HID headlights - yes I searched...I always do.

Not really interested in opening up my housing. Do I have any other options? Some say retrofit is the best way to go.

What's the difference between FXR and the Mini systems. I'd like something that's 'plug and play' but don't know if a true plug and play HID system exists.

Thanks for the help folks..

I've visited 'The retrofit source' website but when you don't know what the hell you are looking at, which is my case, it's like going to a tile store with the wife.

Appreciate any help that can be offered.

 

Others will chime in, but my understanding is without a projector the housings shoot the light all over the place. Blinding oncoming drivers.

 

If you put HIDs in a halogen housing you get significant scatter, meaning the light does not follow the correct beam pattern and cut off as the optics are all wrong. What is your objective? Is this for looks, or are you trying to get more light on the road? If you are trying to put more light on the pavement, I would recommend using a standalone wiring harness and upgrading your bulbs to 85w Orsam hyper H4s. They put out 2400 lumens which is a massive upgrade over stock.

 

Simply put, Fxr is a larger projector than a mini. I believe performance is improved with the Fxr. However, with the Fxr, you're going to have to do some drilling of your headlight reflector bowls; not sure that's the case with the mini.

 

My objective is not for looks but better visibility, in fact if I went to HID I probably would not go any higher then 4600. So skip the HID and simply use better bulbs? When you say use a standalone wiring harness, what does that 'look' like? Meaning I know what a wiring harness looks like but how does one go about hooking it up etc?

I'm pretty green when it comes to this stuff.

 

The high power draw can melt wires and damage switches. To handle the increased power safely, use a standalone harness that draws power strait from the battery using relays controlled by the factory switch. This also gains efficiency creating even brighter lights. The harness is complete plug and play and fully reversible. Plug the lights into the harness, plug the harness into the factory light harness, and attach the power leads to the battery, that's all there is to it.

You can build your own harness or buy one off the shelf. Note that our trucks are ground switched, so be sure to look for that if buying a harness. I like these as all the components are Hella, but you can find cheaper ones. I've run these on all my Toyota trucks.

http://www.rallylights.com/hl282s-upgrade-headlamp-harness-for-switched-ground-vehicles.html

Edit: obviously we run H4s, so select that option if you go this route.

Edit 2: turns out my 2015 is conventionally switched, unlike my previous trucks that were ground switched. See the test procedure here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/highbeams-negative-or-positive-switched.397465/#post-11007455

 

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

 

I've been considering the OP's issue as well. I like the idea of the Osram bulbs and it's unfortunate that all US Osram/Sylvania "hyper" bulbs have that stupid blue tint on them. Luckily rally lights carries some nice stuff. And after reading this: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html I understand the need for the harness. Do you know anywhere else to get a reputable harness similar to the one you linked cheaper? Just seems expensive for some wiring and relays.

 

I went to the local auto parts store and bought some Sylvania Silverstar Ultra headlight bulbs. Then I ordered some LED bulbs for the fog lights from VLEDS in Bellingham, WA. I got the 2000 lumen fog light bulbs as the owner said the 3000 lumen version is a little too bright for highway use. So for $150 and no need to change the wiring harness, I have a huge improvement over stock. When people ride in my truck at night they often ask me if I put HIDS in because of how well the road is lit up.

 

I was really trying to stay away from blue coated bulbs. Or any coating on the bulbs. That has to diminish light output, although I wonder if I would even notice. I'm sure just about anything over stock would be an inprovement. Daniel Stern has a relay kit for $49, just have to supply the wiring. I've emailed him about his products.

 

@harpolith

 

Are they commenting on the heaight bulbs alone, or when you also have your fog lights on?

