Guess what turned up in the post today...

Hey John and Bronze84, where did you mount your ballasts for your HIDs? I'm thinking of where I can mount mine. Do you think under the headlight assembly, where the OEM Ballasts go would be a good place to try or did you have a better place in mind?

Hayden, I have heard and researched a bit about HIR bulbs in the past couple of years but, I haven't seen any 9003 HIR bulbs, only 9011 or 9012.

 

I see in your description you use the phillips xtreme, do you like them? any problems with them?

 

I really like the philips X-treme bulbs, but they don't last very long for me, I do a lot of early morning, and late night driving, so I'm constantly using my headlights and the high-beams for extended periods of time.

I'm getting about 800 hours out of them which works to be about 6 months of use. (they both don't burn out at the same time, it's either the drivers side or the passenger side to burn out first, but never both together, once one burns out I get about another 2 to 3 months on the other bulb. So I gets I get 800 hours on one, and 1200 on the other?)

I don't know if it's me, my car, or how much I use them that causes the short life, I will also say I use the high-beams a lot. Imagine driving alone on country back roads at 4:30 in the morning... I have to use the high-beams to watch for deer and other wildlife. I've read the extra heat from the high-beam filament causes shortened life for the low-beam (dip-beam) filament of the H4 bulb. Not sure if it's true, but I've noticed that any aftermarket brighter bulb, has always had a short life in my car, which is what prompted me to get the HID conversion.

 

Initially I just packed foam around them "to stop them rattling about", and tucked them behind the headlamps. A short while after fitting "a couple of weeks" I fitted HID's in the fog lamps requiring removing the front bumper and mounted the headlight ballasts with the fog light ballasts inside the front wings on the inner panels with double sided foam tape. This could be done without removing the bumper by moving the plastic wheel arch covers.

John (Britprius)

 

Well 800 sounds like a lot compared to the 150 most people get, id get hid but i really dont want to blind other drivers, thanks for the help!

 

Just been wading through some of the regulations regarding lighting in both the US Australia and UK/EU.

In the EU headlamps can be fitted with HID bulbs providing the bulbs are "E" marked. In the UK headlamp washers should also be fitted. JDM lamps may also be fitted in the UK and Australia but not in the US or mainland Europe. This is because these lights are designed to "when on dipped beam" point left by about 15 degrees. Although not "E" marked they do comply with the regulations for right hand drive vehicles in countries that drive on the left.

The maximum combined light output in the UK/EU is 225,000 candela at 12 volts.

In the US the lights must have the required SAE markings, but the JDM headlamps do not comply with the US regulations.

John (Britprius)

 

Looks like now I'll have to watch for more than just deer...
If I see a big dog running along the road, it probably won't be a dog!

Bear causes problems for Urbana residents Posted: Thursday, April 25, 2013 2:00 am
Bear causes problems for Urbana residents By Brian Englar News-Post Staff The Frederick News-Post | 3 comments
Barbara Jones and her family are accustomed to wildlife congregating in her yard, nestled in a heavily wooded area along Doctor Perry Road near Urbana [Maryland].

Jones has a number of bird feeders, and deer and raccoons regularly stop by for a meal as well. But a new visitor has been snacking from her bird feeders and trash cans this week.

A large black bear has been spotted by neighbors and family members, she said.
“He’s created a definite caution for us,” Jones said.

Clarissa Harris, a biologist with the Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife and Heritage Service, said the black bear population in the region is healthy and growing, leading to sightings in places where bears would not have been found just a few years ago, such as southern Frederick County [Maryland]...

Bear causes problems for Urbana residents - The Frederick News-Post : Natural Resource

 

I found this article to share some of the opinions about US regulations, but they all vary state to state, and maybe even county to county within the same state! -- So confusing and difficult to keep it legal...


