Toyota OEM headlights pix

Thot I'd share some pix of new Tundra OEM headlights i just picked up today.
$226 ea. At that price I want to get all the thrill out of them i can, thus some closeups for anyone considering these for 06 AC 2WD SR5.
I will need to source an min 8" long phillips AND less than 1/4" head to reach the adjustment rachet. Looks like adjustment via the hex bolt of the ratchet would be a 'mo-fo' to reach...not certain since havent looked at existing [truck parked at separate location].
Pick away, or if needed, i'll post auxilliary views if any would like [sounds like i got a bunchatime to burn?]
Anyway, one of my originals is cracked and both are golden yellow.

 

Official headlight adjuster screwdrivers. Lol

 

You going old school halogen, LED, or mini projector with them?

 

Mount without the the corners lights and put a 10mm ratcheting wrench on it to adjust

Once your are dialed add the corners back on

 

Yeah what he said or use the long ass shish kebobs I linked. Lol

 

Yes,..what Im talking about.
At $227 a side, i guess it would kill Toyota's annual business plan to include a simple 8.5" rod w/a phillips head on one end and a male hex [for a thumb socket] on the other...?

 

Going basic halogen; dont drive night much, but had to do something to see beyond 10' and at least to keep LE focused on 'real road violations'.
From all that i've read here, halogens are the weakest choice, but i dont want to 'mod' the new housings.
Visited the wire/relay/harness upgrade site [cant remember site URL] a while back; not sure if that guys still in biz, but I recall that you could use very hi watt output halogens w/out issues like overheating the housings or making the alternator/battery work harder...not sure.
Probly roll with the bulbs it comes with for a while, unless theyre as pitiful as my 01 Tacoma [goldrush mining lamps].

 

I felt the same way after buying brand new OEM, for like $4/housing less.

I finally broke down and paid the $70/housing or whatever for CAPA certified DEPO housings and $30 for mini projector bulbs, then tucked away my brand new OEMs in DEPO housing boxes. The reality is, I got 10x the lighting update for significantly less than the cost of one OEM assembly.

 

How are those housings and lenses holding up?

 

Awesome. No fogging on the housings. So far no burnouts. I keep my headlights on all the time, day or night so I figure mine may burn out faster than others but dunno.

 

Retrofit all the things!

or at least go mini projectors which is a half-retrofit. LOL

 

so @shifty, thot i read all posts on it but cant remember; have a link about your final install?
or, in summary what'd u roll with thats pleased you?

 

As with most info tidbits worth repeating for our trucks, it's all linked in the megathread. I think the link insider the (((((( RED PARENS )))))) specifically contains the details you seek.

Lighting info ...

• If replacing your housings, be sure whatever you buy is "CAPA Certified", it's at least baseline not-garbage product. For brands that are higher-quality and will last longer, most offering CAPA certified options, go with Depo, or alternately EagleEyes, TYC, and some say Akkon make good product.
• If swapping to LED headlights or fog lights, the overwhelming majority of people have problems with high beams and fog lights working unless they purchase and add a resistor on at least one headlight so enough load is on the circuit - this may not be necessary if your headlight housings have the extra "teardrop light" in the corner of the housing. Problems have been reported with LED tail lights also, it's not just headlights. Some circuits require resistance that an LED won't deliver.
• Hyperflash problems are common after swapping LEDs into the turn signals. This can be solved installing a Diode Dynamics flashers (avoid the scAmazon knock-offs, buy direct).
• There are H4 mini-projectors available for our trucks, but you'll need to permanently modify the light housing, no oven-baking required, just remove the hat-shaped chrome shroud inside and install the light (((((( detailed instructions )))))). Likewise there are bake-in options for projectors. Check THIS REPLY for common headlight upgrage options, with links.
• For interior LEDs... There's a breakdown of interior light sizes over here. For climate control lighting updates, see here. Dash gauges for earlier 2000-2004 models with replaceable bulbs, check this. The later year model's dash gauges had on-board LEDs and are not replaceable without soldering, color not changeable without sanding the rear of the guage face. REMEMBER: LED lights are polarized. If you install them backwards, they won't light up! If you have one or more not lighting up, try popping out, rotating 180º, and reinstalling.

​

 

If I was spending that kind of coin on new housings, I would put clear Vvivid vinyl wrap on to protect them. I've done it on all the headlights that I've refinished, and have yet to need to refinish any of them (5+ years).

 

thanks shifty & tuetonics...
All noted and under consideration.

 

What bulbs are y'all using nowadays? Links go to a page that doesn't exist anymore on Amazon.

EDIT:
These work?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN72DSBT

 

You can still get them from CO Light, direct from their website. But they have other options too. One has a 3-way toggle but the two people here who’ve installed never did answer whether those remember which color temp you choose (white/yellow/arctic white) between starts or how you configure them to choose a color, so I never ended up buying them. https://www.led-colight.com/

 

Note that use of these mini projectors will require you to remove the metal shield inside of the housing, and removal is not reversable. Those also do not use any of the reflector in the headlight housing, so are a good option for old and/or resurfaced housings.

 

I mean, technically it's reversible if you bake off the lens covers. Then you can pop out the tophat and all.

I just don't know why anyone would bother when an entire housing, fully loaded with its bulbs, is less than $90/side and the mod at this point has been pegged as a pretty safe bet which I've yet to see someone want to reverse.

 

Ok, i may try the CAPA housings/projectors down the road just for fun, but since I just dont drive after dark much and in SoCal rare to find a street, road, freeway thats not near stadium quality lit [but i know i'll be somewhere poorly lit eventually].
At the moment, prefer the brightest/whitest [h4]highest watt bulbs that wont fry my weak exist wires and sockets.
HeadlightServices 'sounds' like a good idea but dont want to layout $150 + updated wattage bulbs if ROI is marginal.
Will roll dice on basic hi watt halogen bulbs once I get some recommendations on brightest/whitest from users here on FGTs. Not too worried about lifespan since I dont drive much after dark- if i can get 500 hours outta a set, id be content.
Anyone?

 

LEDs pull less wattage than halogen bulbs. Your wires will be fine. Try to find a bulb with the LED elements in the same orientation and position closest to the halogen bulb so you don't create too much glare for other drivers.

 

These Sealight bulbs would be ok but the others below are total shit with the way their elements are setup. Stay away from those.

 

oh, i guess i wasnt clear- intending to stay w/standard halogens.
Looking for recommended bulb better than 55watt oems.
IE: How high a wattage halogen can my Toy OEM harness/sockets tolerate [w/out running harness w/relays and direct connect to batt?
And whats the idea behind running an AGM battery other than they maybe more tolerant of being shaken/slammed if doing a lot of offroad?

 

My bad. I've had good luck with the Philips Extreme Vision Plus bulbs but I believe those run at the stock wattage. I've not tried any high wattage halogens before. Moved over to LEDs and never went back.