Hoen lights in place of stock low beams?

[rgcary]

Anyone ever used these in place of your stock low beams and fogs? I have a 2005 Toyota 4Runner limited and looking to replace the stock low beams right now to a whiter light, mainly to increase visability and to look a little different than stock. I don't want to pay the price of PIAA and I want something that lasts long. I've tried the "walmart" stock (Silverstars, etc) and they did not last long. About 1 year and they're done with.

http://www.hoen-usa.com/

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Even Steven]

Never heard of those lights, but I just had to comment on how horrible the 4Runner would look with whitewall tires on it.

Yes, I know that your pic looks like that from driving in the sand, but still....it looks almost like whitewalls on there! LOL

 

[kimboy]

sory haven't hear of the subject lights. Get a hid kit, and enjoy maintenance free performance...

 

[rgcary]

Funny...

You know, I did not think of that with the tires looking like that. lol. It does now that I look at it! That's the new look on the 4runner. lol.

Have a good one.

 

[mole177]

i think those bulbs are just like any other aftermarket bulb.

the pictures on their site are photoshop touched up.

you need to see them in person.

imho, i would just go hid route...they're long lasting, brighter, however more expensive.

 

[rook]

from what I've read, they are a little better than regular halogens and comparable to silverstar ultras. If you want the best, convert to HID and you will be happy. otherwise, with all the bulb experiments you will do, you'll end up spending as much as the upgrade to xenon

 

[Even Steven]

I had an HID kit on my 4Runner and was very unhappy with it. Sure, it gave me that nice white light with a bluish tint to it, but the light output on the road was horrible compared to the stock bulbs.

I believe the problem liies with the '03 - '05 headlights ability to focus the light of an HID capsule, which is not in the same location as the standard bulb. In other words, the light isn't situated in the same place when using HIDs, so the reflectors don't put the light where it was intended. I ended up getting rid of the HIDs and going to HIRs instead and have been much happier ever since.

The projectors on '06 and later models probably work better with HID kits.

 

[need4speedtm]

i have hoen bulbs for my low beam and fogs. i really like them. its as really white and it doesn't have any blue hues to it. so it won't look ricey.

 

[AlphaQup]

The projectors on '06 and later models probably work better with HID kits.

What did you say? I'm sorry, but I just had to quote you on that one. Just yesterday we had the great debate on how horrible you thought the 06 projectors mated with HID kit was. Now you're doing a 180, telling rgcary to go that same route? Make up your mind man.

rgcary,

HIDs will not work for you since you dont have projectors.

 

[Even Steven]

What did you say? I'm sorry, but I just had to quote you on that one. Just yesterday we had the great debate on how horrible you thought the 06 projectors mated with HID kit was. Now you're doing a 180, telling rgcary to go that same route? Make up your mind man.

rgcary,

HIDs will not work for you since you dont have projectors.

No, I'm not doing a 180 at all. Have you been hanging out with Josh lately or something?

I said that the HIDs were HORRIBLE with the non-projector headlights on my 4Runner. I also said that they work BETTER with the '06 and newer projector headlights. Never once did I say that they work good on either. Even though the projectors are better than the reflector housings, they are still not nearly as good as an OEM set up because the HID capsule isn't situated in the same location as the factory bulb for which your headlights were designed.

Now is that so hard to understand?

 

[Even Steven]

BTW, the post that you quoted is older than our discussion yesterday. Not that it matters though...

 

[AlphaQup]

You crack me up man. :happy bda

 

[AlphaQup]

I guess you forgot about this post bro.

A good friend of mine has an '06 4Runner, and we tried out my kit in his 4Runner before I returned my HIDs. At the time we didn't realize it, but it's not a direct swap because the '06 uses a different base for its bulbs, so we just temporarily rigged them up to get an idea on how they would perform with his projectors.

And guess what? Glare city. Now I'll admit that we didn't modify his squirrel finders (where did that stupid name come from, btw?), but nevertheless, it was still a worse pattern than the original bulbs.

If it's "Glare city" & "worst pattern than the original bulbs", why the reccomendation to go with a HID kit? Just pointing out the obvious.

 

[Even Steven]

I guess you forgot about this post bro.



If it's "Glare city" & "worst pattern than the original bulbs", why the reccomendation to go with a HID kit? Just pointing out the obvious.

Where did I recommend going with an HID kit? I would never make that recommendation.

You must have skipped over the part where I said that we rigged them up temporarily and didn't modify the housings. Yes, it was "glare city" and yes, it was worse than the original bulbs. However, THE SAME HID KIT IN MY REFLECTOR HEADLIGHTS WAS ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE.

So to simplify it for you:

A) HIDs in '03 & '04 headlights suck big time
B) HIDs in '06+ still suck, but do work better than the '03 & '04 headlights
C) HIDs in a properly designed OEM set up works just as it should.

The main problem with using HIDs in ANY 4Runner is the fact that the focal point of the original halogen bulb is different than that of the HID capsule. Therefore, the light output isn't exactly where it should be for optimal performance. Now, this is less of a problem with projectors than reflectors. An improvement would definitely be realized by either system if they made HID capsules to mimic the exact size/location of the standard halogen bulbs. Or even if you could modify the housing to hold the HID capsule in the exact location of the standard halogen bulb.

 

[AlphaQup]

The projectors on '06 and later models probably work better with HID kits.

That's not a reccomendation?

But you said it very clearly now and yes I agree with you on your last post except the part where you said, "HIDs in '06+ still suck".

 

[Even Steven]

That's not a reccomendation?

Not at all. The originator of the thread obviously doesn't have projectors, so I was trying to tell him to avoid HIDs with his 4Runner because they are horrible. I was simply saying that he would have better results if he had an '06 or newer 4Runner and had his heart set on HIDs..... but I still would never recommend them. In fact, I like my HIRs so much that I would recommend them to anyone. They are noticeably brighter than stock, with a slightly whiter light and the same exact beam pattern as the stock bulbs. So there's my recommendation for you....

 

[AlphaQup]

Not at all. The originator of the thread obviously doesn't have projectors, so I was trying to tell him to avoid HIDs with his 4Runner because they are horrible. I was simply saying that he would have better results if he had an '06 or newer 4Runner and had his heart set on HIDs..... but I still would never recommend them. In fact, I like my HIRs so much that I would recommend them to anyone. They are noticeably brighter than stock, with a slightly whiter light and the same exact beam pattern as the stock bulbs. So there's my recommendation for you....

Thanks for the recommendation bro, but you should have told this to rgcary. I'm good with my setup, thanks. :

Clarification is good. :biggrin2:

 

[Boston_Runner]

rgcary, I use Hoens before, they are nice bulbs, well constructed. Last longer than Silverstar in my opinion. I had them for 3 years before I sold my truck and they were still working. The problem with them is that they are tinted bulb, like all tinted bulbs, the tint will cut down on the light output. They have the Titanium and Xenon match line that is heavily tinted and they try to compensate it by using higher wattage. The light is whiter but light output is no better or maybe even worst than stock. They also have a xenRange line which is only slightly tinted, runs at 65 watts. These have very good light output, almost as good as HIR bulbs, but they are some where between factory bulb and the titanium as far as whiteness is concerned.

 

[Thai]

Thread has been edited and some posts deleted...again! Please play nice.

Thanks.

 

[rgcary]

I'm staying stock...

I know it's a little late replying back, but I wanted to say thank you for all the replies. I'm staying stock. I've used the aftermarket bulbs and they seem to blow out too fast compared to stock. Thanks again!