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Installed 55w 4300k HID bulbs...finally happy with my Prius headlights

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by Joe-G, Feb 25, 2013.

  1. Joe-G

    Joe-G Member

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    I have been driving a 05 Vette with D2S HID 4300k lights for years, and they are awesome. So are the D2S HID's in my wife's '12 Odyssey Touring. I also have 55w 5000k HID's in my Vette's fog lights, and when I'm on a deserted road the car lights the way like none I've ever had.

    So I was very disappointed with the Prius H11 halogen projectors.

    I tried a set of 35W H11 HID's from Ebay and they were terrible. I'd specified 4300k but I must have received 8000k, they were so purple. I returned them (even got free return shipping) and got such good customer service from the company, that I asked if they had 55w 4300k bulbs like I have in my Vette. They did, for only $44, so I took a chance.

    The 55w 4300k HID's look very similar to the Vette and my wife's Odyssey. Super bright, with no hotspots and good cutoff like my factory HID's.

    I took some pictures:

    32w passenger side, 55w driver side (picture doesn't show the dramatic difference so well):

    UPDATE - THE $44 EBAY SYSTEM DID NOT HOLD UP, THE BALLASTS WENT BAD. I HAVE SINCE GONE WITH A HIGHER QUALITY 35W 4300K KIT FROM KENSUN FROM AMAZON. SO FAR SO GOOD, ESSENTIALLY THE SAME LIGHT OUTPUT AS IN THE PICTURES. MUCH MUCH BETTER THAN STOCK.

    [​IMG]

    Same setup, on the garage door:

    [​IMG]

    both 55W bulbs on right, Odyssey factory D2S HID's on left, pretty comparable for $44!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    View looking down the road with the 55w bulbs:

    [​IMG]

    I'd also installed HID Yaris foglights (details in another thread) to fill the blanks in the bumper, here's how it looks now from up front:

    [​IMG]

    And a view of all 4 lights on the door:

    [​IMG]

    In summary, if you are going to install HID's, I highly recommend upgrading to the 55w, 4300k variety.

    Edit: one of the ballasts went bad already. I would recommend that you invest in some higher quality equipment.
     
    mnml, firemechanic and xPETEx like this.
  2. lamminator33

    lamminator33 Junior Member

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    is this just bulbs upgrade or the whole HID Kit?
     
  3. Joe-G

    Joe-G Member

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    Entire kit. The kit is plug and play and I just realized this company has a how-to video on their website:

    Toyota Prius HID Xenon Headlight Package Deal
     
  4. Joe-G

    Joe-G Member

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    In case my point is not clear, don't waste your money on the 35w kit. Go for the 55w kit. Substantial difference - really lights the road.
     
  5. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    Looks good and fairly easy plug and play per the video. I would recommend securing the ballast with fasteners in addition to the "stick tape".
     
  6. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    I'm confused- your link to xenonsupply is for a 35 watt kit.
    Are you using 3rd party 55 watt bulbs with the 35 watt xenonsupply ballasts?
    Or did you get a complete 55 watt system (55 watt ballasts, 55 watt transformers, 55 watt 4.3K bulbs) from an ebay source and you're just using the xenonsupply link for install instructions?
     
  7. xPETEx

    xPETEx Junior Member

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    I can't help but wonder why people do 35 watt? Are they afraid 55 is too bright? Is there additional risk with the 55 of damaging the electrical system? Could they get too hot and melt the headlight housing?

    There must be reason the 35 is more popular... Can anybody help me figure this out.
     
  8. Joe-G

    Joe-G Member

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    35w is cheaper. But wow are they worse...perhaps mine were 8o00k, but they were unusable IMHO. Worse than the factory halogens..

    The HID's have a lower current draw than the halogens. I've been running 55w HiD's in my Vette for 7 years which has H10 fog light bulbs factory with no problem at all.

    I also have had no heat problems.

    I DID have had heat problems and melted the fog light housing in my 1999 Trans Am when I used the double wattage 880 bulbs - they were halogen bulbs but twice the watts as factory and I guess twice the heat.

    I grabbed the HID when it was on, by the base, it wasn't that hot. Certainly no hotter than the Halogen, they get very hot themselves.
     
  9. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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  10. Joe-G

    Joe-G Member

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    No, I bought mine from ebay, search xenonmarket on Ebay. Their customer service was surprisingly good.
     
  11. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    Ok, now I got it. I thought I was missing something on Xenonsupply...
     
  12. Joe-G

    Joe-G Member

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    I should have been more clear! My fault.

    Drove home from work in the dark, the new lights were wonderful. Great mod.
     
  13. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    Joe-
    Did you use a power relay harness because of the additional power draw from the 55 watt bulbs- or did you just plug the new ballasts directly into the cars original wire harness?
     
  14. Joe-G

    Joe-G Member

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    I didn't use a power relay.

    Recall the Hid's have a reportedly much lower current draw than incandescent. There is a spike as they flare up when you first turn them on but I've never had a problem with my Vette after the conversion, and I can see that the wiring gauge is the same for my Vette's HID factory low beams and its halogen high beams.

    Based on my observations and experience I am comfortable going with factory wiring.

    I actually have a clamp on ammeter which is supposed to work on DC as well. I'll try to remember to see if it can read the amps drawn by the HID's at startup and when running and post that information.
     
  15. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I believe a large portion of the difference you are seeing is due to the color change. Light cast by A blue bulb will appear very dim next to the light cast by a white bulb. :)

    Regardless, I'm happy you got it fixed. Living with crappy headlights is no way to live. LOL
     
  16. ImeanGreen

    ImeanGreen Prius v Five BP Brigade #236

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    Joe, don't forget that when going with the 8000K, you loss some amount of output and clarity because of the blueish color as seen in your picture. IMO, you should have compared a 35w and 55w HID bulbs with the same kelvin values. Then you can check the difference. Some at HID planet has claimed there is not much difference between 35w and 55w but have not seen any actual comparison. Bottom line, as long as you are satisifed and happy with the switch is the most important thing. Just don't switch back to 8000K bulbs.
     
  17. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    Thanks Joe,

    I guess I'm OK with the 35 watt HID's, They're decent enough. Don't know if I'd get enough improvement to justify going to 55 watt HID's.

    The thing is- I started out with a 2012 Prius Five- with the awesome LED headlights. Unfortunatly- when I traded the Five in for the PIP- there went the LED's and I had to settle with halogen headlights. That's when I upgraded to HID's in trying to get back some of that LED goodness from the LED's in the Five. The HID's are OK- but they're not LEDs :(
     
  18. armoredsaint

    armoredsaint Anti-Eco Company Car

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    looks great OP - curious why 4300 instead of 6000?
     
  19. Joe-G

    Joe-G Member

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    4300 is much brighter. That's why all factory hid lights are 4300. Anything higher is dimmer than halogen lights IMHO.
     
    mnml likes this.
  20. SoCal65SS

    SoCal65SS Member

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