Custom HeadLights.. Yay or Nay??

[NVR ENUF]

H1 55w= 1550 lumens $216
9006=1000 lumen

Ahhh, no wonder these lights are brighter than the OEM's. I didn't try the all powerful 9011 HIR but at 2500 lumens, I bet they kick ass!
I just know that I was sick of the weak lighting I had so I first added the PIAA Driving Lamps which gave me all the light I needed. These really kick ass but sometimes folks think I have the brighties on and flash me. When these new lights came out, I was excited to upgrade the old look of the OEM's. I can now drive around w/o the PIAA's on. Btw, I wasn't only looking for brighter lights but also to give the rig an updated look. Those old OEM's remind me of the lights on my Dad's old El Camino! My E350 also has projectors and I will compare the two next to eachother as I know MB wouldn't put cheap lighting and btw, China has come a long way from before and these new lights do look nice but I guess time will tell. If they are cheap, I will just add an HID conversion kit for it cause I know I will never put the OEM's back on. I like the projector look much, much better! Everyone has their own taste or else we'd all be driving the same frickin' rig! I may just add also that the PIAA's use H3 bulbs and they are "NOT" fog lamps and as I mentioned before, they are bright, Bright, BRIGHT!!! Not sure what bulbs I have in these new lights but as I mentioned before, they do have the xenon appearance so they are most likely the blue bulbs.

Mot, thanks for the offer on the LED tail lights. Gotta see where my finances are after I buy some parts from CDan first. Also, is shipping gonna be that much like that ebay seller? Btw, are these the same EURO Lights you posted a while back?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TOYO...ryZ33710QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[IdahoDoug]

That is quite the fractured beam pattern, and it's not something I'd like to drive behind. I've had all manner of lights and those areas of harsh light with sharp fractured cutoffs with odd dark gaps look like the pattern didn't come out as intended. Driving down the road, the multiple edges would create a distracting effect as the areas of light and dark bounce up and down an object, or light up a sign then bounce past it and then light it up again. The truck certainly looks different and makes a styling statement, but I would not accept such uneven lighting (hot spots, dark spots, etc) in exchange.

Also, being "brighter" definitely does not correlate to a set of lamps being "better" in terms of driving behind them. You can brighten an existing pattern to the degree that rain, snow and fog reflect back very dangerously, or inadvertently punch up the light hitting the road close to the car and degrade your ability to see further down the road. There are a lot of ergonomic concerns that go into lighting.

I'll agree with Cary that upgrading to quality bulbs in the 80s already excellent beam patterns resulted in a terrific improvement in useable lighting on the road. More power in the same factory designed pattern, preserves the high quality OEM glass lenses with vents and stout vibration free mounting, and Toyota quality assembly means years of trouble free motoring. Toss in the high beam HIR upgrade and you've got a killer system with zero mods.

On the "Fog light" discussion above. The projectors being suggested as fogs are actually a PES system which stands for a PolyEllipsoid System pioneered in Germany by Bosch for BMW. Rather than a lense (traditional) shaping the beam pattern, or the reflector (modern CAD designs w/ clear lenses) shaping it, an elliptical feature called a "mask" does the job of beam shaping. These PES lamps can serve well as low beams, fog beams, driving beams and cornering beams. The only thing they don't do well are high beams, which place an emphasis on placing as little as possible between the bulb and the air in front of your car.

So, while I like the unique appearance of this system, if the pattern shown on the wall is representative of the low beam I'd have to say it is a fractured and schizophrenic lighting pattern I would not want to drive behind when you really need good lighting. Such as an all night run across Montana, or to get home from the lake in the boonies while pulling a trailer. I'd get eyestrain watching that geometric pattern bounce all over the place.

 

[NVR ENUF]

Excellent info, ID!

I guess that's why the high beams in these new lights are not projectors like the low beams. I was wondering why so and now I know!
As for the fracture on the light beam, I thought the top of the grille guard caused that? Maybe someone else who has these lights w/o a grille guard could also show pics of their beam and see if they share this same pattern? I do like the overall light that I'm getting now and see much better from the OEM's before(of course they didn't have the upgraded HIR bulbs), but if needed, the PIAA's will come back on in sticky situations.

 

[mot]

Time to install yet another set of headlights for comparison, maybe:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=82714&highlight=euro+headlight

If you haven't checked it out you might want to, even just to see the light pattern difference between OEM LHD (US) and OEM RHD (JDM).

Mot

 

[NVR ENUF]

I just went to inspect what type of bulb these lights do indeed have and like Sage Fly said, these are definitely H1 bulbs and not H3's like Cody keeps bringin' up. Even if they came with cheapies, not hard or expensive to replace them with better brand bulbs later on. And for those still oblivious that H3's are only for fog lamps, they still give more lumens(1450) than the regular OEM bulb(1000).

 

[NVR ENUF]

9011 HIR swap on the low beams = 2500 lumens and $60

Cary - Being that bright, don't oncoming traffic flash you from being blinded by all that light? My PIAA's put out 1450 lumens and I get flashed often to the point where I have them angled downward as possible to quit pissin' off oncoming traffic. I'm glad I don't have to use them anymore.

 

[FirstToy]

There are at least 3-4 horizontal bars and 2 large vertical uprights blocking the light in NVR ENUF's photos. The garage door is right in front of the lights- I think this is causing some pattern irregularity in the photos.

Mot quoted me around $500 for these same lights awhile ago so these look like a good deal to me.
Only problem is with the LX450, I have to add the expense of a LC grille into the equation.

NVR ENUFF, if you modify your LX450 grill, take some detail pics to see how it fits- thanks... and take off the brushguard!

