Headlights

My headlights are not bright enough to drive properly on dark roads. What changes should I make to improve them, or what new ones should I get

 

theretrofitsource.com do a complete retro if you can afford it night and day difference.

Cheap route order some new headlights off of ebay and get some sylvanias and deal with the stock halogens.

Whatever you do dont get plug and play HIDS

 

Stock lights, working properly, should be bright enough. Have you identified the specific problem? Lens turned brown? Burned out bulb on one side? Bad ground?

 

I used Armorall lens resoration kit; works great, lenses look like new. Try that before anything else.

 

Or $30 per light for the whole unit on rockauto.com

That's what I did and its a vast improvement.

 

Restoration kits are a losing battle and waste of money. Buy the new light housing is best bet.

 

X50. No matter how many times I restored mine they still never looked or worked good. Not sure why I waited so long to get new ones.

 

I had mine professionally restored for $40. Well worth it. Still looking good and a 2 year warranty.

 

New replacements are very cheap on ebay. I bought a set in 2010 and they are still crystal clear.

 

The lamps do lose their intensity as they age if they don't burn out.
The old sealed beams from the 60s would... unfortunately... last forever.
Buddy was on the freeway ahead of me by maybe a quarter mile and he was able to ID my '67 Chevelle from that distance in the mass of SoCal traffic.

 

Installed these, 03, 165,000 DC....

My lights had that yellow/orange appearance, now they are white...

 

Depends on the restoration. I restore headlights professionally and they have lasted over 3 years. It is all in the process. The DIY restoration kits are garbage, yes, but a professional restore job will last.

 

That may be true and I would definitely consider restoration if we were talking about an expensive car... but it doesn't make sense to do it when you can buy brand new for pretty much the same price. It took about 7 years for my OEMs to start looking bad and new ones are going to last the life of the vehicle for most owners.

 

You're not going to buy OEM 2nd Gen headlights for the price of a professional restoration.
You might get a pair of Depos, but not OEM. Toyota gets close to $300 each for them.

 

The OP has a 1st gen, it would probably best help him if we stay on topic. Plus, I'm not talking about buying OEM... you would have to be a complete idiot to buy OEM headlights for $600 on a 15 year old truck. Sometimes OEM is better and sometimes it isn't any different. In this case, it is all the same crap plastic. The are $55 new DOT approved (non-OEM but who cares) with free shipping on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Pair-Se...fits=Model:Tacoma&hash=item35cabaa74f&vxp=mtr

 

There is a big difference.
I put a set of Spyder OEM replacements on my wife's Rav4 and the pattern is shit. The left side cutoff is good, but the right side is a 45 degree scatter that blinds drivers in the next lane. It would be good for spotting deer... IF the pattern were consistent, but it's not... it's more like a disco-ball effect.
I'm retrofitting her with a true projector system and upgrading to HID.

Depo is a decent manufacturer and has a pretty good pattern, but you can't say that there's no difference between OEM and eBay housings. At this point, after my recent experiences with both Depo and TYC, I would not buy anything other than Depo or OEM. Sad, because the TYC Elegante used to be a good housing, but they've gone the way of Spyder.

And I agree that Toyota housings are insanely expensive.

Note: "DOT" on the lens doesn't mean anything. That is simply the manufacturer's claim that it meets DOT standards... there is no testing lab that certifies that. 10 years ago, APC got spanked over their clear "Altezza" taillights because at the time, there were no lamps available that could produce the proper red for taillights behind a clear lens.

 

My truck had a fender bender before I bought it, so it has 1 aftermarket "Depo" headlight, and one OEM headlight. The Depo light looks better than the faded and cloudy OEM light, but it is not as bright as the OEM light. Yes, they have the same bulbs, and I have cleaned the OEM light with 3M Headlight Resto stuff. It looks like ass but performs better than the nicer looking aftermarket piece. I was going to buy one more Depo light so they'd match, but now I'm thinking I'll just scrounge the Pick&Pull for an OEM unit instead. I don't really give a shit how it looks, as long as they perform the way they should.