I want some HID bulbs, but I'm worried about them burning out all the time or not giving me enough light, what's the skinny on them? I want to avoid really exspensive ones, my lights work pretty good now, would like a bit more output/broader beam, but it's not worth more than $60 or so to me.

 

well for that money you won't even get a bulb. I think you mean the fake HID's. The real retrofits go for 300+ ...good ones are about 450 i think. Those have a very long life. I plan on putting a retrofit kit in my 03 soon. If you wnat something brighter, i think there were some threads about brighter halogens that you can get. I know the silverstars are brighter than stock, but I think there are better ones out there.

 

Jesus....well in that case I just want better bulbs, I guess? What can I do for a brighter/wider beam? Would the fake hids do it?

 

for $300+ you might as well just add a light bar and a couple Warn 500's, that'll pretty much light the walkway.

 

Well what can I do for $60? Anything? If not, that's okay...I've never had any HUGE problems with the stock lights....

 

 

What are those?? HIDs or fakes or what? How is the output compared to stockers?

 

just get sylvania silverstars, $30-$40 a pair, clean white beam, not blue, reliable.

 

There is NO SUCH THING as a aftermarket HID bulb, only a HID conversion kit which from what little I know about it is a expensicve hassle that may or may not be available for runners. There are however HID imitation bulbs which attempt to imitate the look of the HID's. But dont trust them, my PIAA super whites just burned out this week, I replaced them with my stock bulbs.

 

i have real HIDs and they are so so worth the money...the whole street lights up....i can never by a non HID car or truck again...there are h4 HID kits out there..there is never a "4runner" kit...its plug and play....stock plug to balast and balast to HID bulb that is made to fit into a H4 socket... no cutting no mess

 

Do a search on the Sylvania Silverstars. They are brighter than stock and don't have that harsh glare. Don't expect miracles, but there is a noticeable difference. As ALee27 said, about $30-40/pair at most auto parts stores. I paid $40 and mailed in a $10 rebate.

 

haha, I spent 20 bucks at walmart for some sylvania's. they are brighter and whiter than the stock ones but they aren't as blinding as the 75-450 buck ones. they aren't hid's. they work for me and when I hit the brights, it is noticeably brighter than the stocks I had.

 

Well that's good, I can spend $30 for an improvement over stock. To tell you the truth SOME of those HID type bulbs are really annoying to me when other people have them (the high glare factor) so I'd prefer to be gentle on other people's eyes anyway.

 

I have been doing some research on HIDs.

For everything you want to know on HIDs click this link:

http://www.intellexual.net/hid.htm


J-Spec posted this eariler.

 

The sylvania fake HIDs are $50 locally...I asked if they'd pricematch to $40....they laughed at me, they said you'll never get gen-u-wine HIDs like this for anything even close to $50. I said okay fine, do you carry rotors , yes, of course they do...60 a piece, I asked what kind and he wouldn't tell me. He said they were OE spec. The pads were 35 each, no lifetime warranty. I didn't even ask the brand. This was at Advanced Auto Parts. I am never going back, they clearly don't know their stuff and those prices are whack. I wish I had an auto zone around here :cry:

 

I just put Silverstars in a couple weeks ago, definitely noticeable difference, more "white" than yellow. Think I paid about 60.00 (guess I should have gone to Walmart???). PIAA also puts out several different sets of bulbs that are much higher in intensity than OEM lights. I think both PIAA and Sylvanie approach the intensity, but do not match HID, but are a whole lot cheaper. I think with Silverstars and some crystal clear lenses (check out Jason Burtman's site, the new clear lenses on 99 and newer 4-runners are compatible on the older ones (I think?)) would do the trick. I think my lenses need to be adjusted though, with the new bulbs I get flashed a bit, people think I've got my high beams on! I guess that means there must be some difference, since I only changed bulbs, not lense positioning?

 

I know I could easily look this up somewhere, but what silverstars would a 2nd gen need? I believe it is the 9007/HB5 (55 watt / 65 watt), but I could be mistaken?

 

Shoot, I'm not sure- I know the 3rd gens use HB4's. Best bet is to just look in the book when you run to the parts store, they'd be able to tell you.

 

Well after going to AAP and being all pissed at them, I decided I'd order online. suvparts.com has them for $40...plus $10 rebate = $30. That's roughly half what AAP wanted. I'll check my repair manual and find out...

 

dude, go to NWOR's site and order one of their catalogs. they have rotors and all kinds of schidt that is better than that cracker jack stuff. don't go cheap on the toyota, treat it well and it'll treat you well. everyone here will agree with me on that.