J/c....How long did your original headlight bulbs last? I switched to silverstar last year and it only lasted for about 6 months (I have DRL's), then I swap my factory bulbs back and its still in there now (80k mi on the yota so far). The silverstars may look better but i'm staying with the cheaper, more reliable regular ones from now on.

 

I took out my stockers and have silverstars in and they have lasted almost 2 years already. I work nights, but no more DRL's, and they gets used 24/7.

They don't last as long as the dimmer bulbs, but if you want bright, go HID.

EDIT: Come to think of it, I bought them for my g/f's car (no more DRL's) and hers still work too. Everyone seems to knock them, but outside of HID, I really like them, You can notice the change between normal bulbs and silverstars if a person with them is behind you.

 

I have DRL, switched to silverstar sealed beam once, lasted 3 months and went back to GE H5054. They claim, these sealed bulbs will last 6x compared to factory or other aftermarket brand bulbs.

91 4runner.

 

my silverstars only lasted me a year....just put a new one in today...

they dont last long but its so worth it

 

i run the blue off brand bulbs...they are super bright and also probably super illeagal, they have lasted me a year now...i used to run silverstars in my jetta(without DRL's) and would replace them every 6 months...

 

i have had silverstars in my 4runner for over a year. I have hit one tree and nudged one mailbox and they are holdin up fine.

I have access to cheap off brand ones made my street glow at my work that are 80w60w bulbs and they cost me $12 so I will go that route next time but the silverstars have treated me very well.

I have probably jinxed myself by opening this thread. Since I just threw out the stockers because they were just bouncing around in the back of the truck, I decided I am too much of a packrat sometimes.

 

DRLs seem to kill any aftermarket bulb on the early side. My Silverstars are going on 18 months now and most of my driving is at night.

 

If you look at siverstar's web site, they estimate only a year of life, but don't guarantee it. I bought for several of my cars.......don't think they are worth it for the short life span

I have been using the "bright light" bulbs from NAPA and they are close to stars......and they last.

 

Get a headlight harness from 4crawler. Halogen lights are supposed to redeposit the vaporized element and last a long time. If you don't have enough voltage, that won't happen, and the life will be very short due to the high heat they generate.

I have had some off brand "HID-like" bulbs in my Impala for about 6 years now.

 

Yep, halogen lamps *must* be run at the proper voltage for them to get a reasonable lifetime. You can easily check the voltage at the back of the headlight connector *while* the lights are on and see what voltage is getting to the bulbs. If it is not within 1/2 - 1 volt of the battery voltage, you are not getting full voltage to the bulbs, shortening their life and you are also losing a decent percentage of the potential light output, see:
- http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...ys/relays.html

Specifically this:

Voltage Light Output
--------------------
10.5V : 510 lumens
11.0V : 597 lumens
11.5V : 695 lumens
12.0V : 803 lumens
12.5V : 923 lumens
12.8V : 1000 lumens ←Rated output voltage
13.0V : 1054 lumens
13.5V : 1198 lumens
14.0V : 1356 lumens ←Rated life voltage
14.5V : 1528 lumens

Note that the light output is far from linear (it is closer to the voltage to the 3rd or 4th power) and lifetime is somewhat similar, falls off rapidly as the voltage drops. At about a 10% voltage drop, a halogen lamp loses the "halogen" effect and is no different than a regular lamp and since they probably have less tungsten in the filement and burn out that much faster.

An upgraded headlight wiring harness can help with bulb lifetime *and* light output and also take the wear and tear off of your headlight dimmer switch all at the same time:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...shtml#TechInfo

 

Here's another competitor to add to the mix

http://www.geconsumerproducts.com/pr.../nighthawk.htm

My mom just got a pair for her 4Runner so when I get a chance I'll be able to compare them to the Silverstars. The Nighthawks were also over $10 less a pair.

 

Interesting stuff Roger. The 3gen 4Runners do have light relays under the hood. I never checked the diagrams if the power also runs through the ignition switch etc. to the relays.
I just upgraded my '97 to the newer headlights (out of a 2000), and would like to get better bulbs. I'll check my voltage at my lights and see what shows up.

 

I *think* that all Toyota has changed since the earlier trucks/4Runners is that they added one relay for left and one for right, unlike the earlier ones that had one relay for both. They still retain all the switched ground wiring like the earliers trucks. But a simple voltage test will tell you where you stand with whatever setup you have. Some trucks come in with 0.5 volt drop which is not bad, but others test out and 2.0 volts (or more) drop and that is bad.

 

Well I just tested my '97 4Runner.
With the engine running my battery was @ 14.4V
Voltage at the lights
Normal Lights 13.1V
High Beams 13.1V

Not bad, but I am sure with a little thicker wiring you'll get some better results. It looks to be about 16 gauge wire, and at 60W, 12V I'll be running 5 Amps.
14 gauge would be a good size to do that (rated for 15A), and still very manageble wire.

 

Decent voltage, but you are loosing almost a third of the potential light output with that 1.3 volt drop. Thicker wire would probably help improve that a bit.

 

The ground wire also runs back into the harnass. If the wire length of the ground wire is close to the +12V switched wire, then I could probably cut the voltage drop close to a half by simply taking the ground wire straight to the body at the headlight itself. I would just have to make sure I create a good ground connection to the body/frame.

 

Normally yes, but I think you'll find that the ground wire(s) are what are switched at the headlight switch to turn one or the other filament on. So if you were to ground them, both high and low beams would be on at the same time. That is the main issue with the way Toyota wires their vehicles. Lots of wire and lots of connections. THe headlight harness I have puts two relays right up front to supply power to the lights and then there is a common ground wire that is connected directly to the body sheet metal. This harness uses a switched power wiring scheme. And you end up with a very simple and direct power flow to the lights. Battery-fuse-relay-lamp-ground. Only one contact inside the relay and just a few feet of wire. The stock setup has a relay contact supplying power plus the headlight switch contact that supplies ground.

 

Makes sense, I'll have to dig up the wiring diagram of the 4Runner.
If I have to dig to much into the harnass, I'll just use the wires at the lights to switch some coils of 2 additional relays. The I'll wire it Battery->Fuse->Relay Contact->+ side of the Headlight. The other wire will go straight to ground. It is a bit overkill to have a relay switch another relay, but it's simple and easily reversable.
I also want to wire the starter relay contact directly to the battery. I don't like loads being switched by the ignition key contacts.

 

I guess Roger's plug was a little too subtle.

Why not just buy one of Roger's premade harnesses from www.4crawler.com and be done with it? I haven't put one in (yet - I will be though soon), but it looks like it takes about 15 mins. TONS of good reviews - everyone raves about how much more light it puts out!

 

If you have the wiring skills and knowledge, by all means pick up a few relays and some wire and have at it. Also, it is not like you have a relay turning on a relay. You have the headlight relay supplying power to the headlights (or relay coil) and then you have the headlight dimmer switch on the steering column grounding the headlight (or relay coil). So really you have the dimmer switch turning the relay on and off. The tricky part with adding relays is making sure the high beam indicator light still works:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...shtml#TechInfo