LED Lighting Conversion

Curious about this as well. This is likely my next purchase because like its been mentioned before, WHY do these trucks come with regular halogen bulbs!

 

With the truck parked 25' from a wall, we are doing from 2" to 4" adjustment. I am at that higher end of the spectrum. I do not have a lift kit though, and my tires just add 1". Pull up to a wall, your garage, whatever and put a piece of tape at the very top of the beam cutoff point. Then make the adjustment.

I ultimately tested mine by adjusting, then taking a drive. I was pulling up on some pretty small sedans, like Corolla's, Camry's, etc, and stayed like 30' - 40' away, or about 2 car lengths. I watched how close I could get to them without the light entering the back window. This wound up being like a car - car and a half length away. The cut off beam (and you will be able to see it clearly) stayed lower on the trunk lid. Now, if I get stupid close, like less than 6', then the beam will enter the rear window and be visible on the rear seat headrests. That would be obnoxious for shorter cars like corvettes or miatas but those guys are used to it.

I also sat at an intersection and watched the cross traffic to be sure the cut off beams were not higher than the top of the door where the door handles are. I also live in an area where people will flash you for high beams quick! I have not been flashed yet.

Oh! You need to remember, the LB and HB bulbs are all part of the same adjustment so when you raise the LB's the HB's go with them, and if you raise your low beams too high, then your high beams will also be too high. Why I would not recommend going above 4", unless you're coon huntin' with your truck. Even without any lift or taller tires.

It might also seem like nothing is happening at first. You might turn the knob and say, damn, nothing is happening. Personally, I think the wheel has to spin a couple times before it actually grabs whatever it is that it is lifting. Some see a difference right away however. I did not.

Oh, I think in all my research on this I did read somewhere that you can actually raise them too much and the part that moves up and down on the vertical spline gear will come off at the top, then it is a bitch getting it back on.

 

I didn’t need to adjust my Xenon Depot H11s. Driving at night, the beam cutoff is perfectly below the back window of most small cars. Overall super happy with the ease of installation and the light output.

EDIT: My TRDOR has stock suspension and tires

 

Welcome to the forum

So ok, you're definitely at the right place to learn about LED Conversions. There is so much information here it is hard to take it all in sometimes. The main reason is because this is a technology that is constantly changing and evolving. The best today are not as good as what comes out tomorrow. Ultimately though there is a point where you say, these are the best my money can buy.

I was actually at the point a while ago with the Hikari's. I loved them. The reviews were all positive and the price was really good too. Then I checked out the Xenon Depot bulbs. They had two features that for me were a step up from the Hikari's. And believe me, I am not dissing the Hikari's. Why I said "for me".

To answer your question with a question though, why does any vehicle come with Halogens? Well, in their own right, they are actually more than adequate for most average driving situations. Actually, Halogens are a step up from what I grew up with in my vehicles. Halogens were a mod back in the day. Heck, I bet there are some cars on the road today that still don't have them.

Once you go LED though, you will never run anything else.

 

Thanks for the info!

Right, the Off Roads sit higher than Sports naturally. More importantly, that one or two inch difference translates to a lot of height at 300 years. That was my biggest desire, to get more throw farther down the road. I adjusted my lights initially when I had the Hikari's in there. When I replaced them with the Xenon Depot bulbs my initial reaction was they were too high. I almost lowered them. I decided to test drive them first. Turns out it was ok.

 

Thank you sir!

I've actually retrofitted a couple sets of headlights in the past and have done a few full LED interior swaps for myself and friends. Your method of using a wall is exactly how I adjusted and leveled the projectors after the retrofits.

Halogens are sufficient for any vehicle absolutely, but the clean crisp white color of a 4300k HID bulb just seems so much more luxurious. Pair that with a 3000k HID/LED fog light bulb and you've got a beauty. (my opinion)

I agree 100%, once you've had HID or LED it's hard to enjoy the yellow.

 

Anyone come across any red LED bulbs for the rear dome light? I know Meso sells replacement LED lenses but there is no way to know if they ever come back in stock.

Thanks.

 

Got my low beams installed tonight. Tight fit, but no diode adjustments and no cutoff adjustments were needed. Sweating like a fool. About to take a spin and see how it looks behind the wheel.

 

WOW, welcome back!!! Sounds like you need some Tacoma World therapy. LOL So much has happened, where to begin! Actually, I have also been absent from here more often than not lately. I'm quite far behind on the main "what have you done..." thread.

@RobP62 - I WISH I could retire (still have a few more years before I hit my 20). More importantly, I wish we were already in the STL area so we could finally get this move over with. Life has been in fast forward recently as we prep for the movers who are coming in less than 2 weeks. I can't believe how much stuff we can accumulate in just a few years! After a few garage sales and some donation runs, I think we've trimmed most of the excess fat. lol


Anyway, a good place to start catching up would be to read @RobP62 's review of the Xenon Depot Xtreme LED Pro bulbs about a month ago in this thread. He's now sporting them in both the LBs and HBs. A few others, including me, have also bought a set. Currently, I am working on a comparison to the newer Hikari's. I finally took some pictures of them the other night, but I realized that I forgot to swap in the OEM bulbs so that I could do a comparison of those for other TW members that are new to this. So I should have something better comparison pics shortly.

Also, you should also check out @crashnburn80 's link he just posted...lots of good info on the LED pods that he was testing earlier this year (including the ones you bought off of him).

 

Yea, what Drew said LOL

 

Quick question. Do I need to worry about clocking any light diodes other than the highbeams? I have the highbeams clocked with the diode’s at three and 9 o’clock but the low beams on the passenger side are very difficult to get in at that angle I wasn’t sure if it even matters.

 

The LB's are fine...it's only the HB's that are off.

 

I used Diode Dynamics. Here’s my post:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diode-dynamics-cabin-led-install.505596/#post-15813057

 

Probably doesn't matter but I did mine. I did them before I installed them.

 

I'd be curious to see if the light boxes are still there not clocking them. Remember, I have those. Someone should not clock them then pull up to a wall close like I did and post up a picture.

 

Did you clock your LB's to 3 and 9? Both my driver and passenger lights were at the 3 and 9 position at 0-degrees, which is how mine came out of the box.

 

I think one was right outta the box and the other needed some adjustment. I would be willing to bet these sockets are all a little different.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot



Sorry, you made me do it.

 

Lmao man I missed you guys

I've been so busy with work and wedding planning and other things. I'm gonna try and get back on more often and stay up to date.

Lol @ToyoDrew wow man a pizza joint and wood carving holy shit

 

WHATS UP DREW!! Hey thanks for the 4-11 lol

So you mean Robs comment on you retiring and owning a pizza joint and wood carving wasn't true? Darn I'm disappointed lol

I did see crashnburn80 post on the pod reviews actually and I still have the Offroad Town pods I need to install for pods soon.

Anyway gotta get going to work lol