3rd Party HID Kit

j3tbl8ck · 11-20-2005, 01:11 PM

Hello All!

Since I mainly care for the safety of the night driving than the appearance it adds to the Prius, I would like to have the 3rd HID kit installed.

I was just wondering whether or not anyone has installed a 3rd HID kit on their Prius from their standard halogen lamp? I know there are tons of car out there that have done the upgrade from the standard halogen lamps (without any issues-other than the law)

, but I would to know if anyone would know that there would be an issue installing the HID kit on the Prius?

Also, if you do have it installed, please post some pictures when possible.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

My reason for asking is that... the road to and from my house is very dark (has no lights on the road) and the current stock halogen lamps are not sufficient to light up at night (trying not to hit any deer or any other types of animals).

Thank you
JB

**Tideland Prius** · 11-20-2005, 10:28 PM

PM jayselle. She did a conversion.

FIRESTARTER · 11-21-2005, 03:29 PM

I had mine for 2 months now and got the 6000k HID kit and I am very happy with it, it was brighter and whiter than any OEM HID in the street. I have no issue installing it you just need to remove the front bumper for easy installation.

Tigerops · 11-22-2005, 05:00 PM

Use your brights.

AzizaVFR · 11-22-2005, 07:45 PM

While I have not installed a set of HID's into a Prius, as part of a conversion kit, I have installed several sets of HID's into motorcycles. One of my bikes currently has two 5200K 35W bulbs for low beams in an H4 housing, while there are two more 5200K 35W bulbs installed into a set of PIAA P1000XT driving lights for high beams.

When installing them, you have to take in account the length of the bulb and the external electrode on the bulb itself. Most HID bulbs are a bit longer than their halogen counterparts. You need to also be aware of the mounting for the ballast/ignitor.

When choosing the Kelvin rating, do not go to far up the scale. For the street, the absolute max I would go is 6000K. At that point, you are getting more of a blue cast than a white. Your best bet is to go somewhere 4100K-5200K if you want to put out as much visible light as possible.

Enjoy,
Randal

inPlacentia · 11-22-2005, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by FIRESTARTER@Nov 21 2005, 03:29 PM
I had mine for 2 months now and got the 6000k HID kit and I am very happy with it, it was brighter and whiter than any OEM HID in the street. I have no issue installing it you just need to remove the front bumper for easy installation.

[snapback]159244[/snapback]

Can you please tell us what 6000k kit is?

How different is it from OEM?

silentak1 · 11-22-2005, 11:19 PM

I've installed two HID kits in other cars. Direct plug and plug, the most difficult part is removing the bumper.

If you are looking for aftermarket kit, i'd recommend McCulloch brand and 4100k, 4300k, 5000k, or AT THE MOST 6000k. Remember, that the lower the Kelvin rating is the greatest brightness.

4100k = white
5000k = slight blue / mostly white
6000k = more electric blue than white

Also keep in mind that after 100 hours or so, the Kelvins will go "up". In other words, if you buy a 4100k kit it may turn to 4300k after 100 hours.

**Tideland Prius** · 11-23-2005, 01:03 AM

Why does it go "up"?

jayselle · 11-27-2005, 01:07 AM

I did a conversion, I am a guy by the way.

I purchased the Mcculloch 4100k bi-xenon h4 kit off ebay for almost $500.

Keep in mind using a kit is a bush league way of doing it. Ideally you would want to replace the halogen housing with the OEM hid housing then just get a standard hid kit. This solution will most likely run you $1200 as each headlight is $350 + the hid equipment. The HID I purchased just goes into the current H4 slot. It doesn't seem to blind oncoming traffic and puts out quite a bit more light.

The swap out is simple. Just pull out the H4 bulbs. The Mcculoch kit came with a nice wiring harness with relays and fuses already in place. Just connected the harness to ground and power. Install the new bulbs, attached to ballast and ignitor and then connect those to the wiring harness, connect the old H4 plug to the wiring harness. No cutting wires or splicing. Everything has connectors so you can't connect things backwards or wrong. Whole thing took about an hour. Half that time was running hiding the wiring harness and ballast to keep a stock appearance in the engine compartment.

EDIT:

Just as a discliamer I believe adding HID to Halogen housings is illegal. To remain DOT legal you would have to use all OEM equipment like I mentioned above. This is evident as you won't find any HID conversion kits for sale in the "US". I bought mine from a guy in California off ebay, however, the kit was made in Japan and the writing on the box is in Japanese. You wont be able to go to your local dealer and pick one of these up nor will you able able to find one from a US distributor. DO NOT get anything over 5000k! It will make it harder to see and you will get stopped by the police eventually for excessive color and brightness.

**Tideland Prius** · 11-27-2005, 01:42 AM

sorry jayselle.