Squidoo.com/dot-approved-hid-kit

Another "Hidden Truth" about DOT Approved HID by HID Conversion Kit and HID Lights + SRS Exhaust System & Performance Rotors
Although you can and probably will install a set of DOT approved hid bulbs in your vehicle without ever being bothered by the law (as long as you stick with 4300K to 6000K), your headlight setup will still not be truly "legal".

In order to be truly legal you would need to take the following steps:
1: If your vehicle does not already have an HID compliant headlight housing, you will need to upgrade or change the housing over to an HID compliant housing. 2: Install a converion kit in your vehicle that uses HID bulbs in the "White" to "Baby Blue" light spectrum such as 4300K, 6000K or 8000K.

 

TOYOTA REFLECTOR HEADLIGHTS


found these "projector" replacement headlight assemblies, don't think they'll be legal in the UK though... and who truely knows if they're really legal in the US either... like the last post, just because they are considered DOT approved (Department of Transportation) doesn't mean that they are really "street legal" in one or more states...

 

Ya, besides even DOT... I suppose those are made for LHD not RHD for UK, Australia, JDM...ect.

Beam is like:

LHD pattern is : ___/ ___/

RHD pattern is like : \___ \___

 

Those would not be legal in the UK for three reasons:-
1 They are SAE approved meaning they have the LHD pattern as Justdidit suggests.
2 They will not be "E" marked
3 The low beam on UK headlamps actually points to the left.

John (Britprius)

 

I estimated about 5 hours per day (2.5 hours in the morning 2.5 hours at night) aprox 6 days per week x 52 weeks in a year divided by 2 (half a year) = 780 rounded up is 800 hours. maybe that's a generous estimation, but it's how I determined the life of the bulbs. I generally have to replace them every 6 to 8 months. so anywhere between 500 and 800 hours? still seems good like for how bright they are. And since there $30 on amazon it's a small investment to see if you really like them. For me to buy them locally from NAPA they want $80 a pair -- Thats what the HID kit costs!

 

hmmm... do they make a UK version with projectors like that... might be something to look into?
I guess the American SAE / DOT approved ones I might have to consider...

 

I have been unable to find any projector headlamps for the UK Prius. This is quite possibly due to the very small market for right hand drive vehicles. Basically UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, and bearing in mind how many people would wish to convert.

John (Britprius)

 

I don't understand why you couldn't just do a retrofit... they sell RHD projectors at TRS... Once your headlights are fitted back together, there is no reason that it shouldn't pass inspection...

 

Dave, I installed my philips extremes and I can't say I see a big difference. The low beams do seem a little brighter, but nothing to get excited about, is this the same as yours?

 

The philips x-treme made a difference in mine. Check how the lights are aimed. Are they aimed low? Maybe try adjusting your headlights up just a little. I can say that the X-treme are nothing like the HID kit that bronze84, and britpruis recommended. I've installed the HID kit, and it is a huge difference.

 

Well I know that I'm just trying to get the best I can, I'd get hid if it wasn't for the glare I'd be giving every driver.

 

The kit that bronze84 and britprius used doesn't have a lot of glare.

I think the majority of HID kits on the market don't have built in glare shields, it's just the HID bulb. But since our model of the Prius uses H4 bulbs with the hi/low beam all in one, the shield that allows for the hi/low operation eliminates a lot of the anoying glare.

I'll try and upload pictures in the next couple of days. The HID kit that I installed (same one as britprius and bronze84) does have a cut-off line, although it's fuzzy, and not a crisp sharp line like the projector retro fits have.

Does anyone know if the Prius model that comes OEM stock with HID have a nice crisp cut-off?

So far I haven't noticed the cars ahead of me grabbing their rearview mirror because my lights are too bright (and yes I've been watching to see if they do this), and I haven't had anyone in oncoming traffic flash me that the bulbs are too bright. But also where I live almost every car is HID... so maybe people that commute around here are use to the bright lights...

I've gotten flashed several times when I used the X-treme bulbs, but not with the HIDs.