Lately I have been having to make several late night roadtrips.....no I am not running drugs or moonshine. The headlights in the '03 are great! If you get in a longe straight stretch , with nobody coming and you hit the brights, it really throws the light out. They are the best lights I have ever seen, especially for non-HID.

 

Concur. I like the way the low beams remain on with the high beams, although the fogs switch off when high beams are on. Speaking of the fogs, I'm impressed with the wide and intense beam pattern of those little projectors, much better than other fogs I've used. However, I still give the nod to HID's on my other cars, especially in rain and fog.

 

I wonder if the Sylvania Siler Stars or any other aftermarket bulb would really make a difference. I wish that you could turn the parking lights on and have the fog light come on as well. I had a '97 Maxima before I got this and had a guy help me rewire the fog lights so they would come on with the parking lights, but I always felt uneasy about it. i don't really like messing with the electrical system. But if anybody has don this on the '03, I would be interested in hearing about it.

 

The fog lights are the heat too.

 

Do you mean they are bright? I don't get it?

 

I agree that the headlights are the brightest white I have ever had.

I thought about going HID, but I don't think the return on investment is worth it.

 

They (the fog lamps) are good.

 

Seeing as I've never used HIDs myself, how do our '03 headlights compare?

 

I had HID's in my explorer. I sold them because they were 9007 connectors. I honestly think they are worth the money, because the amount of light output is amazing. Even in rainy weather, you get much better light output. They also last for about 10 years, so you can easily sell them after you get rid of your car, or keep them for another car. I am planning on getting a set sometime within the next few months, just waiting on some money. I will post pictures when I install them though. As far as the lights in the 4 runner, they are nice and bright, but nowhere near HID's. I think the main difference (I may be wrong), is that this is the 4 runners have both low and high beams as seperate bulbs this year, which makes your brights seem brighter. Although I never had another 4 runner before this, so I could just be wrong on that.

 

As outstanding as the 4th Gen tungsten-halogens are, they can't hold a candle to genuine HID's (sorry, couldn't resist the analogy). It isn't just the quantity, but the quality of light that HID's produce that make them so effective in all conditions, but especially rain, fog and snow. I think HID's are the most significant lighting advancement in automotive history, they're that good. Also, a well-designed system like Toyota/Lexus has servo actuators connected to each suspension lower control arm that control servos in the headlamp assemblies. They automatically and independently adjust beam height 3-4X per second to avoid blinding oncoming drivers. It's one of those features that, once you've tried them, you'll always want them.

 

BT17R,

Did you install HID's in your 4th gen? Here in Japan Toyota told me it was not a factory option.

If you were to install them, what aftermarket brand would you choose for the 4th gen?

 

My 'Runner is stock = HIDless. From what little I've read about aftermarket HID's (the real kind with ballasts and all), it's a crapshoot. Of course, there are any number of fake HID-looking bulbs out there popular with the import crowd, but again from what I've read they wind up reducing visibility compared to the real deal.

 

From what I've read crapshoot is a good description.

Mine are plenty bright the way they are. I'll roll the dice for something else.

 

The stock bulbs are much better than average, but I replaced them with Philips Premium. They were the brightest I could find (stock + 30%) for 9005/9006 setups. Got them at http://www.autolamps-online.com. Price was somewhere around $34/pair and it took about a week for them to arrive.

 

Could you tell a difference between those and the stock bulbs?

 

I thought I saw a little bit of difference, but it wasn't nearly as dramatic as I thought or hoped. I put one in and turned on the lights, and it seemed to be a little bit brighter. (Then again, maybe I just want to believe they are brighter.)

Unfortunately, no photos to show you so you could compare them.

Would have preferred the Philips Vision Plus (supposedly stock + 50%), but they aren't made for 9005/9006. They made a dramatic difference on our Camry.

 

I agree that the '03 stock lights are extraordinary. In particular, the high beams both illuminate the road WAAAY ahead and also give excellent side coverage. Toyota really got this right. We have a 2000 BMW 5 series with factory HIDs. No way would I trade those for what came in the 4Runner, good though they may be.

On the "fog" lights, I have to respectfully disagree. I've owned a number of cars with fogs now, and have never found them to be worth turning on. This is true for the '03, AFAIC. They do nothing to improve useful illumination, either in good weather or in fog, and only serve to blind and anger oncoming drivers. I think Toyota tacitly admits this, as they can't be used by themselves, only with the low beams on.

The lighting puzzle on the '03s, to me, is the red reflector/light in the lower part of the rear bumper. Evidently, this is just a reflector. I wonder if this is fitted with a bulb and socket for the European market, to serve as a rear fog light? Anybody know?

 

khaug,

On my 03 Surf, Japanese, those are rear fog lights. They are actually pretty bright and I often use them when backing into my parking spot next to my Jet Ski.

 

The more I hear about Woodbert's SURF the more I want one over my '03... Rear foglamps, roll the windows down w/ the remote, the curb mirror...ect.

 

ok