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5000k HID lights in Winter Gray Prius IV

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by nola_Prius, Aug 9, 2009.

  1. deltron3030

    deltron3030 New Member

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    Is it true that you lose hi beam functunality even switching to hid conversion kits?
    I don't get how....except that maybe the hiss are so bright that the auxiliary "hi beam" lights aren't powerful enough to add any brightness....I saw that someone mentioned bi xenon but there are no h11 bi xenon kits
     
  2. hlkc

    hlkc New Member

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    If so, I don't get it how too. My HID JUST replacing the low beam. When needed I will flip to hi beam and hi beam will come on and it aims high instead of my HID low beams aim low and wide. Now, if you are talking about hi bean is it powerful enough compare "after" the HID low beam conversion, that is another story.
     
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    That applies to dual filament bulbs only such as the one fitted to the Gen 2 Prius. Vehicles such as that that are equipped with HIDs from the factory have a shutter that allows "bi-xenon" functionality; that is you can have high and low beam depending on where the light is shone. If you're trying to retrofit a vehicle that has a dual-filament halogen beam with HIDS, you will lose the high beam because your headlight unit doesn't the capability of moving the beam up to simulate high beam.
     
  4. rstark18

    rstark18 Member

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    But just to make things very clear. You DO NOT lose high-beam functionality when you use a HID conversion kit on a 2010 prius I-IV. The high-beams are completely separate bulbs from the low-beams.
     
  5. hlkc

    hlkc New Member

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    Yes.
     
  6. ajc

    ajc Member

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    I just got my kit from HIDExtra.com. I got the 6000K with the wire harness.
    Did you get the regular or slim ballast?
    Are yours still working fine without using the Relay Harness?
     
  7. hlkc

    hlkc New Member

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    I got the Slim version.

    Yes, fine without relay so far.

    Btw, I stopped using it and RMA the 6K bulbs and getting their 8K bulbs now. Their 6K bulbs are nothing but 101% pure white. I want a touch (very tiny) of blue. Please note that their 6K bulbs are NOT like others 6K bulbs in the market that offer a bit of blue.
     
  8. rstark18

    rstark18 Member

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    BTW, here is info from someone that I trust:
    "[FONT=Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]The relay harness ensures that the ballasts always receive a constant 12V. The problem with powering lights from the OEM headlight harness is that if the OE harness is not supplying a constant 12V the lights can flicker. This will cause the HID components to burn out prematurely."
    [/FONT]
     
  9. ajc

    ajc Member

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    I just installed mine HID kit from HIDExtra.com last night. I got the 6K and the regular size ballasts. I was told that the slim ballasts have a higher rate of failure. I like the 6K because it gives out more light on the road. I installed the Relay for extra protection.
    Here are some pictures.
     

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  10. hlkc

    hlkc New Member

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    ajc,

    Looks good, just like mine last week. This is funny, who told you that rate of failure for the slim ballasts is higher? I was told the other way around and that is why slim got introduced. Also, 6K and 8K lights output are the same (at least to me). I never did any A/B test but from what I seen I really can't see any different. Last but not least, I got a PIAA super city lights and match perfect with 8K, tiny tiny blue, not like the 6K nothing but white.
     
  11. chefHawk

    chefHawk Junior Member

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    Did you have the LED lights and switch to the HID?
     
  12. ajc

    ajc Member

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    No - I had the stock Halogen bulbs. I bought a HID kit from www.hidextra.com for $60. Great product.
     
  13. thatguychristian

    thatguychristian New Member

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    I just installed the 5000K HID conversion kit from HIDExtra and it look less than 30 minutes. And this is from someone who has zero experience. I've never even changed a headlight bulb in my life. They look awesome and nearly, if not, identical to my Audi A4's bi-xenons. The install pics in this thread and others always daunted me b/c it always went into the fuse box and it threaded all the way to the other side and was just too confusing for me. I now realize that didn't utilize the plug-n-play (which I did) but the relay method.

    My questions/concerns. How important to use the relay harness method? For people who haven't gone this direction and have had the HID upgrade for a while now - have you experienced any problems? The relay harness install just seems so daunting/scary to me. I haven't see any step-by-step method online. Just pics. While the pics help, a word version would help. Remember, before I installed the HID upgrade, I never even changed a headlight bulb before.

    Overall, the lights are great. Driving at night, I haven't noticed the "glare" people have mentioned. The cutoff always seem to below of cars. I've been extra observant to take notice, just to make sure that people aren't blinded. At least, those that are in front of me. It's hard for those that are on the other side, but the most I can do are for those on my side of the street. And if I do notice that I do blind them, I will of course change lanes. I'm just happy my night visibility is back to where it was when I had my Audi just 3 weeks ago! Having always xenon lights in my previous and sunroofs, it was really hard to decided between both. I didn't need/want the rest of the AT package, but the sunroof I did living in LA. Such a shame LED lamps weren't an 'option'. I knew the lamp could be upgrade well, since I saw the projector housing.

    One last thing - I usually leave my lights on all the time. I'm lazy/forgetful about turning on my lights at night. Is this bad for the ballasts, etc? Would a relay be better if I choose this? Or does it not matter?

    Thanks!!
     
  14. imolas54

    imolas54 Junior Member

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    looks great! just ordered my kit. I have no idea why HID is not stock on this car...
     
  15. txav8r

    txav8r Senior Member

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    Maybe a dumb question...so bare with me. My previous Prius, '07 with stock HID's had the shade that blocked some of the light from the HID's for low beam. How do they take care of this issue with these mods? I had to have my bulbs replaced on my previous Prius due to failure at the 96K point and 3 years old. Toyota replaced them free but took a little work.
     
  16. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    The new Prius has separate low and high beams so the HIDs are only for the low beams.
     
  17. txav8r

    txav8r Senior Member

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    My package IV 2010 Prius has Halogen headlamps, not HID's like my 2007. So I was looking at getting a halogen mod and wondering how they took care of high/low beam with a single HID bulb. My 2007 had one HID bulb but had a screen that blocked it for low beam if I am explaining correctly.
     
  18. 808_prius

    808_prius Junior Member

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    I'm not sure about others but I had issues with my HIDExtra kit until I installed the relay kit. After installing, not an issue! That said; I recently found that, while most of the parts are "water proof" the relay is still susceptible to water damage. I found that my relay had gone bad due to water damage and had to drive home with my high beams... I've since removed the HIDs until I can resolve my relay issue.

    In regards to your question about the ballast; since the ballast is mainly for the initial charge needed to turn on the bulbs, leaving them on all the time would be no different than turning them on when necessary.

     
  19. thatguychristian

    thatguychristian New Member

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    Thanks for the reply.

    Hmm.. that waterproofing is a concern. However, the more I think about it, the more I'm learning towards not using a relay. That is, until I see the need for it. Seems like everything is going well so far.

    As a side note - For people who have upgraded to HID and brought it in for service, has the dealer said anything? I'm currently leasing. I'm debating whether or not I should switch out the bulbs every time I take it in for service as a precaution.
     
  20. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Just change the low beam on the 2010 then. Leave the high beam alone. I'm not sure what you're confused about.