LED and HID and Kangaroos

[zr nate]

Hi all,

firstly let me whinge about being stuck in a small country town with no street lighting and Kangaroos. I would like to say that my 15k drive to work has tight corners with hill and LOTS of fun which is why i'm in trouble with the misssus. So what i need to do is ask you all the questions that i know DJKOR has already answered somewhere and i cannot find (mate you are a legend and if your ever coming to WA i will pay half your airfare!)

Ok, so which HIDS do i buy and where from? i want to upgrade the high and low beams as driving home at midnight is very very dark. The local ARB store is willing to install for me as i admit i don't have a clue however they are telling me the whole set up will cost over $600.00 before installation, is this correct?

Also do you have opinions on the electric kangaroo deterents? shoo roo etc available from all ARB stores.

Less importantly is the LED's that you regularly talk about. Are the benefits real or cosmetic and either way what do i buy and where?

thanks so much for your help in advance this forum has made aurion ownership fun!!

[DJKOR]

...and if your ever coming to WA...

What's funny is that about 1 month ago, there was an A/V install job going on in Perth. I was about to head there but had to study instead. Would have saved both me and you some money since the trip would have been covered by work.

Now as promised, I'll write up to the best of my knowledge. Firstly, here are some links to get started:

- Has anyone installed Bosch HID conversion kit? (shows possible mounting points)

- xenon conversion to head lights and foglights

- parker lights

- Interior Lights

- Help with LED installing

So with the HID's, how much you really want to spend is up to you. Most people feel more secure buying a kit with a bit of cost to it. I guess it gives the sense of quality. Now it is true that paying extra for quality is worth it, but only if you spend it on a kit in which that extra money pays for the build and not for a senseless profit. If I was to go for HID's, I would personally go for a kit off eBay that is between $60 to $100 (shipping included). The thing with cheap kits is that there is bound to be a faulty kit out there somewhere, and when someone talks about it, the cheap kits get a bad reputation. If this happens to the expensive kit, the blame usually shifts to the end user and the reputation of the more expensive kit is saved. Either way, most of this stuff is made in the same place, so a kit off eBay for $60 to $100 should be fine.

Now onto the colour temperature. Given your scenario, I would highly recommend 5000k to 6000k. If you want the best in whiteness and brightness, go for the 5000k, but if you want it with a slight tinge of blue, go for the 6000k. Both are just about as bright, and performance is close to the same, so it's really up to you. I would definitely not go for 8000k or higher as for you this would probably not be necessary and as well, it's performance in the rain is crap because blue light doesn't bounce back as well through rain and fog. 8000k is alright in the CBD since there is already some ambient lighting and there are many street signs and road markings to reflect the light.

Now in case you are curious, I bought my HID's from the eBay seller "SUNSTAR-HID". I in no way am sponsoring this guy, I'm just saying that this is who I bought off and have had no issues. For you, I would suggest to just replace your low beams and fog lights. Both use the H11 bulb base. You will get extra glare from the fog light HID's so don't go driving around other cars with them on. I would suggest keeping the stock halogens in the high beams as they are a pretty good high powered bulb. Just buy the HID kits, and then try and see if you can install it yourself. If you hit a wall, consult with mates and if not, then look into getting someone to help install. You should be able to get away with doing it yourself, but you just need to look at it all first.

While on the lighting topic; LED's. There are a few gains for swapping your bulbs to LED's and in order of most to least beneficial (IMO): they use less power, they last longer, they are brighter, and they look better. The reason why the brightness factor is lower on the list is because LED's can be brighter to look at, but they don't project light as far. The main reason to change them though is purely for the looks, and any disadvantages are usually outweighed. The door lights, map reading lights, parkers, and number plate lights all use a 5W T10 style bulb. You can easily get LED replacements off eBay by searching with the parameter "T10 LED SMD <insert colour>". If you don't have the moonroof, your dome light uses a 31mm festoon bulb and you can easily get festoon LED replacements off eBay as well. You can go to other online LED stores, but eBay is the most convenient I find.

