Raptor lights recommendation

I think the Raptor lights look cheesy in general, but by far the biggest reason is the color. Pretty much every 5th gen I’ve ever driven past in person has amber Raptor lights in an off color that is kind close but doesn’t match anything else on the vehicle. It just looks so cheap and stupid, especially when half of them out there are just zip tied to the grill. Personal preference is personal preference, that’s all fine and great, but I will shit on poorly executed low quality cheap crap all day long.

 

Welcome to the forums, OP.

 

I love how this thread turned into people giving their opinions on lights vs answering the fucking question.

 

Just like every tire thread!

Digging the Halloween decorations!

 

The manufacturers are just dudes who started making wiring harnesses in their garages. And the Alibaba copycats now, I guess.

 

seems i've ordered the identical kit ford raptor, here i become .. lol

 

Got the white ones with smoke lens because of my monochrome theme when they were on sale on prime day. They’re kinda neat but don’t match the headlight color until I upgrade to headlights. Overall I’m on the fence about them. Might trade them for amber. I dunno yet.

 

Please... Don't "upgrade" your headlights to LED just for a whiter color to match accent lighting. Without exception, all drop-in LED bulbs are garbage.

See why here:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/jalopn...pgrades-dont-really-work-an-ex-1843070472/amp
And here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-hid-vs-led-vs-halogen-h11-projector-headlights.589465/

Do yourself and everyone else a favor by opting for H9 or proven performance halogen bulbs.

 

not planning on swapping bulbs. But may go with a replacement complete unit that’s also smoked out for looks. Nothing soon and certainly not to match some $30 toy lights that I’m not sold on yet.

 

Good to hear. It would be interesting to see if the new OEM LED headlight units can be retro-swapped into older 5th gens. The Tacoma units perform well, though the price may put some off.

So far I am unimpressed with results and reviews of the replacements by Morimoto (poor QC, many are experiencing burnt-out LED strip lights). The Tacoma units barely outperform the factory low-beam, and the high-beams are handily beaten by the stock H9 halogen reflectors (this is not that surprising, using projectors for high-beam is a bit dumb as reflectors are much more efficient).

I have not seen any objective reviews of the Alpharex replacements, but they seem to be geared more towards the instagram crowd for looks rather than performance. I'd stick with OEM over Alpharex (they appear to be re-branded Alibaba items anyway).

There's also Kustom54. They make custom retrofit assemblies with OEM shells and proven optic components. They are small-number production though, so the price is definitely higher per set.

 

I liked this, then unliked it so I could like it again.

 

One of the best threads I've read recently

 

they would only be for looks and I never get rid of my oem stuff. But many things on the list before the headlights.

 

I have to chime in. I am sorta of a new 4Runner owner. (I have owned 4 others 93,95,99,02) and now picked up a 21 TRD OR last week. I love the Raptor (probably the best looking stock vehicle out there IMO) I think the "raptor lights" on the 4Runner look kind of cool. I also think that the Pro Grill looks sweet on the 5th gens. I don't think that if I put the Pro grill on my new 4Runner that I should of just "bought a damn Pro!) The reason I want one is that I love the old style TOYOTA on the front grill. My 89 SR5 single cab 4X4 Pickup had it, and I was sad when Toyota stopped using it by the time I bought my new 93 4Runner. My daughters 07 FJ TRD special edition looks awesome one of the main reasons is the old school grill with the TOYOTA on it.

 

Oh man, There is so many on this forum that would agree with you dont worry. Pro's arent exactly seen as all that great on this forum. But everyone does want there 4 runner to look like them so

 

I would not be selling my Raptor lights if I would have had another option for my amber light bar. Nothing against them I like my cool factor look I’m after. Adding amber fog lights down the road too.

 

I like the PRO grill as well!

Honestly, it was a Smurf blue PRO sitting in front of the local dealer that I kept driving past that inspired me to get back into a 4runner.

PROs are excellent if those are the mods you want. I knew I was going to off-road so I saved the extra money for armor and recovery gear and a more customized suspension.

Everyone has different needs/wants. I have been known to bicker with a PRO guy occasionally, but not because I have anything against the PRO itself.

@CriagJ , try to take everything said here with a grain of salt. It's easy to misinterpret someone on these forums. Trust me, I do it constantly.

 

he’s probably some sort of asshole.

 

i like this personally but only because I have a very specific white/black look I’m going for. I can see why some don’t like it though.
Maybe my Anti Pro sentiment was a little overstated but there is a small vein of it running through this forum. Then again there’s a vein of anti everything all over the internet so really humans are the problem.

 

LMAO! Not you! I was thinking about the guy who called me a little girl among other things because I didn't have a PRO.

I don't disagree. For me it's more focused on the types of guys I referenced above.

Luckily, those types don't seem to last long around here.

 

Check these SSC2 lights out, they'd be really easy to mount in the grill. They have a backlight that illuminates the entire optic, so you can use them like "raptor lights". Then you can punch them on with the main LED and get useable light as well. And since they offer an SAE J581 compliant beam pattern, they're road legal to use with your high-beams. Heck, I'd get them if I didn't already have their more powerful big brother installed in my grill (SS3 pros).

 

Came here for the op was not let down by the shit show that ensued after. Is this considered the Friday thread for last week ?

 

I am actually going to attempt this this weekend. I am going to be pulling one of the head light assemblies from my wife’s 2021 and seeing what the difference is for my 2020 and hopefully be able to report back with good news.

 

The Friday threads here are not as epic as they are on Tacomaworld. But, there are good ones occasionally.

Check out the "did I buy a chick vehicle?" Thread for more laughs!'

 

I thought it was funny that I just came across this.

 

I think this belongs in the chick vehicle thread as well!

 

What a great thread! It is like a Bobsled ride with twists,turns,highs and lows.You never know where it's going next.