What to do about weak headlights?

LOL, I guess I am old fashion, I don't know what that response means. I just know I see 3x or 4x more that oem.

 

That is the same thing as H4-4 HID, except they are not HID, they are halogen. Look up H4-4 HID. I have tried them all trust me!

 

It's generally frowned upon to place HID bulbs in a halogen housing. No matter how you adjust your headlight chances are you are still getting a lot of light bouncing off into oncoming drivers eyeballs.

 

Philips Ultinon LED at xenondepot.com

 

Maybe so, that maybe true, but i bought my truck brand new and the first night I had it I had the exact same reaction as the OP. I mean that, the exact same reaction. Now I see perfect. I mean perfect. If science is behind it or not, thats my real experience. thats all i can offer. And I never get on coming cars flash at me like my HI beams are on.

 

Have you ever parked it next to a properly retrofitted one? You are blinding the shit out of every driver coming your way with those things.

 

That thread is the shit. Did the upgrade desribed there. Very happy with it. Much better light (brightness, beam pattern) than the LED's I had.

 

Have someone drive your truck while you drive their vehicle at night. Pretend you're passing each other in opposite directions. Have them follow you for a few blocks.

 

What is proper retrofit HID system? That is a serious question, what would I need to change? The housing?

But, like I said I never get people complaining by flashing me or anything. I just went outside and took pics for anyone who would like to see.

 

Proper projectors with a bi-xenon housing so you have an actual cutoff line and properly focused light. You may not see it clearly from the drivers seat, but even with the increase in light output, your "halo", lets call it, of surrounding glare is actually somewhat noticeable now. Next time you drive in traffic at night, check periodically how much of your light is actually being projected either parallel to, or above the rear window mark of the vehicles next to, and in front of you. They can't high beam you but believe me, with that much scatter, they would probably like to.

 

I'll check that out, thanks!

BTW..

"Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary, that's what gets you."

I LOVE THAT! LOL!

 

Beat me to it. Best headlight upgrade out there if you don't want to screw with all the ballasts and cooling fans.

Love my Osram's plus my BriteBox.

 

Anything to help a fellow motorist, I'll take some shots tomorrow evening for visual comparison here, truck's outside at the moment, which = might as well be parked on Zod, too far away.

 

Me too, good increase in output without wrecking other driver's eyes.

 

Philips VisionPlus and Philips ExtremeVision are good bulbs. They come in +60%, +100%, and +130% and require no modification. I'm currently running the +100's in headlights and fogs. The 60's weren't bad either. High beams on both are awesome. Lows are whiter/brighter than stock. And they don't have the blue coating on them, which ultimately translates to longer life.

See post #56 for output photos of my +60's. There may be more helpful info in the thread, as well.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/sylvania-silverstar-upgrade.381276/page-3

Another one to check out.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/sylvania-silverstar-upgrade.381276/

Halogen bulbs get dimmer the more they are used and over time. That said, tacos aren't known for stellar output in the first place. Before upgrading to LED's do your research, trust me.

 

Toyota does a pretty shabby job of adjusting the head lights I would check that before I went off the deep end with aftermarket parts. Mine lit tree tops before I adjusted them.

 

I tried the Philips in one of my other vehicles. They did help a tad bit, not all that much, but they were better for sure. Problem was that they burned out really fast. I think 2 sets in under 2 years.

If your a guy who does not want to go to extremes and only has like $50-$75 bux to spend, a good alternative to HID's is buying some hi end halogens for the headlights and buy some hi end 9005 bulbs for the fogs (yes I know 9005 do not go in fogs, but they will work fine and be brighter) then do the mod to illuminate both HI/LO filaments when HI beams are on and also do the mod that allows the fogs to stay on while HI beams are activated. Even with OEM bulbs those simple and FREE mods help alot.

 

Howdy again bro! I did some not so scientific 'testing', but I think I get what your saying. I noticed a couple things tonight. When I was at a red light tonight with both the LO beam headlights and the fog lights on, I checked out the white chevy truck that was to my right, 1 car ahead of me. There was in fact what looked like a cut-off line of light, just like you said. It was right under where his driver side window started. I turned the fog lights off and the line went away. With just the LO beams on, his truck was not really lit up very much at all. Then I checked out the car in front of me, yes the LO beams were shiny strait through the back glass of the car in front of me. Not sure how to judge that though. The car was an ancient Mitsubishi Mirage (little cheapo low car) which was low to begin with and being probably 10+ years old and the banged up condition it was in, the suspension was most likely shot so it sat even lower. I bought my truck brand new, actual measure of tires was a tad over 30". Now I have tires that real world measure about 33" with a 3" coil lift. So headlights sit about 4"-5" higher than OEM at least. So I am thinking maybe the lift has alot to do with the lights shining strait through folks back glass? I did keep my fogs off after that though

This is just an update, but this has really got me kinda interested. I always though brighter is better as long as no one complains, LOL!

 

It really sucks driving at night on a straight, flat, two lane hi-way when someone is coming at you with an improper headlight set-up. Particularly for older people. I'd encourage people to keep this in mind when making "upgrades".

 

For sure that is noted bro. My interest is peeked on this subject. Need to find a way to get better night vision without affecting other drivers. Lets face it Tacoma OEM lights suck! The day I bought mine, I went from the dealership strait to the shop, and took a grinder and cut all that crap out from under the rear seats and from behind the rear seats and installed new stereo. That night I realized I couldn't see worth nothing. Next day ordered new headlights... that was almost ten years ago and have tried 'em all since then to find something really good. The hi end halogens with the HI/LO and fog mod worked ok but burned out really quick, HID's always made my life easier but this post is making me reconsider due to effect on other drivers.