I purchased Xentec HIDs from eBay for around $35 with 5000k bulbs. I installed them without using a relay in the factory projectors. The beam pattern and cuttoff is good but the overall light output (lumens) seems very low. Compared to other cars I have driven (BMW/Infiniti/Honda) with factory and aftermarket HIDs, this is by far the worst. Thinking the kit I bought was defective I asked for another set of bulbs to be sent. They sent me another set of bulbs and I didn't notice any improvement in brightness. I've thought about adding a relay to draw power directly from the battery, although I don't know if that will make any difference. I'm willing to spend more to get significantly brighter output but not sure which kit to get. I was hoping to spend under $100.
It'd be nice to update your thread title (if possible) to include the brand and what you bought. Your title at first confused me, thinking you'd posted in the wrong area since no Gen 3 Priuses even come w/factory HIDs.
Color temperature is not the only number you need to look at! The Lumens Output of the bulb is VERY important! Buying bulbs off ebay is hit or miss anyway, unless you get the ones that others here have already used. Yours is the first post I have seen about bulbs with low output! Usually it's color temp K° problems. Do a search, there is plenty of info!
i recently picked up theretrofitsource's quick prius retro kit because i was disappointed in light output from hid kit.
I received and installed the VOLT kit from xenon depot and I am very happy with the result. They are bright and white like HIDs should be. Worth the extra $60 easily. I paid $89 shipped. Here's a pic of eBay kit (passenger) vs xd (driver). Its blurry but you can see the brightness difference.
There appears to be much more light on the ground in front of the car. Did the bulbs really make that big of a difference? My DDM (generic) bulbs are pretty dim too. I have a set of Morimoto bulbs waiting in SoCal for me. I'll find out this weekend if they are any better.
Yup! Got them in last night but didn't take it for a drive. I swapped the drivers side first so I could compare the color and the Morimoto looked like a true 5000k and the DDM bulb looked like a 6000k despite being originally labeled a 5000k.
