I have a 2004 Prius with the HIDs (judging by the fact I have fog lights). I live on a mountain and have to drive some very windy roads to get up and down. Both my Dad's 2006 and my Mom's PIP Advanced don't have lights that shine very well around corners. As a novice driver vision is very important to me. I was wondering if there was anyway to widen the beam so it reaches around corners?
You could retro fit a HID projectors in the fog lamp housing. Perhaps aim them to the sides.... Just a though.
Hmm. There isn't an aftermarket lens or something that could do this? I just bought new fog lights (mine were cracked) and I don't really want to repurpose them. Living on a mountain I also get a lot of fog.
As already posted, a HID projector retrofit will give you much better lighting results than the OEM HID lights. They maybe bright, but the HID bulbs are fitted in the same reflector as used for Halogens. Look at the links below and you can assess the work involved as well as the results!! I recently did this retrofit and you can see the details in the links on my signature below. Headlight projector retrofit - HIDs to the max! | PriusChat My Headlight Mods: Mini H1, Blacked Housing and LEDs | PriusChat
After reading through both of those threads, and looking at the pictures. From the pictures it did not look like it widened the beam that much, but sometimes you can't tell from pictures. Does it really widen the beam? Can someone post a tutorial for using a heat gun? I do not want to risk messing up my oven, or having my food taste like plastic. Thanks!
In my experience with Mini H1, the beam was not wider but it gave a nice cut off and a bit brighter. If you want a wider beam, you will have to retro fit one of those Lexus projectors.
Can you define how wide you'd like to light up? Note that the wider you go, the more chances of also blinding oncoming and / or traffic alongside. Here's a nice comparison of various projectors. You might benefit from additional "off-road" style lighting just to drive through those windy mountain roads. Here's probably what the LS430 projectors can achieve (picture courtesy of HIDPlanet.com)
As far as baking the headlights vs using a heat gun..I'd be super careful with a heat gun... mine gets up to 250-600º F - you can easily damage your plastic headlight lens if you leave it in one spot for too long. Damaged mine while installing the smoked vinyl overlay on my first set. The oven is super easy to do. Plenty of DIY YouTube videos as well. 200º for 10-12min in the oven then with a flat head screwdriver separate the lens from the housing. Its pretty simple. Retrofit is the best over most in the same $ category. eBay projectors usually have a HORRIBLE beam pattern compared to anything retrofit. eBay projectors below: VS... retrofit nuff said.
I apologize for not being very clear. I would like a headlight that has a bit more distance and a bit wider beam. (Not that wide I do not want to be a jerk to other drivers) Basically I am now looking for recommendations on the best projector to use. As for the oven would it be possible to use a cookie sheet with cardboard in it to avoid any disaster if my headlight melted ( I am only 15 and my mom is not too keen on the idea of a headlight in her oven).
Check out this retrofit - Just the difference in output from non-HID to HID projection is rediculous:
