Best HID Conversion Kit Brand?

[Orangedrink]

About to pull the trigger on a HID conversion kit and I was wondering if there are any brands I should seek out/stay away from. Or if there is a price range I should stay in. Seems like lighting is all over the board.

I found these two on Amazon and they seem like a good price but are they a good brand:
http://www.amazon.com/Toyota-4Runner-Bi-Xenon-Headlight-Conversion/dp/B00515M5NY
http://www.amazon.com/NSSC-6000K-Bi-Xenon-Xenon-Conversion/dp/B00338I6SO/ref=sr_1_12?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1322418041&sr=1-12

I'm looking for a hi/lo beam kit 6000k or 8000k (prefer 6000k)

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Seanz0rz]

alot of us here love DDM tuning. the kit you want will run you about 60 before shipping.

there is also xenondepot which is a site sponsor. http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=188

stay far far away from 8000K. 6000K will be blue, 5000K will be between yellow halogens and blue, more like white with a hint of blue.

[troyboy162]

I know about nothing on the subject but the two you have linked are expensive from what I've seen. I think I payed $60 4 years ago on my hyundai for bulbs and ballast that was plug and play. Of course that was only low beam...

What I remember was the bulb was the most important part of the package since that controls the cutoff. that's the part that conversions without optics dont do a very good job of usually.

8000k is going to be pretty blue/purple, but I'm sure you have seen that.

[Orangedrink]

Perfect - thanks for the heads up on the colors. 5000k sounds like what I want. I do not like blue lights.

I'll definitely check out the sponsor link.

[Seanz0rz]

also should mention that 35W will be plenty for headlights.

also, your headlights were never meant to have HID's. the 96-98 have cloudy headlight lenses which arent ideal for hids. also the cutoff is not great. technically you need projectors to have the best results with HIDs. many people will yell at you for even thinking of putting hid's in the stock lights. just FYI.

[Orangedrink]

Good to know - Maybe this is not the best route to take. I need to get some more light. I looked into the Silverstars, but I can't validate a bulb that lasts a year or so. I definitely don't want any obnoxious light set-up that will interfere with other drivers, either.

I checked out the sponsor choices - looks like really good quality, but a lot more expensive.

Maybe a set of fogs are the best decision? I've been trying to research lighting like crazy, but the choices are overwhelming. At this point I may duct tape some maglites on the hood :)

Any fog recommendations for grill mounting?

Happy Birthday BTW.

[Seanz0rz]

the silverstars i put in my mom's car have been going strong for 4 years at least, maybe longer. ive never had a problem with their longevity.

i have HIDs in my 4runner with the crap headlight lenses. they're certainly better than the stock lights, and i never get people flashing me for bright lights. i have mine aimed pretty low though, and when the truck is fully empty (no tire, hilift, etc) they are low. i aimed them to be good with a trailer, so thats my trade off. some day ill go with a projector retrofit, but no money to do that now.

fog lights are great, and i actually use mine in the fog all the time, or when driving on the freeway just to provide that much extra forward light (not such a problem now with the decent parking lights i have now)

fog lights should be mounted as low as possible on a vehicle. this becomes hard on our vehicles since we want to have a decent approach angle. below the level of the stock turn signals should be good, isnt there a cutout in the front bumper there (been too long since i had a stock front bumper...)

[Orangedrink]

Thanks for the guidance. I'm now trying to decide between DDM and XenonDepot –big price difference for the same set-up. $60 vs. $197. Very strange that the prices are all over the place with these.

Xenon looks like better quality. Are you running the DDM?

I'm going to have to sleep on it, I'm driving myself crazy. :screwy:

[DHC6twinotter]

Many people that I know on this board and elsewhere are using DDM products with good results. I will be converting to HIDs as well, and I plan on ordering from DDM withing the next week.

[Seanz0rz]

I have a ddm hi/lo kit in my Vw. never been turned on. the kit is real nice tho.

I have some knockoffs in the 4runner and I'm not impressed.

[4x4mike]

I've got the DDM kit in my factory fogs as well as my Hella 500ff's.

In my headlights I've got Silverstars and I like them a lot. We actually have them in both cars and they are going on 2 years. I had them in another vehicle for close to 5 years.

[Bandit Runner]

I recommend TheRetroFitSource.com. I just completed a retrofit with projectors, and I am very satisfied with the results. Here's a pic:
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii93/woltejt/Projector%20Headlights/PICT1185.jpg

Here's a link to the retrofit thread:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/101725-bandit-runners-projector-headlights.html

Good luck!

[paddlenbike]

I run the DDM kit in my foglights with no complaints. I have the 4200K bulbs and would like something warmer in color to better match the headlights.

I am tired of being blinded by people throwing HID bulbs in regular non-projector housings. I find that my stock headlights + my HID retrofitted Hella Micro DE foglights (a true projector, btw) put out plenty of light. The HID micro DE's put out a huge wide band of light that is great for lighting up the sides of the road on a curvy mountain road or spotting broken down cars or highway patrol sitting in the median of a freeway that would otherwise be invisible with headlights only.

[YotaFun]

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii93/woltejt/Projector%20Headlights/PICT1185.jpg


I Can't wait to do that to my headlights! Exactly what I want to do!
After putting HIDs in my regular lamps and then just taking them out cause the beam was so scattered, I feel this is really the ONLY way to do HIDs in the headlamps

[strykersd]

Another vote for DDM tuning! I've bought four sets of their HID lights for my cars and a countless number of kits for friends without any complaints. Plus they're local to me and have just about any HID kit you want in stock!

[mastacox]

Another vote for DDM! For the price and quality you can't go wrong with the 55W conversion (as long as they're auxillaries) :wrenchin:

http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=8171.30
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/HID%20Hellas/IMG_7122.jpg