New LED headlights terrible light output

Here's what it looks like during daylight.

 

The RSI LEDs are amazingly bright!

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rsi-led-headlight-and-fog-light-group-buy-closed.434569/

Here is a comparison to stock.

 

doesnt look too bad. the projectors are probably fine. you need better bulbs. HID or cree led headlight bulbs. the ones you bought are about as good as turn signal bulbs.

 

Yeah, the problem is that i would need to replace the projector lens within the housing, and that requires me to break it apart and reseal it. If this is one of those assemblies that is so cheap it allows in moisture, i might look into replacing it when i break it apart to reseal. Who knows. I've got some big life projects that need financial investment and I don't know how much more I am willing and able to put into the truck. :/

 

no you don't. says it takes H7 bulbs. just buy H7 HID kit or H7 cree bulbs.
also if you don't trust the housing, but a tube of silicon caulk and seal around the edges.

 

True that man, I got a morimoto H7 Xb35 HID kit from theretrosource.com for the low beams. They will go right in plug and play with quality stuff.

Coot

 

Thanks for sharing. That looks like a great upgrade. I think I mis-spoke a little. According to retrofitsource, their Morimoto XB H7 in 4500K puts out 3500 lumen. They do seem to last longer than the halogens, but you are screwed if one (or both) burn out until a new one can be shipped to you. And then there are those annoying ballasts.

What is the color temperature of the Osrams you are running? The link for purchase shows them as discontinued. Do they have a replacement?

 

Which still won't give you proper light output. You're putting in an HID or LED bulb, which have a different light output pattern than halogen bulbs, into a poorly designed halogen projector, and somehow expect it to act better? Brighter, maybe, but better? Those are two very different things. If you ever get the chance to compare Spyder/Spec-D projectors with Morimoto ones, I would highly suggest you do. There is a reason the Morimoto HID retrofit kits cost more than an entire Spyder/Spec-D housing.

 

There are 2 options for the Osrams on the page, the 85w (pictured in my post) and 70w, which has been discontinued. If you click on the link to buy it was the 70w has been discontinued, but the 85w is still available. I'd recommend the 85w.

HIDs can definitely put out more light output when you step up to the 50w-ers, but they require expensive retrofits to be done right. The Osram Hyper 85w bulbs are slightly whiter than stock. They have no coating for aesthetics, so they will still look like a halogen.

 

Something not mentioned is high wattage halogen lifespan. You may get 6-12 months for those bulbs, at $20 per bulb, so between $42-84 per year on halogens, and he needs an H7 which I could only find the 55w Osram Night Breaker Unlimited, which I won't have the huge jump in output like the 85w, and the 55w ones are the same price but the lower wattage may last longer. So he's maybe paying $40 a year for slightly brighter halogens when by the third year he could be running an HID kit that, while not a retrofit, will be cheaper during the life of the truck with the headlight housings he has.

 

Something definitely to consider. I would only advocate for the H4 halogens. Going to an alternative housing with lesser than ideal bulbs will not have the same results. A stock wattage H7 will not compare to the 85w H4.

 

What is the difference in the H4, H7, H11, etc? Is it light output or merely a size rating?

 

Different bulb designs. The H4 for example is dual filiment meaning it supports high and low beams, where as the H11 is single filiment and low beam only. Standard lumen output varies somewhat between bulbs, but all stock bulbs are 55w low beam and 60w high beam. Aftermarket support also varies, the H4 is extremely popular with the most aftermarket upgrade options.

 

And again, a HID kit in a poorly designed halogen projector won't give optimal light output. You will get hotspots in the wrong places, and although glare will be minimal due to the fundamental design of the projector, there will still be some.

 

My 85/100w hella bulbs lasted many, many years in my old 4runners - atleast 4 years.

My IPF high wattage bulbs lasted exactly 1 year.

 

Likely different types of bulbs (both H4). There are more tricks than just wattage to increase the light output of a bulb, all of which reduce life span. This is why OEMs bulbs always last forever, because they use lower output 'long life' bulbs as new car buyers would be frustrated if they were always replacing the lights on their new car, but then some people switch to a performance oriented bulb are always surprised their bulbs only last a year though they are the same wattage. +50, +100, Hyper types of bulbs will output more than their standard counterpart, but have reduced life span. This is how some bulbs put out more light than their higher wattage counterparts. Having a bulb that is high wattage and overdrives the filament will have superior light output to a bulb that is just higher wattage, but will pay the price in lifespan.

 

So I got an update on my set up. I have put in the Morimoto XB 35 H7 HID kit in these headlights. After adjusting them like crazy thinking that my light angle was affecting the poor visibility, turns out it really is the shitty 3 inch projector. I am going to hit up the retro source today and see what they recommend. I will probably go the route of opening up my headlights and replacing the projectors as I have heard especially with the vipmotoz/spyder projectors that they are shit stock. OP, if you havnt bought a new HID kit, I would consider a new projector first as I think I may have to get some new bulbs for my set up as I have H7s in there now and I may need some H1 bulbs with a new projector. I will update on what I find today. For the most part I really like these headlights as they are unique and got a clean look, but these projectors are SHIT(sorry I cant stop saying this word).

I bet if you replaced your projectors, you would be surprised at the power of just a regular halogen bulb at that point.

Coot

 

When I bought Spyder/Spec-D lights, I knew immediately I was going to replace the projectors, so I planned for that from the beginning.

 

After looking at a few youtube vids I realized that is normal to replace the projectors. Anyway I got off the phone with the retrofit source and they told me to get some H1 bulbs that will just plug into my existing HID Morimoto kit. From there I will get a 2.5" retro-quick universal kit. I am going with the H1 (7.0) projectors that are supposed to give me max clarity and distance as I only want this done once. You can get other H1 projectors for as cheap as $25, $50, or $130. Anyway this will be about a $200 upgrade that will make my lights more than what I already want out of them.

Coot

 

That's what I replaced mine with as well, Mini H1 7.0. They're really the only high quality projectors that fit, the Mini D2S and FX-R are too large.