Headlight Assembly questions - Also, dont buy ANZO

[meltdowner]

Are the OEM Toyota Headlight Assemblies good with HID bulbs? Meaning, will I see some good, bright light? When I got this 4runner, I felt like the brightness at night (especially when driving down I-80 in the middle of PA at night) were severely lacking. I had to drive behind a truck to see "good enough for 70mph" without fear of smacking a deer.

So I bought ANZO assemblies, installed them, and they're shit. The left assembly has a weird right angle cutout. The light is like 5 feet uneven distance from left and right. Neither left nor right ANZO headlamp shine very far down the road. Maybe 40-50ft? Beyond that, darkness.

I did adjust the headlight assemblies, took bumper off and everything and tried to angle them to see farther down the road and even clean up that "lost light from the left headlamp assembly. It was a lost cause. The problem was ANZO headlamp housing itself. No matter which way it was angle or the bulb was positioned in the housing, the light it projected was crap.

So now, I'm looking to fix this because I am so sick of shitty visibility at night. Any suggestions on quality headlight assemblies is GREATLY appreciated.:smash:

 

[Too Stroked]

You didn't provide any details on exactly what year and model you have, so I'll hold off on recommendations on headlights until I hear back. I do agree that almost all aftermarket headlights are junk though.

There is something you can do relatively easily to get better illumination. Get a set of Diode Dynamics SS3 fog lamps. If you have the factory fogs, these are a plug and play upgrade.

There are 3 levels of performance in the SS3 line: Sport, Pro and Max. The Sports are a very noticeable upgrade. The Pros are borderline unbelievable and the Max are totally unbelievable. If you get the clear lenses, you will like the color, but the selective yellow lenses have a distinct advantage in bad weather. I should note that proper aim is critical with any of these models, but easy to do.

I purchased all of mine through these folks and they've been great do deal with:
Toyota – Hotshot Offroad

 

[meltdowner]

2006 v8 Sport. Sorry, I thought I had it on my profile somewhere.

 

[meltdowner]

Nice site btw, haven't seen this stuff before.

 

[Too Stroked]

2006 v8 Sport. Sorry, I thought I had it on my profile somewhere.

Ok, getting back to your original question as to HID bulbs being a decent upgrade in OEM housings. If you have projector housings, there is some hope, but aftermarket HID bulbs are all over the map as far as design and manufacturing quality. You'll end up adding all sorts of extra wiring and componentry under the hood just to use them and all that complexity will come back and bite you someday. Oh, and did I say that the actual increase in usable light in front of you is hit or miss? I wouldn't recommend them.

If you have halogen bulbs in a non-projector housing, your choices are even more limited. The standard H11 bulb limits your choices and slapping HID's in this type of housing is just about guaranteed to bother oncoming drivers with increased amounts of glare.

Since somebody will jump in and recommend Amazon or eBay LED's, don't even get me started on that crap.

 

[meltdowner]

Ok, getting back to your original question as to HID bulbs being a decent upgrade in OEM housings. If you have projector housings, there is some hope, but aftermarket HID bulbs are all over the map as far as design and manufacturing quality. You'll end up adding all sorts of extra wiring and componentry under the hood just to use them and all that complexity will come back and bite you someday. Oh, and did I say that the actual increase in usable light in front of you is hit or miss? I wouldn't recommend them.

If you have halogen bulbs in a non-projector housing, your choices are even more limited. The standard H11 bulb limits your choices and slapping HID's in this type of housing is just about guaranteed to bother oncoming drivers with increased amounts of glare.

Since somebody will jump in and recommend Amazon or eBay LED's, don't even get me started on that crap.

You're absolutely right. Unfortunately, I have to pick something. I ended up keeping the ANZOs. I pulled them. out, disassembled and made some adjustments. It's still jenky as hell and the line of light on the road looks like the top of a castle (exaggerating) but the visibility has improved with HIDs and some further headlight alignment adjustment. It's unfortunate that this is the case with this model vehicle. Nighttime visibility is a big deal. The light doesn't have to be like a summer day when I'm driving at night, but the range of light on the road should be much better for vehicles in general. I suppose it's a tough argument to be had. You don't want everyone blinding eachother on the road, but you also want drivers to be able to see well during highway night driving on empty roads and/or rural side streets.

Maybe some lights you can adjust from the driver seat would be a seriously cool improvement on modern vehicles.

 

[Justbuckstuff]

I have Auxito (chinese) leds for low beams and Morimotos (japanese) for high beams in my GX. the auxitos are loud but powerful. the morimotos have a longer warranty (3 years). one auxito went out and they shipped me a new set in less than a week. Also have Nilight pods that cost me $50 and have been completely submerged multiple times and fully in mud. also in temps down to -20.

I just (yesterday) got Nilight (chinese) high and low for my 4th gen (super bright, 2 year warranty) and Lasfit (american company, made in china) for my fogs bc I can switch between white and yellow. one of the lasfits has an issue with a screw cap on the wiring harness, they responded in a little over 12hr and they are replacing it. Anyone telling you Amazon LEDs arent an option is wrong. (that car had HIDs in it and I remove them for the brighter LEDs)

 

[T4R4thGenV8]

OEMassive are bad knockoffs of the awesome Anzo crystals

Anzo Crystal headlights were a perfect fit for my 4th Gen and are great-looking headlights with great visibility.

 

[dfontes]

I have Auxito (chinese) leds for low beams and Morimotos (japanese) for high beams in my GX. the auxitos are loud but powerful. the morimotos have a longer warranty (3 years). one auxito went out and they shipped me a new set in less than a week. Also have Nilight pods that cost me $50 and have been completely submerged multiple times and fully in mud. also in temps down to -20.

I just (yesterday) got Nilight (chinese) high and low for my 4th gen (super bright, 2 year warranty) and Lasfit (american company, made in china) for my fogs bc I can switch between white and yellow. one of the lasfits has an issue with a screw cap on the wiring harness, they responded in a little over 12hr and they are replacing it. Anyone telling you Amazon LEDs arent an option is wrong. (that car had HIDs in it and I remove them for the brighter LEDs)

Would you mind sharing pics on how the Auxito Low beams perform?

 

[wcjeep]

This thread started in 2021. Not sure about led lights at that time. I'm running Hikari led in both of our 5th gens. Very happy with light. Cut off still as pronounced with led versus Halogen. I don't have a way to post pics here. My sister has factory installed Led on her 5th Gen. People consistently flash her to turn down the light. Zero complaints with my aftermarket bulbs.

Bought them after watching variety of YouTube reviews. They are not the brightest on the market. They seem to be a great combo of heat vs light output. Running Hikari low beams. Beamtech fogs. Beamtech does not have fans. Seemed better for exposed rear housing of fog lights. Halogen high beams. Did not feel like installing resistors for the high beam. Tested against white fence 25ft away for light cutoff.


https://www.amazon.com/HIKARI-H11-H...2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

 

[andynj]

New Projector lights solved it for me

I had the same challenges as the OP in my 07 which has OEM projector housings. Mine were in perfect shape no dulling or yellowing but at any speeds about abvout 60mph you were outrunning the low beams and it was outright scare, I tried Auxbeam LEDS they had the same issue and also the Diode Dynamics drop in super expensive LED's same result.
The only thing that fixed it for me was a new set of head lights from Freedom outfitters which have a new LED projector for LB and Baja Squadrons for HB.
Now I really enjoy driving at night!
Only drawback is cost, I paid <$900 for both lights 2 years ago and waited 6months it was worth it to me but I think these lights are >$1200 now which is hard to justify on an 18 year old car.