For those that installed a plug and play HID, with no retrofit, how is it to you?

Actions speak louder than words. I don't care who you claim to be. Your actions are enough to judge.

 

The Retrofit Source makes (XB) LED fogs that are essentially plug and play for the 2012-2015's. They aren't bulb replacements but instead are entire housings. The lenses help aim the LED fogs for a more concentrated cutoff and are definitely worth it!

 

So with the retrofits, do you just use your stock housing?

 

You can use any housing you want. Every retrofit requires opening up the headlights, and possibly some cutting. TRS does have a kit that requires minimal, if any, cutting for Spyder and other aftermarket projector headlights.

 

Only kit that requires cutting is the FXR's, of course those are the best though.. Don't get H1's, mini D2S are superior and not to much more $$

 

I've performed several installations of HID kits into vehicles that they didn't belong in. It's something that the stereo shop that I worked at years ago offered.

They would often need troubleshooting, replacements, etc, depending on the brand of kit / vehicle manufacturer.

Saw someone in a Tacoma the other night with a straight-swap HID kit, driving near me on the freeway. When he was in front of me, his HID headlights and fog lights were blinding. It was miserable to drive in front of.

Just invest the time / money for a good projector + HID setup. If you can't do it yourself, there are a few other vendors on the forums that currently offer projector lens / HID headlight retrofit service, but most of them do shoddy work and they don't offer many custom options.

 

I've read all the comments so far and I'll fill in with my experience with HIDs.

I, like many, started off by tossing a DDM Tuning 35w 6000k HID kit in my 08 stock housing and called it a day. Yes they were bright and yes I thought they looked cool. But the non-stop headlight flashing, a few run-ins with some dudes with road rage and the final incident when a oncoming car drifted directly into my lane, brought me to taking them out! As of this morning I got the shipping confirmation from DDM Tuning of the H1 V3 Projector retrofit kit that I ordered this weekend. I also ordered a set of 5000k bulbs instead of the 6000k. In the rain, the 6000k don't show up that well on the road.
To sum it up, go with the retrofit and think about others on the road. I was bashed by members on here when I put pictures up of my HIDs. Eventually you realize they're right and looking cool isn't worth causing an accident.

 

Okay I'm a little confused. I saw Andrew's WIP from TRS and he shows grinding the back end of the headlight housing to fit the D2S. I'm also worried about not being able to revert the truck back to it's original state. With so many Tacos out there is there a reputable company that offers a housing we can swap right in? If not it sounds like converting the fogs to driving lights is an option.

 

And I like the OP would like better lighting and was wondering if there was a happy medium between stock and a retrofit. I guess I just figured if brighter / hotter halogens put off more light from a bulb so should a reasonable HID but I'm guessing all HIDs end up putting out too much light? Is that the reason no HID kit works as an upgrade from halogens?

 

HIDs give off a lot more light and the OEM housing isn't designed for HID bulbs so the light isn't disbursed properly. It scatters the light everywhere, which seems wonderful for the driver because everything is so bright but it blinds everyone else on the road. If you do go HID and hopefully also retrofit, check out DDM tuning. Some people on here have terrible things to say about them but myself and 3 other friends of mine haven't had ANY issues. My only complaint is that the shipping takes a long time because it always ships from China even though they're on the west coast.

 

Okay so that's it. All HIDs are just too much power, I had assumed it was like changing the old 100 watt bulb with an LED equivalent. I get that too much light will cause the obnoxious spill I was just hoping there was an HID kit that was 20-25% better than halogens with a 4100k color. Thanks for your response.

 

No, it's not that the HIDs are too much power. It's the fact that the HID light source shape is different from the halogen light source shape. The halogen reflector is designed to reflect light from a halogen source. When the source is in a different position, it creates the scatter.

If you want to know more, google focal points of mirrors.

 

No that makes the most sense. Now it's clear why they scatter. Thanks for explaining.

 

Mine looked like ass.... it blinded people and the output was too scattered to be useful over stock..

I wont even bother again.. its one of those do it right the first time things.. unless you retrofit.. don't install them.