One of my stock halogen projectors is wonky so I've been mulling over doing a projector retro and had a few questions for those have been through this process.

First question, are my 14-year-old stock 2006 housings worth doing it on? The passenger side has a moisture leak, but resealing them after the retro could solve the problem. I've restored/UV sealed them but swapping the lenses with TYC/etc units could work as well, since the rest of the housings seem to be in decent shape. I'll have to pull 'em out and inspect, which I plan on doing soon. Either way, I'll probably find a way to put clear UV resistant tint of the lenses when I'm finished since that seems to be the best solution.

Second, which projectors? It looks like there are premade mounting brackets for Morimoto D2S 5.0/G5 so that should make it easier. I'm curious if the threaded shaft makes a difference for this application, since it seems to really apply to H4 bulb retros. If not, it would open the door to a few more G5 based options besides the R (BRT, EX, EX-L). Tuned/clear lens RX350 units could be an option as well, but I read they won't work here since the projector will hit the shroud once lifted and I'm not quite sure it'd be worth the price difference.

Third, regarding projector size, will 3"+ projectors fit behind the stock shrouds? I have a feeling they don't, so do they come off easily? Cutting them bigger seems like a potential pita, so maybe aftermarket shrouds would save me some pain, assuming the fitment is roughly the same as the stock pieces.

My parts list so far:

• Headlight housings? (Butyl vs RetroRubber for sealant?)
• Projectors (shrouds)
• Mounting brackets
• Bulbs - thinking Osram Nightbreaker Laser Xenarc D2S?
• Ballasts - thinking Denso Slim? Waterproofing worth it?
• H11 to ballast wiring, I'm assuming. Not sure how the wiring works for the bi-xenon solenoid portion?
• High beam splitters

Thanks for any input!

do the quick retro brackets and choose either the g5 or the morimoto 5.0.

im a oem projector guy, but the new stuff seems good. also the bulbs, the night breaker laser will be the brightest, but a warmer color, if you want white color, the cbb, if you want more brightness, upgrade to 50w ballast, just know that it reduces bulb life and have a tendency to burn projector bowls, especially using non oem bulbs.

if your using the original housing, make sure the lens are clean, inside and out. otherwise shell out the 450 bucks for a brand new pair of oem.

bixenon function, use the y splitters, 9005 plugs, one go to bulb and other go to a pigtail.

First: You have to make that call yourself. Mine were in good shape (not very cloudy and no crazing) so I chose to refurb them as a part of my retro (full wet sand with 4 or 5 grits, multi stage polish, three coats of sealant, then wax). If yours are physically damaged you'll have to decide if they are worth re-using.

Second: I used NGK G5-R's and the pre-made brackets. The G5-R uses a threaded shaft and is D2S, I used Osram bulbs and a large silicone boot to keep my lights nicely sealed. It was easy, there were no install/fit issues, and I have had no problems with moisture in my housings. Gratuitous light in the center and still a lot of width. I find the light output and beam pattern to be very good. Once you go down this rabbit hole you will find a LOT of info and opinion, side by side comparison shots, etc. Start here: Forums - HiDplanet : The Official Automotive Lighting Forum or even just use a site search in google for a specific projector you are interested in. And now you have a whole additional forum to read, congrats!

Third: Yes, a 3" projector fits behind the stock shroud (it is only a small amount larger than the factory halogen projector, if at all). I didn't have to modify anything, only disassemble and reassemble.

Parts:

- You won't need shrouds, I used the Morimoto butyl rubber strip stuff, worked well, lots of volume, very sticky.

- Osram NB Laser - that is the same bulb I used, 4200K is very white without looking blue ( I still get some nice color at the cutoff, fwiw)

- I am running the last version Morimoto 35W ballasts (they are fine, I am sure there are better performing options, but these are cheap and my last set lasted over three years in New England on a daily driver so I was ok with it. Personally, I am curious about the profile power ballasts that up the wattage to 50W on high beam...).

- The ballast will typically come with wiring for both power (to the source) and ignitors (to the bulb), depending on what you order. I have my lights wired directly from the battery with relays, the factory wiring simply becomes the trigger. I have run this way for 4yrs, works great.

- No splitters required. Once you get bi-xenons, you just need to tap the high beam wire for power to the shroud solenoids (the small wires that plug into the projector that come with it), I still use my high beams (I have a nice set of LED's in the high beam housing)... so when my highs are on it is silly bright in front of my truck.

