Headlight Bulb Opinions

atomic punk said:
...what, you don't think the stock headlight housing reflectors have a good sharp cutoff? I think they'll be fine. All HID reflectors/lenses have that one angle where it looks SUPER BRIGHT to the opposing driver. Same thing would apply here. Of course, those are my assumptions. I guess you never really know until you try. Some others in this forum have done the retrofit without any glare or problems blinding other drivers. Not sure "who", but the search function will yield the names.
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Are you guys kidding??? I have read more posts than I can remember about bad glare/cutoff when just installing them. I just did a search on hid. All the posts said the glare way to much when they just put them in, so.....thats why they retro fitted them w/ projectors or painting. TranceKrayz, Live4wells, Vortec4800, just to name a few. It's the same thing on yotatech. The reflector is not able to handle that level of brightness and the light cuts into many different directions (glare). The only people who just put them in are the people who have 06's which come with projectors. Haven't you seen these guys on the road who put them in cars. It's easy to tell especially when a low Honda Civic is blinding the hell out of you while at a light and he is 5 inches off them same level street you are on. I just think people do that are inconsiderate asses. If they made a kit to do this properly (not just casper shields) that was all inclusive and somewhat cheap, they would make a fortune.
 
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Solice said:
I have the XD5's in both of my foglights and right now neither are working very well. At first I thought they burned out my harnesses but if I jiggle the wires around the lights come back on. As soon as I hit a bump though they go off again. Looks like I got some looses connections, but on both sides? Seems a little funny.

I'm going to put the factory bulbs back in and take it to the dealer and see what they say about it. Really sucks though.
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Okay, a little update:

I just swapped out my XD5 foglight bulbs to put the factory ones back in before I take it to the dealer for the 25k checkup. The harnesses are FRIED! The insides are all melted. Not a good thing. So, I don't believe I'm going to be going with the XD5's anymore :(. How much do you guys think they'll charge for new harnesses and installation? I'm pretty sure they're not going to cover this under warranty but I'm gonna try.
 
Solice said:
Okay, a little update:

I just swapped out my XD5 foglight bulbs to put the factory ones back in before I take it to the dealer for the 25k checkup. The harnesses are FRIED! The insides are all melted. Not a good thing. So, I don't believe I'm going to be going with the XD5's anymore :(. How much do you guys think they'll charge for new harnesses and installation? I'm pretty sure they're not going to cover this under warranty but I'm gonna try.
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bulbs are not the problem...the resistance caused by the poor connection created heat...you said yourself the lights would go on and off with a bump *red flag sign of a bad connection*....i dont believe it was the bulb...this is a case of a bad connection (not pushed on all the way?)...its a snowball...the poor connection causes more heat...more resistance...more heat...and so on until its melted...this would happen with any bulb with a bad connection (or any bad electrical connection for that matter)

I've been using these bulbs for several years on many different cars and have never had any problem with them...a bad connection caused this problem, not the bulb itself
 
24runners said:
bulbs are not the problem...the resistance caused by the poor connection created heat...you said yourself the lights would go on and off with a bump *red flag sign of a bad connection*....i dont believe it was the bulb...this is a case of a bad connection (not pushed on all the way?)...its a snowball...the poor connection causes more heat...more resistance...more heat...and so on until its melted...this would happen with any bulb with a bad connection (or any bad electrical connection for that matter)

I've been using these bulbs for several years on many different cars and have never had any problem with them...a bad connection caused this problem, not the bulb itself
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I guess that's possible, but I know I had them pushed in as far as they could go. They only go in so far, basically until the lock clicks. Not a real big deal, just a little bummed. Are you using the "high wattage" version? I thought maybe that was my problem since it is 80 watts opposed to 55 watts (or 51 watts).

Think it could have been a problem with the actual wiring? I never had to move the bulbs once they were in. It was the wiring to the back of the harness that I would jiggle around to make them come on temporarily. That's why I thought I had a bad ground or something. Once the harness is turned and locked into the housing, the bulb/harness connection stays the same. The only exposed part is the wiring. Has to be a problem with the wiring...
 
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yep...I guess thats all you can do is push it in until it clicks...

the heat builds up at the point of resistance...and from what you describe, there was a bad connection where you'd jiggle the wires on the back of the harness...maybe they female part of the spade was too wide and even though it was clicked into place, it still wasnt making a good contact with the male part of the bulb

I use the higher wattage bulbs for all my lights...low, highs, and fogs *shrug*...be sure to post how much the harness is to replace :) ...if mine starts acting up, I might need the info ;)
 
I read before that you've been using these bulbs even in previous cars and they have been fine. That's why I figured it would be a safe alternative to the Silver Stars. I do tend to have really good (horrible) luck with things :bash:. I'm pretty sure I'll find out the price of the harness tomorrow so I'll let you know ;):.
 
