Has anyone switched their standard headlights over to an aftermarket HID system yet? I was thinking of doing this.
Yes several people have. Here's a thread with one person who made the modification and has included pictures. You can find more by using the search function of the board. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...5000k-hid-lights-in-winter-gray-prius-iv.html
My brother's friend imports HID Kit from China and I am getting a 6000k kit from him in a week and I might post some pic after I finished. I tried a 8000k kit from the same person for a Honda Accord couple years ago and still works fine. The one I am getting from him is the slim ballast this time, so should be better than last time.
I just bought a set of Philips 4300K HID kit. The Philips kit's harness is not quite plug and play and no relays. I just ordered the H11 harness with relay on Ebay. Once I have all the parts, I will try to install them.
I install the xentec HID kits from ebay. I have had good results with these in my NAH both head lghts and fog lights. The install is quite easy compare to my altima and you should be ok without the relays. The philips kits are nice but very expensive. The only problem in the Prius is where to mount the ballast. I zip tied mine to a metal bracket near the fire wall.
Just traded my '07 with HID for a Prius 3.I find that these halogen lights are every bit as good as the HID's.
I did mine as well and I Love it! Direct Plug and play. No modification needed what so ever. I bought mine from DDM. Total cost $50.00 shipped. 35 Watt 4300k
In colorado its pretty much illegal to motify a car beyond O.E.M. just make sure they are angled properly, and not rediculously blue or purple
A common thread in the Gen II forums is how to convert HID headlamps to halogen. Too bad you guys can't trade. Tom
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is who decided they are not legal. They do not allow headlights that originally had a filament to be replaced by headlights without a filament, nor do they allow adding a ballast to headlights that did not originally have a ballast. The only legal HID headlights are manufacturer factory installed lights. The reason every single driver knows they are aftermarket is because they were just blinded by them and now wish to kill the owner. Sooner or later, that driver is Officer Friendly. Mr. Simon S. Shih, 4 Teal, Irvine, CA 92604 "Because replaceable light sources are, by regulation, designed to be non-interchangeable, it would not be possible for an HID headlamp conversion set to meet the standard’s photometry requirements for an original equipment headlamp system using a halogen light source, so the replacement lamps could not be sold for this purpose." Mr. Jeff Deetz, Sales Manager, Santeca Electronics, Inc., 7215 East 21<sup>st</sup> Street, Suite D, Indianapolis, IN 46219 "Thus, your company’s HID conversion kit is not a design that conforms to the Standard and could not be certified as complying with FMVSS No. 108, nor imported into or sold in the United States. This interpretation would apply to any HID replaceable light source whose base was modified or manufactured to be interchangeable with any regulated headlamp replaceable light source that incorporates an incandescent filament design." Mr. Song M. Kim, C.M.O./Fanteks, Inc., 580 Sylvan Ave., Suite 1A, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 "If your company manufactured or imported noncompliant HID conversion kits for resale, your company is required to notify this agency, dealers, purchasers, and owners of the kits and to remedy the noncompliance in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 30118-30120 and 49 CFR Parts 573 and 577. I should advise you that we know of no HID conversion kit that can be certified by its manufacturer as complying with FMVSS No. 108." UK law Aftermarket HID (Xenon) headlamps Even in the US, it may be possible to manufacture an entire new aftermarket headlight that complies with FMVSS No. 108, but not a conversion kit.
