LED Lighting Conversion

@RobP62 whats the word? Were you able to find your own Sasquatch? That’s how good these lights are...

@Parker315 couldve retired off of royalties or being a distributor for Hikari.. he’s the reason we’re now discovering sasquatches. Even these beasts are coming out to mesmerize how bad ass these lights are...

@mrproduxn so overall, satisfied, content, or stoked? Curious to hear your thoughts as I know initially you weren’t to happy before the “machinist” adjustment.

I wish a new thread was created as a sticky with just the pertinent info for our younger grasshoppers because I have to admit, they don’t sell the cliff notes for this thread on Amazon and I don’t know who the admins are just yet that run this show, plus who am I being fresh to this forum. I just know the important stuff is between pages 50-70ish.

 

I love the new lights. Stoked would be appropriate. Glad I waited so long because I think Hikari has upped the game or at least assisted in bringing led headlights into the next generation. I can't imagine any negative reviews from these. At least not until the next evolution of led technology. Now I really notice those yellowish halogens on every car or truck I meet in passing.

 

Hahaha appreciate that! I don’t need anything for what I’ve provided to this forum. I just enjoy testing and reviewing and sharing that info with all you guys.

I’m big on review for products that I’m interested in and that’s what drives my purchase honestly. So just sharing first hand experience as your average joe, just like all you guys.

I don’t get paid to do this or endorse any products for marketing purposes. It’s all stuff I gave a chance and turned out to loved and now believe in.

All you guys are awesome and have done just as much as me.

 

Yes and Yes, but some brands who listed it as 31mm were a really tight fit.

Agreed, but then again, those pages will eventually become irrelevant once things evolve. lol We just need to re-direct people to the proper pages I suppose.

That's great to hear! I guess the only potential negative thing (besides the off-angle in the HBs which is probably a bad design by Toyota) might come from the fans crapping out. Although those fans are fairly stout items, it's still a constantly moving piece that can fail over time & grime. So we'll all be looking to you guys to give us long-term updates!



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So I have a confession to make. I might not be buying the Hikari's or Morimoto's anytime in the next few months (like I was hoping/planning). Instead, I finally caved in and ordered the OVTune!! @Parker315 or @RobP62, did you order yours yet? SSP and then the ECT anytime mod just couldn't scratch my itch (especially on the freeways). So for now, I'll have to suffer with the HID LBs and LEDs everywhere else (besides the still stock fogs & HBs).

 

My truck will be paid off by July. My 3 year warranty is up at the end of the year. So OVTune is a possibility in the near future. The thing is that my truck runs and shifts great. The cai and exhaust gave me the missing throttle response I needed. The rev 1 tranny update fixed my relatively minor issues. Now I just don't know if the tune is a must-buy for my truck. I keep going back and forth on the decision. It has nothing to do with the price which isn't that bad. It's as cheap as a set of tires.

 

Just replaced my map lights today. Looks like everyone has been doing this the hard way from what I’ve seen in this thread and on YouTube. I figured there had to be an easier way...

Pull out the overhead console, then you have access to the lights from the back side, give it a quarter turn and the bulb comes out in a holder. Swap the bulbs then put it all back together.

 

Has anyone checked what this mod does to incandescent trailer lights hooked to the trailer light connector on Tacomas with the towing package?

 

How I did mine, both times. Some people also wrap needle nose pliers with electrical tap. Others use the tape method. That wouldn't work for me.

 

I heard they can't detect it. I heard. If I had the money I'd do it. I've spent more on less.

 

Ahhhhh!!!! I’m so fucking jealous man!!! Damn you Drew!! That’s badass man please please please share with us the improvements I really want it but at that price it’s gonna be a little while.

 

At the nursing home with Mom right now. Took some photos and vids last night on the way home. The area was more lit up than I'd thought so I shot some at the house looking up the common drive into the woods.

Right now I'm on the fence. I'm not sure the Morimoto have the same peripheral coverage. But I can tell overall there is more light, but it was dusk. I'm sure the results will be positive.

Need to stop at Wal-Mart then back to the site for the after pics. Then dinner. Then I'll take some more looking up the common drive again. Not sure if the video will be a thing but I'll shoot more anyway.

Had some issues installing. Broke a ear off one of the collars. But I was able to fix it. Wiggled the light and it's good. I wire tied the transformer thing to the wires to keep any weight off. I think it's good. Time will tell. Just me doing me, and being a walking disaster area as usual. I can screw up making ice cubes.

Ok, later.
Rob

 

I'm not entirely sure because no one has mentioned hooking up a trailer yet, but it shouldn't effect the trailer lights because I believe it's going through a separate/dedicated wiring harness.

Even if it is not, the brake lights and the turn signals are still receiving their respective signals as normal. So, at worst, the brake lights and the tail lights (on the trailer) would be doing the same thing as your tail lights...meaning that they'll be blinking and braking together.

