LED vs. Xenon vs. Halogen

Your profile shows a 2008 GenII... In that case you get halogen or HID.

HIDs are superior, but the OEM reflector HIDs are some of the worst.

 

Best for what? The halogen ones work fine. The HIDs were prone to problems, perhaps fixed by now. They produce more light than the halogen ones and draw less power. The LED ones are expensive, but drop the load on the 12V system a lot and produce more light. But if you burn one out, hope you have deep pockets!

As with anything, there are tradeoffs.

 

It depends on what's best for the driver. Very subjective. Others like just the way it is whether it be halogen, HID or LED. Based on having tried all 3, LED and HID would be the best. At first, I did not like the LED because of how the light was projected at a distance. But come to found out it was aimed a bit lower. Once aimed higher, it was amazing. Had my halogen converted to HID and liked it very much.

 

With a GenIII you only have two OEM options. LEDs are available on on the Model Five and PLug In Advanced. All other models use halogen projectors. The halogen projectors can handle an aftermarket HID kit which will improve light output but the OEM LEDs are still better. You can also go crazy and do an HID retrofit which is the best headlight option but that can get expensive.

Soooo, purchase the model that makes the most sense to you without regards to headlight options. If you end up with LED headlights then great. If you don't then add an HID kit to them.

 

I would not fit HIDs. Very few headlamp assemblies that are not designed for HID control the light output well enough and other road users suffer. I have been on the receiving end of plenty of theoretically illegal conversions especially when they follow you at night. The standard halogen lamps are fine, if you want to get more light you can fit a Plus 100% replacement. I have fitted those to my old Citroen and the difference is notable.

 

I've been running 55 W HIDs for 160,000Kms with no probs. never get flashed. The stock Prius projectors. Do a good job. HIDs in standard headlights are what cause probs.

 

Prius with OEM Halogens = poor/borderline unacceptable
Prius with 4.3k quality aftermarket (not $50 ebay kit) HID's = average/acceptable
Prius with OEM LED's = awesome!

 

I like the LED lights honestly. Here is a pic of them at night

 

I agree if you are referring to 2nd gen as the reflectors are terrible and will are quite blinding to other drivers. On the other hand, 3rd gen projectors performed very good with HID kits. The cut off is not as sharp as factory but it is very very good. Good enough where it does not blind other drivers. For my lamps, I even did a side by side comparison and Prius projectors with HID are not blinding.

If Prius Chat search was not having all sorts of problems, I would link my photos.

I would even go as far as to say better than some factory HID systems. For some reason, I've seen a lot of Audi factory HIDs that are blinding.

 

If I would rate this the same way but on 1 to 10 scale, it would be;

HID kit, 8-9
OEM LED a 10. This is because it uses 4 LED's. This gives better spread.

For the cost for the Digitial HID Kit, which is around $100. it's hard to beat. Just make sure your projector are aligned.

 

I was able to find the comparison photos in an older thread through google.

Thinking of HID light kit this week | Page 2 | PriusChat

Thinking of HID light kit this week | Page 2 | PriusChat

 

I am very interested in this thread because, as I age, my night vision seems to get worse. I am particularly concerned that I don't see the ground ahead of me as I drive at night. My car is a generation 3 with the standard headlights. It sounds from this thread that there's not much I can do about the lighting -- that a retrofit would not work well. Am I misunderstanding?

 

In the thread I linked above, ataylor shot pics of the Prius Halogen projector and the TSX projector(known as a very good projector). It's on page 4 and 5. The main differences noted are;
1. Lens, frosted vs clear
2. Cut off lens, stamp steel us

In the end, what are the results? The light output isn't substantially different. Yes the cutoff is better but the Prius lamps are far from blinding.

A retrofit is nice but it really is as good as the installation. I understand the hate for glare as I experience it all the time. At the same time, I respect that, and made sure my system is aimed properly. What's stupid and sad to see now, is I see a lot of people in the Bay Area with halogen systems drive around with their high beams on. My guess is either due to ignorance or protest.. or both..

 

I drove my VW Bug for five years in Berkeley, and never had an occasion on which using high beams was legal or advisable. It's really too bad people are using high beams.

 

or worse yet.. poorly aimed HID's.

 

I like the halogen bulbs in my '11 Three. Plenty of illumination for me. High beams are also great. On the other hand- the OEM HID's in my girlfriends '07 prius are TERRIBLE.

 

Gen 2 is no comparison as it's a reflector. Gen 3 halogen is a projector. Scary part was that the gen 2 was a factory system.