HID kit. What is the difference between these and the ones from retrofit source

Hello all,

I bought a 14 SR5 about three months ago and the headlight situation sincerely makes me feel very uncomfortable about driving at nights. Pretty much every car I owned so far had superior headlights. Even my 99 explorer and it was an absolute blessing in my 300 with Osram HIDs.

I read the topics here and I have actually purchased the LED harness from edelblou. However, after reading some topics, it seems like retrofits are superior to the LEDs in terms of brightness. LEDs are to be more expensive. They look super cool but I am not doing this for looks I want function.

I found these on ebay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bi-Xenon-M...ash=item25e13d9b79:g:gMEAAOSwTqZZ0AMX&vxp=mtr

What is the difference between that set and the ones from retrofit website because over there it starts at 420 smth and here it is $100 off their price. When I add the DRL strip on the retro site, it is almost expensive as the LEDs.

I am trying to justify the cost and find the best bang for the buck and be responsible and do this right without blinding everyone else on the road. As far as I know, the base set for 400+ on the site and the one from ebay are the same thing. I'd love to read some second opinions on this.

Thank you!

 

I would do the 18 led headlights and get ihacker harness and get 100% factory function and call it a day. Less headaches and time on your part. If can’t do it now than save a lil move than pull th trigger.

 

That feels like it is going to put a collapsed sun in my headlights with my reflector throwing the LED lights everywhere. I want to do this correct and respectful to others.

 

That’s the key word CHEAP. When I hear cheap that dont sound good. I rather pay a fair price for quality stuff. My 2 cents.

 

I have never looked at the universal section. I was looking at this

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/p...014-2017-toyota-tundra-headlight-package.html

I looked at the whats included and I thought those two are the same. Is that correct?

 

A properly done retrofit will BLOW AWAY anything else. HID is significantly brighter than even a retrofitted LED in a projector. Lots of people on here will have plenty of opinions, but I would recommend you treat the lighting as an investment. You get what you pay for, and I mean that as strongly as I can. I spent a good chunk of money on an RX350 retrofit. I don't regret it for a second. I researched going LED (either LED retro or 18 LED housing with the harness), but just couldn't justify the cost for output like I could with HID.

Please, if you get HID or LED(other than the 18 OEM headlight), get a projector. The universal kits you are looking at require you to take apart your headlight housing and do the work yourself, so keep that in mind. A properly done retro will cost you from about $600 to over $1k. Again, you get what you pay for, but they will be mostly plug n play. @eledobleu is a pretty highly regarded retrofitter on here; I used him for mine and have been very happy.

The 2018 LEDS are a solid choice if you want OEM quality and less components to worry about. Coming from 2014 halogens they will likely be more than enough to give better piece of mind. If you want to go one step up and have cleaner cutoffs, more output, and the ease of LED, do an LED retrofit. You would either need to give a retrofitter your housings, or buy some on here/ebay etc and send them in. The last choice is to do a full HID retrofit. This will give you the best output, highest quality, and in my opinion best overall value for your money. HID definitely has its quirks, and since there are so many components (computer, ballasts, igniters and bulbs + harness), there are more chances for issues. That being said, they are rare in most of these professionally done, high quality aftermarket systems. I can't say the same for Ebay stuff.

As for your two choices on TRS; they look like they could be very similar, but might not be. The best bet would be to email TRS and ask them based on what you are looking for. They are very prompt and super helpful. Otherwise, give Leo a holler and explain your situation to him. He will guide you!

I am by no means an expert, but these are the conclusions I came to after much research and personal experience. Hope it helps.

 

The factory lights on my 14 were a joke as you know..... I went with LED replacement but left reflectors. I'm happy with my Putcos

 

To the OP,

First of all kudos to you for doing it the correct way instead of just putting LED or HID bulbs in stock reflectors. Now, those kits you are looking at need to be properly installed which is not an easy task. Like said before, save up and buy the OEM LED lights or take a look at this thread, they have a sale but it ends tomorrow.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/spr...conversion-harness-15-off-entire-store.22360/

 

I actually have that already

 

Well, I wasn't just referring to a conversion harness. They do HID conversion for halogen headlights.