Workwise, how much will this take? Can I do it with 1 arm and 1 leg? or do i have to take it to the shop...

oh yea, and I have little experience in regards to this stuff...

 

First, HID in the 4Runner is a bit limited because HID bulbs cannot do Hi/Lo beams in one (a la 9004 and H4 Bulb). So you're stuck on low beams all the time. This isnt that bad because the lighting is soo much better.
Second, Here's and install on a Lexus With some basic knowlege gained from the tech section here, you should be able to pull this off. These thing run like flouecent lights, takes a spike of power to get the gas glowing, then just 35W to keep it running.

Third, buy one for me too

*edit* 92-96 Runners use 9004 bulb, 97-up use H4.

Chart showing Lumens vs Kelvins and color temp

 

[QUOTE=4x4Fink]Shoot...does that mean I should have gotten my Hella 500's in yellow versus white??? Oh well...
[QUOTE]


How about one of each? Or even better one set of each. Maybe some yellows hanging low and some clears up top?

As for the HID cost, I believe a full Phillips system was 750-900$. Systems with various bits of Phillips componenets can get down towards 4-500$. I believe someone on the board has a HID kit for sale from a group buy some time ago. Try PMing Macgyver

 

For that much scrilla I'd just do the '99+ headlamp swap;too rich for my bank account.

 

I can't believe more of you haven't heard of the Hella Yellowstars. So here is the deal. My buddy and I were heading up to Mt. Bachelor for a weekend of snowboarding so I ordered a set of the 55/60 for my truck we decided to take his instead so we put the bulbs in his. He was so impressed with them he bought them off me and I ordered a set of 70/80 for my replacements. I also added the piaa ion crystal corner bulbs to make the whole front end match.

The 70/80 seem to be a fair amount brighter and a good deal more yellow but that could also be the different style of headlights between the 1999 and 2002 tacoma.

All I have to say is I'll never buy the blue headlights again! Where I live and the things I do for fun I need to see the road and sometimes it ain't all that easy.

I also want to add some piaa 525's to the front end of the truck anybody have any of those?

 

So, I take it you havn't been hassled by the cops about this?

Does any one know if it is actually illegal to have yellow headlights?

 

No I have not been hassled by the cops yet. I am not sure about the legality but I have driven passed several cops and no one has pulled me over yet. All I would have to say is being safer illegal? Even if it was a ticket it would just be a fix it ticket, pull the bulbs, and have it dropped, then put them back in again. the system!

 

I have the h4 dual beam which is high and lows. I am not stuck with just low beam H.I.D.'s and that temperature reading of K is wrong, because mine are bluish purple at 4200k. The entire setup ran me $650 since they were the dual beams.

 

Here's how the hi/low HID's work


OR

 

Can you send me this info on where to get these hid lights for my 97runner, thanks!!!!

 

Retrofit HID kits (ie putting an HID bulb into a halogen headlamp) are now illegal. All of the websites that used to sell kits like that have pulled them and will not sell them anymore. If you already have one like I do, they will sell a replacement bulb but they will not sell the kits anymore. You may be able to find them on Ebay or something, but I doubt it. Too much liability for the vendors. Keep in mind that if you do get pulled over and the cop knows about the law change, he can and will write you a ticket for it. The other drawback to the retrofit HID kits is the bulb life. They just don't last long. Ususally it's around 2000-2500 hours. I did not disable my DRLs before installing my HID kit and one of the bulbs burned out rather quickly (5-6 months). I haven't bought a replacement bulb for it yet and I don't know if I'm going to. I may just keep the Silverstars in there.

Matt

 

BTW, if you look at my pictures you can see what a retrofit HID kit looks like when lit up at night. Pretty awesome, but I can see why they made them illegal because they do tend to blind on coming drivers. Stock HID kits (like on Lexus, Acura, etc) have a lamp housing designed to accommodate an HID bulb. These housings focus the light instead of scattering it like our halogen housings do. A lot of these luxury cars with HIDs also have headlamps that auto-level themselves as you drive so that you don't blind on coming traffic.

Matt

 

Could this be because of the lower voltage that the DRL's provide? Or is it simply inherant of the bulb. Also, what do those bulbs cost?

 

just FYI, I have some babble online about the bulbs I switched to:

http://www.midiwall.com/4Runner/hl.html


I'd agree that white bulbs aren't too helpful in the rain, but then I just kick on my LightForce 170's and don't have an issue.

 

I guess the best thing is probably change your headlight housing to the newer 99 model headlight. THat was what I did and it is definatelly brighter. You can probably get some good deal off Ebay. THere is another option you wanna try, put a higher wattage bulb in your headlight. I am not talking about those fake hid bulb selling for $40++. I am currently running the Hella 100/80 H4 and they are very bright, much brighter than those piaa so called "hid" bulb. And they are pretty cheap too, I believe I paid not more than $7 per bulb. But you have to upgrade your factory wiring to do so otherwise your factory wire harness might melt.

 

How easy is it to switch over to the 99+ headlight models?
Thanks

 

Basically it is pretty straight forward. There are just a couple screws that you need to unscrew and unplug some clips from the front grill. You do not need to do any mod at all. Good luck believe me you gonna like it!!!

 

Since we are the topic, I know that 99+ lens is glass, but what about the housing?
What's a safe wattage to run?

 

Will they still sell them in Canada? (HID's)