Any options for 1st gen headlight upgrades

I understand the selection of optional lights is very limited in first generation Tundras because of the narrow span of years covered as well mine is an Access cab 04 which had a different light modules than the crew cab apparently. I have not seen anyone manufacturing a replacement headlight assembly other than HB2 filament bulb type. Anyone get creative with an HID conversion yet?
The before and after polishing with Mcguires kit. That bought me two years worth of service but micro cracking is started in the plastic lens and noticed they are yellowing again as of this last shop servicing. Why the auto industry insists on plastic lens is a guaranteed down the road sale of new old plastic retrofits. Glass lens in headlight needed the occasional replacement what the heck they didn't yellow fade or micro crack. Egads.
I am thinking major retro fit of a xenon lamp projector outta something else. PS I don't like the new bulbs either. Priced at $80 a pair Slight blue tinge was supposed to illuminate better but my old eyes just want real light without blinding oncoming traffic. HB2 spec bulbs are definately better pattern wise than standard H4. I can remember back to when the first iodine lamps came out Ceebie's. Only emergency vehicles and police were allowed to have them. How far we have come..lol

 

I've seen a few replacement assemblies on CarId. Some are OEM style, some are the smoked style....I've read mixed reviews on them, some needing slight modification to properly fit.
https://www.carid.com/2003-toyota-tundra-headlights/
I ended up using the Sylvania/Osram headlight cleaning hit on my '03, and had fantastic results. Plus, when you register the kit, it has a lifetime warranty.
My kit has started to wear off slightly due to the bug spray at the carwash, which the wearing was happening unknowingly.
I also upgraded to some TechMax LED's from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/TECHMAX-H4-L...03&qid=1577647570&s=automotive&sr=1-1-catcorr
Truly amazing LED bulbs for the $$$. Crisp bright white light, and once properly aimed, they are incredible.
All told, between the LED's and headlight kit, about $60. The one thing you will need with the new LEDs are the LOAD RESISTORS in order to be able to run the foglights at the same time. Found out after I installed the bulbs, and company sent them free of charge.

 

Based on your skills, and wanting high powered light, you should do the projectors. It will cost you $500 minimum for:

1) New Housings
2) Bulbs (?)
3) Projectors (Morimoto)
4) Various other items

And hope you don’t mess up on aiming them or develop a leak down the road due to caulk failures.

Or, buy Akkon aftermarket housings plus side markers ($115) and Katanas LED bulbs ($38) for better than OEM light (all plug and play). Check my build page for pictures of my light bulb experiment progressions.

 

The link to your build page?

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/the...vestment-‘build’-a-chronological-story.46816/

 

Like you I couldn't find any quality upgrade headlight solution for my 2002 Tundra. I finally upgraded my 2002 Tundra Limited access cap headlights to Xenon HID's and have been extremely happy with the result for the past two tears. I used the Morimoto D2s projectors and 35 watt ballasts and their wiring harness which plugged into the original headlight harness for control and directly to the battery for power. I used Osram Xenon lamps in the 5200 Kelvin range because I didn't want super white or blue light. The project went very easy and could be accomplished in a single day. All products were purchased from The Retrofit Source and they were super helpful and have video help online. I also upgraded the fog light bulbs with their high lumen LEDs and used Lamin-X yellow film over the glass for better low road and fog contrast. The lights actually outperform my 2019 Tundra Platinum and with my 68 year old eyes the 2002 is my go-to vehicle for night driving. Even my wife prefers the 2002 at night. It has a very wide beam that lights up two lanes and the shoulder but a very sharp cut-off to prevent blinding oncoming traffic. I won't go back to the originals.

 

I just did cheapo nilight h1 projectors and a 35w hid kit. I'm impressed so far. It was not that difficult to do and without the housings it cost around $75-100. https://www.tundras.com/threads/2006-tundra-long-travel-prerunner-double-cab.49353/page-3

 

I wouldn't go for any sort of mini projector retrofit. The mini projectors' optics are too undersized and have poor-performance. Yes, they are easier to retrofit with H4 housings like yours since the hole in the housing is big enough to basically just bolt on the projector without cutting...but...

This is some data about the Mini H1's:

Raw data:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=10SCj-qXBg-Wg8xNthWl0hgMGE1JzJKBZ

Compiled data:

 

I once knew a guy with a regular cab 80s dodge with little tires, an open diff, and a big old 440 under the hood. He made more power than anything I've owned, but I bet my tundra would win in a race. More power isn't exactly the answer to every question. My led drop ins were probably putting out more light than my little pidly h1 projectors, but if half the light wasn't useable with the led then I don't think it matters.

 

Got any pics?

 

I went with a similiar setup yesterday. Akkon housings but went with the Hikari Ultra LED's since they were on sale. Pretty happy with the new look. Previously had the blacked out version housings but these new Akkons are alot nicer. Still jelly about those projectors KarmaKannon put together tho. Maybe one day I'll give'm a shot.

 

Good on ya. At least you have a good foundation to do the projectors, now.

 

My akkons looked to have the exact same markings as my new headlights that were purchased from oemassive on eBay. So as I suspected all the Chinesium headlights are probably coming from one of very few places.
My new marker lens assemblies are leaking now too! Not sure if I'll contact the seller or just seal them, but for now the previous ones go back in. It's all a crap shoot as usual.

 

My first pair leaked (only on drivers side side marker) in the first month. They sent a whole new box of everything and said keep the first pair. You should do the same. When the new ones come in caulk them up real good before install. Use the others for experiments or back up set. Make China do the right thing!

 

Yeah I probably should make them help me out. I know akkon didn't help with with my un-aimable headlight though.
I used silicone on my first set. Maybe that's why they didn't leak?

 

I’m thinking of ordering the Akkon or the oemassive in black. So the akkon can’t be adjusted?

 

Mine adjust up and down. First set, one of the corners leaked. They sent an entire new set. I have the first set as back up and will caulk those before using them again in about 5-7 years.

Happy with them for $115 in price and no leaks after almost 2 years. I’d say do it.

 

i want to order off of Amazon. How hard was the warranty process and where did you order from?

 

Bought the Akkons from the Big Gurrl site you suggested above.

Warranty required sending them notice of leak. They asked for a picture of the leak of which was sent right away. They said a new set is being sent. Total process was about 2 weeks.

 

I tried every restore kit under the sun, the yellow always came back. This was the latest before I finally caved.


Got a complete replacement from HID retrofit. Did the projectors. Lighting is okay bit as great as I would hope for ~$650 or so. Still better than what I had. And if I really need the light there’s always my light bar. Still need to wire up the halo and turn signal (halo will flash yellow when blinker on).

 

I finally took my first set apart and the nut that the adjuster threads into is stripped. I think if I can fix that I'll be alright. I guess it's a crapsnshoot. Like phm said though, they did help me with leaking housings and I just sealed the replacement set myself. Not sure if they can seal a headlight consistently.

 

You can get rolls of the butane strip for pretty cheap and use that when you bake them shut.

By the way, glad to see you drop in.

 

Yeah I use doodle tape when I bake them back up but from the factory they seem hit or miss.