I ended up getting a great deal on a pair from a guy that I went to High school with. He works at a body shop down the street and was able to pull some strings and get them for a little more than the aftermarket ones.

 

ah which mean I am going to have to look for a good deal...
bummer....
congrats though!!!
Can't wait to see some pics!!

 

The JDM headlamps are the same as those sold in NorthAm, except that the side spray beam pattern is on the left side because it is RHD in Japan. So when you use it in a LHD country, you get a lot of complaints from oncoming traffic plus you don't get to have the side spray beam on the pedestrian side (right side).

 

That makes since.

 

I bought my clear signals and corners from ebay as a package for $45 shipped.
Obviously the quality isn't quite OEM but for the price they can't be beat. Mine have been on my Runner for over two years and no fogging issues or leaks whatsoever.

 

As Roy said,
If the lights are really JDM, the beam pattern would light up the left side of the road, thus are illegal in North America. (I am a little sensitve now, as I just got pulled over for having a headlight out)

Any time I see "JDM" on ebay, I get suspicious (yes, there are lots of true JDM parts, but there are also so many people that just use "JDM" just for marketing junk).

I also got corners off ebay cheap. Used them for 4yrs (no issues) until a rock broke a hole in one of them - just picked up a new pair this summer (again on ebay).

tdk

 

Those lights aren't JDM,they are custom ones painted by somebody and labeled JDM. 4Runners in Japan have the same headlamps as we get.

 

I'm considering buying some 99-02 style headlights off of ebay, but I'm wondering if the lenses are glass like OEM or plastic? I can get them for $180 shipped off of ebay, or I could pay $320 (plus shipping) from Burtman... I want the clear ones, not black, and I would like them to be as close to OEM as possible, but over $300 is pretty steap for me...

 

Oh and one more thing... Is there a big difference in the beam pattern and/or projected light from the old '96-'98 style to the '99-'02 style? I would love the newer style for the aesthetics alone, but I'd imagine they'd perform better...

 

I've never read that they were plastic from buyers and I'm pretty sure they are glass but be sure of course.

 

The 99-02 will give about a 15% improvement for night driving. They are made better and put more light on the road. Shoot me a PM or email about these lights.