HID kit for Camry


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Old 03-20-16, 01:03 PM
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HID kit for Camry

Well, here I am asking about it.
I hate them. I am always blinded by them. But, I have no choice. My Camry simply does not have it, even with the brightest H11 low beam bulbs available from a store.
High beam is just fine. Unfortunately, I must drive a lot in the dark and rain on some rather hard roads, and sight is not the best anymore.
For those of you here, who did install HID kit, what do you recommend? Keep in mind, I did my research. But I want to know first hand experience from DIY folks.

Oh, and no. Headlight lense is perfectly clear and reflectors inside not dull. All good there. My HIghlander with same bulbs does fine. No idea why it's rather dim in Camry.
 
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Old 03-20-16, 05:30 PM
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My only experience with HID lighting was fleeting, since it requires individual transformers/boosters for each headlight, and a maze of wiring. Have you checked to make sure all your connections from the ECM are corrosion free? Corrosion can affect the brightness of the lights. I just bought new headlight assemblies.
 
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Old 03-20-16, 06:56 PM
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What year Camry ? ..................
 
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Old 03-20-16, 08:47 PM
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07
New kits are very easy. Ballast and plug in H11 bulb.
But some flicker, some not. Some require additional electronics as "option". Of course each manufacturer claims theirs to be the best.
Hoped some had good - or bad first hand experience.
 
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Old 03-21-16, 04:42 AM
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My only experience has been on the receiving end of their beams and I hate them. That and I have a project car going (Nissan Maxima) that has them and we were going to replace pax side assembly because of lens deterioration until found out what they cost, even used. Yikes!
 
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Old 03-21-16, 09:37 AM
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A lot of the HID hack jobs are done incorrectly anyway. People just hook up the ballasts, plug the bulbs in, and that's it. They don't realize the headlight fixture itself needs to be changed out because of the way HID lights project. HIDs have the projector-style housing rather than the reflector...if you just leave the reflector housing in, it's not going to do you any good.

BTW, are the stock headlights aimed properly?
 
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Old 03-21-16, 10:08 AM
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Mine are projectors.
They are aimed too properly.
It's not the car, it's me. I have what is called chicken blindness - my sight does not do well in dark. Add rain to it and being blinded by oncoming traffic lights in the dark - I simply don't see the road in front of me clearly. Yet, I have to drive to the gym at 4 45 am every other day, sometimes in pouring rain, on a VERY steep and wavy road. Winter time, when it pours non stop here, and it's dark, can't see lines at all.
Wife has RX with factory HID - no problem. Bright and clear. My other ride, Highlander, same headlight assembly as my Camry, same projector low beam, same bulbs as in Camry now, upgraded 55W Phillips - much less issue. Maybe because the way they made the lens cover - it casts light to the sides more, shining at demarcation lines. In Camry it's like in a tunnel.
 
 

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