Okay, incase anyone is interested in knowing the price for two fog light harnesses installed by Toyota due to yours being torched, it's:

$216

Soooo, I'm just going to see if I can find the harnesses (maybe partznet) and my buddy said he would install them for me if I can't figure it out.

-Joe
 
hid

Lincoln navigators come with and without HID's the only difference between the two is the HID has a longer metal cone in front of the bulb - this reflects the beam back the the chrome housing . I am assuming the longer cone produces a more focussed beam of light. The main refelectors behind the bulbs are the same for HID or Halogen. And as best I could see there was no easy way to replace that cone.

I said earlier in this thread, get HIR bulbs (only for the 9005 and 9006 bulbs) they have more light and do not have the heat problems that you can get with overwattage bulbs.
 
Solice said:
Okay, incase anyone is interested in knowing the price for two fog light harnesses installed by Toyota due to yours being torched, it's:

$216

Soooo, I'm just going to see if I can find the harnesses (maybe partznet) and my buddy said he would install them for me if I can't figure it out.

-Joe
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Have you consider of making your own wiring harness using a relay to draw power directly from the battery to avoid the heat problem? For my hid retrofit project, i'm going to make my own harness using 12 gauage wires. You might still be able to use stock wiring to trigger the relay and keep the high watt bulbs.
Here is a link of how to make one:
http://jdmlyfestyle.com/hid_wiring_harness.htm
 
xnapajx said:
Have you consider of making your own wiring harness using a relay to draw power directly from the battery to avoid the heat problem? For my hid retrofit project, i'm going to make my own harness using 12 gauage wires. You might still be able to use stock wiring to trigger the relay and keep the high watt bulbs.
Here is a link of how to make one:
http://jdmlyfestyle.com/hid_wiring_harness.htm
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Nice write up! I haven't really thought about that though because fog lights aren't that important to me. The main reason I wanted a "brighter" foglight was so it matched my Silverstar headlights. Once I can find the part # for the foglight harnesses I'll probably just order them and put the factory bulbs back in. No biggie, nice write up though. That seems pretty easy to do.
 
If I were to put SILVERSTARS in my 2000 4runner what model are part # do I need?

Also should my replace the brights too?

Thanks!!
 
4x4Runner09 said:
If I were to put SILVERSTARS in my 2000 4runner what model are part # do I need?

Also should my replace the brights too?

Thanks!!
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9003 or H4 they are same thing, but don't get silverstars, gimmick city. they have the same hi/lo wattage as any other. 60/55. I ordered some hella h4 bulbs with 85/80 watts, big difference.
just look at the tiny print on the bulb.
 
I can't comment on the Sylvania Silverstars, but I loved the PIAA Xtreme White bulbs I had in my Acura prior to buying the 4Runner. They were bright white with a slight tint of blue and lasted the 2 years I had the car (they were good as new when I sold it a couple months ago). They're a little more expensive than the Silverstars, but I heard from some other forums that people were reporting their Silverstars burst prematurely.
 
T4Runner06 said:
They're a little more expensive than the Silverstars, but I heard from some other forums that people were reporting their Silverstars burst prematurely.
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I've never heard of them "bursting",just going out prematurely but this is also from a lot of owners with Runners with DLRs which will shorten the life of any bulb but shows really bad with a set of "whiter" aftermarket bulbs.
My '99 doesn't have DLRs and my Silverstars have over a year and ahalf on them.
 
Delta Xenon???

Anyone tried these?

CLICK

Performance Products has them for stock wattage replacement (65w) and high wattage replacement (100w)


I've tried a search and nothing came back for delta brand...
 
Re: Delta Xenon???

MW 4Runner said:
Anyone tried these?

CLICK

Performance Products has them for stock wattage replacement (65w) and high wattage replacement (100w)


I've tried a search and nothing came back for delta brand...
Click to expand...

I had some in mycelica though they were hella and didn't have the annoying blue coating. Everyone thought I had my brights on, I got flashed all the time.
Visibility at night was superb.
 
I'm running all PIAA for headlights and foglights.

http://www.piaa.com/Bulbs/Bulbs-HB.html


I run the Plasma's in the fogs. They have a nice yellow/amber color.

The headlights are a purplish color like some stock HIDs.


Plus they came witha one year warrantly through an authorized PIAA dealer.

I pretty happy with them so far.
 
i dare you to read this.

There are so many people out there who think that the more blue a bulb is, the better it is. I wsa one of those people.
I really don't understand why... then i found this site, and it really explained it to me, in a way that my Sesame Street brain could grasp.

If you think "white light", or brighter light... go to the grocery store and get a 40watt bulb and a 150watt bulb. which looks "whiter"?
..think about it.

Take about 10 min and actually read this information. If you disagree, post a logical reason!

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/bulbs.html

He has some GREAT lights for GREAT prices, and the
06'+ crowd has a better option that the stock H11 bulbs.
 
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