nsfour

Hi Yota fans!

I'm new to this forum and I've just got my 2000 4Runner last week. Want to get some of your opinions.

As mine is a SR5 which doesn't come with fog lights. So I'm wondering what options do I have in the market which fits the existing hole on the bumper. And which might be better/brighter than the factory fog lights.

I've seen the following stuffs available online

Hella Micro DE (Performance Parts)
Hella Micro Xenon DE HID
Pilot

Has anyone tried any of the above?

Thanks a lot in advance

Rollindamud

If you check the classifieds you might find some. There are alot of good deals in there

nsfour

any personal recommendations you can give me? appreciate for your quick response

2001Millrunner

It doesnt make a difference as far as brand. Factory projector fog dont have much output anyways. Important thing is mounting, if you can find proper mounting for the unit then you're okay. Factory Hellas are basically crap IMH, my projector cracked and broke in half inside of the housing due to heat. If i had a choice, I'd get the pilots and spend the rest of the dough for another set to mount.

nsfour

Thanks 2001Millrunner for your advice. Have you ever heard someone installing the CATZ JDM XSL HYPERWHITE DRIVING LIGHT ? Is that a good fit of the factory bumper holes? Any one knows?

Rick F.

If you intend to use them AS fog lights, then the Hella Micro DE's are decent and the kits aren't hard to install. You can also modify the lamps by replacing the standard 55 watt H3 bulbs with higher wattage bulbs (not recommended) or with other temperature bulbs. I have Hella Yellowstar 55 watt H3's in mine and it addes some contrast. Just remember that fogs aren't driving lights and are to provide a short, wide pattern with less glare.

MeinPappa

I have the Hella Micro DE lights installed on my 04 Tacoma. Their wiring kit makes installation real easy - took me about an hour. I also modified the wiring so I could turn them on independent of the headlamps - this way I could keep them on by themselves or when using either high or low beams. These lights really work well to fill in under your headlamps.

2000Runner

So it sounds like the Micro DE has some good and bad sides, but it is also the only kind which fits my runner the most without paying the factory price.

Then is performanceproducts.com the only place to get them?

Poor A$$ Stock '93

First off I assume that you are looking for "auxillary lights" not "fog lights." True fog lights are generally yellow which is the area of the spectrum in which the human eye can best see details and helps reduce glare off of the water molicules in the air and offer very minimal benefit in normal conditions. Auxillary lights are just added lights to help you see better in all situations and/or just annoy the hell out of the rest of us when people insist on leaving them on when they aren't needed.

In my opinion the lights that you are looking at are rediculously priced and serve no purpose but to drain your wallet in a hurry. The amount of light output depends more on the size of the reflector then anything else. A small light is just that, small. The majority of the time a cheap $50 set of 55w lights are all you need and will give you 90% of the performance of an $800 set of the same physical size. You should be able to find a set that fits fairly well in the stock locations.

I do a lot of highway driving and have to keep a sharp eye out for large critters (deer, moose, bear, etc.). I run 80/100w conversion headlights and four 6" 130w Procomps, all of which combined costs less then half of those dinky little lights that you are loooking at.

My opinion is that if you are restriced by the size of the factory mounting holes then you don't really need more light anyway. Just my opinion though.

nsfour

Thanks for your opinion, you're so right that tiny little light honestly won't make any difference.

BikKat

I also have a 2000 4Runner SR5, I installed the Factory Fog kit from Conicelli on the Net, last year January. They worked great for about a year and I noticed the right side fog was burnt out. I took the bulb out and noticed that there was lots of moisture and some white residue from something arching. So I sent an email to Hella and they said that I could send them back as they had a one year warrenty. What I found out is that Toyota's placement of the Hella DE fog lights in a non-protected area as they are was not recommended. So I reinstalled the new lights that were sent to me and I placed a section of 2" of Mountain Bike intertube over the lights where the bulb access is on the back. I am going to go back and seal them up with some type of sealant to keep the water out for good. The lights work great in bad weather and help light the sides of rual highways in Missouri.

I think the Hella Micro DE HID driving lights that are ~$600 would be a better match for what I want, but who in their right mind would pay that much for some little 2" round lights? :-)

SLG

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Hella 500 fogs or driving lights, cheap but a whole lotta light for the $$$, easy to install on the bumper

MeinPappa

The lights I have are the Hella Micro DE's, not the HID's - and they still work great. I'll try and take some pics and post them.

I paid about $100 through Expedition Exchange (https://www.expeditionexchange.com/hella/). I don't know how this compares as I can't locate the Hella Micro DE's on www.performanceproducts.com.

nsfour

Here is the Hella Micro DE on Performanceparts.com

http://www.performanceproducts.com/P...producttype=20

Thanks

Rick F.

Hella had a design specifically for Toyoat which they admit deteriorated rapidly, despite their protest to Toyota to change the design (as told to me by a Hella design engineer). Hella sent me a pair of projectors (free of charge in 2002) which look identical to the old rusted ones. These have lasted and haven't given me any problems.

If you want fog lights and can afford to install something that belnds in with your 'Yota, then go for the Micro DE's. But most other non-OEM type lamp will work, of course. The Micro DE's have a bad rap due to the old design and I couldn't tell you how to ensure you'd get the new design.

INsr5runner

MY micro DE's crapped out within 6 months of use. Water gets inside them, and corrodes them. At least that's what used to happen to them back in '00 when I got my rig. I remember other people having the same problems back then.

I don't know if they have changed the design or not since then though.
I do have Hella 500's now, and I LOVE them. They were cheap, and have taken a decent beating and still work great. I would suggest these unless you are dead set on something that looks factory.

jimbob

you should check out this site - its the cheapest i've seen the micro de. look ~halfway down the page and you'll find the 4runner kit for ~$160.

http://www.rallylights.com/hella/Mic...p#Micro_DE_HID

cheers!