Badly, severely want to have better headlights.

[Vince]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and want to thank anyone ahead of time for providing information. I have a 2000, 4wd, SR5 extend-a-cab. 145,000 miles and still very happy with it, except the headlights. Have always hated the headlights, can't see well enough to drive by at night at least as safely as I would like. Have tried the Sylvania halogens which didn't really add any light (probably because my lens fragments it too much. So, I am looking for proven results from others who have install aftermarket headlights. Looking for percentage of increase sight capabilities and such. Not just "here something you might try" but proven working "yep, this is what works". Keeping in mind I want to keep oncoming traffic safe as well, I'm sure I could bolt on a spotlight and melt the snow and cut the fog in front of me as I go but you have to fiddle with those things as you drive. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[toyotafan]

Hey Vince,

Do you think it's a question that the lights are not hitting the ground properly or they're just not bright enough? I've gone to the Sylvania Ultra Halogens and they did just fine by me. http://compare.ebay.com/like/350151037775?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

 

[Vince]

Thank you for the reply, I had the truck in the toyota shop a couple of times to check the direction of the lights and they assured me that they were adjust properly. I also had them change the angle around some to see if it would help.

 

[Loves2Ride]

Is your eye-sight normal? You could have poor night vision, which could be creating the difficulty with driving at night and the headlights. I have family members who have super bright headlights on their vehicles, but still have difficultly seeing properly at night.

 

[Vince]

Is your eye-sight normal? You could have poor night vision, which could be creating the difficulty with driving at night and the headlights. I have family members who have super bright headlights on their vehicles, but still have difficultly seeing properly at night.

Eyesight is fine, I can crawl into my wifes car (avalon) and have no problem at all with the headlights. I wish my truck worked nearly as good. I had hopes that someone out there knew of a product (headlight) that worked better for that vehicle but I guess I'll keep living with it. I'm not the only one with the issue, I've heard others complain as well and hoped to come across a solution.

Thanks for the reply

 

[tbplus10]

I've heard complaints a few times that the headlights on these trucks arent as bright as they could be.
A good friend of mine had issues with the lights on his 2003, after troubleshooting we discovered the voltage to the headlights was low, almost half of what we thought it should read.
The solution we used was to make a new wire harness that routed power from the battery to the headlights via a relay mounted on the inner fender using 4ga wire with the switching wire from the relay being the only wires going to the switch in the cab, we tapped into the factory wires to the switch itself as our new switching wire to cut down on running more wires through the firewall and so we wouldnt have to rewire all the lights on the truck.
Factory uses 8 or 10ga that runs from the battery to the switch to the headlights, lots of room for voltage drop especially running power through the switch.

We reused the connectors for the headlights but if you search on line theres a couple places that sell new connectors designed to take larger gauge wire.
Just make sure when setting up the relay you choose one that has more than sufficient amperage for your lights.

 

[toyotafan]

Is your eye-sight normal? You could have poor night vision, which could be creating the difficulty with driving at night and the headlights. I have family members who have super bright headlights on their vehicles, but still have difficultly seeing properly at night.

This is actually a very valid point! My wife has horrible night-vision and she doesn't like to drive at night unless she's on a well-lit street with streetlamps and/or there's a full moon, etc.

 

[toyotasrule]

I'm all about getting stronger headlights. I want to be just under the level where I'm blinding people who are coming at me.

 

[Loves2Ride]

I'm all about getting stronger headlights. I want to be just under the level where I'm blinding people who are coming at me.

Hahaha!!

So are you that annoying person driving behind me at nights with those blinding headlights?

But it is comforting having strong headlights though. Nothing wrong with feeling safe and secure while driving at night.

 

[supernovax3]

Whatever you pick, do make sure to be at least a little courteous in regards to other drivers, especially those in smaller cars. Your headlights will be right at eye-level and can be quite blinding! I know in Texas, the jacked-up trucks are supposed to put their headlights under the grill/in the bumper because of this issue.

 

[TruckRider]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and want to thank anyone ahead of time for providing information. I have a 2000, 4wd, SR5 extend-a-cab. 145,000 miles and still very happy with it, except the headlights. Have always hated the headlights, can't see well enough to drive by at night at least as safely as I would like. Have tried the Sylvania halogens which didn't really add any light (probably because my lens fragments it too much. So, I am looking for proven results from others who have install aftermarket headlights. Looking for percentage of increase sight capabilities and such. Not just "here something you might try" but proven working "yep, this is what works". Keeping in mind I want to keep oncoming traffic safe as well, I'm sure I could bolt on a spotlight and melt the snow and cut the fog in front of me as I go but you have to fiddle with those things as you drive. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

What Headlight you have use for the replacement?

 

[Vince]

Bulbs I've tried

What Headlight you have use for the replacement?

The only bulb I've tried other than stock is the sylvania halogan. It was brighter in the area that it was covering but not reaching out further, which is what I was looking for to start with. Almost like the lens was fracturing the beam to keep it from reaching out further. I had hopes someone from this forum had an answer, after a lot of research I haven't really found anything worth trying. Let me know if you come across anything.

Adios

 

[toyotafan]

The only bulb I've tried other than stock is the sylvania halogan. It was brighter in the area that it was covering but not reaching out further, which is what I was looking for to start with. Almost like the lens was fracturing the beam to keep it from reaching out further. I had hopes someone from this forum had an answer, after a lot of research I haven't really found anything worth trying. Let me know if you come across anything.

Adios

My problem with Sylvanias is that they seem to die out VERY quickly. I'm sorry, I love the extra light, but I don't want headlights that are going to die on my after 12 months. I need at least 24 months or so, otherwise I'll have to plan on just having a backup set in the glovebox or something so I'm never out and about and they die all of a sudden.