KB Car blog

5/15/2012

Xtreme HID Kit and Osram Night Breaker Plus Review for a 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid

2012 Toyota Camry XLE HYBRID – Headlamp upgrade review – Credit: J. Nipper

I got into this situation after I took on a new job that requires me to commute 90 miles one way. Yes it is a long commute, but when your unemployed and have a large family to support distance is not a show stopper. Since my current vehicle was aging, and it’s fuel economy left a lot to be desired, I decided it was time for my son to inherit my old vehicle and I would get a comfortable new car with good fuel economy. I looked hard at options and decided to go Hybrid since my commute is not limited to highway driving. After test driving several, I chose the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid because my wife despised the Prius. Two weeks after buying the car I ended up taking out the front bumper, a headlight bucket, and the lower grill when a 50 pound raccoon decided he had the pedestrian right of way. I attribute this act of vehicular homicide to not being able to see him until seconds before impact. While I do admit that the 2012 Camry does have excellent lighting from the factory, on these dark country roads I found the super sharp cutoff left me blind on the driver’s side shoulder area of these 2 lane country roads. As a result of my above pointless rambling that no-one really cares about, I wanted to upgrade my lighting in order to enhance my visibility during my early morning commute.

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5/15/2012

Installing a Volt HID kit in your fog lights

For those who are looking to upgrade their fog lights to HID make sure to check out XenonDepot’s Volt HID kit. The Volt HID kit is completely plug and play meaning you can power the bulbs and ballasts directly from your vehicle’s fog light harness. The kit comes with mating connectors and requires no additional wiring or splicing to get up and running – it is completely plug & play. With it’s slim digital ballasts, laser aligned anti UV HID bulbs and 2 year legitimate warranty the Volt HID kit is the perfect set up for those looking at getting a reliable HID kit that is affordable and easy to install.

Available colors…

The Volt HID kit’s slim digital ballasts are much smaller in size than many thick, bulky ballasts available on the market. This allows for greater flexibility when mounting in a vehicle that has limited space in the engine compartment.

Here is an example of XenonDepot’s Volt HID kit installed in the fog lights of a Lexus SC430. With its deep, yellow tone the 3000k color temperature is the perfect choice for fog lights. The yellow color does a great job at penetrating through fog, rain and snow.

5/14/2012

XenonDepot 4300k Xtreme HID kit and Philips Crystal Vision bulbs installed in 2011 Nissan Maxima

We wanted to share some pictures from a customer that installed a XenonDepot Xtreme HID kit in their 2011 Nissan Maxima. The Nissan Maxima comes standard with projector headlights from the factory which makes it the perfect candidate for an HID kit. Projector headlights will give you a very sharp, focused beam pattern with a defined cut off as you can see in the pictures below.

The Xtreme HID kit is perfect for vehicles that have automatic headlights (auto switch) as the ballasts have a very low start up draw (9V-12V). The kit also comes with a relay harness which allows you to power the bulbs directly from the battery to ensure they receive a constant 12V.

Stock halogen -

With Xtreme 4300k HID kit installed

Notice the defined cut off from the Projector headlights -

This customer also installed Philips CrystalVision bulbs to better match his fog lights to his HID lights. Notice how much whiter the Philips CrystalVision bulbs (driver’s side) are compared to the stock bulbs (passenger’s side).

5/9/2012

Brightest Halogen Headlight Bulbs

There is nothing worse than having awesome HID headlights and crappy halogen high beams or fog light bulbs not matching in colour. Many of our customers that have low beam HID kits or HID headlights always look for the brightest halogen headlight bulb to try and colour match HIDs. There are plenty of aftermarket halogen bulbs being sold in the market with all types of gimmicky slogans like “Xenon Power” or ”Xenon Gas Filled” however many of these bulbs are often made of inferior quality and typically reduce light output. We always tell our customers that there are several things to keep in mind when shopping for performance halogen bulbs. The first thing to keep in mind is that a halogen bulb will never match HID light (regardless of what you are being told). The other thing to keep in mind is not to purchase a halogen headlight bulb that is rated at a higher wattage than your stock bulb. Higher wattage halogen bulbs may produce more light output however they burn significantly hotter than your stock halogen bulb. This may result in potential damage to your headlight harness and/or headlight housing.

We Recently had a customer (Richard) that had installed the XenonDepot H11 4300k Volt HID kit in his 2010 Chevrolet Equinox contact us in regards to the Osram Nightbreaker Plus bulbs that we carry on our website. Richard was looking for a bulb to enhance his high beams due to long distance drives and wanted to know what differences he could expect to see from these bulbs. The Chevrolet Equinox uses a 9005 high beam bulb meaning that a 9005 Osram Nightbreaker Plus bulb was installed. Take a look at the pictures that Richard was kind to send over.

Osram Nightbreaker Plus bulb vs OEM High beam halogen bulb

Osram Nightbreaker plus headlight bulbs will produce 90% more light than your stock halogen bulbs

5/4/2012

2011 Cadillac SRX Volt HID kit upgrade

We just received some great photos from a customer who installed a XenonDepot Volt HID kit in their 2011 Cadillac SRX. This vehicle uses H11 bulbs for the low beam headlights meaning that an H11 HID conversion kit was installed. The SRX`s factory installed projector headlights make it a perfect candidate for an HID kit. XenonDepot HID kits come with laser aligned bulbs to ensure optically correct beam patterns. Take a look at the pictures below showing the defined cut off. This is achieved by the factory projectors along with properly rebased HID bulbs. XenonDepot H11 HID kits come with proper h11 mating connectors that will allow you to literally plug the kit into your OEM headlight wiring with proper connectors. You won`t find generic spade terminals that require electrical tape to hold them in place with this HID kit (often found with cheap alternative). This customer went with our 6000k Volt HID kit for a crisp white output and a touch of blue. Vehicles that come with HID lights from the factory use 4300k bulbs for maximum light output and functionality. Volt HID kits are available in 3000k, 43000k, 6000k, and 8000k.

