3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

I bought these and there is no visible difference to my eyes between them and the Philips made in Germany that came with the truck

 

Right, they are pretty close but the Philips is slightly better output. Earlier comments about them being better than the stock high beam was based on an incorrect assumption that the 3rd Gen came with an Osram H9 bulb for the high beam, when it actually came with Philips.

 

I ordered GM part number 10351666 for $14.68 plus tax from the local GM dealer in the hope that it would be a Philips H9. It was delivered next day from their warehouse in Montreal. Turned out to be an Osram made in Germany.

I am planning to re-run test on the weekend, outside this time since the weather is improving every day. Will chisel wall until it is the right number of mm from the truck!

 

Almost the same.

 

I also ordered 4 bulbs from Rock Auto to Canada, going off the same GM part number. All-in cost was $11.36 per bulb delivered by cheapest method. Not much more expensive than the Hellas from the same supplier, which came in at $10.09.

Will post when they arrive. Will be like a box of chocolates, never know what you are going to get.

 

Hmm. My ACDelco bulbs haven't shown up yet, they should be here this week. Pics I found online showed the German Philips bulbs, but ACDelco may just use Osram and Philips interchangeably or switched suppliers since the photos I found were taken.

I also ordered some GE H9s, and have the China Philips H9s coming from @Frank_Zuccarini in addition to the Xencn 70w H9s all due in this week. That is the last of the bulbs I plan on testing at this time. I'll then update the first page with comparison charts and recommendations.

 

Based on pics from an Amazon listing, that is the "sylvania basic" bulb that can be bought off the shelf at most auto parts stores.

 

Right. That is the Osram bulb that was used in the original post of the thread, which is also sold under the Sylvania brand.

 

I just received mine and they were the crappie Chinese ones. Hopefully there as good as the German ones

 

Interrupting this thread to say I really like the Katana H11 LEDs from Amazon. Very bright and output close to the xenon headlights I had in my GT MX5. Also, as they come out of the box they don't cause weird refrations or rainbows even though they have adjustable beam angles. Im going to install them in my 4Runner as well.

 

You'll note those have a similar design to the Hikaris that do better than many. You will still get a reduction in projection distance compared to a halogen upgrade. Note that they should be installed with the LEDs face 3 and 9 o'clock. Despite what the ad may claim, output is no where close to HIDs (Xenons), often people think this due to color temperature. Note that the 4runner has very odd side entry projectors, so one LED will face forward, and the other LED faces back, which will have the light largely obstructed by the large blade design of a drop in LED.

 

So whats the best harness option on the market for h11 to h9? I looked into rally lights and it’s $90 which seems steep- do they custom make h11 to h9 and is it just a harness or other things (looks like battery terminal and other stuff)? I did see quite a few different options for harness modifications throughout this thread, OP do you like any of the ones that have been mentioned?

 

The H11->H9 adapter harness people are making is covered in post #738 here. Using

$8 iJDMTOY H11 H8 H9 Extension Wiring Harness Sockets Wires Compatible with High/Low Beam or Fog Lights Use

this harness from amazon.

There are 2 different kinds of harnesses people are referring to, adapters like shown in the links above so you don't need to trim the bulbs, and using a heavy duty relayed harness to draw power directly from the battery from improved voltage which will equal greater output. I'm hoping to have Headlight Services build the later, which will also include H11->H9 plugs, making the bulbs plug and play. No such product that I am aware of exists yet.

I will be testing alternator voltage boosters soon, which will effectively perform a similar function as the HD harness, by delivering higher voltage to the headlights. Hoping for those parts to show up this week.

 

Here's what they (the NOKYA fog lights) looked like as it was beginning to get dark this evening. Low beam headlights, and H11 Hyper Yellow fogs. It'll be a few months before I have much fog to try them out in.

 

Same story. Came in today. Chinese H9

 

I tried the Phillips H11 X-tremeVision before I found this thread. I upgraded to the GE +130 H11 yesterday and the difference is night and day. The GEs are so much better. This thread has been very helpful. Thanks OP!

 

OK.

If you HAD to change out your high and/or low beam bulbs, what would your LED/HID recommendation be?

Am presently using the GE +130 H11 low beams, Philips H9 highs. My Tacoma-2018 TRDOR4WD.

My other cars have HID and LED lighting-I profoundly miss the nocturnal visibility!

I am intrigued about the Hikari Ultra LED Headlight Kit for low beams https://www.amazon.com/HIKARI-Headlight-Conversion-Lumileds-Warranty/dp/B077BT6M6Z,
and the Diode Dynamics HID for highbeam https://www.diodedynamics.com/high-beam-hid-conversion-kit-for-2016-2019-toyota-tacoma.html conversion.

I understand your (correct) rationale for not using HID/LED bulbs in headlight housings not designed for them. These potential high/low bulb changes will be temporary until the LED replacement bulb technology improves for, especially, projector low beams.

But I desperately need to upgrade, at least, my low beam throw and lumens.

Your feedback and critique are eagerly anticipated.

 

rx350 HID retrofit is your answer

these two statements are contradictory
"I profoundly miss the nocturnal visibility!"
"These potential high/low bulb changes will be temporary until the LED replacement bulb technology improves for, especially, projector low beams"

You probably have the best setup now, unless doing a HID retrofit.

 

The GE +130s outperform the Hikari LEDs, yes even the latest "Philips lumileds" version. And the GE Xenon +120s or Philips German H9s are even better outperforming the GE +130s. For maximum low beam halogen output I would recommend the Philips German H9s in the low beam first. Simply remove them from your high beam, trim the inner tab with a small knife and swap them to your low beam and go for a drive at night on some dark roads. Won't cost anything to try out. The Philips German H9s are far superior to the best Hikari LEDs, so if that doesn't cut it, then you need to look at HID for the low beam.

And if the Philips German H9s are insufficient, I would also ask do you have tint on your front windshield? For some reason windshield tinting seams to be a trend, and people are not realizing they are blocking 70% or more of their visible headlight output with the tint and then trying to address the problem by adding brighter lights and complaining the best lights are not bright enough when the real problem is the tint.

HID high beams will be bright, but they are not instant on. HIDs have warm up time, which really isn't ideal for most use cases. You should also not restart an HID capsule right away as it can lead to premature failure, meaning you need to let them cool down in-between runs. So if your use case is extended high beam use with no need to flash or rapidly turn them on, then you might find that a suitable solution, but in general it is not recommended.

I hope to be testing some boosted halogen H9s this week, we'll see if they show up. The voltage booster may be good for 20%+ gain on the halogens as well, but that is TBD. Hope to have those parts show up this week as well.

If you really need significantly more light that your high beam can offer, you should probably look into some form of aux lighting, such as a light bar or other front end mount lights. If you don't have state inspections, you can wire them to come on with the high beams so the operation from the cab is identical to stock.

 

M a new member. Did not realize how much information was available here until I started digging around the site.

Thank you for all the research you have been doing, will follow you and appreciate your recommendations.