Xenondepot H11 HID KIT | XTREME HID install

After seeing the pics from other members of their HID's and being thoroughly unimpressed with the low beams in the 4runner I decided to make a change. I upgraded the original halogens to a set of Phillips Silverstar Ultras but it just wasn't enough. The IIHS actually agrees with us and rates the 4runner headlights as poor:


After peppering @Dark Knight with some questions I decided to go with HID, the kit retails for $154.99 http://www.xenondepot.com/H11-HID-Kit-Xtreme-HID-p/xt-h11.htm i also went for the Phillips 4300k bulbs (adds $45 but it looks fantastic) but they often run sales around holidays so keep an eye out for that. They arrived in a few days and came packed fairly well, the kit includes the relay harness if you would prefer to power from the battery instead of the harness but I chose not to use it at this time. I used just the lights and ballasts


I am showing mostly the passenger side as there is simply a lot more room as the battery makes the drivers side a little tighter. Start with removing the dust cap on the back of the light


to expose the halogen and connector



turn the and it will pull straight out





lift the tab on the top of the connector and pull the light away from the harness, now the fun begins, it's time to drill the dust cap, i used a step bit



feed the light through the hole in the dust cap



the grommet should fit in the hole pretty snug





install the HID bulb in the housing were you removed the halogen





connect the light to the harness



put the dust cap back on and tighten



plug the 3 wires into their matching connectors on the ballast



at this time it turned on the lights just to make sure everything worked and i didn't somehow smoke something, all is well...whew.



now to give the ballast a home, I used the supplied 3m double sided adhesive tab and attached to the ballast and then to the inside of the fendor with the wires pointed to the nose





Xenondepot supplied a whopping 4 zip ties, not enough, not nearly enough. I have my wires temporarily zip tied up until I can get some more and maybe some split loom to make it look a little more factory



it is solid and nothing moves around but it looks like it was amature hour so i need to get that cleaned up this week.

The drivers side was the same just too tight for me to get photos of, however this is where i put the ballast behind the battery against the fender with the wires faced up



So after waiting all day it was finally dark and I could go check them out, and they did not dissapoint

this was the Silverstar Ultra halogens



and this was after the HID's went in



pictures dont do them justice, the camera does not really convey how bright these things are or how far they throw. They kept a nice cutoff (i am facing uphill so that's why the cutoff is so high here



after a couple of hours driving with them and getting over the inital holy crap feel of the lights I did notice a little bounce or jiggle on the passenger light over sharp bumps in the road, not super noticeable so we will see what happens. Overall i am really happy with them, install was easy about 1 hour if your not stopping for photos and the output, cutoff and light quality are perfect. The only issue i had is i drilled the drivers side dust cap just a touch over sized, so I broke out some silicone and sealed it for now, i will eventually just a new dust cap, they are cheap so no worries for now.

 

Nice job! They are awesome lights at a reasonable price.

For future installers, a good alternative to a step bit is a 1” spade bit. Drill only until the spade scribes the surface and then flip the cap and finish from the other side. You get a perfect 1” hole without any trimming or risk of oversizing.

 

I wish I would have just done that, so pissed that I over drilled the one side, at least I will know better when I do my dads 4runner here in a bit.

 

I love my Lo and Hi beams form them, no complaints, on the dust caps, i did not over drill; however, i did still use silicone just to prevent moisture and dust from getting in just a secondary precaution

 

Jester,

May I ask why you went with the 4300K color in lieu of the popular 6500K?

 

I didn't want a blue light and the 4300k look more factory

 

here's an example of the 2 I found:



I had LED's in my Tacoma that were in the 6000k range and they looked cool but the light wasn't that great, and in the rain they were not good at actually illuminating the road at all

 

Excellent side by side comparison photo. I too will go with the 4300k.

 

They have an in between that are pure white like led, i think it is 5500k, thats what i went with and love them.

 

Solid choice! I have the same kit except with the 5500k to match my Morimoto XB fogs.

 

yeah after doing the low beams my factory fogs are looking sad, I might have to change them out soonish

 

Definitely. I wish Morimoto made them in a 4300k. I originally wanted the same setup you got but I knew they wouldn't match.

 

@jester243

Did you use the blue ring that came with the HID or did you swap out the stock orange one. I removed the blue rubber ring and put the stock orange one on and I don’t have any jiggle or movement now.

 

the orange one, I'm gonna take the bulb out and check the gasket and put it back in, should only take 5 minutes.

