Let’s talk 7” headlights

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REZARF

REZARF

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Joined
Sep 8, 2003
Threads
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Location
Bozeman, MT
It’s now 2026. I’m hoping to get a handle on what is out there for the old 7” headlights. The lights on the 55 are a joke. I’ll likely bypass the OG wiring and upgrade the wiring harness for this to get max output. I view lighting as a safety thing as we have a ton of wildlife on the roads here in Montana and good lighting buys you time to slow down. The iron pig verses a bull elk or moose isn’t a fight I want to experience.

I have a set of Round Eyes H4’s in my 40 and they really are an improvement over stock. I also picked up a set of the Rigid 7” LED’s a while back off fleeBay but I haven’t installed them and I’m not crazy about the look. They have a bug eye effect and stick out past the mounting buckets a good bit. They’d take some fab to recess flush into the Toyota housing. They’re the older truck/speaker something… I can’t remember the name.

I have heard of the:
Cibies
Hellas
Even OEM

On Black Friday I bought (what I thought was) a set of the Holley LED headlamps… but it turned out it was only ONE not a pair and at $250 that’s a hard pass for me. Seem like great reviews but $500 for headlights is nuts.

It looks like Summit Racing picked up the Round Eyes 7” or at least it looks exactly like the RE version which are now discontinued/defunct.

@gonzopancho in the BATPIG is running a new LED conversion. How do you like those? I can’t remember the brand.

I’d like to go to an LED, only problem in Montana is the LED’s usually don’t have enough heat to keep the ice at bay in winter driving, but the 55 won’t see a ton of winter miles.

All that to say what’s out there in 2026!?

I’d like to keep it to $100/headlight… $200/pair.
 
RMS $189 for the pair.

gonzopancho

Build Post in thread '1978 FJ55 BATPIG'

Brighter eyes (RMS LED conversions). Has that "old skool cool" look but you can see at night.


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(These got moved to Pua’a when I took it to Jarbidge, but I’ll replace with same. They’re pretty nice.)
 
City Racer LEDs...

www.cityracerllc.com

LED Headlights for Land Cruiser FJ40 FJ55 - Set of 2

Set of 2 plug and play 7" round LED headlights for your Land Cruiser FJ40 and FJ55. Features: 6000K white light Instant on 50,000+ hours life span - That's 5.7 years IP67 rating - Tested for 1 meter of water immersion Low energy consumption - If you forget to turn off your lights, it will be...
www.cityracerllc.com

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OEM halogen in both by FJs
 
The only thing about the City Racer (and most other LED headlights) is that they look 'dark' when the light is off. BATPIG (BAT listing photo) had these originally. If memory serves, they're the Holly Retrobrights.

My 76 FJ40 has the City Racer ones (came that way, and I don't think it's worth changing.)

The LV has <someone's> LED headlights, but it's the same look.

In my experience, the LEDs will be brighter **BUT** if you live where the snow flies, they don't get hot, so they won't melt the accumulated snow/ice from the lens, so on a longer drive you'll need to get out and brush off the lens. Someone claims a patent on a heated lens (and Rivian filed another last year), but .. well, now you know as much as I do. Probably more, really.

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Last edited:
timmyisinthewell said:
Have you considered Toyota halogen lamp upgrade? I don't know how to add a link, but there was alot of discussion on these in the FJ40 forum. I bought two sets at the local dealer for $28 and change, including tax, for a set. I have no personal experience with their use, but they seemed right for the price.

View attachment 4059897
Click to expand...
Purchased two sets of these recently. Well priced!
 
gonzopancho said:
In my experience, the LEDs will be brighter **BUT** if you live where the snow flies, they don't get hot, so they won't melt the accumulated snow/ice from the lens, so on a longer drive you'll need to get out and brush off the lens. Someone claims a patent on a heated lens (and Rivian filed another last year), but .. well, now you know as much as I do. Probably more, really.
Click to expand...
Truck-Lite says they have a heated 7" LED headlight...

www.truck-lite.com

37 Series, LED, 7", Round, 6 Diode , Clear, Polycarbonate Lens, Hardwired, 12V|24V, High Beam and Low Beam, Heated , Direct LED Headlight

The TL 37 Series Direct LED Headlights, featuring a sturdy die-cast aluminum housing and a round, clear polycarbonate lens, provide a dual benefit of high and low beam patterns with 6 diodes for versatile illumination. With a heated lens option and compatibility with both 12V and 24V systems...
www.truck-lite.com www.truck-lite.com
 
greenbeast said:
Purchased two sets of these recently. Well priced!
Click to expand...
I have them on my pig; or had them on before I blew the pig into 500 parts. Now they are in a bus bin on the floor. 😂

They are a little different than OEM appearance wise but they are 10x better for visibility. For the extremely low price of entry to try them, you should really buy a set and move on in due course if you don't like them. I can assure you they are much better than what you currently have.
 
This is great info everyone, thank you.

I’m stoked to look into the Toyota conversion. I assume they’re an H4 conversion? Just a little more than a 100 series factory shock at $25 or something stupid cheap. Haha

I dig LED’s as they don’t stress the old wires as bad for the lumen output. I’ll check out the Brighter Eyes too. They fit the bill and to my eyes LED’s seem brighter.
 
I have a question concerning this topic, that has to do with wiring.
It seems like since the aftermarket LED headlights came on the scene, the thing to do was setup a couple relays. Maybe I’m getting this mixed up with another type of headlight?
The LED’s I bought have a max amp draw of 2.5 amps. It really doesn’t seem necessary to setup relays to power 2.5 amps, and the power coming straight off the switch with a 10 amp fuse or whatever would be more than enough?
 
RUSH55 said:
I have a question concerning this topic, that has to do with wiring.
It seems like since the aftermarket LED headlights came on the scene, the thing to do was setup a couple relays. Maybe I’m getting this mixed up with another type of headlight?
The LED’s I bought have a max amp draw of 2.5 amps. It really doesn’t seem necessary to setup relays to power 2.5 amps, and the power coming straight off the switch with a 10 amp fuse or whatever would be more than enough?
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t think you would need a relay.
 
LED no, the current doesn’t make an upgrade necessary.

However, bigger Halogen bulbs will tax your factory wiring without a good relay in place.

LED’s super power is its high output vs how much power they need to run.
 
Lots of people used the relay to get the power directly from the battery to the light, with the original switched circuit controlling the relay (which switched power to the headlights).

Then you don’t have (anywhere near) the voltage “drop” of the OEM setup.

Most aux lights are wired this way.

This technique was adopted for high current halogen bulbs.
 
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