[Ed_C]

Ppracticed on an old headlight yesterday

Safety Message - Drilling is involved, wear a dust mask and do it outdoors if possible. It produces a messy fine dust, like when doing drywall or body filler.

I bought this drill jig a while ago, never used it until now. Has the mounting patterns for the D2S 4.0-5.0/G5 and D2S 3.0/Q5 type projectors


- install the proper blue plastic bulb adapter (H4 for 3rd-gens)
- line up jig into the bulb hole, select the correct mounting pattern, drill pilot holes

[BrianSD_42]

Cool post. Let us know how it turned out! Did the jig work?
.

[mesooohoppy]

soooooo, is there someone offering a bolt in head light that isnt 1k for a pair like hidretrofit.com?

i looked breifly throughout this thread and the only person i saw offering services was someone who hasnt logged in over half a year. i know nothing about modifying headlight housings, i have no time or desire to learn (im an idiot when it comes to this stuff). im just curious if its possible for me to buy a pair of improved headlights for less than a 800-a grand.

the only time ive messed with HIDs was on someones car and i touched the bulb because i was asked to 'hold it'. i was told the oils from my finger prints just prematurely shortened the life of said HID. thats now well versed i am with this stuff...

[Ed_C]

Originally Posted by mesooohoppy

soooooo, is there someone offering a bolt in head light that isnt 1k for a pair like hidretrofit.com?

i looked breifly throughout this thread and the only person i saw offering services was someone who hasnt logged in over half a year. i know nothing about modifying headlight housings, i have no time or desire to learn (im an idiot when it comes to this stuff). im just curious if its possible for me to buy a pair of improved headlights for less than a 800-a grand.

the only time ive messed with HIDs was on someones car and i touched the bulb because i was asked to 'hold it'. i was told the oils from my finger prints just prematurely shortened the life of said HID. thats now well versed i am with this stuff...

IMO it'll be hard to find a reasonably priced, ready to bolt on retro that'll aim and fit properly like OEM on a 3rd-gen due to the headlight design. I've seen some of those pre-made retros installed on this forum and I'd be very angry paying that kind of money the way it fits after final aiming. My retro may fit like OEM on a stock suspension/tire vehicle but probably fit like crap on a lifted one.

You could do auxiliary lighting. Are you looking for more lowbeam or highbeam performance?

[mesooohoppy]

Originally Posted by Ed_C

IMO it'll be hard to find a reasonably priced, ready to bolt on retro that'll aim and fit properly like OEM on a 3rd-gen due to the headlight design. I've seen some of those pre-made retros installed on this forum and I'd be very angry paying that kind of money the way it fits after final aiming. My retro may fit like OEM on a stock suspension/tire vehicle but probably fit like crap on a lifted one.

You could do auxiliary lighting. Are you looking for more lowbeam or highbeam performance?

thanks. that is what i figured. oh well. ill just stick with stock. i am looking for better low beam performance for general driving. i dont think ive used the high beams yet.

what is the difference in lighting performance between a stock height vehicle and a lifted one? i have a 3" lift. is it because the headlight is physically higher than a stock height vehicle? wouldnt you just adjust accordingly?

[Ed_C]

Originally Posted by mesooohoppy

thanks. that is what i figured. oh well. ill just stick with stock. i am looking for better low beam performance for general driving. i dont think ive used the high beams yet.

what is the difference in lighting performance between a stock height vehicle and a lifted one? i have a 3" lift. is it because the headlight is physically higher than a stock height vehicle? wouldnt you just adjust accordingly?

The usual aiming method is a 2" drop in cutoff per 25 feet; so say your headlight centerline is 35" (random number) from the ground, the cutoff against a wall from 25 feet away would be 33" from the ground.

Now aim yours the same way and the cutoff will 3" higher than it should be, which could shining at oncoming vehicles. If you aim the headlights lower to match OEM height you'll lose distance lighting.

If you haven't experimented with the headlight aiming yet, the whole headlight shifts during adjustment, not just the internals like other headlights. So a major adjustment can cause the headlights to fit oddly against the corner lights, grill, and the panel between the light and bumper. It's more of a cosmetic/aesthetic thing but I'd expect stuff to fit right for that kind of $. So my headlights may sit nice and flush but if we put them on yours it's going to like the headlights are suffering from underbite

I found some pre-made and affordable projectors designed to fit a foglight opening, still trying to get more details but it sounds like they're better performers than some of the projectors people have used in this thread. You'll get the distance lighting without blinding oncoming drivers because of the lower position.

For highbeams I've been running a small Harbor Freight light bar behind the grill, it works great and I'll still use it when I get this retrofit completed.

