Headlight Upgrades Available?

[cj80cruiser]

There are so many upgrades out there right now I'm having a hard time deciding the best route to go with. I dont want to miss out on a better option that I should have given a harder look at or spend too much money on something I'm not satisfied with in the end.

What I've got right now is a set of certi-fit 99-02 headlights with halogen bulbs and I'm not very happy with the adjusters on these things. I don't know if it's me, the adjusters, the crappy output or what but I'm spoiled after driving my dad's truck around for a week. I want to get my headlights up to date.

New OEMs are $211 each and dropping a LED bulb in will only get me so far.

I found these but I'm thinking they are just aftermarket headlights like my certi-fits with LED bulbs thrown in.

I also considered trying to find some part out 96-98 headlights and trying to come up with a way to use these Peterson headlights in the 96-98 buckets but I have no idea what to fill in the extra space left with fitting round headlights into a rectangular hole. Also, round lights may look terrible on a 3rd gen.

One last thing, I would rather stay away from HID's and go with LEDs

 

[AZ4Running]

Not many options out there for the 4runners. 96-98 or 99-02 headlights, custom retro fit projectors, hid or led bulbs. Certifit sucks they sortafit.

 

[MONTYMTB]

I found these but I'm thinking they are just aftermarket headlights like my certi-fits with LED bulbs thrown in.

Descriptions states "Special coating on the lens surface prevents hazing and fading..."
Makes me think the lenses are plastic.

 

[cj80cruiser]

Descriptions states "Special coating on the lens surface prevents hazing and fading..."
Makes me think the lenses are plastic.

Yeah, that doesn't sound good....not something I want for sure.

 

[Brilliant]

Many good quality plastics out there. BMW HIDs for instance have plastic lenses. Glass might be more predicable, but some plastics are just fine.

 

[MTD]

I would stick with retros LED's aren't an upgrade in my oppinon, more of a substitute for halogen at this point (oe led setups on acuras, caddy's, and the new corolla being the exception). I have had 0 issues with my Retrofit source components and this is the 5th set i have done. Plus the look awesome haha.

 

[cj80cruiser]

Many good quality plastics out there. BMW HIDs for instance have plastic lenses. Glass might be more predicable, but some plastics are just fine.

Knowing which ones are decent tends to be a problem unless you know what I should be looking for in regards to plastic.

Some of the BMW LED headlight demonstrations I watched on youtube were very impressive.

 

[ToyotaBrah]

I would stick with retros LED's aren't an upgrade in my oppinon, more of a substitute for halogen at this point (oe led setups on acuras, caddy's, and the new corolla being the exception). I have had 0 issues with my Retrofit source components and this is the 5th set i have done. Plus the look awesome haha.

Those do look good. How much would you charge for a retrofit if I supplied the parts? That is, if you are willing to do it. (most likely spring '15)

 

[MTD]

Those do look good. How much would you charge for a retrofit if I supplied the parts? That is, if you are willing to do it. (most likely spring '15)

I would only be able to do it over my winter break now-jan 19th and then may 20th-september 1st, because mechanical engineering student lol. A set like mine would run ya about $150-200 in labor realistically.

 

[xcmtb83]

I just bought four more of these for my 3rd Gen and my 1st Gen Tacoma. I threw the new ones in and one used one in each vehicle for a spare. I went with these bulbs again because I wasn't able to find any LED's with lumen ratings high enough to justify another point of failure that comes with an LED system i.e. the drivers and fans. Perhaps by the time I need bulbs again LED's will have improved beyond the performance of the Osrams significantly enough for me to justify them.

<b>Osram Rallye 70/65w +50 H4 bulb</b> 64205

OFFROAD STANDARD | Halogen headlight lamps for... | OSRAM

 

[BrianSD_42]

Knowing which ones are decent tends to be a problem unless you know what I should be looking for in regards to plastic.

Some of the BMW LED headlight demonstrations I watched on youtube were very impressive.

To put it simply YouTube is misleading. It doesn't matter if it is HID or LED as much as:
Do you have projectors?
Are they throwing a lot of light?
What color spectrum do you prefer?

If you don't have projectors then the output will be inferior despite the bulb (or LED) type.

 

[ridetime88]

I just bought two new 99 headlight housings to put in my 97, since the 99's aren't diffused on the lenses. Plus I'm running silver Star ultra 6000k plenty bright. If I need more I flip my switches..

 

[Zachpins34]

Projector retrofit!! It's what I want, but I'm scared to commit and cant afford to have someone do it at the moment...let alone the parts

 

[Robb235]

I've got Lifetime LED bulbs, and they were a huge upgrade over the halogen bulbs.

 

[Helokid1]

Hello
I am with all y'all on the head lights. i don't see much more light output orther then going with projectors. I just ordered a set of 99-02 for my 98 i am hoping that i can get better high beam output, my 98 does not have Much on high beam. I will try this route and see what happens. My next move will be projectors. Can some one post links to projector retrofit project and part lists and vendors.

 

[cj80cruiser]

To put it simply YouTube is misleading. It doesn't matter if it is HID or LED as much as:
Do you have projectors?
Are they throwing a lot of light?
What color spectrum do you prefer?

If you don't have projectors then the output will be inferior despite the bulb (or LED) type.

I'd prefer a slight yellow to pure white output, so anywhere in the 4000k-5500k range. I do not have projectors and didn't know LED bulbs would fit in them. The HID bulbs are so thin I thought incandescent and LED bulbs were too fat.

 

[Hollis]

Sub'd. I am in the same boat.

 

[Robb235]

I'd prefer a slight yellow to pure white output, so anywhere in the 4000k-5500k range. I do not have projectors and didn't know LED bulbs would fit in them. The HID bulbs are so thin I thought incandescent and LED bulbs were too fat.

My motorcycle has projectors and uses standard halogen bulbs.

 

[cj80cruiser]

So I went to the retrofitsource and looked around and saw they have used projectors for sale.

Has anyone used the clear lens from certi-fit headlights and fit them on stock 96-98 headlights? The adjusters on stock headlights tend to work better or atleast thats been my experience.

 

[cj80cruiser]

Would these be a good buy to use LED or Incandescent bulbs in? "B Stock" Morimoto Mini D2S 3.0 Projectors - Closeouts or is that a waste of time and I should go ahead and use HID bulbs?