New Car with light mods - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

guytdt · 09-12-2011, 08:36 AM

Just got my Highlander last Thursday. I have made a few lighting mods last weekend and would like to share some pics

I have to thank Toyota to make it so easy to change out bulbs. All domes bulbs (except the one near the hatch), vanity, doors, license plate use 168 led and I replace them all with 5led. All white, except blue in doors since I ran out of white.

Here is door

Here is interior dome

Here is the stock low beam. Any idea why there is a rectangle glare above the cutoff line right at the center?
This is the right low beam. Notice that light output are most seen at center and less spreading out.

Here is the HID in low beam. If you paint the bottom part of the HID bulb right below the area where it holds the salt (the round part) and the tip of the bulb, the rectangle glare is gone.

Look at the cutoff line, not too bat at all and no glare. There are tons of blue at the cutoff line and that surprises me a lot. I think the lens is clear or semi-clear to provide that good output. However, this is halogen projector and it has its limitations (light does not spread out as wide as the HID projector).

And below is matching low/fog HID.

I forgot to take picture of the output at night. Will take it out tonight for a spin and snap some pictures.

Sky1111 · 09-12-2011, 11:10 AM

Nice... what is the color temperature of your HIDs? And where are you getting you LEDs?

I am in a process of changing all the small lights to LEDs... I really want to change the puddle lights to LEDs, but I am too scared to remove the mirrors (maybe I should take it to my mechanic)

guytdt · 09-12-2011, 11:24 AM

I didn't buy any HID or LED recently. These are from my leftover or removed from previous car. I remember I bought it from superbrightled in the past and HID is 5K I believe

I ran out of LED so I didn't change puddle light. I think it's a bit more difficult than the rest. You can use flat head screwdriver and prey the mirror up to expose 2 screws. After that everything is a piece of cake.

Tips: Adjust your mirror all the way up to expose as much space as you can.

***sweeneyp*** · 09-12-2011, 11:32 AM

Nice job with the LED's (got mine from superbrightled's too), that the exact same thing I did. It definitely makes a difference in terms of brightness inside the car.

That box you were talking about is the "squirrel spotter." With halogen its meant to give a little amount of light above the cutoff to illuminate road signs that would normally be above the cutoff on an HID projector. That is impressive that the halogen projector is spreading the light so evenly, though you are right, its not nearly as wide as a true HID projector. I guess that dim spot in the center (bottom) of the HID picture must be the return wire on the HID bulb. Nice to see that current halogen projectors can handle HID without having to do a full retrofit though. Nice job on the install and welcome to the forum!

GregC6 · 09-12-2011, 12:29 PM

did u change out the ones that are in the exterior mirrors? any clue how those come off?

Alphabit · 09-12-2011, 05:32 PM

Can I ask how you change the dome lights between the driver and passenger where the home link buttons are? I cant seem to find a place to use a screw driver to remove the housing.

***sweeneyp*** · 09-12-2011, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alphabit

Can I ask how you change the dome lights between the driver and passenger where the home link buttons are? I cant seem to find a place to use a screw driver to remove the housing.

Its a bit different than using a flat head screw driver. Here is a vid from a camry (same housing) on how to do it.

You Tube

Sky1111 · 09-12-2011, 09:42 PM

Help!!! I can't get to any screws to remove the mirror.
I tilted the mirror all the way up, all I see is the following:
- two screws holding the light assembly
- one screw actually holding the mirror, but I cannot bend the mirror enough

Any pictures or videos for thick sculls like mine?

***sweeneyp*** · 09-12-2011, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sky1111

Help!!! I can't get to any screws to remove the mirror.
I tilted the mirror all the way up, all I see is the following:
- two screws holding the light assembly
- one screw actually holding the mirror, but I cannot bend the mirror enough

Any pictures or videos for thick sculls like mine?

PM'd a how to. When you get to replacing it, can you post the type of bulb it is, i'm thinking of replacing mine as well.
thanks

R1ceRocket · 09-13-2011, 03:34 AM

Hey guytdt, I must have missed your thread, but I just posted a thread about my gripe with the light output on my 2011 halogen projectors: Who's running 55W HID's on their 2011+ HL's?

Any other input you might have? I see you said something about painting the bulb to reduce the glare and "squirrel spotters" box of light???

At this point, for some reason, my lights shined up on a wall look like a damn smile; the outsides curving upwards.

gtzany · 09-13-2011, 05:43 AM

nice job with your lights...i also put hids and i get the same cut off with a lot of the blue right at the top but hey it works good...i see u also put hid in the fogs which i did also...recently i made a trip to canada and i drove all night and now i notice a little burn and in the fog lens hopefully they dont burn through

guytdt · 09-13-2011, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R1ceRocket

Hey guytdt, I must have missed your thread, but I just posted a thread about my gripe with the light output on my 2011 halogen projectors: Who's running 55W HID's on their 2011+ HL's?

Any other input you might have? I see you said something about painting the bulb to reduce the glare and "squirrel spotters" box of light???

At this point, for some reason, my lights shined up on a wall look like a damn smile; the outsides curving upwards.

When I come home from work today, I will take the bulb out for some picture.

***sweeneyp*** · 09-13-2011, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtzany

nice job with your lights...i also put hids and i get the same cut off with a lot of the blue right at the top but hey it works good...i see u also put hid in the fogs which i did also...recently i made a trip to canada and i drove all night and now i notice a little burn and in the fog lens hopefully they dont burn through

did you put 55w in the fogs? that might be the cause. I had 35 watts in mine before my retrofit and it would burn my hand to touch the housing, but it never left burn marks on the housing itself. 55W HID might just be to much heat.

R1ceRocket · 09-13-2011, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweeneyp

did you put 55w in the fogs? that might be the cause. I had 35 watts in mine before my retrofit and it would burn my hand to touch the housing, but it never left burn marks on the housing itself. 55W HID might just be to much heat.

I really want to put 3000k HID's in the fogs, but the concentration of heat worries me. I guess it might be my only option, as 2011 HL foglights have that stupid 2504 bulb, which is impossible to find unless it's an LED bulb, which is not an option.

***sweeneyp*** · 09-13-2011, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R1ceRocket

I really want to put 3000k HID's in the fogs, but the concentration of heat worries me. I guess it might be my only option, as 2011 HL foglights have that stupid 2504 bulb, which is impossible to find unless it's an LED bulb, which is not an option.

Take a look at this thread (2011 Highlander Limited White Headlight Bulbs Needed) at pages 7 and 8. Apparently you can get another bulb to fit into the fog housing (H11 I think) and just rewire the + and - to adapt the factory wiring to the new bulb socket.