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Best headlight bulb

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by nicoj36, Nov 26, 2016.

  1. nicoj36

    nicoj36 Active Member

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    Hi everyone,

    I was wondering if you guys could recommend the best and brightest headlight bulb for our 3rd gen prius? It doesnt matter whether its an LED, HID, etc.

    I just want the best headlight bulbs for my prius!
     
  2. PriusNP

    PriusNP Junior Member

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    Led 6k

    Hid are great but led is brighter and most likely to last longer.

    I have used both
     
  3. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    35w AC HID. 4300K is brightest, and is oem color on most vehicles equipped with HID.
     
  4. 12voltman

    12voltman Member

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    H9 conversion is the best bang for the buck .
    Just remove your standard H11, bulb, make a simple modification to an H9 bulb, and put it in. MUCH better and brighter bulb. Better light spread as well . Did mine about 2 years ago, when I was frustrated with the stock H11's. Couldn't be any happier with the swap, and still going strong. A side benefit to the H9 conversion is the high beams are exceptionally bright now. Plus its a pretty cheap upgrade. H9's are dirt cheap.


    H11 to H9 Headlight Bulb Conversion | PriusChat
     
    #4 12voltman, Nov 27, 2016
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2016
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  5. haigenIII408

    haigenIII408 New Member

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    What brand do you use for your led kit ?

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  6. liskipper

    liskipper Member

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    What brand?

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  7. cobraz

    cobraz Prius Pirate

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    After reading many comments and watching youtube vids..I went with xenonsupply.. and got the 6000k white HID upgrades. Bright for driving noticeable by others. Interesting fact the higher k factor does not make them brighter on the road..and the burn hotter..just others see you miles away..

    On sale today $41.00 off..bonus.

    SAMSUNG-SM-G925A ?
     
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  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    @nicoj36, all the moder's are going to chime in, with their dream headlights. Some might work well, some might be problematic, burn out fast, or even cause oncoming drivers to blindly veer off the road, lol.

    Worth considering though: the "best" bulb might be the one that's in there. Worked, lasted 6 years?
     
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  9. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

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    You have basically 3 choices, higher wattage H9 bulbs, LED, or HID.

    Let's just throw LED out the door for now as the technology is not plug and play ready. The ones for sale now will be dimmer than OEM. You'd have to do a whole headlight retrofit costing thousands to do it correctly.

    I tried higher wattage in my previous car and one bulb burned out after a few months, the second went not long after. Didn't even last a year.

    HID is your brightest option. I installed that on my Prius. The ballast shorted a few months later. Looks like moisture got into it. I'm done with HID. It's so bright that it causes random hotspots in your field of view. While very bright, it was very annoying, I was ready to remove them even before the ballast burnt out. I tried readjusting to no avail.

    That's my adventure with alternative lighting. I'm back on plain old yellow OEM incandescent. 4 years old now. I would love to move to LED but like I said, all examples I've seen so far are much dimmer than OEM.
     
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  10. cobraz

    cobraz Prius Pirate

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    I used HID in my headlight bucket on my Honda converting the bike LED everywhere else..the HID was amazing and 3 times the distance in seeing down the road along with sides as well...but you get what you pay for..cheap parts from no names agree are not worth it.

    SAMSUNG-SM-G925A ?
     
  11. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    I just installed Hella H9 bulbs. The mod was pretty easy. The only hard part was when I dropped one of the old bulbs and I had to jack up my car and remove part of the apron to get the old bulb. Cause I'm a dumbhead. Don't drop the lightbulb: Check.
     
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  12. Veliksam

    Veliksam Member

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    Over the weekend I tried a set of LED bulbs and a set of HID bulbs.

    The LED bulbs were at least twice as bright as the stock halogen bulbs however they don't throw the light as far.

    The HID bulbs were probably 3 times brighter than the halogen bulbs and the distance is much better than halogen bulbs and LED bulbs.

    So in the end I returned the LEDs and went with the HID.

    I bought my kit from Amazon, the brand is innovited. Very high quality for a cheap kit. I highly recommend them.

    I bought the 55w 5000k kit. Pure white light, no flickering, fast warm up, and an excellent cutoff with my stock headlights.

    I have a lot of experience with HID, I retrofitted my 2 rav4's headlights, as well as bought jdm headlights, I've used original denso ballasts with Toshiba bulbs, so when I say this kit is quality I really mean it.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  13. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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  14. mariposer

    mariposer Junior Member

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    I need to headlights that will cut through the fog. That's a big issue for me and my 2015.
    Any suggestions?
     
  15. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    You need a good set of foglights with sharp cutoffs. Also, yellow 2500K color temp bulbs help you see much better in foggy and rainy conditions.

    1501885185696.jpg
     
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  16. djstretch

    djstretch Junior Member

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    what bulbs are you running, they are very white

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  17. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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  18. Wraiththe

    Wraiththe Member

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    I have seen several kits on amazon like this, could you be more specific? Also, is this the one you still prefer?
     
  19. AR4CE1

    AR4CE1 Junior Member

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    Following.I need for my 2011 Prius,some white light 6000K plus LED's
     
  20. nicoj36

    nicoj36 Active Member

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    I tried LEDs and was disappointed. I found HID the best.