The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

The Susquehanna Motorsports harnesses are STOUT and very WELL-MADE, relying on Hella components and 12ga wiring. Sportsautotech.com's offering relies on "monstrous" relays of unknown origin and 16ga wire. The only part of their harness that appears comparable are the ceramic plugs. They may be "half the price," but $50 is cheap peace-of-mind for me.

 

Compare:

eBay harness:
16 gauge wiring
Rated for up to 100w
20A fuse <-Edit: Note eBay claims 40A fuse, but website claims 20A.
Relays: unknown manufacture

Rallylights harness:
Massive 12 gauge wiring
Rated up to 165w
30A fuse
Relays: Hella

Sure the ebay one would work. But I recommend what I do because it is the best possible product IMO. Not because it is the cheapest.

Looks like @Norton beat me to most of it.

 

NICE, i'm not doubting the quality of materials for the ebay one, i am more than sure its less than efficient than what it claims & i didn't get a chance to call and ask for its specs. yet.
For 50.00 you get something capable of handling 50 watts easy but like you i wouldn't use that for this application. How ever if you do run 165watts per light, i'd use a 10 gauge instead.. you cant forget about the length of your run.(that makes me wonder.. how long could a 165 watt bulb would last in a plastic housing like ours..:3 )

I'm gonna be making my own wiring kit for my rig and start planning/running wire for my future accessories so everything is plug and play. As of now im just gathering intel but about to start purchasing what i need. fyi the kit is good for plug and play and ease of mind, but im gonna be using a automotive relay/fuse holder to make things "neat" under thehood.

 

Had the 85watt bulbs in for about 5 months now and my passenger side low beam burned out

I understand they are high wattage bulbs so they don't necessarily have a very long life span but I expected more than 5 months. Any suggestions or solutions. I do roughly 45 minutes of driving with them on each day.

 

Carry a spare set of bulbs in the glove compartment.

 

What if I switch to the lower wattage bulbs?????

 

Less output but maybe a little longer life.

 

Potentially longer life. Definitely less light output.

 

hey guys im currently running a osram nightbreaker something something at stock 55/60 and i love them! i will be starting my harnesses hopefully this weekend

 

Completed the fog light version of this upgrade:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-foglight-upgrade-not-led-or-hid.435419/

 

I just did this mod in my 99. The light is definitely brighter, but doesn't look as white as the OPs. And the cutoff on the 99 headlights are nowhere near as nice.

 

Unfortunately I think the late 90s Tacomas had the worst headlights for output and upgrade options. The mid-90s sealed beams could swap in E-code H4 conversions which are an incredible improvement, and the early 2000s had improved the headlight design with a more modern composite lamp.

 

I agree. I'd like to find a decent aftermarket lamp assembly.

 

I've looked for a friend. There are some clear headlights available, but I am always weary of aftermarket headlight assemblies not having as good of optics as stock. It can be a crap shoot, unless they are CAPA which would be near identical to your OEM units and not really an upgrade. The best option would probably be a retrofit from TRS, but that is costly and I think the retrofits on the earlier 90s tacos look a little fugly.

 

It wouldn't on mine, but I just bought H4 bulbs lol. I don't wanna buy more

 

Output pics updated at end of original post after adding my foglight upgrade.

 

So I'm looking to upgrade my stock headlights without replacing the reflector housing or compromising the rubber dust cover. Preferably just a plug and play/simple swap, that matches or exceeds the stock light output/throw, looking to find this in ~6000K temperature (no bluish color). Any suggestions?

 

Yes. Go to page 1 and read OP's post.

 

Any suggestions for "plug and play" vs. replacing the headlight housing, wiring, etc?

 

Did you actually read the first page as was suggested to you?