If you decide on Denso "slims" definitely pot them, they're not water resistant at all. The potting compound (MG Chemicals 832TC) is under $50 and that kit can easily pot 2-3 pairs of ballasts; the process is not hard to do, I potted two pairs on my dining room table.

i have done to many retros to count.

my 2 cents.

get a set of cheap ass aftermarket replacement head lights. then you dont have to rush the retro. my first retro took days to do. my last one took few hours LOL

throw them in the truck. disect the factory ones. do a simple quick mod like these
Morimoto Mini H1 Bi-Xenon Projectors | Bi-Xenon Projector Kit

all you do is bake at 225 for 15 minutes and open her up or use a heat gun like me.

get the buytyle glue to seal it. pick some nice shrouds while you are there. it can use LARGE ones. i like the panamera ones.

if you going to paint the bezels black..its going to look like a bunch of titties... i didnt like it LOL. search my old threads on the subject....you cant see the photos, install photobucket hotlink fix into chrome browser...its all there.

In your experience, are the Mini H1 precision bulb holders worth the $15?

So any of the G5 variants will work? Threaded doesn’t matter?

I did consider the RX350 stuff, but my lift is coming soon so maybe it’s not the best option. I prefer a slightly warmer, high CRI temperature (judging by my flashlight geek temp preferences) personally so these should be great. 4000-5000k is right for me. I’m thinking 35w ballasts will be fine, reliability fits the theme of the 4Runner better lol.

That seems to be how I thought they plugged up in my head, I just don’t know what the pigtail side looks like.

Cảm ơn for your response bro!

Yeah I’ll have to pull em (hopefully this weekend if the rain lets up) and judge for myself. The outsides were sanded, polished and sealed and look fine but I really need to take them off and see what failed. If it’s just the seal on the driver’s side I can probably reuse, it I find cracks I guess I have my answer.

Ah yes, the rabbit hole. As you can see I’ve already done some digging (and video watching), hence the question on if the threaded shaft was needed for this application. Can you show me which silicone boots you used to seal the bulb backs?

You’re actually the one that got me looking into the G5-Rs from your response in my other thread, so thank you for that lmfao. I’m very impressed by them and that led me to looking into all the other NHK G5 variants.

Nice, thanks for the info that 3” projectors fit fine behind the stock shrouds. Perhaps the G5-EXLs (3.2”) could fit...hmmm.

The Osrams were also inspired by your response in the other thread and they seem right up my alley. I prefer a neutral white - visibility is more important to me than cool white “bling.” Good call on these.

The Profile Powerhouse ballast do look intriguing. I’ll have to do some research, but flipping to 50w during high beam operation certainly is appealing to me (assuming they’re reliable). Thanks for leading me to another hole! Hahaha

So is there an adapter to wire up the stock H11 wiring to the ballast to trigger them? I’ve done plug and plays in the past and they seemed to work this way.

I figured the stock high beam wiring would have an splitter that would plug into the 9005 bulbs (I also plan on throwing some LEDs in this spot) and another end that plugged into the solenoid. Forgive my noobness, I’ve never worked with bi-xenons.

Good info, thanks for that. I read through some potting posts and it doesn’t seem that hard. I figured Denso “slims” because they’re OEM and seem to warm up really quick, but really haven’t done a ton of research on ballasts yet.

Yeah that def is an option, I even considered using the lenses off the aftermarket housings and might have to depending on the condition of the factory lenses. Either way this is probably the direction I’ll go since it will probably take longer than I think it will (it always does lol).

I looked into the mini H1 kit but I like the D2S projectors (and bulbs) better.

Thanks for the opening tips, I think I have a heat gun somewhere in the garage too.

If I go with a projector that fits under factory shrouds I’ll probably just do that, but if I go with bigger projectors, shrouds might be worth it. Do the factory shrouds just come off the projector?

I’ll probably just leave the housings the “smoked chrome” color they are. I like the color...it’s kinda unique. Titties LOL. I’ll look through some of your old posts, thanks for the response!

Any thoughts on Morimoto M LED 2.0? They claim to be brighter than the D2S 5.0 with a CBI and 50w ballast, I think that's pretty impressive. It's yet another option to consider lol.

The Profile HI-Lens LED seem to thread in just fine in the stock high beam location, so I'm highly considering these as well. Edit: after doing some research, these are more of a spotlight than true high beam - the Morimoto Mini HB LED could work, but it looks like a nice LED bulb (Diode Dynamics SL1 or Morimoto 2Stroke 2.0 in 9005) in the stock location would still give the most output.

