HID Conversion question

[dragaeran]

Anyone have any success with HID upgrades? I found this one on ebay:
eBay Motors: HID CONVERSION KIT TOYOTA TUNDRA TERCEL T100 HYBRID (item 250206188309 end time Jan-25-08 13:15:00 PST)
but what do I get for this one at $40+$39 s&h vs. one I have to pay $500-$1000 for? The write-up is solid, they have sold a ton, great feedback.....so what's the catch?
Anyone with other options, I'm open!

[006]

I have found HID conversion kits sold on regular websites for like $129 + s&h. I'd have to find the link. As long as the feedback and history are good, then there should be no question about the seller or it's products. ebay runs a tight ship man, it's extremely hard to fake/forge anything on it anymore, the number of people who get away with fraud on ebay *these* days is like 2% of what the number use to be a few years ago. And last I heard none of those people were running scams on auto stuff. Should be fine d00d.

[blackgts2002]

I bought a cheap set on ebay for my ATV. works great!

[jacksprat]

I think his question is whats the diff between that one he is looking at and the ones that people on here are saying they are paying $500-$1000 for.

The one you are getting for under $100 WILL work. there is nothing wrong with it. There are people on this forum that will say you MUST spend $600+ and get a projector lens and retrofit and go with brand name Philips or Hella ballasts and bulbs to do it right. However those people have $600+ to spend, and you dont, or maybe you can but you wont.

In anycase the ones in that auction will work, but of course not as well as the $600+ retrofits. So you gotta ask yourself, "Do I want to pay $600+ to get the light beam JUST right and have brand name ballasts/bulbs? Or do I want to pay less than $100 so I light up the road better, get that cool HID look, and spend the $500 or more I've saved to do other mods?"

Now when I say the $100 HID kits dont work as well as a true retrofit, I dont mean like on a scale of 1-10 the $100 kit is a 1 and the retrofit is a 10. The $100 kit will still give you gobs of more light output and light up the road waaay better than the stock halogen setup. But a $600+ retrofit will take it to the next level.

There is also the matter of blinding oncoming traffic...the retrofits with projectors are pencil beams and have a nice cut off line, the stock headlights dont have that. So yes you can blind drivers by just putting in a $100 HID kit, but aim your lights a bit lower and the problem is solved.

[006]

....or disregard any thought to how other drivers may be affected since I get blinded several times whenever I drive at night. I highly doubt those people care if I can see or not

[Mister]

hmmm, will those fit the 07-08 Tundras?

[jacksprat]

any HID kit on ebay that offers the H11 bulb will fit the 07-08 Tundra headlight. The ballasts/ignitors (those silver boxes) are all universal. You just tell the seller what bulb you need and what color temp you want.

[TN_Tundra]

whats the install look like?

[rovin]

$38.99 shipping? MAN! Air Force One must deliver it.

[Mister]

Thats ebay for ya. Buy a computer for $0.01 and pay $700.00 on shipping.

What color would yall go with?

[jacksprat]

I should also mention that those HID kits for under $100 are tawain/china/korea made, and will use lower quality components, hence the low price. And dont believe them when they say they are AS9100 certified and their kits are made to ISO 9000 specs. I work for a AS9100 certified company and believe me, the certification is not easy to obtain nor is it easy to mantain.

If you have the $$, search on ebay for the MTEC brand kits (made in japan using brand named but debadged components) or USA made McCulloch brand kits. These kits come with longer warranties and it is easier to claim the warranty if needed. thse kits are in the $200-$300 range. Again, they are not a true retrofit HID package, but they are better than those $100 kits in terms of reliabilty and production/assembly quality.

I would say the MTEC or McCulloch kits would last easily 5 years (I know because I have a McCulloch kit going on 6 years) and those $100 and under HID kits would last 2-3 years before a bulb would go out or a ballast would fail. But at under $100 a pop replacing them every 3 years is no biggie. Also, if its just the bulb that goes out, you can get a replacement pair for $30 on ebay. If its just he ballast/ignitor that goes out, those run about $40 to replace.

[jacksprat]

Originally Posted by TN_Tundra

whats the install look like?

Ill take some pics tonight of install in headlights and foglights and the 8000k color temp I chose. I am surprised that Thirdhorse has not posted yet or that other guy that always directs people to the HIDplanet website to get them to do retrofits....

[99Runner]

Please show the CUTOFF pattern of your lights too if you can up against a wall or garage door! Im game if the light pattern is not shooting all over to the moon

[BENNETT_79]

i have an 8000k set from xenonlink.com,all plug and play.the ones i have now are my second set,the first set were in my jeep,never had a problem with them.they cost about $150 with free shipping.

[dragaeran]

Thanks guys....looks like there is some of the "you get what you pay for" in the advice, but not so much a you have to spend the money to get it no matter what.
I will go with teh Aqua-blue setup I think. The purple is a little too much for my taste. Is the higher number mean more light output or just the color spectrum?