[mesooohoppy]

Originally Posted by Ed_C

The usual aiming method is a 2" drop in cutoff per 25 feet; so say your headlight centerline is 35" (random number) from the ground, the cutoff against a wall from 25 feet away would be 33" from the ground.

Now aim yours the same way and the cutoff will 3" higher than it should be, which could shining at oncoming vehicles. If you aim the headlights lower to match OEM height you'll lose distance lighting.

If you haven't experimented with the headlight aiming yet, the whole headlight shifts during adjustment, not just the internals like other headlights. So a major adjustment can cause the headlights to fit oddly against the corner lights, grill, and the panel between the light and bumper. It's more of a cosmetic/aesthetic thing but I'd expect stuff to fit right for that kind of $. So my headlights may sit nice and flush but if we put them on yours it's going to like the headlights are suffering from underbite

I found some pre-made and affordable projectors designed to fit a foglight opening, still trying to get more details but it sounds like they're better performers than some of the projectors people have used in this thread. You'll get the distance lighting without blinding oncoming drivers because of the lower position.

For highbeams I've been running a small Harbor Freight behind the grill, it works great and I'll still use it when I get this retrofit completed.

thank you for that info. this seems more complicated than i thought. i just assumed you moved the housings down not to blind people and that was that.

id be interested in some improved fog lights for my 99 fatlip, but id need them to be plug and play. I don think ive ever used my highbeams. since when does harbor freight sell light bulbs?

[Ed_C]

Ah crap, I hit post too soon and forgot to say it's a Harbor Freight LED light bar LOL.

Mine's a fat lip too. It won't be plug n play but not going to be super complicated...definitely not as much work as a retrofit

[shadow247]

96 - 02 Toyota 4runner retrofit headlights | BXBuilt

This is the best deal I've seen on Pre-Fab retrofits. Anybody else have experience with this guy?

[Rallysport]

Originally Posted by shadow247

96 - 02 Toyota 4runner retrofit headlights | BXBuilt

This is the best deal I've seen on Pre-Fab retrofits. Anybody else have experience with this guy?

No personal dealings with him, but From what I’ve seen he’s highly respected and done a ton of these. I wonder if it includes bulbs and ballasts at that price, though.

[BXPhoto]

Originally Posted by Ed_C

He's now using LED projectors for the 3rd-gen retro.

Looks reasonably priced. I sent him a message and got a response in minutes, pretty detailed too. He sources his own 3" lens bi-led projector and planned to sell DIY type "builder" kits, but the covid thing is delaying that.

Thanks guys! And sorry I do not post much on the forums anymore. But yes Ive built hundreds of third gen headlights using everything from Morimoto, NHK and now our own. I dont post about it here because I am just a member of this board as a builder and have no advertising permission. As far as my current personal build the plan was a single turbo 2jzgte swap and for my headlights for sema Im using the 2020 GR Supra headlights as donors. Ill be custom fabbing in their LED projectors into custom fabricated housings. Currently we are doing MDX jewel eyes with the buggati start up feature for another car of mine.

Ill try to post more often to help out. Just slammed busy with customer service and covid-19 issues locally and internationally from our suppliers.

[BXPhoto]

And sorry forgot to mention, I own BX Built. We are available 7 days a week to help anyone out.

[Toy2play]

Originally Posted by BXPhoto

And sorry forgot to mention, I own BX Built. We are available 7 days a week to help anyone out.

Would you happen to have any customer pictures that shows your chrome and black projectors on a white 3rd gen? Kinda torn which color I want to go. Getting closer to buying these. Not much more I want to mod on my 3rd gen and the stock lighting on these 3rd gens are horrible.

[BXPhoto]

Originally Posted by Toy2play

Would you happen to have any customer pictures that shows your chrome and black projectors on a white 3rd gen? Kinda torn which color I want to go. Getting closer to buying these. Not much more I want to mod on my 3rd gen and the stock lighting on these 3rd gens are horrible.

I can definitely get you some. Forums really make it hard as we have to save the photos, upload them to our computers, upload them to a photo stream site etc. If you can send us a message either on our website or on any of our social media pages (@BX_Built on instagram) I can easily share with you hundreds of images. But I can get 2 up for you real fast.

IMG_5804 by Andrew Abalos, on Flickr

IMG_5805 by Andrew Abalos, on Flickr

[sugjavier]

Originally Posted by BXPhoto

And sorry forgot to mention, I own BX Built. We are available 7 days a week to help anyone out.

bxbuilt.com/product-page/96-02-toyota-4runner-retrofit-headlights

Is this a full kit like ready to install or do I have to like DIY build it?

Sorry for my ignorance but I am not experienced at all in working on cars and from what I've seen and read, most people have to DIY build these projector retrofit.