 

Some people are afraid to pull a panel, so they go at it the hard way. lol

I haven't read through all of those threads, but what I have read, plenty have left the ECU flashed and the techs never noticed the tune. Either way, it only takes a few minutes to flash it back to stock if need be.

I'll definitely keep you guys posted, but it might be a while. It looks like I just BAIRLY missed this latest shipment that went out today. I'm probably order #1 for the next shipment now.

 

I’ve probably pulled that panel out 10 times by now. Far less scary than busting the tiny tabs off the plastic covers then trying to get that bulb out as deep as it sits in there. Going to replace the dome light too but the bulb I got doesn’t fit in there, it’s too long.

OVTune is great you’ll enjoy it for sure. I’ve been versions of it since about November and it totally changes the truck for the better.

 

For towing lights your factory installed trailer harness should be completely separate from your tail light harness. That only would be an issue if you installed aftermarket trailer lights and spliced into your taillight circuit.
Console bulbs. I found that, for me, by taping a small strip of duct tape to the bulb, then using a small pair of needle nose pliers, the bulbs came out easy on the o.h. console. I have snapped off so many of those plastic clips, in door panels and trim panels, in my life that I have 5 boxes of different sizes in my tool box. Chances are that none that I have will fit the 3rd gen truck. Non-issue now thanks to me-so customs.
OVTune. I have read nothing but good reviews about the tune. I believe you gain around 20 ft lbs torque and 10-12 rwhp. The biggest benefit seems to be performance gains in the low to mid range rpm's which will benefit us all. I am just hesitant because mine shifts great. It seems that the majority of people with the best results are ones that never really resolved their shift issues. I consider myself lucky that I never had issues with gear hunting or hanging in lower gears as many did particularly with elevation changes. In the first 6 months I made 2 trips to Winchester VA and not once did mine fail to be in the correct gear before or after cresting hills. I know I am in the minority with that issue. The tune is a definite want for me. I am somewhat disappointed that there is no tune competition. There are several tune options for other vehicles and I just think the competitors are letting OV research and perfect the valve timing on the Atkinson before they start copy-catting OV. You can bet money that there is a 3rd gen Taco sitting in 3 competitors garages right now. I guarantee at least one of them has an OVTune. I keep telling myself that eventually competition will play in our favor with pricing. And I am not saying OV is overpriced. Competition always benefits the consumer. But don't listen to me ramble. I could wake up tomorrow and buy an OVTune.

 

Forgive my ignorance but can some one summarize what this tune does for you? Performance? Responsiveness?

Wait never mind, just checked my wallet. Might be better if I didn’t know?

Nah, just tell me so I am educated. I’ll check the wallet again tomorrow..

 

Quick summary would be it gives you power where your truck seems to be sluggish. Technically it remaps the transmission shift points and remaps the variable valve timing to optimize performance. So when you stomp on the pedal it shitz and gitz. The Atkinson is designed to change the natural 4 strokes of an engine so two of the strokes overlap utilizing and maximizing fuel. The tune creates the pre-3rd gen combustion scenario that provided better power. The Atkinson is best described as a factory de-tune that takes horsepower to give you fuel economy. That's why 2nd Gen never got 18 mpg in town or 25 mpg on the hwy. But they ran like a sob.

 

Yes, in the dome, 31mm. It fit perfectly. Just like the factory one.

 

Like @mrproduxn said, they give you the means to quickly reflash the ECU and the TCU (transmission control unit). The cheaper methods do one or two things (such as change the shift points at certain RPMs & speed), but the OVTune does way more.

In a simplified nutshell, they take into account a whole bunch of things (temps, timing, throttle, speed, gas types, etc) to create a couple dozen shift points for each situation. Not only are these shift points created, how the engine and transmission are behaving during and between each shift point are also changed.

From the reviews in the main thread, plus the new "review" thread below, it gets rid of all lag/hesitation and supposedly makes the throttle response feel very linear. Supposedly, I won't have to fight might transmission when I'm going at freeway speeds. Everyone seems to mention how incredible it is and how much it wakes up the truck. It basically made it enjoyable to drive ALL the time (not just when your off-roading). Best of all, it seems to keep or improve gas mileage despite the power gains.

The thread below is still only a few pages long, so it's an easy read to give you an idea of the results...but hide your wallet first.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/poll-ovtune-reviews-3rd-gen.535928/

 

@mrproduxn @ToyoDrew

Thanks you guys rock!

So who wrote the code?
Can it brick your ECU if something goes wrong during reflash?
Anyone experience bugs afterwords or a seized ECU?
How much does this cost? (My wallet went to bed for the night)
Who does this? Me?
Involved process?

I’d feel better doing this out of warranty as ECUs are not cheap...or maybe better during warranty so the ECU can be replaced as a bricked ECU won’t give the dealer access but a buggy one would have an error log, right?

I read some where that dealers can’t tell regardless...how do we know this?

So essentially this makes my 3.5 “almost” feel like the 4.0’s?

Sorry for all the questions but you guys have got my attention and maybe my wallet’s attention too in the morning.