Xenon Depot offers many different light replacements for all types of cars. I’ve had great luck with them in the past, so I did not expect them to come up short in the turn signal department. From their low beams and high beams to their reverse lights and fog lights, Xenon Depot makes some of the best lighting products in the game.
Today we are talking about the new Xtreme VF turn signal bulb from Xenon Depot. This might not be the modification for everyone but it’s an awesome upgrade to consider.
As far as turn signals go, the Xtreme VF bulb is the newest technology out there.
Find It Online
- Xenon Depot Xtreme XTR VF LED: Check Price
Table Of Contents
Specifications
Virtual Filament
- Mimics characteristics of an incandescent light. It precisely copies/recreates the output of the light it is replacing from the factory. It uses the reflectors around it to maximize intensity.
Omni Adjustable
- Telescopic and adjustable collars maximize the use of the inside of your headlight reflectors. This allows you to adjust the light within the housing.
Applications
- Available in Pure White, Red, Amber and Switchback
Reliability
- These are not designed to be the highest in lumens but to be the most reliable light when faced with long-duration outputs. They sustain this output while being efficient with the power drawn from the battery.
Optional Equipment
- Doubles as a switchback if your headlights are also DRLs.
- If you’re using the XTR VF as a turn signal, the optional T-Signal module will prevent hyper flash. All options are cross-compatible across size & color configurations.
Setup
- Even though this is plug n play, don’t expect a lightning-quick install here. To perform properly they must be set up and focused properly. You will need to spend some time fine-tuning the rotation and focal height of the filament relative to the base.
Let’s jump into the parts before the installation.
Parts
What’s Included
- Bulbs – Two (2) XTR VF
- Wiring – Two (2) 3157 Plug and Play Inputs
- Seals – Four (4) Gaskets (2 smalls and 2 large)
- Tools – Torx Bit Tool
Tech Specs
- Material – CNC Aluminum
- LEDs –Â Six (6) Cree XQ Outputs
- High Output – 450mA
- Low Output – 50mA
Warranty
- 3 Years
OEM Vs. Xenon Depot
Pictured on the right is the OEM turn signal bulb and on the left is the Xenon Depot Xtreme VF Turn signal. It’s easy to notice the quality of the Xenon Depot right away.
The screw placement on the Xtreme VF must be copied to mimic the OEM housing collar.
Installation
Step 1. Access Housing
The turn signals are probably the easiest bulbs to get in and out of your OEM headlight housing, they are the closest bulbs to the grill. There is plenty of space to work with and there aren’t too many things in the way, compared to working on the low/high beams or markers. Reach into the headlight housing and twist to remove.
Step 2. Remove Old Bulbs
Remove the OEM plug from housing and then remove the bulb.
Step 3. Adjust New Bulbs
If you notice the collar on the OEM bulb, the locking pieces are positioned a certain way to lock into the housing. Use the provided Allen wrench/key to copy, as best as you can, the positioning of the OEM bulb. This allows the bulb to fit into the headlight housing correctly.
Remember, this light is universal so it can fit as a taillight as well. This feature is pretty convenient and pretty clever on Xenon Depot’s part. Do this on both sides to prepare.
Step 4. Secure Ballast
Before assembling the harness and the light, I decided to find a suitable place to hold the ballast for the turn signals. There is a decent space on the sheet metal to do this. This is completely optional, you do not have to drill into your engine bay sheet metal. You can just use zip ties to mount them in a suitable area as well.
Pictured above is the ballast held in with a half-inch self-tapping metal screw. I did this on both sides since the ballast has grooves that allow them to be hard mounted onto something.
As you can see above, the OEM plug for the turn signal plugs into the harness provided.
Step 5. Connect Harness
Connect the two-prong sections to the OEM connector and make sure the polarity is correct to make sure the light is working properly.
Step 6. Connect Adapter
Plug in the 4 prong connector as well, and screw on the weather seal cap that also helps hold the connection together.
Step 7. Organize Wiring
It should look like this when you are done, you can tighten up the slack on the whole harness or secure the ballast to the sheet metal, up to you!
If you decide not to hard mount the ballast into the sheet metal, you can wrap the harness like so and use a zip tie to nicely hold the harness and ballast together.
We went ahead and used a zip tie to secure the extra slack. Once that’s done, you can begin to put the Xtreme VF light into the housing.
It should fit nice and snug, as long as you copied the collar from the OEM bulb. It may take a little adjustment on your part but it will sit properly within the housing.
Once you have done this, repeat the steps on the other side, and you are finished!
Output & Review
These lights are extremely bright even though the Xenon Depot website tells us they are not the winners in the Lumen race. You can tell that the lights are using all the reflectors inside the housing at full capacity!
Above is the light reflection on the side of my house. Bright!
Final Thoughts
The install is pretty straight forward, the only thing that you may struggle with or take a little more time is the adjustment of the collar. Take your time when you copy the OEM collar because it does take some concentration to make sure it lines up correctly.
Then when you are ready to put it into the housing, look at it from the front of the headlight so you can make sure the locking pins are lined up and that you can twist and lock the bulb without damaging your housing.
Xenon Depot did an excellent job with these lights, their purpose is to make sure that the visibility is at its highest percentage without sacrificing the efficiency that the light draws from your battery. This is a definite plus if you are pulled over to the side of the road with your hazards on for a prolonged amount of time.
I would recommend these turn signals to anyone looking to upgrade their lights. Check out Xenon Depot’s full line of lights for the Toyota Tacoma on their website.