Home | BXBuilt -- Here's a new option that just popped up over on a Reddit thread. Looks like a good deal considering they are ready to bolt on. I've got a 3rd Gen, and I've been looking at an HID or LED retrofit for a nice upgrade this year. The price is worth it to just get a set of headlights and bolt them in.

Interesting. I wonder what housings they use. Looks like the use Morimoto H1/D2S 5.0 for the guts - though it seems they'll use anything you want if you ask.

I used the 'r' which is threaded. I ditched the h11 base plate parts from the factory housing, used the threaded bulb retainer to hold the D2S bulbs in place, and then the housing cap to seal everything up since you lose the factory seal at the bulb (I don't have any seal/gasket between the bulb and where it is inserted into the threaded shaft portion of the projector housing... I guess I could add one?)

My hot take: a 35W setup with quality bulbs/projectors/ballast is way more than bright enough. this is coming from a guy who always had multiple sets of huge 100+ watt KC's and sh*t on all my Jeeps. With the setup I have (bi-xenon lows, LED highs, LED fogs) I have no need for any more forward facing light.

Rubber Housing Caps

these are a very nice fit and replace the gasket on the stock housing. they also gave me enough room for the threaded shafts and d2s bulbs (which all still clear the battery just fine on the driver's side, btw)

IIRC, I also ended up using the straight style d2s plugs, not the Morimoto ones that are right angle. This made my fit & seal easier to achieve.

I do think that the 3.2" could fit with just some cutting of the factory shroud (just the cylinder immediately around the projector opening is my bet). After reviewing beam patters/width/hot spot/etc on HIDplanet, I chose the 'R' since it strikes such a nice balance of all elements.

Seems like we have similar tastes on this front. I do not like my lights to look blue, and why would you give up performance just for vanity's sake? I also find the cooler color temps to cause more eye strain and fatigue during long winter drives also, fwiw.

Same here, I am intrigued but leary. I likely won't do anything until/unless one of my ballasts gives up the ghost... but I am planning on modding the headlight of my VFR this winter and these are def on the list to consider. If I get them I will try to remember to message/post up some thoughts.

You can make your own, I used this guy: HD Relay: H11 - Wire Harnesses from The Retrofit Source


I painted my chrome factory shrouds a 'soft iron' color and quite like it. Not too dark, not black, still shows some silvery color but darker and more subtle than chrome. I'd snap a pic but it is currently -3 out and I am no fool.

Thanks for the info!

I tend to agree with your hot take, although I might be tempted add more forward lighting via steel bumper or roof rack, fully aware that it’d mostly just be bling lol.

I only was considering the EXL for the sheer intensity/throw and figured I could use my fogs if I even needed any additional foreground light, but the R variant definitely seems to have the widest beam pattern.

Cooler temps aren’t an accurate representation of what things actually look like and are more fatiguing for me as well. I wish there was more high CRI applications for automotive lighting, all my handheld flashlights are warm to neutral white high CRI units and I really appreciate the rendering.

Yeah, let me know if you try ‘em out!

Snap a pic when it isn’t ungodly cold outside, I’d love to see the color (he says as he enjoys his 65 degree weather lol).

In other news, I am seriously contemplating the Morimoto MLED 2.0. Lightwerkz’ initial testing seems
to confirm they do outperform the typical (D2S 5.0/G5-R) 35w HID setups. TRS claims they are “brighter than a D2S 5.0 with a CBI and 50w ballast” but it seems Lightwerkz hasn’t quite found that to be true, not that I was really considering 50w anyway, though. They use the same mounting points as the D2S 4.0/5.0/G5 and seem to be reasonably priced so needless to say, they I’ve added them to my board.

If you opt for the D2S 5.0’s with the brackets, just know the bracket may not be a direct fit into whatever amazon headlamp you get. I’m in the middle of my 2nd retro and had to do some Dremeling and what not. Definitely worth the trouble though!

Attached Images

 

Is that with C-Brackets made for our headlights?

2003-2009 Toyota 4 Runner MD2S 4.0/G5 C-Bracket – Custom Brackets & Designs

03-09 4Runner D2S 5.0/G5-R Brackets

So I got a chance to pull apart the headlights today...













Turns out my projector bowl is burned up/corroded to hell, as suspected. Welp, that explains the dim output. There was a ton of water that isn't visible collected at the bottom of the headlight (not visible without removing that little headlight body panel on the bottom covering it) and it even rusted and cracked the two screws that hold the smoked chrome portion of the housing to the lens.

At this point I think I might just be better to buy some TYCs and break those apart for the retro.