Now for the electronic or passive wildlife deterrents like the Shoo Roo (Roo Shoo?) they work in concept, but every situation varies and it can not be a guarantee that it will work. Like you can get one and hope that it does it's job (and maybe it will) and if you never hit a roo, you may then think that it was the device. But was it really that, or did you just have good luck? Like it may be effective at slow speed, but at a higher speed, you can never guarantee that the roo is going to be deterred quick enough and in the right direction. You never know, it may even get shocked and actually jump into the path of the car when it was never going to in the first place. I personally wouldn't go with one unless you have money to spend to experiment.

Hope all that helps for now.

[Tofuboi]

I'd like to know also about HID's as I was so used to having them with the Corolla, if I could get a rough idea what im up for and what i need it'd be great. :)

[dannywss]

if u google on hid info. actually any colour temperature above 6000k isnt providing u better vision in dark/night/dusk/??? condition. $600 is wayy too much to ask for.

I think MOST people nowadays either get their hid from the eBay or some shops, but MOST are china/korea made and very similar.. (yes, in old times, GT HID might be "good" but cost much more than the normal hid that we can get like around $150, but GT hid is now made in china from what i saw).

If you wanna buy a set, there is always a group buy in the buy/sell section.

Regarding installation, just get 1 set first, dont worry about installing it, coz it's easy. And i remember there is a thread on installing hid on aurion too. If u dont dare to touch the car, just ask normal mechanic to install it, easy. My first hid was install my mech too, coz i didnt dare to do it myself, and cost like $70, which is very over-charge IMO, for less than 30 minutes job.

LED that our great DJKOR is providing info on, is for cosmetic issue, exp:parker, led on the door..

but the led for reading may hv benefit? i hvnt change mine, so i m not sure.. others are for cosmetic, pretty sure~

If i were u, i may just change the lo to 6000k, and get a brighter(more W) fog light.

I dont recon changing the Hi.

If u are willing to spend $600, get a REAL hid projecting headlight.. There is a member in this forum who made one for his camry 05, and it cost a little more than that.. but GREAT result.

(back from 2 months of intense exam period, Now back to playing with my car!!! HURRAYY )

[zr nate]

Laies and gentlemen DJKOR!!!!

once agin thanks, if you do come to perth ever let me know!!

[Speedz]

the only thing thats a pain in the backside is having to dissemble the front bumper and the headlight housing to install the kit...

i got both high and low beam both 6k temp... gotta love it...! :P

[intrigue]

the only thing thats a pain in the backside is having to dissemble the front bumper and the headlight housing to install the kit...

i got both high and low beam both 6k temp... gotta love it...! :P

DJKOR said that you only have to dissemble the bumper if you want to perfect align the lights?

So I'm guessing you can install the HIDs without taking your bumper off, and just having the hood up? (Sorry I'm a complete noob)

[DJKOR]

the only thing thats a pain in the backside is having to dissemble the front bumper and the headlight housing to install the kit...

i got both high and low beam both 6k temp... gotta love it...! :P

DJKOR said that you only have to dissemble the bumper if you want to perfect align the lights?

So I'm guessing you can install the HIDs without taking your bumper off, and just having the hood up? (Sorry I'm a complete noob)

It depends on just how perfect you want to have it. I was considering pulling the bumper off to mount the ballasts perfectly, but I didn't want the fun task of pulling it off again if the ballast was to eventually fail. Therefore:

... I couldn't really figure anything out that would be the most ideal (without removing the bumper), so I mounted one below and in front of the battery, and the other... well the picture will show. They are held down with a bolt, and I put a cable tie around it to keep 100% secure.

[Speedz]

Well... the way i placed my ballast i could use my hand and wretch it out if it fails...

the reason i took it off coz i couldnt get the bulb into the low beam housing as well as couldnt be bother sticking my hand inside the wheel arch to change the LED parkers too... so i might as well take off the bumper and do it all at once...

[the_random_hero]

If you're going just for looks, you can replace your fog lights with LED's along with your parkers - I'll be doing this to a few Sportivo's in the coming weeks, I'll post some pictures up so people can get an idea of what they look like.

[Speedz]

I got those Osram night breakers as my fogs... they are fine...

LED like u said just for looks especially for fog lights... i saw those 1W ones i wonder how many lumens they could pull out...!

