Aftermarket headlamps eg. Valeo, Depo

[Mihai24]

Hello eveyrone,

 

Apologies if it has already been discussed.
 

I own the 2015 pre facelift model and as many of you are aware headlights performance is extremly poor. 
 

I am wondering if there is somebody who tried to fit aftermarket headlights from brands like Depo, Valeo, Tyc and noticed any notable change. 
 

P.S. Does anyone know the size of the projector lamp?   
 

Regards,

M

[jcps001]

You're not the first to complain about Auris mk2 headlights... Valeo is the brand that manufactured my mk1's original headlights. Depo and TYC should only be used for the rear lights, that's because they've got very bad reputation on front headlights quality. My guess is if you use Depo and TYC for the front, you will be disappointed.

As for the projector lamp for the Auris mk2 I guess it is HIR2 (double filament lamp). Its what every brand is using nowadays, makes the headlight have a nice, more aggressive design.

[TonyHSD]

Hi, 

I don’t think you can do anything to improve the lights on this particular model. They were bad even when the car was new , out of the factory.
The reason seems to be the design of the projectors and the type of bulbs used. Previous generation Auris has H11 bulbs and excellent lights at night.
Only upgrade to new units with led lights that later models have , but not sure how and how much will it cost. I believe it’s not worth trying  to fit different brand lights as you won’t achieve anything, just time and money spent. 

[Mihai24]

Thanks for replying

Just out of curiosity has anyone tried to change the projector lenses only? (If possible)

Anyway I might to replace the whole headlight unit since the nearside has a little crack on it and it has a bit of dust inside already plus some mixture of water and soap from the car wash so I guess replacing the whole unit is the way to go atm. 
 

I'll try Valeo unit and maybe (fingers crossed) I'll notice some visibility improvements   
 

Thanks

[Mojo1010]

I have a used set of 100w HID ballasts, bulbs and relay cable from my MK3 Yaris for sale which has the hir2 fitting. Bulb is 9005/6 though it fits. Will put it on the for sale section of the forum soon. 

[tavy]

  Changing the projector with lenses inside the headlamp is not so difficult, problem is finding a compatible projector with hi low beam flap.

  As Mojo said before is worth trying replacing the halogen bulbs with HID ones.

[Mojo1010]

In the for sale section 

 

[flash22]

On 7/13/2023 at 8:33 AM, jcps001 said:

As for the projector lamp for the Auris mk2 I guess it is HIR2 (double filament lamp).

HIR2 is a single element bulb, projector headlights use a shutter for low beam

To the OP dont mess with the projector lens these are set up for the correct focal length and beam direction

HID and LED are illegal for road use, unless they are in the correct housing and have lamp washers, uprated bulbs are legal as long as they are E marked eg, Phillips whitevision or Osram nightbreakers

 

 

[jcps001]

I stand corrected.

[Mojo1010]

There isn't a low/high beam on the hir2, it's controlled by the solenoid as mentioned with a helpful photo.

[Mihai24]

Thank for sharing the kit Mojo.
 

I'm interested but slightly confused because from my understanding the main issues with these lamps is the projector lense isn't it? Reckon I got to look for some good projector lenses first. So annoying..

[Mojo1010]

Your car don't have projector lens?

HID usually only works with projector lens. 

[Mihai24]

Yes it has got projector lense but they are so bad. They don't spread the light evely on the road. The light is focused in the centre and there is little to no light on nearside/offside. Not to mention that even the light that is focused in the centre has got some black spots/shadows. Hope this helps you get the idea of how bad the light on Auris mk2 pre facelift is. Hence I am not sure if brighter bulbs would help considering the projector pattern is awful

[Mojo1010]

My Yaris had pretty poor lightings too. The HID kit transformed it. It would be cheaper to put hid on before buying new headlight units. 

In addition, new headlight units of the same isn't going to make a difference, projector and halogen lights are poor. 

[TonyHSD]

16 minutes ago, Mihai24 said:

Yes it has got projector lense but they are so bad. They don't spread the light evely on the road. The light is focused in the centre and there is little to no light on nearside/offside. Not to mention that even the light that is focused in the centre has got some black spots/shadows. Hope this helps you get the idea of how bad the light on Auris mk2 pre facelift is. Hence I am not sure if brighter bulbs would help considering the projector pattern is awful

Agreed. I drive at night and I have seen many Auris gen 2 mostly ph cars and the lights are very bad. Not to mention that most of the drivers are using their fog lights all the time. The only good lights on gen 2 Auris are led late 2017-2018 models. 

[Bper]

I would certainly agree that the headlights are bad at night and with a mixture of heavy rain useless. After a bad experience last year I think you would get more light from a torch out of window.🤬

[Mihai24]

36 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

Agreed. I drive at night and I have seen many Auris gen 2 mostly ph cars and the lights are very bad. Not to mention that most of the drivers are using their fog lights all the time. The only good lights on gen 2 Auris are led late 2017-2018 models. 

Yes I am ph driver myself and when I get a fare that requires driving on the m ways at night in difficult weather I feel like selling the car lol. Jokes aside the car is brilliant apart from this headlights issue. 
 

Just found some HB4/9006 (which I understand that are the same size as 9012/HIR2) projector lenses. Think I might try replacing the factory projectors and see if I notice any difference. I might as well try with a HID kit as Mojo suggested altough I'm aware they are not legal. 
 

I'll keep you updated

[Wooster]

On 7/14/2023 at 11:52 AM, flash22 said:

use a shutter for low beam...