 

H4 Orsam Hyper 85w bulbs do not have a coating, that is one of the reasons I like them. They are a legitimate high performance bulb. Not a flashy 'look at my cool blue lights' bulb. I wouldn't buy a coated bulb as it reduces light output and reduces the light color spectrum.
http://www.rallylights.com/h4-12v-osram-hyper-bulb-not-legal-for-highway-use.html

As for a cheaper harness I think this would work, contact them to be sure:
http://www.headlightservices.com/4runner3.html
The DRL that it references do not apply to the DRL on the Tacomas as they are independent of the headlight and the harness does not operate the DRL, unlike if it were a headlight DRL. On this page it says contact them to build the ground switched harnesses required for Toyota. You may be able to find cheaper kits on ebay, but I would only buy quality gear.
http://www.headlightservices.com/Wiring.html

As to LED, I would suspect they would suffer similar scatter issues as HID, as the light source is different than a halogen. Though I am not certain. The ones that will outperform a standard halogen bulb also have micro processor electric cooling fans to prevent the circuits from overheating. I don't want my headlights relying on microprocessor fans in an off road vehicle that is going to get dirty and see a lot of vibration and rough terrain.

 

I knew that wasn't going to come across properly. Yes I know they don't have a coating but are only available through specialty sources. The regular US market Sylvania ones (Walmart, Amazon, etc.) always have that blue coating versus getting European Osram. I ran into the same issue with my old BMW. Trying to find Osrams and not Sylvanias locally. Thanks for the other links!

 

I drive with both on, but the headlights alone are impressive.

 

Well, if they're better then stock I'll be ahead of the game.

 

Not trying to sway anyone one way or the other. And I think the upgraded harness/85's are a good solution. But to clarify on the tinted blue glass... Here's how I understand it. Yes, the tint does filter a portion of the spectrum. It does reduce output, with the effect of creating a "whiter" light. People tend to comment on this as a bad thing- as if the whiter light just gives you the illusion of brighter light. I think that's only partially true (or another way to look at it is that the part that is true is really a non-issue).

On the coated bulbs, they over drive the filaments creating a much brighter light (likely too bright to be legal). The blue coating "dims" them back down to acceptable levels. So even though the blue is blocking some of the light, they're still significantly brighter because the filament is over driven in the first place.

I imagine it like this. On a scale of 1 to 10, let's say 7 is the legal brightness limit. Stock bulbs are a 3. A slightly upgraded clear bulb would be a 5 (decreased longevity due to brighter burning filament). An even more upgraded clear bulb would be a 6 (over driven filament = even less longevity). Now on the Silverstar ultra- they overdrive the filament to the point that it's a 9. Super bright, way past the legal limit. So they blue coat it, dimming it back down to the legal limit of 7, and it appears to be whiter as well. But even though the blue is reducing total light output, it's still the brightest bulb of the bunch. Of course, the trade off is much reduced longevity and increased cost in most cases (but some have really good luck with them). Obviously this is simplified, but this is what I understand to be going on.

So, I wouldn't necessarily discount a coated bulb on the grounds that it "looks whiter but it's actually dimmer". I read that so often and I don't think that's always the case. I think it's not as simple as it's often understood. Install any coated high output bulb and you'll see for yourself that they are, in fact, brighter than stock by a long shot (you're not simply "fooled" by the illusion of whiter light- yes it's whiter, yes the coating dims output, but it's still much brighter). And this is evident in the bulbs reduced life span.

One of the disadvantages to whiter light (blue coated halogen) is visibility in snow/rain. You know how sometimes the road can kind of disappear or turn black when it's dark and raining/wet? That effect is amplified with whiter light. In those instances, the warmer end of the spectrum is actually advantageous.

Anyway, that's my two cents

 

rallylights.com get some high wattage off road H4's.

 

Here's s link to the Daniel stern "blue bulb" article. Clearly, he's not a fan:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/bad/bad.html

 

Another option is PIAA bulbs. Theyre a high quality bulb over much of the competition. I went with them on mine and they are much brighter and put out a broader beam than the typical halogen. Theyre a bit more money but worth it in my opinion. You can find them on Amazon for a better price.

$45 Piaa 15224 H4 (9003 / HB2) Xtreme White Plus High Performance Halogen Bulb, (Pack of 2)

http://www.amazon.com/15224-Style-X...UTF8&qid=1443835528&sr=1-3&keywords=Piaa+bulb