I prefer something more practical... hence HID for high & low beam... :P :P

[phonsa]

Just brought these HID's from ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-XENON-HID-KIT-B...%3A1|240%3A1318

Got the 6,000k crystal blue H11's based on the advise from DJKOR and this visual site here:

http://www.delonixradar.com.au/HID/

Found a install guide here:

http://hid.poirus.com.au/index.htm

Will let you guys know how it goes when its installed :)

[the_random_hero]

Just brought these HID's from ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-XENON-HID-KIT-B...%3A1|240%3A1318

Got the 6,000k crystal blue H11's based on the advise from DJKOR and this visual site here:

http://www.delonixradar.com.au/HID/

Found a install guide here:

http://hid.poirus.com.au/index.htm

Will let you guys know how it goes when its installed :)

I got a set from him a few months ago, both of the ballasts stopped working. Had them sent back, didn't hear anything from him for two weeks, finally got a message saying that although they were fixed, my "improper packaging" caused a light to break although apparently it still works fine. We'll see how I go when I get them back.

[zr nate]

well,

have ordered the 6000k HID's through the ebay suppier used by DJKOR, will let you all know how the install turns out. I also ordered and installed some red LED's in the from doors to add that personal touch, all looks pretty cool to me. thanks again to DJKOR for the sound advice!

[L.M.F.]

How's everyone's HID going? I'm about to buy a set of HID from ebay for my 08 Corolla. Has anyone got any experience about the HID kit from MARS?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...em=370120782337

[DJKOR]

How's everyone's HID going? I'm about to buy a set of HID from ebay for my 08 Corolla. Has anyone got any experience about the HID kit from MARS?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...em=370120782337

So far it's been 7 months with my HID's from eBay (SUNSTAR HID) and they are still working flawlessly. No problems whatsoever. Can't really comment about the MARS kits, but it looks exactly the same, just with different stickers. Wouldn't be surprised if it was exactly the same inside.

[the_random_hero]

How's everyone's HID going? I'm about to buy a set of HID from ebay for my 08 Corolla. Has anyone got any experience about the HID kit from MARS?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...em=370120782337

So far it's been 7 months with my HID's from eBay (SUNSTAR HID) and they are still working flawlessly. No problems whatsoever. Can't really comment about the MARS kits, but it looks exactly the same, just with different stickers. Wouldn't be surprised if it was exactly the same inside.

90% of HID kits on the market are made in the same factory, to the same standards :P

[JIN]

How's everyone's HID going? I'm about to buy a set of HID from ebay for my 08 Corolla. Has anyone got any experience about the HID kit from MARS?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...em=370120782337

Well..I don't have any clues about MARS but should be ok if you install them properly.

I've got mine for about 4 months and still works perfectly.

Also, they may look better with projector headlights but I am not sure whether 08 rolla has one or not.

[zr nate]

can't believe i've had these HID's in the shed since November and finally got around to getting them installed. Got a mate to do it for me (i draw the line at wires) and have had it setup so if it goes wrong the original globes are plug and play. I included a photo of where the packs have been attached although its not real clear in the second photo...

[DJKOR]

I was wondering what took you so long since I gave that advise at the beginning.

Cable ties FTW. Have saved my a** many times.

That's how I installed my ballasts at first. Then I got my hands on some self drilling metal screws. Put one through the bracket to hold it down but left the cable ties on to prevent any movement.

[cranky]

the second pic was like playing wheres wally, there you are

[corhijas]

heres a site regarding the electronic shu-roo

hope this helps

http://www.shuroo.com

[zr nate]

ok before i sing Daryl's praise again let me tell you a little about why i went for HID's... I live in a very small country town and work at a hotel about 10km out of town. Its a wonderful 90km/h drive with windy roads, sligt elevations and no lighting what so ever. I asked this forum about HID's and daryl recommended 6000k in the low beams and leave the high beams alone....

Result, Perfect! last night was the first night driving home and the blue tinge of the HID's seem to spread the light further and wider and clarified the white posts along the road. Add to that the yellow/white of the high beam it was almost like driving in daylight!!

once again Daryl, thanks for the perfect advice!

[Speedz]

^

55w HID high beam FTW!~

literally lit up the everything around me and then some...

[Aurion ZR6]

My HID have been in my car for over 3 years now and have now miss a beat, they only cost under $100 dollars delivered.