11-22-2005, 07:45 PM	#5
AzizaVFR Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Oceanside, CA Posts: 48 My Car: 2005 Prius Package: #7 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	While I have not installed a set of HID's into a Prius, as part of a conversion kit, I have installed several sets of HID's into motorcycles. One of my bikes currently has two 5200K 35W bulbs for low beams in an H4 housing, while there are two more 5200K 35W bulbs installed into a set of PIAA P1000XT driving lights for high beams. When installing them, you have to take in account the length of the bulb and the external electrode on the bulb itself. Most HID bulbs are a bit longer than their halogen counterparts. You need to also be aware of the mounting for the ballast/ignitor. When choosing the Kelvin rating, do not go to far up the scale. For the street, the absolute max I would go is 6000K. At that point, you are getting more of a blue cast than a white. Your best bet is to go somewhere 4100K-5200K if you want to put out as much visible light as possible. Enjoy, Randal __________________ ------------------- Enjoy, Randal - Two fish are in a tank. One says to the other, "You drive, I'll fire the cannon."

11-22-2005, 11:19 PM	#7
silentak1 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 546 My Car: Other Non-Hybrid Package: N/A Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	I've installed two HID kits in other cars. Direct plug and plug, the most difficult part is removing the bumper. If you are looking for aftermarket kit, i'd recommend McCulloch brand and 4100k, 4300k, 5000k, or AT THE MOST 6000k. Remember, that the lower the Kelvin rating is the greatest brightness. 4100k = white 5000k = slight blue / mostly white 6000k = more electric blue than white Also keep in mind that after 100 hours or so, the Kelvins will go "up". In other words, if you buy a 4100k kit it may turn to 4300k after 100 hours. __________________ Out: Prius In: BMW 330ci convertible Yes, I miss the reliability and gas mileage!

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11-20-2005, 01:11 PM	#1
j3tbl8ck Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: here Posts: 3 My Car: 2004 Prius Package: #3 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Hello All! Since I mainly care for the safety of the night driving than the appearance it adds to the Prius, I would like to have the 3rd HID kit installed. I was just wondering whether or not anyone has installed a 3rd HID kit on their Prius from their standard halogen lamp? I know there are tons of car out there that have done the upgrade from the standard halogen lamps (without any issues-other than the law) , but I would to know if anyone would know that there would be an issue installing the HID kit on the Prius? Also, if you do have it installed, please post some pictures when possible. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. My reason for asking is that... the road to and from my house is very dark (has no lights on the road) and the current stock halogen lamps are not sufficient to light up at night (trying not to hit any deer or any other types of animals). Thank you JB

11-20-2005, 10:28 PM	#2
Tideland Prius Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 13,765 My Car: 2005 Prius Package: B Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 11	PM jayselle. She did a conversion.

11-21-2005, 03:29 PM	#3
FIRESTARTER Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 18 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	I had mine for 2 months now and got the 6000k HID kit and I am very happy with it, it was brighter and whiter than any OEM HID in the street. I have no issue installing it you just need to remove the front bumper for easy installation.

11-22-2005, 05:00 PM	#4
Tigerops Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 84 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Use your brights.

11-23-2005, 01:03 AM	#8
Tideland Prius Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 13,765 My Car: 2005 Prius Package: B Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 11	Why does it go "up"?

11-27-2005, 01:07 AM	#9
jayselle Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 168 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	I did a conversion, I am a guy by the way. I purchased the Mcculloch 4100k bi-xenon h4 kit off ebay for almost $500. Keep in mind using a kit is a bush league way of doing it. Ideally you would want to replace the halogen housing with the OEM hid housing then just get a standard hid kit. This solution will most likely run you $1200 as each headlight is $350 + the hid equipment. The HID I purchased just goes into the current H4 slot. It doesn't seem to blind oncoming traffic and puts out quite a bit more light. The swap out is simple. Just pull out the H4 bulbs. The Mcculoch kit came with a nice wiring harness with relays and fuses already in place. Just connected the harness to ground and power. Install the new bulbs, attached to ballast and ignitor and then connect those to the wiring harness, connect the old H4 plug to the wiring harness. No cutting wires or splicing. Everything has connectors so you can't connect things backwards or wrong. Whole thing took about an hour. Half that time was running hiding the wiring harness and ballast to keep a stock appearance in the engine compartment. EDIT: Just as a discliamer I believe adding HID to Halogen housings is illegal. To remain DOT legal you would have to use all OEM equipment like I mentioned above. This is evident as you won't find any HID conversion kits for sale in the "US". I bought mine from a guy in California off ebay, however, the kit was made in Japan and the writing on the box is in Japanese. You wont be able to go to your local dealer and pick one of these up nor will you able able to find one from a US distributor. DO NOT get anything over 5000k! It will make it harder to see and you will get stopped by the police eventually for excessive color and brightness.

11-27-2005, 01:42 AM	#10
Tideland Prius Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 13,765 My Car: 2005 Prius Package: B Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 11	sorry jayselle.