Looking to upgrade headlight bulb

[KANO]

OP,

Have you looked into LED bulbs at all? There is a thread or two here where people have switched to LED and had seen very positive results (with pics included). They are a bit pricey right now (approx $35-$45 a piece) but apparently hold excellent bulb life and is almost as bright as HID's? They are also direct plug and play with no additional wiring or boxes. The good ones have a built in fan to reduce heat failure.

I've never tried them, and some here are not a fan, but I think it's better than wasting money on a "premium" halogen bulb.

 

[thor999]

Still running stock bulbs here as well! But, just out of curiosity, is it worth the $50 to upgrade? I drive through a lot of wildlife every night to get to work and back, I'd hate to hit a critter!

 

[KANO]

Here's a link to the thread I was talking about earlier about LED's

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/176583-3rd-gen-led-headlights.html

 

[walrusmt]

The silverstar let me down until I started installing my bulbs with dielectric grease. It keeps moisture out of the socket and the bulbs last me years now. Literally - I swapped all my vehicles out in 2007 and they are all going strong - Chevy venture, chevy truck, VW Passat, two 4runners and a Subaru legacy.

 

[lhoy12]

Look into Osram Night Breakers, I had silver stars and the ultras before and got less than a year out of each. I've had my night breakers for 2+ years and love them. They are well reviewed by many and we're less than $40 shipped from amazon when I got them.

 

[bolt]

Not to rain on anyone's parade. I drive a 2002 4runner (original owner) and have never changed the original bulbs. So, for the money, unless you need to "upgrade" whatever that means to you, Toyota's bulbs are a great value. My ride has had the daytime lights on at all time during the last 12 years.

I concur, however i'm considering 40.00 HIDs.

 

[dphflytyer]

I just installed the PIAA H4 Extreme White plus and IMO there's nothing extreme about them. I actually think the Silverstars are better in the rain. For the money not worth it if you think there will be a noticable difference. I will stick with the Silverstar's.....and they seemed to last very long considering they are on all the time, with daytime running lights. My wife's Venza lights could light a stadium.

 

[piecesparts]

I put Vision X headlight bulbs in my 97 4R and have had no issues. They are brighter and with just a set of KC Hilites foglights, for the side illumination, I can see deer a whole lot better than the stock lights could do.

 

[Cree]

Phillips X-treme Vision. I had the Silverstars in previous cars. They're good, but they don't last for shit. I'm over a year on these, no issues. Very bright. I would disable your DRL's if you run these though, as their service life isn't the longest.

Just about everyone that you'll hear talk about it will recommend those over the Night Breakers, which are also a good bulb.

 

[csp]

I concur, however i'm considering 40.00 HIDs.

Please don't! Those cheap ass HIDs just blind everyone else.

HIDs should only be used with projectors which aim the light correctly. They aren't intended to be used in reflector housings.

 

[JB_SSR]

I installed pilot automotive xenon bulbs into my stock headlamps. Gives them a bluish white look, bright but not too bright to blind other drivers. If your looking for new headlights i Would suggest going on carid or taking a trip to your local pepboys. Then again I'm new here so what do I know lol. I'm also having an issue with my truck the engine light is on says it's running lean if anyone can help the new guy out please visit my thread http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...-p0141-running-too-lean-help.html#post1860857

 

[Moroney167]

I ran sylvaias best bulb and was clear and nice. Just ordered and installed OKLED LED headlight bulbs for H4's. So far I'm extremely happy. Light on low beam is great. High beam doesn't add a ton of light but I don't see needing more. Nice strong cut off line. And even light spread as well. For the price I can't see a downside for the sake they take 0 energy to run and will last 50,000 hours. Install went well had to trim tiny bit of my rubber boot cover. Otherwise happy they are in. Ordering for my F250 next.

 

[SCHUNTER1969]

130/90w hella bulbs

I wanted to upgraded my bulbs in my stock head light housing. I read all the forums on this website and didn't find much current information about upgrading wire harness so I thought I would join so I can share my experience.

