Upgrading Stock low beam halogen with HID LED

First, do your research and ensure the LEDs will be bright enough to do the job. LEDs are good, but they generally aren't fit for nighttime illumination. They may be "brighter" but that doesn't translate into candle-power. A "dimmer" bulb can actually put out more usable light that projects farther.

 

I'm agree with @qdllc.

I think you're going to find those OPT7 LEDs are not the upgrade you're looking for.

I modified a set of OPT7s to work as reverse lights. That is indeed an upgrade.

 

I agree with all the above comments. LED retrofits are garbage. Either spend the money on a factory Prius LED headlight unit or use this aftermarket xenon retrofit which many here have done successfully:

 

I looked up Xenonsupply on Amazon there are 2 prices, one is about $150, the other $50 bucks. Which one is being shown on this video? And I would assume the more expensive set being the superior one?

Also, there's this guy once told me if going with HID, 55w ballasts is brighter thus giving you better visibility, especially going with 6000K, is this true? My current HID set is 55w 6000k, unknown brand, left side is turning greenish LOL, therefore I am considering a replacement now.

 

As far as I know 55w is little bit bright but it runs hot than 35w.so I just bought 35w with 43k hid light for h11.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Regarding 35w vs 55w HID.

Brighter isn't necessarily better. Factory HID lighting limits foreground illumination immediately in front of the vehicle to cut down on glare that actually causes your pupils to get smaller/constrict, which causes loss of night vision and creates eye strain.

It's similar to using highbeams in fog. It's very bright, but it's a lot of glare into your eyes which decreases your vision.

Aftermarket HIDs in oem halogen projectors don't limit the foreground illumination like oem projectors designed for HID bulbs. So putting 55w HIDs in there is counterproductive as detailed above regarding excessive foreground glare.

 

In addition to the other comments, I've seen the inner surface of the reflector bulbs get fried and the reflective chrome starts to get grainy and cooked when they're overheated. I would not recommend testing the heat tolerance of reflector bulbs that were engineered for halogens. Go with the 35w.

As for the price ...
I'm looking at the Xenonsupply website: www.xenonsupply.com/collections/toyota-prius/products/toyota-prius-hid-xenon-package
There is a kit for $39 which is just a set of HID bulbs, and nothing else. That won't do you much good if you don't already have the ballasts and wiring harness. You definitely want the full $149 monty, with ballasts and bulbs, and I personally recommend the additional relay harness kit which adds another $15 to the order.

When I put one of these XenonSupply kits in my PriusC a few years back, they worked great without the relay harness -- usually. But 10% of the time, on startup, only one of the HIDs would ignite. This is because the headlight circuit designed to activate halogens doesn't reliably deliver the amperage necessary to simultaneously spark up two HID arcs. I added the relay harness and the problem was solved. #JustSayin

 

Make sure ballasts are AC. DC ballasts are only in cheap kits, or where the manufacturer is really cutting corners to keep the price down.

 

Thanks guys for the inputs on the little details I need to pay attention to on HID. I will see if the 55w ballast/bulb I have been using has any damage on the housing or mounting area. Also on xliderider's signature there was a link to H11 to H9 conversion that is very very interesting!