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Replacing Headlights 2010, how many ballasts?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by Strike67, Sep 19, 2010.

  1. Strike67

    Strike67 New Member

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    Okay I know that my basic 2010 prius has two different housings for the high and low beams, therefore having two different bulbs. I want to change both the high and low beams to HID.

    So do I need a total of four ballasts? one for each light or is it plausible with two ballasts thus, sharing a ballast for both the high and low beams for each respective side.

    And if it is possible to splice the wires and run one side off of one ballast, is there a reduction of power when both the high and low beams are running? Is it noticeable?

    FYI I also plan on getting HID Fog lights. I hope everything fits inside the small hood.

    Where are some good Hid kits for the fog lights? and low and high beams?

    Thanks for Help in advance!
     
    #1 Strike67, Sep 19, 2010
  2. Strike67

    Strike67 New Member

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    yet another dilemma, i need housing for the fog lights right? so the HID kits from carhidkits.com only come with the hid light and the ballast correct? so i would have to purchase the prius chat stock fog light oem quality kit? then swap the halogen for the hid bulb and ballast ?
     
    #2 Strike67, Sep 20, 2010
  3. Dmanpizza

    Dmanpizza 2010 IV Solar Roof & Navi

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    I do believe you would need 1 ballast for each bulb.
    I did buy the priuschat oem fog light kit and then swapped then
    added the hid bulbs and ballasts. They work great!
     
    #3 Dmanpizza, Sep 20, 2010
  4. Strike67

    Strike67 New Member

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    another question does the stock prius come with auto leveling lights? cause it looks like it
     
    #4 Strike67, Sep 20, 2010
  5. Strike67

    Strike67 New Member

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    nvm, they don't auto level. I found that XexonDepot makes some pretty good HID kits.

    I was confused becasue the 2010 prius comes with projectors :)
     
    #5 Strike67, Sep 20, 2010
  6. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    The PriusV which has LED headlights has the same type of auto leveling that the Gen2 had for its HIDs. The sensor measures the distance between the rear axle beam and the body, it sends an input to a control module under the dash which sends a command to the leveling motors in the headlight assemblies. The low beam halogens and high beam LEDs are mounted in the same assembly so there is only one set of mechanical adjustments and one leveling motor per side.
     
    #6 tumbleweed, Sep 20, 2010
  7. andino

    andino Senior Member

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    The Halogen headlights don't have an auto leveling motor. Only the V with LED headlights have that feature. And any other factory HID equipped car.
     
    #7 andino, Sep 21, 2010
  8. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    (Regarding the bolded part) Huh? Not true. My 04 350Z and my former 02 Maxima had factory standard HIDs. Neither has any sort of auto nor manual leveling mechanism.
     
    #8 cwerdna, Sep 21, 2010
  9. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    I agree with the above posts, I have never heard of a halogen only headlight system that has auto leveling. I have owned two xenon (HID) equipped cars that have had auto leveling, Gen2 Prius and a Series 3 BMW.

    I think the very sharp cut off of the upper part of the beam may be the reason auto levelers are used. I have seen cars with improperly aimed xenon headlights coming toward me on a road with a lot of dips and rough spots. It sometimes looks like they are switching their lights from bright to dim every time the hit a bump or go over a little raise. The LEDs, although not as bright as good xenons, have the same sharp cut off of the beam.
     
    #9 tumbleweed, Sep 21, 2010
  10. Strike67

    Strike67 New Member

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    I ordered 6000k HID kit for my low beams from Xenon Depot, I heard from many forums that their quality is top notch.

    I changed my mind on HID Highbeams because the guy on the phone told me that unless I do alot of wilderness driving and need my HIbeams to be extremely bright that it was pointless. The reason being that HID setups have a warmup period of about a minute and most ppl just flash their highbeams to alert other drivers or to signal for something. Therefore halogens with 0 warmup period are the most practical for hi beams.

    That being said I'm looking for 6000k halogen bulbs for my highbeams. Does anyone know a good company?
     
    #10 Strike67, Sep 21, 2010
  11. Strike67

    Strike67 New Member

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    http://www.amazon.com/Putco-239006NB-Automotive-Lighting-Headlight/dp/B002R4V2VS/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1285115638&sr=1-2

    something of this sort
     
    #11 Strike67, Sep 21, 2010
  12. Strike67

    Strike67 New Member

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    I ordered 6000k HID kit for my low beams from Xenon Depot, I heard from many forums that their quality is top notch.

    I changed my mind on HID Highbeams because the guy on the phone told me that unless I do alot of wilderness driving and need my HIbeams to be extremely bright that it was pointless. The reason being that HID setups have a warmup period of about a minute and most ppl just flash their highbeams to alert other drivers or to signal for something. Therefore halogens with 0 warmup period are the most practical for hi beams.

    That being said I'm looking for 6000k halogen bulbs for my highbeams. Does anyone know a good company?

    I figure something like this is good?http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B002R4V2VS?tag=priuschatcom-20
     
    #12 Strike67, Sep 21, 2010
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