I tried out some HID's that had halogens for the high beam.:frusty: I installed them into my stock head light housing and got some crazy reflection pattern and was not bright at all, I went with 8000k. I returned them and started looking for a high wattage bulbs but I knew I would have to upgrade my wiring harness. I couldn't find a wire harness for my 4runner, I know it has to be a ground state harness for the high beam indicator. I ended up just taking a swing at one and had to do a little modification but it worked. My high beam indicator on my dash still works too. I plan on posting a thread about it when I can, put here is the links for now:

The wiring harness is:

Headlight Relay Wiring Harness H4/9003 With High Heat Ceramic Plugs Dual High Low Beam
Amazon.com: Headlight Relay Wiring Harness H4/9003 With High Heat Ceramic Plugs Dual High Low Beam: Automotive

Bulbs:

HELLA H4 130/90W Series 130/90 Watt 12 V Halogen Bulb
Amazon.com: HELLA H4 130/90W Series 130/90 Watt 12 V Halogen Bulb: Automotive

The top picture is low beam with the HELLA's, the middle pic. is the HID's, and the last pic is my high beams showing my indicator still works.

 

[benjamin247]

Updated suggestions?

This thread is pretty old and thought I would resurrect since I'm in the market for new bulbs. Any recommendations? I would like install as easy as possible that would fit in factory housing. Are LEDs the way to go nowadays? I've read in earlier threads they're nice and bright, but the light is more wide than deep.

 

[rightyouareken]

In my opinion, the only proper thing to put in a housing designed for a halogen bulb is another halogen bulb. HID and LED bulbs will simply not constrain the light in the way intended by the designers (and the regulators/law enforcement). The location in space within the housing where the light emitting parts of the bulb sit are different, and cause the reflectors of the housing to cast the light differently than with a halogen bulb. Any "cutoff" or glare reduction measures designed in are out the window, and the results tend to be a lot of great looking light from the driver's seat, and a bucketful of dangerous and annoying glare for other drivers. It's especially important for taller vehicles like trucks or SUVs.

And I say this as someone who did a full on HID retrofit on my BMW.

I went with Sylvania Silverstar ultras. They are good, but don't expect a massive improvement. They'll still look like a halogen bulb to other people, and won't blind other drivers.

BTW, when looking at beam pattern shots, don't pay attention to pictures against trees or bushes or a "down the road" shot. The only way to evaluate a beam pattern properly is against a flat wall, like this (shot of my BMW's HID retrofit):

That's what the beam pattern on a proper HID retrofit is going to look like.

 

[Riceye]

I also did the wiring harness upgrade with relays and am running Hella 100/80 h4 bulbs. Plenty of light and a great cutoff pattern.

Depending on your source, a cheaper alternative as well.

 

[metallitera]

I have Hella 55/100w bulbs in my rig, OEM harness. I love 'em. Am a little cautious with keeping high beams on for extended periods of time, but I don't think it will really be an issue. This is actually the third vehicle I have used these bulbs in (replaced with OEM bulbs when I sold the vehicles HAHA)

 

[shadow247]

Gentlemen,

I present the ultimate and only street legal headlight bulb you should consider.

PIAA | H4 XTreme White Plus Anti-Vibration Single Halogen Bulb #70456

I run this bulb in my Honda Shadow motorcycle with a single headlight, and it's as bright as many of the Harley's with DUAL LED's that I've pulled up next to. This bulb has lasted almost 40k miles and 10 years on the road on a motorcycle, so it should have no problem lasting on a 4Runner. It's specially designed for rough service applications, I'll be swapping one into my Dual Sport motorcycle soon.

I too was running Silverstars and replacing them every 9 months to a year. I got tired of it and just run regular stock bulbs now, as I live in the city and don't need to worry about extra bright headlights these days. But you better believe I'll be throwing a set of the PIAA's when this rig goes back to off-road duty.

 

[T4R2014]

I can recommend OEM bulbs. 23 years old and still working.