 

I consider my '09 4Runner lights to be excellent, especially when compared to my son's '16 TRD Pro. But it's always good to have more light so I ordered the 4300K Phillips H11 HID kit last week from XenonDepot and installed them Saturday. Installation was extremely quick as 4th gen 4Runners don't have dust caps to drill through. I did not use the harnesses. I installed the passenger side HID and then turned the lights on to compare the HID light output next to the Sylvania Ultra H11 still in the driver's side headlight. It was a phenomenal difference on my garage wall. My heart sank as I first turned my lights on because the HID light color was too blue for my taste, but it warmed up in just a few seconds to an EXTREMELY white light. I couldn't be happier with the color of light from the 4300K Phillips bulbs.

I finished the installation and went out to test drive them in the dark. The dramatically increased light output was amazing but it also showed me that the much more distinct light cut-off was way too high after my 3" lift, which also leveled up the front end. I had no idea it was so far off until I installed the HID's and I'm surprised no one has flashed me in the 6 months since the lift. Sometime this week I will find a level place to park in the dark facing a wall so I can adjust my headlights. I understand the light cut-off needs to be 3" down from the center of my projector lens at 25' from the wall.

I'm finding that with the increased light output of the HID's I no longer have a need to use my driving lights. I would like to convert them back into fog lights with high output yellow bulbs. Can anyone suggest such a yellow LED or halogen fog light bulb they are using that they are pleased with? My '09 uses 9006 fog light/driving bulbs.

I'm very impressed with the HID kit from XenonDepot however I agree with everyone that the directions suck. Thank you Jester243 for your write-up and photos to make this installation fast and easy.

 

Thank you Jester243 for this write up and pics! Just ordered my HID's today. Also, for now, ordered some LED fog light bulbs to at least match the headlights since I normally run them at the same time. Can't wait to get them switched...

 

Anyone know what benefit, if any, there would be from using the supplied power wires straight to battery? It looks like no one uses them.

My bulbs came with orange gasket that looked same as oem so i didn't swap them.

I put my ballasts behind the trim above fender. All season 15lb velcro so i can move later if needed. Added split loom to wires so they won't get rubbed through over time.

 

Ive been flashed a few times. Finally adjusted mine down slightly.

The Baja Designs Squadron have a yellow option. Too bright for street use though. Do they have a fitment kit to put them in your oem spot? They look great on my 18.

 

Stupid new guy question, but: Do we need to order the PWM module for our 4Runners or do these HID kits run without flickering without them?

Thanks in advance.

 

I just installed my set from Xenon Depot. The kit (ordered for the 4Runner) comes with a relay harness. Allows the bulbs to be turned on by the switch but gets the power straight from the battery instead of going through the vehicle’s wiring. Cuts out the flicker. I’ll post some pics tomorrow of the before and after. I also put it LED fogs and took pictures with one stock and one LED fog light. What a difference!​

 

I still need to organize the wiring inside. I don't like how it's ran but the relay harness doesn't reach from the passenger side to the battery easily. I'll end up installing positive and negative terminal blocks to shorten the distance needed for the power and ground wires on each side.

Here's the stock lows and fogs:

The new lows and fogs really help with the sides, and fill in the dark spots in front. Same cut off though..

Stock fog light looks so yellow..

5000K LED fog..

Complete..

 

Which fogs did you get?

 

I went with the H16 Xtreme LED (5000K) from XenonDepot

 

My XD kit with Philips 4300K HIDs will be here tomorrow. I'll be installing them over the weekend!

Now, if only the install kit I ordered for the Baja Designs Squadrons I had from my last rig would show up too. I could really tear into the mods this weekend!

 

The $49.99 kit?

 

Awesome job, they look great. I'm very interested in doing the same, but I don't know enough about the kits to make the plunge. Why do they offer the PWM with every light (High, Low, Fogs)? Did you use them and what exactly do they do? I'm not widely knowledgeable about HID's and I'd hate to make a $500 investment and not do it right. Just curious if any of you included them (PWM's) on the install and if not, why? Thanks

 

Yeah, I went with the cheaper set. Plenty bright for fog lights.

 

I didn’t order PWM kits with mine, should only need that when replacing a bulb that is also used as a DRL since it normally dims. At least that’s what I remember reading on their site.

 

I know these are not the same as your '09 but these are what I put in my '16 and they work great. Of course they are only a bulb replacement so take that into consideration but they are way better than stock.

https://www.xenondepot.com/h16-h8-h11-philips-Ultinon-LED-12793UNIX2-2700K-p/12793unix2.htm

 

Just ordered my kit. Will also replace the bulbs for DRL and fog but wanted to get these ordered while on sale. With discount and free shipping, only $139, which is about $100 off the original price.

Thanks for the great write-up and pictures.

@4X4Runner you ready for our wrench day? LOL