. Sealed deal.

... I'm still intrigued by the fact that you say so much crap for not even owning a 06+ 4thGen 4R.

Stick to halogens since you're content with what you have. I'm sure you woudln't stick "ricey" aftermarket projector headlights on your 3rd Gen, would you?

I had a choice between a new 07 SE and the 02 SE. I picked the 02, but I won't get into that. But who cares if I don't own an 06+? Does that not give me the right to comment on these illegal kits? I don't even have to own a Toyota to comment on here--IT'S A PUBLIC FORUM!

I have no problems with properly installed projector headlights. When did I ever say they were ricey? YOUR cheap HID kit is, but not a properly setup HID system. However, I wouldn't go through the trouble or the $$ with my 4Runner.

Law has an OEM HID retro, of course its going to be better over my halogen upgrade, how many times do I have to refrain this statement?

Um, once? Before the last post, you mentioned nothing comparing the two.

 

[Thai]

Ok guys...let's calm down a bit...it's just headlights! I think that everyone has said their piece...let's have other members chime in.

 

[ProMed]

IMO it seems a little crazy to debate that the 06+ projectors fitted with an HID retrofit are not hands down better than the stock halogen projectors. It is not even close IMO.

I have ridden in a buddies 07 with HID and it took about 10 seconds to figure out that I had to have them in my 06. My stockers feel like I am driving around with shades on at night in comparison! I really have to find time to install those bad boys.

 

[Boston_Runner]

I had all 3 setup before, there is no question that HID kits in halogen projectors are much better than HIDs in reflectors, even with a DR4 bulb. The 4runner have a pretty good halogen projector, the light output comes very close to stock HID projectors. Like many here have already mentioned, the difference is the squirrel cage, a little more hot spot in the middle and a little less light on the sides.

 

[AlphaQup]

^^ Now that's the type of information we need on here. Personal "tangible" experience! Good stuff guys!

 

[josh220]

I installed mine today. Had to file out the center of the male connector so that it would fit on the positive battery terminal. I guess Xenon Depot isn't all it's cracked up to be.

It's quite a bit brighter, but not by 300% because I had PIAA bulbs instead of factory halogens, which were MUCH brighter than stock, or Silverstars. But it's still a bit brighter.

 

[ProMed]

It's pretty crazy IMO how some guys report MUCH better results with the HID in the OEM projectors and then after stating you had bad results with your reflectors (as expected) you came back and reported that there was a friend you know that had MUCH worse results with HID bulbs in his 06 and went back to halogens.

After viewing the results myself in an 07 with the OEM projector base, it is very interesting how personal opinions on these can be literally opposite of each other. After driving down dark country roads at night with him it was even close IMO. maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to the right things and was just distracted by the increase in light output and visibility?

 

[Thai]

Last warning to everyone involved...cool down! I have deleted and edited some posts. I am getting really freaking tired of this....

 

[AlphaQup]

Last warning to everyone involved...cool down! I have deleted and edited some posts. I am getting really freaking tired of this....

Agreed. Please, if you dont have any real proof regarding this topic, don't waste your time posting misinformation because there are a lot of members/non-members who come here for positive information on what they are researching. Negative info is good only if it's TRUE.

 

[Even Steven]

Agreed. Please, if you dont have any real proof regarding this topic, don't waste your time posting misinformation because there are a lot of members/non-members who come here for positive information on what they are researching. Negative info is good only if it's TRUE.

Proof? Sorry, but 99% of these posts are pure conjecture, no real proof intended or implied. That goes for anything you say as well, unless you want to publish some sort of scientific evidence or something.

In the meantime, it's up to the reader to sort through the opinions and make his/her own determination. That's just the way message forums work.