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Prius C upgrade headlights

Discussion in 'Prius c Main Forum' started by Ericbecky7, Mar 14, 2017.

  1. Ericbecky7

    Ericbecky7 New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2017
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    Location:
    Arkansas
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Four Touring
    My 2012 Prius C headlights on Dim very hard to see thinking about Installing a LED light bar in it or maybe I'll grab some better upgraded headlight anybody have any ideas thank you
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome!
    no idea, but perhaps @ericbecky can be of help. all the best!
     
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  3. AliIzad

    AliIzad Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Three
    In my opinion your best option is an HID kit. I installed one in my 2012 C back in 2013 with a huge improvement and no issues at all. I recommend a complete kit from either Xenon Supply or The Retrofit Source(TRS). Both companies offer a high quality kit, a good warranty, and everything you need in one simple to install kit. All you need is the complete kit they offer; you won't need any additional wire harness or anything else. They are not the cheapest, but seem to work the best and be safe. These kits install in less than an hour.
    As for the Kelvin rating of the kit, if you go Xenon Supply I recommend their 6000k kit, and if you choose TRS, I would get their 5000k. They are both very similar and make a huge improvement over stock. Also, I would avoid the majority of the cheap kits offered on eBay and Amazon. I have had only bad experiences on my other vehicles using the cheap kits; others may know of less expensive kits that work well. Good luck.
     
  4. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Alter ego, much like @brisco :whistle:?
     
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  5. firstrival

    firstrival Member

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    Vehicle:
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    I have been using the Xenon Supply 6000K kit for over 4 years. Works great.
     
  6. sph101

    sph101 Prius 4

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    Make sure you check your states laws after market HID kits are illegal in Virginia and I was made to remove mine to pass the safety inspection.
     
  7. TheTimob

    TheTimob Member

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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    I modified H9 bulbs to fit where the H11s go. The H9 has a tab inside its connector that you'll need to cut off with a nice sharp pair of wire cutters or similar.

    The stock H11 has 55 watts. and puts out 900-1400 lumens. It has a design life of 270 hours, and a painted tip.
    The H9 has 65 watts, puts out 1760-2240 lumens, has a design life of 240 hours, and a clear tip.

    As you can see the H9 is significantly brighter, while only using 10 watts more than the stock bulb. I've been running with these for 3 years without issue. Since our cars have projector lenses - the non-painted tip of the H9 does not matter - the optics provide the cutoff to not blind oncoming traffic.

    The advantage of this setup is the simplicity, it looks totally stock, so no getting flashed for HID retrofits, doesn't need extra wiring or ballasts. I also prefer the halogen color temperature - I find the blue light of LEDs and HIDs to really obscure the view in the snow and fog when compared to yellower halogen bulbs.

    When I got my car I found that the headlights were aimed very poorly from the factory. I re-aimed them on a wall with horizontal lines (bricks!) and drove to see my adjustments. The highway I drive on has a barrier in the middle, so I aligned my beam cutoff to be parallel to the top of the wall, adjusting a bit each day until it was perfect.
     
  8. AliIzad

    AliIzad Member

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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    Would you mind explaining the process for adjusting the headlights. I have read several threads on how it is done and there seems to be some mixed info. I appreciate it.
     
  9. Robbief

    Robbief New Member

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    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius c
    Model:
    Base
    Kinda off topic but on topic at the same time, but has anyone used the jdm rally yellow osram halogen bulbs they sell for the aqua/Prius I wanna say toms pushes em as well. If so are they brighter than the ones equipped?