PSA: Great deal on 7" H4 headlights (~$20 for a pair) - Not me selling

[Slonie]

This has been bouncing around the forums from GRM to the 2002 folks to GarageJournal, but I thought there may be some interest here too. Toyota will apparently sell you a pair of made-in-Japan Koito 7" round H4 housings with bulbs, relays, and wiring for ~$20 right now as long as you know the part number. The price will differ depending on which dealership or parts distributor you look at but my local one is only $18. 

 

The Toyota part number is:

81110-60P70

 

I got the information from here: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/7-glass-headlight-6024-retrofit-h4-conversion-kit.530468/

Apparently Toyota never sold H4 housings before, only sealed beams, and production constraints have kept them from being able to supply the old part number and they're shipping these instead.  I've ordered a set from my local dealer, just to have a spare set... Hopefully it will actually come through!

 

Bonus: It comes with a letter of apology from Toyota!

 

Edit according to this comment from last month, we may be in for a wait, but I'll keep y'all posted: https://www.bmw2002faq.com/forums/topic/335352-koito-h4-kits-cheap/?do=findComment&comment=1661234

 

Edited May 23, 2024 by Slonie

[Slonie]

So, I can confirm this deal is real, not bad for $16! Also came with inline fuse holders and fuses, about 40 zipties, and dielectric grease. The relays are not made in Japan but they are Omrons. 

[Slonie]

I found my own thread when searching for something else and I was curious if this was still going... Looks like it might be! Granted mine are still sitting in a box, but recent drives in fading light have confirmed that I want to look into my lighting quality and quantity so I might give them a go and compare to my current units.

 

https://parts.toyotasandiego.com/parts/toyota-headlamp-assembly-8111060p70

[anduril3019]

I can also confirm it's a real deal. (Mine are also still sitting in a box! )

[pethier]

So these are patterned for driving on the right side of the road?

 

Cold be a good way to convert my English car to not blnd folks with my low beams.

[MV8]

I've seen these talked about but I've not needed any lamps for a long time. I'll add a few sets to my valve shim order (adjusting lash on a dohc 3.4l-v6 5vzfe, shim over bucket). These should fit any vehicle that shows part number 6014/6024 as a replacement lamp. They should fit my jeep, miatas, and spitfire.

 

These should be stamped DOT for use here, but euro E code lamps come both ways. The country is part of the numbering so you know if it is a left or right hand drive lamp. I have a set of hella H4 in an early miata for a right hand drive country.

[Ferrino]

Do these halogen housings work OK with LED bulbs?

Edited October 16 by Ferrino

[MV8]

They should. It's just a housing for an H4. The nice part about that is if the led fails, you can just change the led versus buying a whole assembly and can swap back to halogens if you want (been there, done that).

 

I ordered a few at $18 a pair (Marietta Toyota dealer is having a sale this week plus free shipping nationwide if over $75). Should be in hand by Friday.

[Slonie]

Now, the question of "which LEDs to pair with these?". I see Phillips makes them, which seems like a good bet.

 

Outbound already covered some good semi-affordable options for full LED replacements, but since most of them don't have a particularly retro aesthetic, I'm conflicted. (Holley RetroBright seem to be the one with perfectly classic looks but a dedicated LED)

[MV8]

https://usa7s.net/ips/topic/12327-led-headlights/#comment-145520

Outbound's headlights are not conversion to a replaceable bulb or led. When they fail, you buy another to match and may only be offered as a set at that time. Not an issue imho considering how little these cars are used in the dark.

For reliability, due to the confined space available to fit led chips most leds made to fit a head light bulb socket have integral fans on the back. The seven bucket makes this more critical as there is zero airflow available at the back of the light housing inside the mounting bucket. Select an led equivalent to the bulb watts for higher reliability and less glare in the eyes of other drivers.

Glare can be from excess output but also from the direction the leds shine compared to the bulb the housing was designed for. The leds usually have an adjustable clocking in the housing to get the best balance of glare and distance. A light can appear very bright yet the distance compared to a halogen is much less.

Some led conversion lights have zero discernable difference when switching between high beam and low beam.

All these things brought me back to a quality halogen.

A DOT stamped one piece led conversion for a 6024/6014 application should be the best as far as leds go with the fewest issues aside from being a throwaway assembly when it fails.

The best replaceable bulb conversion housing is a projector with a servo door inside that blocks part of the beam for low beam situations. They make kits for converting oem assemblies to this but I've not seen this in a 6014/6024 H4 conversion; probably due to insufficient space for the kit.

These toyota housings should have better designed internal components and lens sealing compared to just installing a throwaway 6024 halogen and can be used reliably with a limited output led.

I can post some pics as I have examples in hand of everything.

[MV8]

These are 9004 and H4 leds. Note the large finned heat sinks and internal fans on the higher output leds. The mounting ring can be rotated to adjust the led clocking. The retrofit projector clamps into an existing oem head light opening and requires a small led lamp due to the small opening available. Note the servo door that blocks part of the beam and is opened for high beam.

[MV8]

I received the lamps today. Fwiw, they are Ecode 6 (approved for Belgium/right-hand drive) and not DOT but it should not matter unless you have inspections for that sort of thing or you are building a car for the initial inspection for tilting. Also includes H4 bulbs.

 

For cars without relays, it would be worthwhile to install this harness. One, three-prong headlamp socket on the car is used to control the new circuit. It plugs into a male socket on the new harness. There are two eyelets in the harness for battery power and a ground. There is eight feet of harness between the headlamp sockets so it should be plenty to route between the buckets without cutting.

Edited October 18 by MV8

[Ferrino]

I think you meant "left-hand drive".

[MV8]

I appreciate your candor. Maybe this will help:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-_and_right-hand_traffic

[wdb]

(Adding to the pedantic wave) "right-hand drive" in my experience refers to which side of the vehicle contains a steering wheel. 

 

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/right-hand_drive

 

At this point I would love for someone to answer a simple question: is this kit usable in the United States?

[MV8]

Useable? yes. Better than DOT approved? A subjective yes. Meeting inspection requirements? Probably not due to lacking DOT marking on the lens.

[pethier]

I believe that in the context of headlight patterns "drive" and "traffic" are opposite terms. 

 

The United Kingdom has left-hand-traffic.  Most of the cars you will encounter there have right-hand-drive.

 

The United States of America has right-hand-traffic.  Most of the cars you will encounter there have left-hand-drive.

 

There are in the USA some locations where the traffic engineers intentionally direct cars to flip for a short distance to left-hand-traffic.  They are apparently not overly-concerned that the low-beam headlight patterns of most cars will be incorrect for these short distances.

 

Presently, one of my Sevens is a Caterham which has spent most of its life in Northwich UK.  I am very unlikely to ever drive it outside of the USA and Canada.  Its low-beam headlight patterns are now therefore incorrect for its environment.

 

I am going to go to a local Toyota dealer and see if I can obtain this 81110-60P70 kit.

[Ferrino]

10 hours ago, MV8 said:

I appreciate your candor. Maybe this will help:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-_and_right-hand_traffic

It does. It clarifies you meant “right hand traffic” and not “right hand drive”. Very different!

[MV8]

Oh no, I meant what I said, referring to placement in relation to the center line, not seating position. Not the consensus view on the acronym obviously, but you understood so I call that a win. Driver placement does not determine the head light type.

[m2711c]

buncha parts in the detroit area for a caterham up for sale on facebook

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/787746664048404/?ref=product_details&referral_code=marketplace_top_picks&referral_story_type=top_picks