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Swapped HID for LED

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by rstark18, Dec 4, 2022.

  1. rstark18

    rstark18 Member

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    I've had HID bulbs in my 2010 for 10 years now. They have been excellent and reliable. They were starting to get dimmer so I thought I'd try out LED's.
    I bought a set of Morimoto 2Stroke 3.0 LED bulbs. They are nice. Much easier to install than HID but I don't think they are as bright as a new set of HID's. Supposedly they aren't as bright as the popular GTR Ultra 2.
    Has anyone tried the Ultra 2's? Curious if I should return and swap.
     
    #1 rstark18, Dec 4, 2022
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    I don't know buddy how many lumens and watts are the bulbs you're using right now rated I'm using like 50 watt I want to say 4,000 lumen aux b e a m brand S1 series I don't have all the particular specs but they do pretty good on a Gen 3 in the low beam position I also have some in the wide open high beams. I've not been disappointed I don't have HIDs and a Gen 3 to compare to but the HIDs in my Gen 2 were promptly replaced with the same aux beam h4s S1 yuge difference
     
    #2 Tombukt2, Dec 5, 2022
  3. rstark18

    rstark18 Member

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    FYI for anyone with a Gen 3 that needs new lights. I swapped the Morimoto for GTR Ultra 2's. The difference is night and day. Twice as bright with good cutoff and light control. The GTR's are as good as new HID's without the install hassle.
     
    #3 rstark18, Dec 9, 2022
    Slammed and Brian1954 like this.
  4. PriusHead05

    PriusHead05 Member

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    Can you post pictures?
     
    #4 PriusHead05, Dec 17, 2022
  5. steve53mg

    steve53mg Junior Member

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    Rstark, my Gen3 prius 4 w/ HID headlights have gonne really dim. These GTR Ultra2's are a direct replacement? How difficult are they to install? Are these just for the low beams?
    Is there a less expensive alternative? (stock hid?)
     
    #5 steve53mg, Dec 17, 2022
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2022
  6. rstark18

    rstark18 Member

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    These are not direct replacements for stock hid’s. They are only for H11 halogen replacements.
    Not sure what your options are for HID to HID replacement.
     
    #6 rstark18, Dec 21, 2022
  7. PriusHead05

    PriusHead05 Member

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    Gen 3s didn't come with OEM HIDs. Pkgs 1-4 came with halogen projectors. Pkg 5 came with OEM LED projectors. You probably either have an aftermarket kit, or you have a Pkg 5 with LEDs. If it's an aftermarket kit, it would be a very easy swap over to the LED bulbs. But if it's a Pkg 5, you can't swap out the bulbs. It is a complete low beam LED sealed headlight.
     
    #7 PriusHead05, Dec 30, 2022
  8. PriusHead05

    PriusHead05 Member

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    @rstark18 Are you able to send pics of the lights? If not, that's okay. I am looking at either getting the GTR Ultra 2s or a 55 watt HID kit (Either Morimoto or Xenon Depot because GTRs HID kit is way out of my budget.) I have heard the HIDs will display a more uniform light across the projector beam on the road with no dark spots compared to a LED bulb. But they were testing it with a cheap LED that probably wasn't made very well. So I wanted to get your opinion.
     
    #8 PriusHead05, Dec 30, 2022
  9. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Maybe try an H9 (modify base to fit).

    https://a.co/d/bKgMUZl
     
    #9 jzchen, Dec 30, 2022
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2022
  10. PriusHead05

    PriusHead05 Member

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    It will probably make it a little bit brighter, but not by much. Look at this video...

     
    #10 PriusHead05, Dec 30, 2022
  11. StarCaller

    StarCaller Senior Member

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    I did this with my wife's Subaru & the result was/is not really as expected (not to say disappointing).
     
    #11 StarCaller, Dec 30, 2022
    PriusHead05 likes this.
  12. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    I’m happy with how they (H9s) perform in my Scion iQ.

    Sorry to read they didn’t for others. I was told the filament geometry and placement is the same, but lumens go up from 1350 to 2100. That’s a decent amount…
     
    #12 jzchen, Jan 1, 2023
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