3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

Unless you have a proper retro fit I don’t think you’re going to get a recommendation on HID’s.

 

Oh here we go.

 

I’m just saying, the research is there and shows it otherwise lol. Hes trying to get people not to use hid and have correct equipment in stock housings. I am also way against HID’s in stock housing because it blinds the shit out of on coming drivers. So many Tacoma’s and 4runners lifted and not lifted run them and it just gives people a bad impression.

 

My Hellas were drop shipped from Hella USA as well. Added a few days to the ship time.

According to TRS the shaking is an internal projector issue. Some have it, some don’t notice it. The XD Philips bulbs locked into place identical to stock yet some reported shaking with those bulbs while others did not.

A problem with aftermarket HID kits for halogen housings is that there are no major reputable automotive lighting manufactures that make these kits, like; Philips, Osram, Sylvania, GE, Volsa, Narva. They don’t make them because you should be using an HID projector which takes real HID D2S bulbs, not a halogen bulb base swapped to an HID capsule. So aftermarket lighting manufactures started making them. But aftermarket manufactures do not match the quality of the OEM supplier brands. You can see looking at the XD bulbs, they came in 25% under output spec. They also did not match the spec’d color. I would speculate that possibly XD knew this and overdrove the ballast to compensate for the low output bulb which will lead to increased heat and reduced bulb life, so the bulb life hours won’t meet spec either. And if it wasn’t intentional, that means the manufacturing was so poor the ballasts were 20% off spec in power. It’s like the Wild West. I specifically wanted the Philips bulbs because I knew the German Philips bulbs would meet the exact specs they claim. There is a difference in the quality level of an OEM brand made in Germany, and an aftermarket one made in China. Unfortunately all aftermarket HIDs are going to be the later. What I liked about the XD HIDs was at least you could get the German Philips bulb, but that is no longer an option.

What I would recommend for HIDs is to get an OEM brand Denso ballast, with OEM grade D2S Philips or Osram bulbs in a retrofit with OEM Lexus RX350 HID projectors.

 

That’s just like, your opinion, man.

 

Join the Club!!!

 

So that harness is $70~, and you gotta modify the bulbs to fit, right?

Just making sure getting this all.

 

I’d suggest waiting on the harness if you want to use it with H9s (which require modification). They custom built the harness for me as I couldn’t find one that was 12 AWG and I shared it with TW. I’m trying to see if they will make it with H9 connectors, making H9s plug and play with no bulb modifications required. They don’t use H9 connectors in any of their harness products so it will require sourcing connectors on their end. Also the price did go up from when they first made them.

 

Another item you won't be able to buy for love or money . Lol

 

Got it. I knew you’d post earlier that you’d ask them to build one and saw the part number in the 2nd gen lighting thread, but didn’t see it (unless you’ve since edited) here.

I need to find perfectly level ground to aim period. Our driveway has a slight angle and you can watch the cutoff of the OEMs rise and fall while backing out of the garage

 

I’ll post and update the thread if/when they agree. Unfortunately Ray, the harness builder I worked with, retired.

I feel you on the driveway, I’m in the same boat and it is a PITA. It is a bit of estimate adjustment, check driving at night and repeat.

 

I check the mirrors of the cars in front of me

 

None of the information crash posted showed any abnormal glare compared to the halogen or even LED.

The beam patterns were nearly identical but as posted the hotspots were weak vs the halogen. The cutoffs were equal.

Reflector housings totally different story.

 

Your squirrel spotters are brighter with HIDs, but the real issue is they don’t auto level like factory HIDs meaning it is easier to be flashed by dropping below the horizon as the truck bounces or crests a hill. This is significantly worse in a lifted truck, or a truck that is towing/has weight in the bed.

 

Of course. But anything below the cut off would have that issue. Not all oem hid are auto leveling. Been blinded many times by oncoming traffic with oem hid and led lights cresting a hill.

Thanks for the thread. Great info.

Shame that the true improvement only comes from a 200 hour bulb.

 

That’s is the real shame I hope technology moves faster regarding this

 

I tried to make this thread as informative as possible without prescribing a solution and laying out the pros/cons of each. You could certainly look to aftermarket HIDs but it is a total crap shoot on brand and not advisable for large lifts, towing ect. The performance halogen options presented in the thread are high performance bulbs, halogen is a spectrum, you can use Philips +100 bulbs and get improved output with 450 hour life, but it won’t match the GEs or H9s. Everything has a price, there is no ‘free lunch’. The Hella H9s though are only $9/ea and should last a year. Seams like a very low price to me for a significant increase in performance.

 

And I'm thinking I'll get more as my actual night driving is minimal. And I'll happily toss a 9 dollar bulb in if one goes out. The gains are worth it.

 

Be sure to always replace halogens in pairs as they dim over time, and when one fails the other isn’t far behind.

But compared to the XD LEDs assuming an annual H9 bulb replacement (I replace my 200hr H4 bulbs annually) it would be a 6 year break even point in cost from the halogens vs the LEDs.

 

Just making a cheap price analogy. Should have said 18 dollars for a pair of bulbs. Just like replacing a single wiper or worse yet replacing a single battery in a dual battery system.