HID conversion on 02 taco

Hey everyone I have done quite a bit of research on here and other sites about putting HIDs in my 02. I know I probably need to do a complete retrofit since it is illegal to run the HIDs without projectors. I am looking at running 35w 5000k Bi-Exnon lights paired with marimoto H1 or D2S. I have heard good things about theretrofitsource.com but as far as what I actually need to buy to do the retrofit is where I get confused. Sorry about my noobness on the subject. Any help and links to write ups used for 1st gens would be awesome. Thanks!

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=237

Something like this?

 

That kit will work, just make sure you choose the 9003/h4 wiring harness. I believe the d2s kit might require a bit more modification than the h1 kit. I have the h1 and I didn't have to modify anything on my stock housing. Not 100% on the d2s though. In my opinion I would get the h1 if you are going with the 35 watt kit, it will have a little more light output. Get the d2s if you want to upgrade to a 55 watt kit since its not available for the h1

 

I just got the mini H1 kit with the upgraded xb35 5000k bulbs. I love them so far. They are amazing compared to stock. And it was very easy to install. I baked the housings, installed/aimed projectors, sealed them up, and installed them on the truck in about 6 hours. I could have done it faster, but I would recommend taking your time with it. And seal up the housing with silicone too just in case.

 

These look great! Can you comment on light output, pattern, and any difficulties you might have had since the install?

 

Light output is very good. The beam is very wide and covers the road well. However, it does not cover immediately in front of the truck at all. I see you have a 2013, so your fogs will likely take care of that. I have not had any difficulties really. My driver side bulb isn't seated properly, as the cutoff is blurry and yellow rather than fine and blue. It's also a little crooked, but I've just been too lazy to take the light off and fix it. It's still very usable.

 

Ditto here. Very happy with mine.

The FX-R requires a lot of cutting and trial fitting to install.
The D2S and H1 are both socket-fit projectors.

I like the D2S because it is an industry-standard lamp... I have the same Philips lamp that comes in many factory installations. Sylvania/Osram is the other common manufacturer.
There are also more shroud options for the D2S. It is a slightly larger projector.

Not sure what the issue is with you not getting a good beam in front of the truck. Mine is awesome... maybe it's the shape of the housing? Or are you running H1?


OP, all you will need is the projector kit and the 9003 harness.
When you install, make sure you have a GOOD ground, especially on the passenger side.
I've installed a number of systems since 2004 and I've had problems more than once with the lamp on the passenger side not firing... turned out to be a bad ground.

For housings, if your stock housings are showing their age, I'd get on Amazon and pick up a new set of Depo brand housings and work with those.

Another cool benefit of projectors? Since you no longer use the factory reflector, it really gives "Black Headlight Mod" a new meaning!!!

 

Yeah I'm running the mini H1. It just does not seem to project immediately down. I'd say the beam hits the ground about 15-20 feet in front of me. It still has some faint light there, but the majority of the light doesn't hit till then. Other than that I think it's a great kit. I wanted as close to plug and play as I could, and that's what I got. Only had to dremel once spot on the housing and one on the washer.

 

Might be specific to the H1.
Mine, if anything, seems to "waste" too much light near the truck, but the high beam is great, so I'm not missing out on anything... just seems much, much brighter than stock below the cutoff.

 

PNP HIDs are just as illegal as doing a projector retrofit

 

"More" illegal

Projector retrofits are technically illegal unless:
1 - Your model vehicle was available with projectors
2 - You install OEM projectors

But projector retrofits generally fly under the radar because they don't blind other drivers and create a safety hazard.

When I said "socket-fit" above, I was referring to the H1 and D2S projectors being designed to mount into the opening in a reflector designed to accept a 9003 lamp without requiring drilling.


I agree.. the P&P HID systems that simply replace the 9003 lamp are illegal, and dangerous.

 

That's the ever-present 5.0 foreground limiter. That can be modified on the projector if you prefer foreground light.

 

Projector retrofits pass much more stringent testing overseas than anything here in the US, including luminous flux testing, saturation testing, etc., based on what customers tell us all over the world.

A drop in kit won't pass anything here in the US, let alone overseas.

 

How can they be modified to do that? I would take mine apart to do that but I think my passenger side threads are stripped because the nut threads on just fine but then gets really tough about halfway through. I got it tight enough though. The driver side is the one that's crooked and those threads are fine thankfully.

 

That covers the issue of safety and social acceptability, which is the driving force behind whether or not you are going to get pulled over for them.

But his comment is in respect to the way some are reading the FMVSS to say that only the factory original headlamp units are legal.
This is generally applied to HID retrofits in conversation, meaning that if you have a 4-Runner, it would be legal to retrofit a Toyota OEM projector housing into it, provided that Toyota offered a projector option for that year, but it would never be legal to retrofit a Tacoma or Tundra (even using Toyota projectors)

I don't agree with that reading of the law, as it would also outlaw any and all aftermarket halogen housings as well as projector housings and retrofits.... though I question whether the Spyder housings I put on my wife's Rav4 should be allowed to be sold... even with halogens, they scatter like birdshot from a 10ga short-barrel.

Someone posted a link to the FMVSS section a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't find anything directly supporting the claims above.
I saw a lot regarding testing, aiming, and intensity standards, but saw nothing that prohibits the installation of HID units specifically.... even in halogen housings. And it is important to note that some early factory HID systems were installed in standard reflector housings.

The issue is whether or not the system can pass standards, and as you said, drop-in halogen replacements don't.