From Daniels Sterns (with his permission), the guru of lighting:
Before we talk about bulbs, Take careful note: when "plastic" (polycarbonate) headlamp lenses are yellowed or clouded or fogged, it's really time to replace the lamps with new original-equipment ones. There are various polishing/restoration kits on the market, none of which will do anything but postpone your need to install new headlamps because what you are doing in "polishing" the headlamps is scrubbing off the anti-UV/anti-scratch hardcoat that was applied and crosslink-cured under cleanroom conditions when the lamps were manufactured. With this coating gone, the degradation will come back faster and worse than before.
Many of the kits contain what they claim to be a coating, lotion, wax, protectant, sunscreen or other such goop; none of these does much of anything to slow or stop the degradation. There is no field-applicable coating that can duplicate the factory coating's performance (which itself is inadequate to the task, as a walk through any parking lot shows -- the regulations are too lax), though if you need to buy some time, you might try the technique at
DIY: Restoring Headlights with New UV coating - MY350Z.COM Forums .
A lamp that is not in as-new condition is not worth using. Optical degradation of the reflector is grossly advanced well before you can see it with the naked eye; by the time it's progressed far enough to be described as "just a little imperfect" the lamp is dead. Remember, even the most costly, beautiful show chrome is only 67% reflective, not nearly enough for optical purposes. An as-new headlamp reflector is over 99% reflective. The takeaway message here is that even if the reflector looks OK, its optical efficiency is way down if it's got some years on it.
Replacement headlamps need to be original-equipment items (automaker's own brand, genuine Toyota parts
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005VO07AI/?tag=2402507-20 and
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005VNZFYC/?tag=2402507-20 )
because all(!) of the aftermarket off-brand items -- TYC, Depo, DJAuto, Eagle Eye, Helix, etc -- are garbage, despite spurious claims of "OEM quality", "SAE/DOT approved", "CAPA certified", "NSF certified", etc. This is worth a careful look at your present headlamps, too, in case the vehicle received aftermarket replacement headlamps sometime in the past.
With genuine headlamps in perfect condition, use
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BQWQLQI/?tag=2402507-20 for the low beams.
If you want to upgrade the high beams, get
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C9QPKS/?tag=2402507-20 . That is a genuine 9011 HIR1 bulb. They are not some tinted or overwattage version of 9005, but share the identical filament geometry and base architecture as well as the same power consumption.
Here's the comparison:
stock: 9005, 12.8V, 65W, 1700 lumens, 320 hours
new: 9011, 12.8V, 65W, 2530 lumens, 320 hours
The 9011 bulbs have a double-wide top ear on the plastic bulb base, this is
to comply with the law requiring different bulbs to have different bases.
The extra-wide plastic top ear is easily trimmed or filed to make the bulb
fit your headlamp's bulb receptacle. Once that's done, they go directly
into the headlamp, and the existing sockets snap on. Please see
HIR bulb base modification for details. Disregard Amazon's warning that the bulbs won't fit your car.
You will need to see to it that the lamps are aimed carefully and correctly per the "VOR" instructions at
Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply .
Cheers DS