Isn't the main issue that you have a single 55/60 watt halogen bulb and a shutter cuts 50% of the light off when you're on low beam. 50% of the lumens strike the shutter, the other 50% goes onto the road. Isn't this the equivalent of having a dedicated low beam of 30 watts? Just like in the 1960s when we had tungsten bulbs. 

[Wooster]

According to AutoBulbs, this is a conversion kit of HIR2 headlights.  https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/hir2-9012-hid-conversion-kit/

[Mojo1010]

22 minutes ago, Wooster said:

Isn't the main issue that you have a single 55/60 watt halogen bulb and a shutter cuts 50% of the light off when you're on low beam. 50% of the lumens strike the shutter, the other 50% goes onto the road. Isn't this the equivalent of having a dedicated low beam of 30 watts? Just like in the 1960s when we had tungsten bulbs. 

Would agree. 

I can tell the OP right now buying a new set of projector will make no difference to the light output. 

The 55w HID kit linked need a relay to work with our hybrid cars as the 12v Battery isn't on the engine bay. The relay is also an extra layer of safety. I have tried 55w on my Yaris, it's better, though not quite on the level of the 100w naturally. 

[AisinW]

On 7/13/2023 at 8:17 PM, Mihai24 said:

Thanks for replying

Just out of curiosity has anyone tried to change the projector lenses only? (If possible)

Anyway I might to replace the whole headlight unit since the nearside has a little crack on it and it has a bit of dust inside already plus some mixture of water and soap from the car wash so I guess replacing the whole unit is the way to go atm. 
 

I'll try Valeo unit and maybe (fingers crossed) I'll notice some visibility improvements   
 

Thanks

Valeo is actually the best one and it is the actual Toyota OEM part. So, nothing you can do about the headlights housing. What you can do is installing the brightest bulb you can find. Either Optilight/Philips Xtreemvision.vision, OSRAM standard, Hella, with  1870 lumens, about 40% brighter than OEM philips LL 1340 lumens. 

I used LED from bevinsee V45 and it is significantly brighter, about 4000 lumens and so far after 7 months, no one ever flash me on the highway. Just 1 click down when you have more than 2 passangers. 

I know it is not legal in most countries but not dangerous since projector beam has very sharp cutoff and will never glare anyone as long as it is not set too high unlike random beam from reflector type.

I do not have measurement but only a snap of my own headlights. But overall, it is very bright and The risk to get fined is worthy compared to my stress level with the weak halogen bulb. 

I can see the side of the road much better, probably 3-4x brighter. The middle part and hot spot is about 2x brighter. I think it is from the fact that LED has horizontal side pattern, not radial.  Don't buy Osram or Philips HIR2 if there is any, they are much weaker and close to what original halogen brightness but white. Some H7 and HB4 LED from Osram or Philips are actually legal but too expensive for what it gives. 

LED is very simple, just mount it on like halogen. No complicated wiring and V45 is still 55 watts. Don't buy Bevinsee V55 with 70watts, it is too hot and much dimmer than V45 55 watts one. 

[AisinW]

Another bright alternative is HIR1, 65 watts, the standard is about 2500 lumens. I believe we may need to trim some of the mounting ring  bit but the focus and type is so close to HIR2.  It is not that common but also about 1/3 lifespan of standard HIR2 (400 hours) 1870 lumens.  

The HIR1 is still halogen and no problem with the MOT. They will never pull and check each bulb.

@Mihai24  9006 is much dimmer than the dimmest HIR2. 9006 standard brightness is only about 800 lumens and does not last as long as HIR2. The trapped infrared radiation in HIR2 and HIR1 make them brighter for the same watts than other halogen. That's why HIR bulbs are more expensive. There is no halogen brighter than HIR2 at 55 watts. 9006 bulbs only work on reflector type because they are too dim for any projector

[Mihai24]

Hi everyone,

I have followed @AisinW advice and got the Bevinsee V45 led kit. I'll stick with this leds for now because the performance is brilliant. I'll attach a photo for reference

 

Thank you very much indeed @AisinW

[AisinW]

17 hours ago, Mihai24 said:

Hi everyone,

I have followed @AisinW advice and got the Bevinsee V45 led kit. I'll stick with this leds for now because the performance is brilliant. I'll attach a photo for reference

 

Thank you very much indeed @AisinW

Make sure you orient the LED chip  at 3-9   a clock.  Otherwise, you may not have a homogenous flat patterns. The light pattern is identical with the halogen HIR2. No significant change besides it is much brighter on the sides. Your foglight almost has no effect since it is already very bright. 

You also can take picture with your camera directly to the headlights, The cellphone camera will adjust the brightness and you can see the 2 bright lines on the headlights.   if they are both vertical, you clock it right. 

I suggest to lower the height 1 cllick down from inside the cabin. That will guarantee you do not blind anyone on bumpy roads with 2 adults on the back seat.  

[Mihai24]

3 hours ago, AisinW said:

Make sure you orient the LED chip  at 3-9   a clock.  Otherwise, you may not have a homogenous flat patterns. The light pattern is identical with the halogen HIR2. No significant change besides it is much brighter on the sides. Your foglight almost has no effect since it is already very bright. 

You also can take picture with your camera directly to the headlights, The cellphone camera will adjust the brightness and you can see the 2 bright lines on the headlights.   if they are both vertical, you clock it right. 

I suggest to lower the height 1 cllick down from inside the cabin. That will guarantee you do not blind anyone on bumpy roads with 2 adults on the back seat.  

Thanks for the tips!

I hit the road that morning and no one flashed me which made me even happier about this led kit. Led chip is so powerful that I could see with the naked eye those 2 bright lines in a horizontal position. I'll keep in mind lowering the height one click down 

Thanks