There ought to be a law!

[Gene]

While you guys have been taking over the world, I arranged to have your headlights painted black so you can't follow me while I take your Airstreams. I don't need no laws because I know the loopholes.

Gene

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by w7ts

I'm considering a world takeover
Ken

Seems like an awful lot of bother......

[OB Bambi]

Gene:
Bridge to nowhere or driveway to Gene's sounds like legislative pork to me. Nice try.

Randy

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by Boondocker

Seems like an awful lot of bother......

I think you're right. What the heck would I do with it once I got it?
I've already raised two kids. That was a lot of trouble if I remember.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, unlike me with my 3 square feet of dirt in the big city, Gene wants us to build and/or pay for his driveway on his property that takes up about 25% of Colorado. About two more years from now, my headlights will turn black by themselves; Gene can use my share of the black paint money for his driveway.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, after so much searching for a good headlight for a decent price, I made my order. Since I was very happy with my first purchase from "Rock Auto", on-line, I ordered my new headlights from them. Other than a few hard to see markings, they look exactly like the factory Ford headlights. They came in today, and I was going to install them tomorrow or sometime next week, but I anxious and installed them today. In my pictures you should see a huge difference.

[xrvr]

WOW!! jim

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by 345bill

They are exactly the same age and have been exposed to exactly the same conditions. Why are the signal/markers holding up so much better? Why can't the headlight lenses be the same quality.

Short answer - heat. Headlights, being brighter, also generate more heat.

Long answer, a lot of it has to do with the difference between illumination and visibility. Headlights provide illumination; they have to cast a beam a long distance, at a high intensity so that you can see what's in front of you in time to stop before you hit it. Signal/marker lights provide visibility, they need to be seen from a long way off, but don't have to cast a beam of light for you to see by. That's why the signal/marker lights typically have those pyramid-shaped bumps all over the inside surface, to diffuse the light over a wider area and make the light more visible without making it brighter.

That's also the deal behind the "fog lights" that someone was complaining about. They don't illuminate the road ahead very well, just a few feet in front of you, but they can be seen by oncoming traffic at least as well as can your headlights.

The difference between illumination and visibility is also one reasn why LEDs are being used for some taillights, but not for headlights. LEDs provide excellent visibility for a long range, but only illuminate for a very short range.

But, even though I know some of the science behind automotive lighting, I'm just as frustrated by headlight lens fogging as you guys.

In New Orleans (the city proper, not the suburbs) there was a time not too long ago (before about 2003) when the only place you could get your annual vehicle inspection was the City-run inspection station. You had to wait in line for hours to get your vehicle inspected, and had to plan your whole day around it. They would actually put a light meter in front of your headlights, low-beam and high-beam, and if they weren't bright enough you would fail your inspection. Unless you had the foresight to bribe the inspector. Or were personal friends with one. Or abused your law-enforcement privileges. Or whatever, but you still had to wait in line to pay your bribe, too. These days, when there are about thirty different, privately-operated places in the city to get your vehicle inspected, the level of inspection varies, but never includes measuring the intensity of the headlights.

[Jammer]

I have installed new headlights from Rock Auto on my 1997 pickup and two daily drivers. All three installations have worked out well.

[Sodbust]

Plastic,, I have a 1951 IHC pu truck and the only 2 things plastic was the ash tray knob,, and the emblem on the hood, Both shot..

My 98 Dodge ram,, mostly plastic.. Matter of fact the main reason its semi retired.. Plastic fender wells falling out,, plastic headlights so dim not safe to drive,, and lost count on the different products to clean them.. My 2012 Dodge is even more plastic.

Problem is,, we go ahead and buy this crap.. Kind of like the story of putting a frog in a pan of cool water.. Heated slowly he will sit there till he is cooked. If thrown in hot water they will jump out right away.. We the public have taken the bait year after year and keep buying more plastic.. We are at the point now they are almost all plastic and throw away.. We will not see 2012s 50 or 70 years on the street years from now.. They will have all rotted and busted up and melted back down into plastic punch bowls or tent stakes.

Sodbust

[Gene]

Plastic is everywhere, but as the price of petroleum goes up, maybe it will be too expensive, I hope.

Our Tundra has a plastic fake chrome thing around the grille. The thin chrome cover over it is plastic. It pits and tears. Replacement is around $300! The first one to tear was replaced for free even though slightly out of warranty.

The 2nd one lasted about a year, and they charged me $50 labor but replaced the item for free. They wouldn't let me replace it myself.

The 3rd one already has pits in it after about 9 months.

They use these same crappy plastic grilles on other Toyotas too.

I don't need another truck or SUV for a couple of years, but that $50 charge may cost Toyota a lot more. The truck runs fine, but the plastic crap inside also looks cheap and paint comes off some of it. I tried to get touch up paint for it and Toyota doesn't sell it anymore. I hear the new 4Runners look really cheap inside too.

The headlight covers look fine though.

Gene

[Rog0525]

I use plain white toothpaste to clean the haze from my polycarb headlight lenses. Then I buff on a coat of WD-40 to further clean and protect them. Works quite well at a very low cost and with very little mess.
It's a quick and easy way to improve your night driving vision.

[Gene]

The headlight lens was fine last April (see post 51 above), but shortly after, started to cloud up.

I used a headlight cleaner on the '07 Tundra twice and it improved it, but left a lot of cloudiness.

Our '06 4Runner is fine, so I guess they cheapened the lens between model years. This does not surprise me as other things on the '07 are cheaper than similar items on the '06.

Gene

[Gene]

Has anyone had the problem with Tundras made from 2007 on? If so, does it fog from the inside too? Is it possible to get the plastic lens off easily to clean the inside?

Gene

[Cracker]

In not too many more years there won't be many people left who remember sealed beam headlights!

[r carl]

Originally Posted by Cracker

In not too many more years there won't be many people left who remember sealed beam headlights!

Or the $8 price tag.

[Friday]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

The difference between illumination and visibility is also one reasn why LEDs are being used for some taillights, but not for headlights. LEDs provide excellent visibility for a long range, but only illuminate for a very short range.

They are being used for headlights. Around $600 for a pair. They are very low wattage and provide fantastic light. If you drive in the snow though, they don't make enough heat to clear the lens.

[Friday]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Has anyone had the problem with Tundras made from 2007 on? If so, does it fog from the inside too? Is it possible to get the plastic lens off easily to clean the inside?

Gene

Nope. They are glued together. You can put them in the oven at low temp for an hour or two, then pry them apart, clean them, and put them back together.

Most people wreck at least one of them trying to do that... but, it can be done. Usually it is because people want to paint them...

eBay is a good source for cheap lenses... they might not last long, but they are cheap.