5/3/2012

New HID bulbs, automotive LED bulbs and Halogen bulbs from Philips!

KBcarstuff is an authorized Philips dealer – here are some of the exciting new Philips products we just added to our website-

Philips D1S HID bulbs, Philips D4S HID bulbs and Philips D2R HID bulbs

These HID bulbs are a direct replacement for your 4300k OEM D1S, D4S and D2R bulbs. There are a lot of counterfeit Philips bulbs being sold in the market today. Buy from KBcarstuff – a trusted and authorized Philips dealer.

Philips Blue Vision 194 T10 LED bulbs

These super bright LED bulbs will replace any 194/168 bulb. Some common applications include map lights, license plate lights, dome lights and courtesy lights. They are a direct replacement for the stock bulbs and will produce up to 6x more light than a stock halogen bulb. These LED bulbs will draw significantly less power than a halogen bulb and are heat resistant. Pick up a set and see the difference!

Philips Blue Vision Festoon LED Bulb

Philips Blue Vision Festoon LED bulbs are a direct replacement for your OEM halogen festoon bulbs. Some common applications for these bulbs include map lights, dome lights and license plate lights. These bulbs will provide you with up to 5x more light output over stock and draw a lot less power than a traditional halogen bulb. With the quality assurances you would expect from Philips, these bulbs will definitely last a long time.

Philips CrystalVision Ultra Halogen bulbs

Swap out your dull, yellow factory halogen bulbs with a pair of Philips Crystal Vision Ultra halogen bulbs. These bulbs will improve nighttime visibility and will also provide you with the distinctive blue/white look of HID’s. Available in 9005, 9006 and H11 fitments.

Philips LED Daytime Running Lights

These LED driving lights utilize Philips high power Luxeon LED’s for maximum light output. Their ultra compact design and easy click-on attachment provides greater installation flexibility. The Philips LED Daylight is the perfect choice for gaining daytime/nighttime visibility and is completely road legal. Available in 4 LED or 8 LED configuration.

5/2/2012

And the winner is….

We would like to congratulate our winner Pamela, she will be picking up a FREE Volt HID kit as part of our Facebook page giveaway contest! Pamela will be installing the HID kit in her Acura RSX which uses H1 bulbs for the low beams. A pair of X-clips will also be supplied as they are required for an HID install on the RSX. Pamela selected a 6000k color temperature kit which will provide a great balance of color and usable light output. We can’t wait to see how it looks! Congratulations and enjoy!

Make sure to Like us on Facebook to stay up to date with all of the latest promotions and giveaways.

4/18/2012

Xtreme HID kit installed in 2012 GMC Terrain

The GMC Terrain has gained a lot of popularity since its release in 2010. It’s a very stylish vehicle with many great standard features, but the light output from the stock halogen headlights is definitely not as good as it can be . Although GM did equip the Terrain with Projector Headlights there is no option for Xenon/HID from the factory. This is definitely a setback however installing a XenonDepot HID kit will get you the light output you are looking for.

The GMC Terrain uses H11 bulbs on the low beams meaning you will need an H11 HID kit. The same H11 bulbs are used for Daytime Running Lights which operate on reduced power. As a result you will need to install capacitors and a relay harness to prevent any flickering when performing this upgrade. These parts are available with XenonDepot’s HID kits and will plug right in using the existing connectors – no wiring or splicing necessary. The Terrain’s Projector Headlights make it the perfect candidate for an HID conversion kit. With the Projector Headlights you will get a very sharp cut off and a defined beam pattern with minimal bleed.

Here are a few pictures from a customer who installed a 4300k Xtreme HID kit in their 2012 GMC Terrain. Going with 4300k for the color temperature will get you the most light output and will give you that “factory installed HID” look. There’s no comparison between halogen and HID!

4/16/2012

New WeatherTech Floor Mats and Liners for your Car, Truck or SUV!

WeatherTech recently introduced many new Floor Liner and Floor Mat fitments for various 2012 and 2013 cars, trucks and SUV’s. Now you can find the right WeatherTech Floor Liners or WeatherTech Floor Mats for your brand new vehicle!

WeatherTech All-Weather Floor Mats

2011-2012 Ford Explorer Floor Mats
2010-2011 Ford Focus Floor Mats
2012 BMW 6-Series Floor Mats

WeatherTech Front Floor Liners

2013 Mazda CX-5 Front Floor Liners
2012 Kia Rio Front Floor Liners
2010-2012 Cadillac SRX Front Floor Liners

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4/12/2012

Xtreme HID kit installed in 2012 Toyota Camry

Installing an HID kit in the new Toyota Camry is a great upgrade to do. The vehicle comes with projector headlights from the factory which make it the perfect candidate for an HID kit - projector headlights will provide you with a defined cut off and sharp beam pattern. The Camry uses H11 bulbs on the low beams meaning you will need to install an H11 HID kit. In many cases Toyota vehicles will have reversed polarity which means you have to change the orientation of the positive/negative wires on the HID bulb’s H11 connector – this is easily done with the use of a precision screwdriver. The Xtreme HID kit uses true low draw ballasts which means you can safely power everything directly from the vehicle’s OEM harness. The kit also comes with mating connectors which makes for an easy, plug & play install.

Here is a great pic from a customer who installed our 6500k Xtreme HID kit in their Camry. As you can see the stock halogen bulbs just don’t compare!