Hmmm...

Headlight reflectors - Technical - Antique Automobile Club of America - Discussion Forums

1928 Headlights - Vintage Chevrolet Club - Discussion Forum

good stuff guys

I own a 99 and a 98. Per my personal experience.

Even when new-ish (I bought my 99 in 2004 or 5) the 99 headlights weren't anything special, or even close.

The "Off road only" high watt bulbs work decent with an upgraded harness. These secondary relay harnesses have their negatives to consider.

The 99+ clear housings are better than the 98- faceted(?) housings, but not by much.

I've tried most all the high dollar ($20-35 a bulb) H4 halogens. The most expensive are marginally brighter than the mid range ones but their lifetimes are low. In the 99 running the auto setting (lights on all the time) they don't last even 2 years.

For the last few rigs I've run Beamtech H4 LED bulbs (probably no better than other LED bulbs, just the only ones I've used). They are much brighter than any halogen I've tried by a far margin. I haven't had one fail yet in about 2 years.

Pros: They are significantly brighter than any DOT halogen. Very easy to install, no mods necessary. Cheap. Very good bang for the buck. You can run them side by side with halogens. They seem to have a long service life.

Cons: I've had to lower the aim on my lights for other drivers. They need a load resistor in order for the High beam indicator to work($20 plug and play). You can hear the fans when the engine is off(new models don't have these).

I wont argue the experts negative claims about the LED's and their use in housings designed for Halogen bulbs.
For $40 you can go from guessing to knowing, and if you like the knowing you can spend another $20 or less for a load resistor to get a working High beam indicator. Pretty cheap R&D in my estimation.

Lots of options. :] For me, my housings were good enough and my Led are a lot brighter which made my lights usable for less then $100.00 so I am happy.

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You probably documented this somewhere, but can you point me to the plug and play load resistor you're using?

I use the one from Super Bright LED's. Its a pair. I only use one on the passenger side double sided taped to the Air box.
Headlight Load Resistor Kit - H4 LED Headlight Bulbs | Super Bright LEDs

Its pretty cheaply made and just contains what looks like 2 of the common 6 ohm gold anodized load resistors. There is very likely bettor options.


https://www.amazon.com/Zento-Deals-P...27705785&psc=1


I failed to mention above the pros and cons of the load resistors themselves.
Again per my opinion.

Pros: They allow the high beam indicator to work. Other drivers probably appreciate that. They are plug and play.

Cons: You have to add a component. You have to find a mounting location. They get pretty hot.

They are aftermarket parts and not as "stout" at OEM but they have worked out ok for me. One of them installed funny and a ball socket popped out and would not go in, so I have replaced one after trying a few things to fix it after about 2 years of use. Based on that if you're doing some heavy duty off-roading you might have issue with them. However, the lens is glass which is a nice plus and has the reflector pattern in the housing and not the glass like the older style. Rockauto has them for $35 each right now here:

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...assembly,10762

OEM new is over $200 a headlight which is insane. There really is a brightness increase from the 96-98 style to the 99-02 style. Before my lights were dirty, light was not focused in the front and had a poor beam pattern. Once I switched housings it was much brighter and the beam pattern is pretty good, there are a few "hot spots" but not enough to be an issue.

I was running 60W/55W Phillips X-treme Vision bulbs (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) which are almost identical to GE Nighthawks. Much brighter than your average store bulb and a very good beam pattern with perfect cut-offs. I wanted to try more wattage but you run the risk of exceeding 60W and melting the wires or the bulb connector since the system is a switched ground, which means all that power goes through the cabin through your signal switch on the steering wheel! Not a good idea.

That's when I found the very simple to install harness to go from a switched ground to a relay that's activated by the factory switch but then pulls power straight from the battery and to also switch to ceramic connectors, not plastic to protect against heat from the bulbs. Interestingly enough, I found what Daniel Stern mentioned to the member who posted above and there wasn't much of a voltage increase that translated to brighter lights, but that's not the reason why I did it.

The Hella 100W/80W are brighter but I did have to adjust my beam pattern a little, they tend to point downwards more than the superior designed Philips X-Treme I had in before. But hey, they were $4 so what can I expect. Now I have super bright lights and when a car pulls up behind me I'm not relying on their headlights to see where I'm going because mine were so dim before! I've got the brighter headlights on the road now.

I also have an LED light bar for dark back roads & deer spotting. Spot/flood light combo so it sprays light everywhere, definitely not safe for oncoming traffic.

I should also add, the TYC's need a lot of adjustment to get them pointing straight. It's a bit tricky and you need some space and a wall/garage/building on perfectly flat road to do it right. I do not like retrofits and LED's since I drive on I-80 every day and am blinding by dorks in pickups that just put them in and drive behind me. I'm not talking about oncoming traffic, I'm talking about people driving the same direction. If you can see the back of someone's head with your headlights in a stinkin' SUV YOUR LIGHTS ARE NOT LEGAL. I understand that some of you on here live in the boonies so that's less of an issue but I have cataracts so it makes my vision all blurry. Not fun.

I get the feeling that most of the people who are extra picky about lights/lighting, are those that have vision issues made worse by bad lighting. When I have to close my eyes till you pass, the odds go up that I'm going to drift into your lane. Don't close my eyes you say? Well, it doesn't matter because I can't see and am probably already driving into your lane... I close them so that once you're past me, I might have a chance at seeing Anything for the next minute while my vision clears.

I'd like to point out that I have this issue even when driving my Ford Transit... I sit another foot or more higher than in the 4runner. Cheap bad lighting doesn't help anyone.

Not debating your quote, just adding on for others to read...

Which is where a projector retrofit comes into play! Bypass the factory reflector bowls and let the updated projector handle the light output and distribution as it was designed for the more powerful LED/HID bulb and puts the light output below the cutoff where you want it.

Call me vain, but I'm seriously struggling to get past the cosmetics. Normally I'm fine with function over form, but retrofits... I just don't think I could look at those things daily and still want to drive it.

Yah totally... and 100% subjective, that's a choice you will have to make on your own rig. I think when done nicely (and usually kept with chrome or color matched together) they actually modernize the look quite a bit. Sometimes choosing the right shroud is all the difference too, but that's just me.

I've done dozens of 3rd Gen retrofits and had retrofits in all my Toyota builds. All I can say is that it's 100% the best "mod" you can do. You use it everyday (unlike a winch or bumpers etc). Well worth the added price over some drop in LED or HID bulbs IMO. Ok, I'll stop preaching now.... lol

There's nothing that looks quite as good as a fresh new set of stock 99+ housings IMO.

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The square type projectors don't look so "bug-eyed" in my opinion.

Projector HID retrofit is really the only way to go. Also dark housings and larger shrouds do not look bugeyed at all... looks awesome in fact.

All perspective, that makes it WORSE to my eye as it puts all of the focus on that projector lens right in the middle of a huge housing (plus, my truck is silver, dark housings draw the eye like nobodies business).

I've seen very few installs where the reflector was left alone so it's all a bit silver/chrome in there and that's the most tolerable to my eye, but it's still gaudy/cheap looking. Like a girl who bought the cheapest breast implant job and her nips point at 3 and 8 o-clock. A train-wreck you just can't look past.

Actually, the Best looking setup I've seen on a 4runner were those twin-projector russian housings, but I am *NOT* putting that kind of money into what is essentially cosmetics.