The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

Good call! Only way to roll is legit oem… too much hassle hunting around for certified and if eBay is actually honest with you… just wasting money lol got some new ones and I’ll make these last as long as the beast lives

 

Or do what I did sand with 320, 400 & 600 w/ Damn & water. I then went to an automotive paint store and purchased a pint of 3M clear for $63 and paid a painter to shot the lights. Then just nib w/ 1000 & 2000 then polish. Funny but the plastic had weather checking on the inside of the plastic that wasn’t noticeable until the lights were painted. The painter told me he notices it a lot on plastic headlights. Excuse the missing front bumper it was being painted.

 

So you recommend the Philips Racing Vision +200s on a stock harness or the Osram Super Bright Premium H4 on the upgraded harness?

Have the Night Breakers taken the place of the Racing Vision +200s? Sorry, I am trying to decipher the many pages of this thread!

 

Nice... How long did they last after getting the Clear Coated?

Eww checking... I still have film on mine from 2011 that's falling apart. Might have to get a steam cleaner to get old film off...

 

Philips Racing Vision +200 have the best stock wattage low beam, if you don't mind reduced high beam performance.
Tungsram Nighthawk Xenon +120 have the best stock wattage low beam, without reducing the high beam performance. However the low beam isn't nearly as good as Racing Vision.
Osram Superbrights + harness have best low beam and best high beam, but requires the headlight harness.

I have not yet tested the new Night Breaker Laser +200 to see how they compare to the Philips bulbs. Philips Racing Vision +150 were better than Osram's Night Breaker Laser +150 though, so should be interesting.

 

IDK, I just had them painted.
Before I would sand them with 600, 1000, 2000 & 3000 then plastic polish with two different pads wool and foam. They wouldn’t make 4 to 6 months before having to polish again. The painter said as much clear as he sprayed the lights with they should last longer than the paint on the truck. He said he sprayed a few light coats than two heavy coats. I waited a week sanded them again and he sprayed them a second time. I have sanded them again but it’s been over a 106 every day for the last few weeks and this week it’s going to be 115 to 118 all week. I don’t have the heart to ask him to polish them in this heat. I have two sets posted for sale in the BST section & have the factory boxes to ship with but I really don’t want to ship them because they have weather checking in the plastic on the inside. One person may think no problem but the next may say WTF. So I rather let the buyer see them in person. Again I really don’t know but like the painter said they should last a long time. The factory just uses a very thin coat but we covered them in a lot of clear!
I also painted a set of 12-15 headlights but only sanded about 95% of the factory clear off. We thought it would blend but it didn’t. So they have “light hard water spots” in them. I will sand them down 100% again but I don’t like taking the front of the truck apart just to change the headlights again. Can’t really see the issue until the headlights are on at night.
Live & Learn

 

Looks great! I've restored mine using the mothers kit. They look good but dont last too long before looking blah again. would this help it last? https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rust-Oleum...hXGPf1aKPGb-fTAJRAxoCsEQQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
If not any other off the shelf recommendations.
Edit just found this searching https://www.walmart.com/ip/Meguiar-...So-o0KefThQa1nQnaCxoCejcQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Just wondering if I should give them another shot before shelling out $400 for new ones

 

My 06
Corolla was starting to yellow 3 years and ~100k miles after 2k clear on them. The new corolla is almost a year in and still looking fresh… it’s all in the prep

 

Thank you for the reply, sir!

 

Came here to catch up on the thread since I blew both low beams at the same time in the middle of a 1600 mile road trip last week… I had my old bulbs from the 1st gen with 8,800 miles (unknown hours) and stuck them in. I got home and looked yesterday and have no spares left and then saw that PowerBulbs isn't shipping to the US and I freaked out a little bit.
Good find, @Norton - I just ordered 6 bulbs for $35.

 

I just ordered 6 as well. Good price. Use code mobile10 to get 10% off your order.

 

@beardguy

There is a far cheaper and easier DIY to redo your headlights. Get Spraymax Glamour 2k Clear either on Amazon or some parts stores carry it also, usually about $20-$25 a can. It is a 2 part clear coat in a can, identical to 2 part automotive clear coats mentioned above. This is for the most part as permanent of a solution as you can get. Its more clear coat than your car's paint has from the factory and look how long that lasts. Plus it has a UV blocker so it should keep the plastic in great shape for life as well. I have done this to several headlights, one pair over 3 years ago (coming up on 4) on a car that is always outside, rarely washed and sees tons of gravel. Still looking great!

My process is

-Remove headlights, not needed but makes everything so much easier and no chances of overspray.
-2 drips of Dawn in a 32oz spray bottle with water. No more since you don't want the suds, just a light amount of cleaning and lubrication.
-Wet sand 340 grit until even. Use even, light pressure and avoid using your finger tips. You may do a dry sand first to removed your previous product.
-Wet sand 600 grit unit even
-Wet sand 800 grit until even....STOP, no need to sand any finer. The clear coat will fill the voids and since a plastic primer can not be used it needs as much mechanical adhesion as you can provide.
-Clean with Isopropyl Alcohol or Automotive Wax and Grease remover and inspect that the sanding is even.
-Spray a light tack coat of 2k clear and follow the instructions for re-application of the remaining coats. I generally get about 5-6 coats out of one can.
-If you get and runs or orange peel, don't worry. After it is all dry you can wet sand with 2000 grit until smooth, then 3000 grit and use a simple drill polisher and light compound to polish from there.

NOTE: Make sure you have EXTREMELY good ventilation and wear a mask. Auto grade clear coats are very bad for lungs!!!!!!

 

Wow that was, I fast got them today.

 

Just got my 6 osram super brights from bulb America. Order was placed on Tuesday. Highly recommended.

 

Same here - 6 arrived very quickly. They will be my new source.

 

Did upgrade awhile ago put just picked up the pro headlights . Modern Toyota was $204 each.


But shipping to Hawaii was $190


But still $100 cheaper than if picked up from my local . Nice thread OP

 

Ditto on the thanks! Just ordered two sets.

 

Still half the Canadian price if you can find ‘em. Havin’ no luck here. Think I’ll just refinish my old ones & call ‘er good.

 

Lost both low beams last night. I found the culprit. One of the prongs was burned off and stuck in the plug. I ordered two new Bosch relays. Plugged back in the stock wiring for now with some stocker bulbs. I wonder if this is what was causing my low beams to burn up so fast.

 

Yeah, I’ve been thinking about the unsealed relay design and not loving it. If you are interested I could swap you out for sealed relays. Just in case that appeals to you.

I have a negative switched harness with unsealed relays myself but no H4 to test it with yet.

Hit me up if you are interested. If you follow the DIR link in my signature you can see how the sealed relays look.