Xenon Depot HID Kit w/ Philips 4300K Bulbs: Review and Install

Hey TW!

I purchased Xenon Depot's HID Kit with Philips 4300K bulbs last Monday as they had a sale for 20% off so I bit the bullet and bought the kit. Normally $200, but I got it for $160 with no tax and no shipping, solid deal! They shipped fast and arrived on Thursday, I installed them on Saturday morning before an impending snow storm. The short and simple, these headlights are sick! They absolutely blow away the stock H11 halogens that come standard in our trucks. I ran these bulbs for about a year and while I was not unhappy with them, I was also not overly impressed. I debated for a long time whether I wanted to go with LEDs, different halogens or ultimately HIDs. I didn't pull the trigger for a long while but I finally did and I'm very happy with the purchase. This kit and these bulbs work flawlessly. The installation was extremely easy but it did take some time for me to get all of the wires nice and tidy, I blame some of that on me OCD.... The Philips bulbs are extremely bright, however I have yet to be flashed. I do not think they project much or any further or wider, but they do fill in the area of projection much better! The philips bulbs really do provide a very clean, crisp, white light. Its fun driving next to a Mercedes, BMW or Audi on the highway and having the performance of my headlights match theirs.

Here are a few shots of the HID headlights output:

Off:



Headlights Only:



Headlights and Fogs:



This is how the kit was packaged when I opened everything up on Thursday. Everything was packed nice and tight with plenty of protection.



Below, the Philips bulbs are packed in the white bubble wrap envelope then they are wrapped again in more bubble wrap outside of their individual plastic sleeves. The ballasts are packed in the boxes (they are stacked two deep), and lastly the harnesses are in the plastic sleeves. The kit also included some 3M adhesive for the ballasts and a minimal amount of zip ties (4)...GET MORE ZIP TIES, I used a lot of 4" ties and some 8" ties as well.







Next the actual install itself. Full disclaimer, I am happy how it all came out but I will be redoing the passenger side over to tidy everything up as I rushed it at the end of the day. First I pulled the stock halogen bulbs and placed the new Philips bulbs into the headlights. New I plugged the harness and ballasts in to both sides and tried to get everything laid out as best as I could.

Then I attached the positive leads to the battery and ran them around the battery:




Next I got the negative leads bolted down to the factory grounds on each of the headlights respective sides. (I pulled the windshield washer fluid reservoir to make this install easier)




To make running the wires to the passenger side easier and cleaner, I pulled the black plastic cover on top of the radiator by removing the seven small clips with a flat head screwdriver.





One the passenger side I drilled two small holes to run the wire along the top and zip tie it up and out of the way. Hindsight is 20/20 and looking back at this, its likely not necessary. There is a small harness that run the whole length to the other head light that I overlooked. Do what you please.




Passenger side positive lead line run up factory harness to passenger side headlight.



After that I got the ballast and the harness mounted. The ballast is mounted with the provided 3M tape and the harness I mounted with a small self tapping screw.




I got all the wires on the passenger side all bunched up as best I could and reinstalled the windshield washer fluid reservoir. (Again, I will be redoing this as I am not entirely happy with the cleanliness)




Once the passenger side was complete, I moved back over to the driver side to get things cleaned up and was much happier with how all of this got tucked away.





COMPARISON TIME!

Headlights only: STOCK



Headlight only: HID



Headlights+Fogs: Stock



Headlights+Fogs: HID



HIDS only:



HIDS+Fogs:



HIDS+Highs:



I hope you enjoyed the read, please feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to answer as best as I can. Also add pics if you have them, I did not find a lot of comprehensive information on this kit before purchasing!

Thanks!

 

Good write up. Nice clean install. I have the same kit on my Taco. Very pleased with the results. I had to aim my headlights down a little because I was getting flashed all the time with these while driving at night or dusk.

 

Got ya, like i said no issues as of yet but im paying close attention as i do not want to be that guy

 

Great write up! I just ordered this exact kit and was going to hunt for a youtube video . Perfect my man, perfect. Thank you

 

Do these generate enough heat to melt the snow while driving or do they ice over?

 

Thanks for pics, I bought yesterday too, but opted to go with regular 4300 bulbs. I can't imagine huge difference (100-200 lumens) between the 2 for 50 bucks. Mine was 131 shipped to my house. Thanks again for effort in this post

 

Runs cooler than halogen, warmer than LED.

 

glad i could assist, i will try to get more pics up soon, its just not dark enough in Denver

 

like @pinochle said, cooler than a halogen but warmer than LED, still enough heat to prevent icing over

 

post some pics, I'd like to see!

 

This is the kit I've been considering....looking forward to night pictures to see how it turned out. Nice write-up OP.

 

thanks! ill get them up soon!

 

Might have missed it but did you get the CANBUS thing too? Is it needed?

 

CANBUS is not needed

 

Batttery connection is not required. Just plug them into headlight connector. No issues.

 

The harness is an insurance policy, im not taking even the slightest chance of frying my electronics in a $40k truck

 

Awesome write up. Loved the pictures. I’m debating on doing the same thing. I have a question though. What is the benefit of the Philips bulb for the extra $45? Thanks.

 

did anyone here look at the Hylux A0288, 4300k ball type bulbs and DD harness

 

they are the brightest of the offered bulbs in terms of lumens, but like some other have said the 100-200 lumens may not be worth an extra $45. I was getting 20% off so i splurged!

 

yes there is another good write up on here regarding those. that is also a good kit