 

[NVR ENUF]

FirstToy - If I don't modify the grille, I would like to add a grille like those ones LX_XTREME posted. Those are sweet and they don't have the Lexus or Toyota emblem on them.

 

[cary]

Excellent info, ID!

As for the fracture on the light beam, I thought the top of the grille guard caused that? Maybe someone else who has these lights w/o a grille guard could also show pics of their beam and see if they share this same pattern?

The fracturing of the beam is not a result of damage multiplier. That sharp of a cutoff is a direct result of the design of the lamp. Any interference from those little bars would have a dimming effect, but not a sharp cutoff.

 

[cary]

Cary - Being that bright, don't oncoming traffic flash you from being blinded by all that light? My PIAA's put out 1450 lumens and I get flashed often to the point where I have them angled downward as possible to quit pissin' off oncoming traffic. I'm glad I don't have to use them anymore.

There is much more to light than lumens. How blinding lights are to drivers coming towards you is a direct function of the beam pattern and quality, bulb brightness is only a factor in it. You could blind an on-coming driver with a 500 lumen lamp, while you will find that the HID fixtures with good projectors and self leveling on new cars like the BMW's, Lexus, and Acura, are among the least blinding, yet they are kicking out 2800 lumens in fixtures that are more than 50% efficient (compared to ours that are in the 30 something % range).

 

[IdahoDoug]

I also disagree the light pattern is from an obstruction. The edges and angles don't match the bumper guard.

My experience has been that the HIR bulbs don't get me flashed - a testament to the factory beam pattern's shape and the ability of the HIR bulb maker to get the filament in the exact spot the factory bulb put it. It's really an excellent upgrade - one of those things that seems too good to be true until you experience it. I've got around 40,000 miles of driving them between my two HIR-equipped 80s.

DougM

 

[firetruck41]

I just went to inspect what type of bulb these lights do indeed have and like Sage Fly said, these are definitely H1 bulbs and not H3's like Cody keeps bringin' up. Even if they came with cheapies, not hard or expensive to replace them with better brand bulbs later on. And for those still oblivious that H3's are only for fog lamps, they still give more lumens(1450) than the regular OEM bulb(1000).

FYI- the Daniel Stern Lighting chart, recommends you do not use the overwatt/high wattage H1 bulb in a plastic housing. Standard is 55w.

 

[NVR ENUF]

H1's are 55 watts.

 

[CodyRx7]

My quote did say H1, the picture says H3 and I didn't even notice that til now.

Either way, they are junk bulbs and housings. If you want the ricer look for your 80, the lights are perfect for you.

If you want function they're terrible.

These lights are also known for how much they like to suck in dust and water....not exactly what you want on an offroad truck....but perfect for Starbucks.

 

[NVR ENUF]

So BMW's are ricers too for having halo's? So they had these same type projectors for your Honda when you were a ricer? What made them go bad? Was it the bulb or the actual housing? I've got 2mos on my bulbs so I should expect them to burn out next month, according to you. Obviously, you have been burned enough that you've learned your lesson so I'll report any changes with the lights as well since it's not a big deal to me. I tried them out and so far, so good. Better lighting and better looks IMO. Obviously, not yours!

 

[CodyRx7]

I never mentioned the Halo part - I said the lights themselves are cheap - and if you're just in it for looks, congrats, you got some different looking lights.

Don't confuse them with any type of nice quality or compare them to OEM, or BMW grade lighting.

I'm in Northern AZ. Just about every vehicle out here with ebay headlights or taillights has moisture inside from carwashes or dust inside from any driving on a dirt road which is common around here.

Pictures of the light output on a garage about 10ft away doesn't show the light output on the road.

I'm sure I'm not wrong in assuming your truck doesn't see much offroading anyways in "SoCal" with the damage multiplier, low mounted Autozone PIAAs, running boards and stock LTX tires...so you'll probably never have to deal with it.

You win. Your lights are the coolest lights ever. Yay!

 

[NVR ENUF]

You win. Your lights are the coolest lights ever. Yay!

Thanks!

Don't confuse them with any type of nice quality or compare them to OEM, or BMW grade lighting.

You make some valid points and I myself question the quality of the lights too before I bought them. Usually, OEM's are better but we're talking about a 10yr old lamp vs a modern style lamp. Like I mentioned before, I was looking for a more modern look anyhow as in today's vehicles. Having bought two vehicles recently and seeing how much better the lighting was than the rig, I wanted to make a change. Even the cheap E machines pc's are much better than your top-of-the-line Dell ten year's ago. The brightest light I've seen so far are the ones in our 06' Jetta. It blows the projector lights the E350 has away!

 

[mot]

Just an F.Y.I., but they usually recommend you caulk any aftermarket lenses they sell in Japan for increased chance of water/moisture protection.

I've installed a couple of different headlights for the 80 and I know how excited I was with them.

So I know how you must feel with your new lights.
For me adding some new parts/accessories to an old (to me) rig usually makes me fall in love with the vehicle all over again.

Enjoy your lighting whatever you have and report back with long-term reports (getting flashed, glare in fog/rain, lense getting cloudy, or the projectors crapping out).

Mot

 

[61ihc]

Could you tell me if the lights have DOT/SAE stamped anywhere on the lense? This way those of us that are getting harrassed here in BC with our JDM's have cheaper alternatives. Thanks.

 

[CSA]

Just because a piece of crap made in China has a DOT/SAE stamp on it does not mean it is DOT/SAE approved. It just means its a piece of crap made in China with a DOT/SAE stamp on it.