Help With Headlights

I did an HID "retro" on my 06 Tacoma. I'm receiving my 08 Prius Jan 15th and opted for the touring package 3 and I'm pumped!

I will tell you this about "kits," I would stay away from them. 3 reasons: you never know what your going to get as for quality (most are just out to fool you and make a buck), secondly, your halogen reflector/assembly is not made for HID (*glare and *heat), and third, your oem wire harness for your halogens is not made to handle the extreme starting voltage HID's need.

If you ever have a wire issue from installing a HID kit then it will cost a pretty penny and imo would void your warranty.

If you really want to do a real "retrofit" head over to HID Planet. They have a ton of info and a good forum to boot. I researched my Tacoma retro for 3 months before I did it and it was a bugger! but I'm up for challenges like that.

If you want brighter lighting on the road, the new Phillips "X-treme Power" automotive bulbs are the brightest halogens on the market. If you can't locate them online then the Luminic's Krypton's are a good alternative. Congrats on your new car! Njoy your ride!

Edit: And just incase, the higher the kelvin, the lower the light output. Higher kelvin = blue/purple light and less lumens. The best of both worlds (whiter light still with high lumens) is around ~4300'ish.

 

Unless you're in to blinding oncoming traffic, stick with the halogen lights. In my opinion, they are less trouble and certainly a lot cheaper to replace. As for the fog lights on the Prius, they are useless.

 

I have OEM HID headlights, so I'm unable to comment on aftermarket HID replacements. I can offer some suggestions on the fog lights. Given the standard OEM halogen bulbs I agree with the earlier comment, they are pretty much worthless.

But I replaced mine with Sylvania Silverstars and now the fog lights actually do some good. Three improvements:

1. They light up significantly more of the darkened area directly in front of the car. I find this especially helpful on dark roads or when it is raining.

2. The whiter light output more closely matches the HID color. So it no longer looks like I'm driving around with fog lights impersonating parking lights.

3. This isn't an improvement, but changing the bulbs is super easy. Upgrading the fog light bulbs cost maybe $25.

 

As jbdan already said, I would consider getting the Philips X-Treme Power bulbs. I love them. They are 80% brighter than your OEM halogens ... they're nearly as bright as the Prius HIDs. You can buy them at a Long Island R & S Straus stores. Regular price is 2 for $49. Sometimes they're on sale for less. If you get them, keep the OEM bulbs just in case ... don't know how long the X-Treme Power bulbs will last (maybe not long enough for your tastes).

 

I find the lights on my new 08, pkg.4 to be plenty bright enough, however, they seem to be adjusted a little low. The cut off line for the low beam is only about a half block in front of the car, and not much farther with high beam. I live in hilly Arkansas, and so each time I crest the top of a hill, the visibility is less than adequate for a few seconds. A lot can happen in a few seconds. I am thinking of taking it back to the dealer to have them raised. Anyone else find this problem? ..... thanks... jf

 

What model Sylvania silverstars did you get for the fog lights? Is it the same for my '08

 

The fog lights use 9006 bulbs. Here is a link I used to learn how to replace them http://www.vfaq.net/mods/Lights.html

 

speaking from knowledge about other toyota models, I believe there is some kind of adjuster that can be tweaked using a screwdriver

 

Yes it does. Just look it up in the manual, it's there. I did the adjustment but forgot what page.

Or use the search function on PC, I find this, http://priuschat.com/forums/showpost.php?p=176023&postcount=23

 

If you adjust them up to high it will look like high beams to oncoming traffic. Have the dealer adjust with their gauge. This way no angry drivers flashing you, and you not able to comply with their request.

 

Well our cars have a shield so that will help a bit on glare. The best thing for H.I.D's is projectors. So if you really want H.I.D's I say go for it, toyota didn't change the headlamp when putting in H.I.D.