Replacing bulb on stock headlights?

[KevinTJH]

I've got a 2012 Toyota GT86.

I've been noticing a lot of GT86's on the road recently with white headlights. Correct me if I'm wrong, but do these white headlights come stock with the 2013 models onwards?

I've looked up several aftermarket Headlights upgrade kits which are rather pricey, and I called up my local dealership to get a quote on installing these. They said that these can sometimes have complications during the installation process, and they've recently had a guy pay $380 on labour cost alone just to install a pair of aftermarket headlights.

Are there easier ways of doing it? I don't want to change/upgrade anything, I literally just want to change the stock yellow bulb to a white bulb.
Is this a cheap and simple process?



Thanks!

[frslee]

@KevinTJH Read your owner's manual! I don't know which bulbs do Australia get. Halogen or bi-xenon.
If it's bi-xenon, don't touch it. It's better than aftermarket bulbs.
If it's halogen, you can pick up some sylvania brighter bulbs. It's not significantly brighter than stock ones, but those will be whiter than the regular halogen bulbs. It's really simple to replace halogen bulbs. It's in the owner's manual. Counter-clock wise turn and pops out...

[KevinTJH]

Thanks for the response! I've gone through the manual but I can't seem to find any info on bulb replacement.

It's unfortunate that my GT86 happened to be one of the older models from 2012.
All the new models I've seen come with purplish/white headlights.
I asked my dealership about it, and they seem to know absolutely nothing about white headlights on this car.

Is it really that hard for a dealership to install current stock bulbs into an older model of the same car?

[Poodles]

If it's HID vs halogen, it's not simply a bulb swap.


The headlight assemblies would need to be replaced, wiring done, and any required equipment installed (depends on area laws, but it can include headlight washers and leveling systems).

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by KevinTJH

Thanks for the response! I've gone through the manual but I can't seem to find any info on bulb replacement.

It's unfortunate that my GT86 happened to be one of the older models from 2012.
All the new models I've seen come with purplish/white headlights.
I asked my dealership about it, and they seem to know absolutely nothing about white headlights on this car.

Is it really that hard for a dealership to install current stock bulbs into an older model of the same car?

Can you post a picture of your headlights? Just a simple shot from the outside of the car should suffice.

[Fizz]

If you have the GT spec (like me) the bulbs in your headlamps are just your regular halogen type. The GTS spec however comes with HID lamps with built in DRL's. And no, the bulbs on the 2014 GT spec models are no different to the years before.

HID lights naturally has a "white-ish" look due to the way it works (i.e. Gas discharge instead of filament). Feel free to google for more technical explanation. The "white" lights you have seen on other GT specs are simply aftermarket bulbs or HID conversion kits.

If you want yours to look white, the simplest way is just replace your bulbs to something like the Philips Crystal Vision. Technically this is not ADR approved. There are others which are ADR approved (i.e. Blue Vision) but they hardly look white so don't bother. Do your research.

Getting a HID conversion installed is slightly more involved than simply swapping the bulbs. Again, they are not legal. Others may disagree, but I think this option is also a hazard to other road users as they can dazzle oncoming vehicles. To me, if you really want HID, make sure your car came that way from the factory or forget it. Oh...and if you thought about buying used GTS headlamps for your car.....still illegal because no washers and auto levelling. Not to mention major PITA to retrofit.

TLDR; just get the aftermarket bulbs if you really want a whiter light...and be done with it. And just so you know, by increasing the Kelvin rating of the bulbs (more white) you actually decrease the Lumen output....or something to that effect.

Do research and make an informed decision instead of simply wanting them to look cool....as they can have road safety and roadworthy implications.

[supramkivtt2jz]

H11 to H9

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2083911

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by Fizz

If you have the GT spec (like me) the bulbs in your headlamps are just your regular halogen type. The GTS spec however comes with HID lamps with built in DRL's. And no, the bulbs on the 2014 GT spec models are no different to the years before.

Do the GT spec cars have the North American spec FRS headlights?

These ones:


Compared to the higher spec headlights (or all of Europe IIRC?):

[Fizz]

Originally Posted by wparsons

Do the GT spec cars have the North American spec FRS headlights? Compared to the higher spec headlights (or all of Europe IIRC?)

Yes....we actually get both. The lower spec GT gets the type shown in first pic. The higher spec GTS gets the HID with LED as shown in second pic. The latter spec also comes with headlamp washers (mandatory).

[KevinTJH]

Sorry for the late response.

My headlights look very similar to the first photo.




One of my mates replaced the headlights bulbs on his Mercedes with a $20 bulb, and it works perfectly according him.

I'm a little concerned as well about installation. My car has condensation and a lot of moisture inside one of the brake lights (factory defect so I don't have to pay for that repair), but they apparently have to replace parts to make sure it's vacuum tight or something.
I can't imagine the same thing happening to my headlights!

[Gixxersixxerman]

That takes the H11 halogen bulbs.. You could do it the proper way and add a set of silverstar ultras or something like that, it would be "whiter" but what I think your wanting is HID bulbs, and you could place them in there but it wouldn't be proper, the projector housing is not made for a hid bulb and it doesn't reflect the light properly.. Do people do it??? Yes all the time, proper way is to do a retrofit with a proper HID projector. But most cheap out, bend the squirrel finder down and install cheap hid kits anyway.. It makes it brighter, puts glare out there blinding on coming drivers, and hurts night vision by not having the proper cutoff and foreground limiter..

But what do I know, I only do lighting for a living

[speedrye]

While you're replacing the standard headlight bulbs, go ahead and replace the high beam bulbs with some 9011 HIR bulbs. They require a tiny bit of trimming (most bulbs are faintly premarked), but they're much brighter at night. Total time to trim and change mine was around 5 minutes. The 9011 bulbs are whiter than the stock bulbs, but still on the yellow side of things, but they're much brighter and make a big difference on dark roads.

[OICU812]

Originally Posted by Gixxersixxerman

That takes the H11 halogen bulbs.. You could do it the proper way and add a set of silverstar ultras or something like that, it would be "whiter" but what I think your wanting is HID bulbs, and you could place them in there but it wouldn't be proper, the projector housing is not made for a hid bulb and it doesn't reflect the light properly.. Do people do it??? Yes all the time, proper way is to do a retrofit with a proper HID projector. But most cheap out, bend the squirrel finder down and install cheap hid kits anyway.. It makes it brighter, puts glare out there blinding on coming drivers, and hurts night vision by not having the proper cutoff and foreground limiter..

But what do I know, I only do lighting for a living

As far as "driving at night and seeing well" (with OEM) housings the Silverstar Ultra will be better overall then a pnp HID kit installed?

I think I really need to get a retrofit.... Or test these ultras out to compare.

[KevinTJH]

What about installation? Is it a simple DIY sort of thing or should I get a professional to do it for me?
I'm concerned about things like dust or moisture getting inside the housing of the headlights (just like my brake lights that have condensation inside the housing).