Who else wants HIDS?

[BaW]

Well I have tried 3 different type of bulbs and I hate them all Silverstars, OEM, other maker i dont even know the name of.

Now i want to go HID, i head anything and everything about its not a good idea to do it. however i still want to do it.

I was wondering for the people whom have done this where they bought there hid kit and if they like it, and what you needed to do to put it in your baby tundra.

Thanks Guys!

and yes PICS are always nice

[ricqik]

I'll say the same as I've said in another thread. If you're gonna do both hd and fog, get them from the same place/seller/maker/whoever. There's no garantee the color will match from different sellers. Mine didn't, bought from 2 different sellers, same with my brother, he also bought from different sellers, we both bought 5k color, each have a slight to noticable color hue difference. Got mine off ebay. Yeah I know, risky and generic, but been running for a yr, no problem.

[Johnc_mazda6]

Apexcone/DDM kits are generally regarded as being the best for the price, especially when you buy the optional lifetime warranty.

Whatever you do, don't buy a 55 watt kit and use it in a reflector housing... they are seriously bright and produce a lot of glare, and you'll get pulled over for sure.

[hilandfrog]

Originally Posted by ricqik

I'll say the same as I've said in another thread. If you're gonna do both hd and fog, get them from the same place/seller/maker/whoever. There's no garantee the color will match from different sellers. Mine didn't, bought from 2 different sellers, same with my brother, he also bought from different sellers, we both bought 5k color, each have a slight to noticable color hue difference. Got mine off ebay. Yeah I know, risky and generic, but been running for a yr, no problem.

Just asking....

But wouldn't 2 different temp light work better for vision?
I mean if more of the visible spectrum were covered by the different colors, one should be able to see better at night, right?

Repo

[dshealey]

Originally Posted by hilandfrog

Just asking....

But wouldn't 2 different temp light work better for vision?
I mean if more of the visible spectrum were covered by the different colors, one should be able to see better at night, right?

Repo

No. The higher the Kelvin Temp, the LESS useable light output. Over 5000K degree is just too blue, and is distracting/annoying to oncoming drivers. Good HIDs are 4200-5000K, bluer than that are faddish, but lower Lumen output. The really blue, 6000K and above will cause reflector signs ahead to stand out, but things you REALLY want to see, such as people or DEER will not be seen as well.

Some make the mistake of thinking that 6000-6500 is closer to sunlight, but in reality your eyes are used to seeing much lower color temp when driving at night, so 6000K looks VERY blue in comparison to most other lights on the road. Besides, over 5000K looks a little blue even in broad daylight.

High end cars (BMW, Mercedes, etc.) use 4200-5000K HID bulbs.

[kaleo]

There have been a few threads about HID brands posted before on here, and some that I can remember include McCulloch, Supervision, and Halo. I'm still fairly new to the HID scene, but from some reading and past experiences from previous users of HID's I've heard that McCulloch doesn't have such good quality in terms of their ballasts and its durability. Supervision was a pretty good brand. Halo was also another good brand, but they have since discontinued under that name due to infringement. They are now going as the name O-Nex which is what I currently have on my vehicle. I will also second the suggestion about buying the same brand if your going to do both the head and fogs.

Here's just a few pics of what it looks like on my vehicle which runs 6k in the headlights and 8k in the fogs.





Good luck with whatever you purchase, and be sure to do some homework before picking up a set. Or ideally for the sake of the other drivers on the road and pedestrians, just drop the cash and retro your lamps. That's what i'm trying to save up for right now.

[slctundra]

about how much does it cost to retro the tsx lights into a tundra?

[reese917]

I bought my HID kit from PilotHID and so far it is great. Every now and then they do flicker but I know others with this kit and think the flickering is from my alternator struggling with all my other electronics at low RPM's.
In the comparison picture the "yellow" lights are actually some of the "blue" halogen lights from ebay. I actually thought they looked ok until put up against the HID's.
I have never been pulled over or flashed in the three months I have been running them. Although, I did aim them properly right after the install. I also have the black headlights which I think help cut down on the glare a lot. These are 8000K.

[subl1minal]

here's a crappy pic taken with a stock passenger's side fog and an HID retrofit fog on the driver's side. took it before i installed the other ones. I had an HID kit for a Yamaha Rhino lying around so I made adapters from a set of old 9006 bulbs so I could use them, sealed it with O-rings and mounted the ballasts to the top of the fog light housing. very happy with how it turned out, but it's in no way shape or form legal to use when there are other cars around. tested it out by having my dad drive behind me in the tundra while I drove his F350 on 37's, blinded the sh*t outta me, so I don't drive with them on unless there's no oncoming traffic. did the fog light mod, so during the day i run them with my running lights, keeps me visible.

[CATiger]

Shouldn't this thread be titled "who else wants to be able to see really well at the expense of all the other drivers on the road?" Just my $.02. I'm all in favor of good lighting but not when it imposes a safety risk and I've had more distractions from HID lights than anything else at night... aside from freakin cell phone drivers... but that's another thread.

[Johnc_mazda6]

Originally Posted by kaleo

What is that round thing on the bottom left of the headlight? I've noticed it's not there on the older <2005 tundras. Is it a city light or something???

[BaW]

clearance lights

[BaW]

Also I read above that someone bought from o-nex i wanted to know if they had any problems at all

O-NEX thats there site but when i got an email back they had this at the end of the email xenonspecs.com - Automotive Xenon & Bi-Xenon HID (High Intensity Discharge) Headlight Conversion Kits for Cars & Motorcycles Xenonspecs o well i just wanted to know if anyone has had anyproblems with them ordering

[rtmccormick]

I've purchased 3 sets from XenonDepot.com for my various vehicles and never had one problem, even with one set I've used for 3 years. They use all Phillips parts, which are of the highest quality, next to PIAA(those are the two used most often by OEM). They're a little more expensive than other brands, but they have good customer service and a quality product that isn't going to burn out in 3 months and require you to try to call Asia to get fixed.

As far as glare, that's a good part about how much you aim them and how the reflectors on the headlight are; in my older civic theres no glare whatsoever. When I had a newer civic with a different housing, it was horrible. Haven't tried with the Tundra yet, but I'd imagine with proper aiming it would be tolerable to other drivers.

[turnitup]

theres a group buy going on at socaltundras.com and today is the last day, he's selling them pretty cheap and they work good. i have a set and its been all smiles since i put them on. yes you can have hid's without people flashing you all the time. people were flashing me with brights but then i found out how to turn the headlights down more. + i have a lifted truck. after i angled the lights down enough i could see very far and not bother anyone. i have yet to get a bad look or high beam flash since then. all you need is a very long screwdriver and your set. i say get them.


edit: the guy above me beat me by like a second haha. anyways i agree what he said and i have the xenon's also