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hid not brighter than oe halogen

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by tekstyle, Dec 22, 2014.

  1. tekstyle

    tekstyle Junior Member

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    I installed h11 morimoto xb35 5500k into my 15 prius using denso ballast off a lexus is250. in comparison to my stock halogen, the halogen is slightly brighter. Is this normal?

    I am not using a relay harness. I m just feeding power directly from the bulb harness from the car to the ballast.
     
    #1 tekstyle, Dec 22, 2014
  2. Easy Rider 2

    Easy Rider 2 Senior Member

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    Normal.....maybe. Might want to contact the maker of the HID system.

    There ARE legal limits on the brightness and color temperature for car headlights.
    Some that appear much brighter really are illegal.
     
    #2 Easy Rider 2, Dec 22, 2014
  3. tekstyle

    tekstyle Junior Member

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    I am comparing brightness when i m just shooting them towards a white wall. I am not referring to when i am looking directly at the headlight itself.
     
    #3 tekstyle, Dec 23, 2014
  4. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Do you have the Prius in Ready mode or the car with ignition off? In Ready mode, the voltage to the lights/ballasts is above 14v in the Prius when the DC to DC inverter is online with the HV battery pack. If ignition is off, there will only be 12.x volts available.

    HIDs should be 2 to 3 times brighter than oem H11 halogen bulbs.

    Also, be sure the HID bulb is properly seated all the way into the mount and locked in place. Some people have stated that the rubber gasket is hard to seat into the headlight housing. An HID bulb that isn't mounted correctly can certainly seem dim because the projector can't properly focus the light.
     
    #4 xliderider, Dec 23, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 23, 2014
  5. Easy Rider 2

    Easy Rider 2 Senior Member

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    Brightness is brightness no matter how you gauge it.
    What's your point ??
     
    #5 Easy Rider 2, Dec 23, 2014
  6. tekstyle

    tekstyle Junior Member

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    Because poor housings scatter light all over the place, so it appears brighter when u look directly at it although, the useable light output on the foreground is poor since more lumen gets lose elsewhere. That was why i mentioned my observations were based on the actual light output on the foreground and not just looking at the headlights itself.

    I will check the seating when i get home. Thanks for the tip.
     
    #6 tekstyle, Dec 23, 2014
  7. Easy Rider 2

    Easy Rider 2 Senior Member

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    And my point IS that ALL HIDs are not automatically brighter than ALL halogens.
    There are various types and grades of each.
    What you got may indeed not be any brighter and that might be the way it is MADE.......on purpose.
     
    #7 Easy Rider 2, Dec 23, 2014
  8. tekstyle

    tekstyle Junior Member

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    Hence why i mentioned the brand and model (morimoto xb35) compared to stock bc it was the most highly recommended bulb for a plug and play kit on this forum and a google showed reviews that it was pretty top quality for non oem. This thread and my concerns might be better answered by those who actually have owned both the x35 and stock factory bulbs.
     
    #8 tekstyle, Dec 23, 2014
  9. Sfcyclist

    Sfcyclist Senior Member

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    Oh boy, another debate about stock projectors.. I assume you are aluding to spread of the beam or hot spots. The prius Halogen projectors are pretty good.

    Here's some photos of my cars for comparison. I am very happy with my HID conversion on the Prius. See link to this thread for the photo.

    Thinking of HID light kit this week | Page 2 | PriusChat
     
    #9 Sfcyclist, Dec 23, 2014
  10. StarCaller

    StarCaller Senior Member

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    i have the morimoto xb35, 4500k, 55w ballast, & they ARE brighter than stock////
     
    #10 StarCaller, Dec 23, 2014
  11. A.Reyes

    A.Reyes Active Member

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    Maybe its the ballast.
     
    #11 A.Reyes, Dec 26, 2014
  12. StarCaller

    StarCaller Senior Member

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    afaik, an undervolted ballast should rather change the color temperature than the brightness/
     
    #12 StarCaller, Dec 26, 2014
  13. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    I'm guessing it was a poorly mounted/out of position bulb.
     
    #13 xliderider, Dec 26, 2014
  14. tekstyle

    tekstyle Junior Member

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    I have a feeling it might be the lexus oe ballast i have. I got a harness installed and it didnt change anything. I dont have another set of ballast to test it now. Even tho its not as bright, in the center, everywhere else is pretty equal. Didnt compare the far edges yet.
     
    #14 tekstyle, Dec 26, 2014
  15. A.Reyes

    A.Reyes Active Member

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    I also have the morimoto bulbs, but before the X series came out. I have the 35watt Morimoto Ballast as well without the relay harness and everything things brighter than stock. I'm pretty sure its your ballast.
     
    #15 A.Reyes, Dec 27, 2014
  16. prius621

    prius621 New Member

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    I had some off brand 55w 6000k and they were brighter than stock, I ended up switching to 5000k because I only wanted a light blue tint and more white, and these are most definitely brighter than stock. Maybe your ballast doesn't work well with the bulbs?
     
    #16 prius621, Dec 29, 2014
  17. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Something is not right if the HIDs don't appear brighter on the road. Don't expect a huge difference like going from crappy reflectors to quality HID projectors but still. I'd swap the ballasts and retest.
     
    #17 F8L, Dec 29, 2014
  18. winglik

    winglik Junior Member

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    You need to upgrade to 50/55W ballast. 35W HID is dimmer than stock halogen. The 35W intensity isn't powerful enough to reach far. I recently replaced my stock halogen to a 35W HID, but the project on the 35W HID sucks, you can't see anything farther than 15 feet, especially in raining day. Then I decided to upgrade it to a 50W ballast for brighter light, the difference is huge. don't order the cheap 55W kit off ebay. most are fake. I recommend the Zenex from amazon, good quality heavy duty aftermarket ballast.
     
    #18 winglik, Dec 29, 2014
  19. Sfcyclist

    Sfcyclist Senior Member

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    Perhaps that's your kit... see my link above with photos.. my 35 watt kit from KB stuff.. it's excellent.

     
    #19 Sfcyclist, Dec 29, 2014
  20. tekstyle

    tekstyle Junior Member

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    Xentec or zenex?
     
    #20 tekstyle, Dec 29, 2014
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