Help me ID headlights

So being new to the 4runner community, still trying to figure certain things out. I had heard the stock headlights weren’t well liked, but mine always seemed more then good. I thought it might’ve just been my perspective, but I finally had time to dive under the hood today and it was quickly obvious I didn’t have stock headlights. I found multiple Morimoto relays and amps (?) so that would explain why it looked so good haha!

Anyways, I’d like to know what kit or bulbs or whatever I got so I can understand it better, any help?! Clearly it’s an XB with H11B but is that it?

 

Morimoto XB 4500K H11B HID and ballast.

Basically you have a high quality aftermarket HID bulb kit. It's not street legal but it looks good and the 4Runner projectors work decently with HID bulbs.

 

Why isn’t it street legal? Just curious.

 

Headlights and bulbs must comply with DOT FMVSS108, and since the 4Runner never came with HID's, no company makes a DOT compliant HID bulb for it.

I hiiiighly doubt if you ran a stock color (around 4300K) you would ever have any issues, but it's still illegal technically. I guess maybe if your state requires an inspection (Virginia for example) it may become more of an issue.

 

Thanks, I appreciate it. Unfortunate to hear it’s not legal.

Do the same rules apply to swapping out the entire headlight? Also, is there much difference between 4300 & 4500 visually?

 

4300k and 4500k are pretty much identical. You can look up a kelvin temperature color scale to see the whole range.

Also there are aftermarket DOT compliant LED headlight housings (Alpharex, Morimoto, Anzo), I'm not aware of any aftermarket DOT compliant HID housings.

 

If I wanted to revert back to stock, or even the H9 bulbs, is it as simple as unhooking all the wiring for ballasts and relays and plugging in the H9’s?

 

Yes, assuming the last owner didn't do something odd. Those Morimoto ballasts should be plugged into the stock wiring. So you'd just unplug them from the stock wiring and the HID bulbs from the projectors. Then plug halogen bulbs into the projectors and plug the stock wiring into them.

 

Thanks, sorta what I figured just wanted to double check before I got too involved and found out something different. Everything seems to be simply wired, from what I can tell through the rats nest of wiring

Part of me is thinking of getting an Alpharex set up but I’m not sure if that’ll be any different then my current setup. Mainly want street legal and good output without blinding everyone else.

 

Based on the experiences I've read about, the aftermarket LED headlights tend to be pretty bad. They'll be bright white, so they look good at first impression. But they often produce even less light down road than the stock halogens. They may also have a very narrow beam, giving you less light than stock off to the sides. Not safe. If there was a really good aftermarket LED system, believe me, everyone would be talking about them and buying them.

Personally, if I was in your shoes and liked the performance of those HIDs, and you're not getting flashed by other drivers, or getting pulled over by the cops, I'd probably stick with them.

The only other option, at least until or unless Toyota starts selling the LED units from the 2021 4Runners, is the H9 hack. That's what I did. Combined with the OEM LED fogs you can get straight from Toyota, the results are decent.

 

Yea, to be honest I think it puts out a ton of light and looks good! I’ve only driven at night a hand full of times since owning, but roads near me aren’t super busy, so no ones flashed me yet lol. My only concern is how terrible a job the PO did with the wiring and having one more thing running off the battery. Later on if and when I add more electronics I may ditch these just to free up the load on the battery.

As for fogs, are you referring to PT413-42191?

 

In order to have HID’s in the stock housings, a hole has to be drilled in the dust covers to allow the wires to run through. Assuming the previous owner did this, you’d just have to buy a new dust cover to prevent moisture/liquid from getting inside the headlight housing.

 

Yes those are the fogs

 

Thanks, I didn’t realize they were missing dust covers until you mentioned it. I’ll have to go searching for part numbers.

Do you know if those can be used with the yellow Lamin-x covers?