3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

I'd love to see an additional datapoint thrown in on your comparison graphs to show where the phillips HID bulbs match up.

 

Philips HIDs are far brighter. You can compare the raw D1 and D2 lux data below.

 

I want to upgrade my 2019 Tacoma SR 4cylinder headlights and backup lights with LEDs, that are not too bright for oncoming traffic. Anybody know of some good quality options that are not expensive? Also want to add LED fog lights, on a budget. Any good options there? I was thinking getting stock fog lights and then switch them out to LEDs. Any good LED bulbs you recommend? Or is it better to get LED pre-installed fog lights?

 

Get the kc hilites fog lights. This whole thread tells you why you shouldn’t use LEDs in our headlights and fogs. They just don’t put the out put at distance and the glare blinds on coming drivers especially if you are running your fogs with LEDs. So crash will not recommend any LEDs for factory housing. Don’t believe the advertisements LEDs company’s say on their website crash has prove this time in and time out that they are wrong.

 

Wow, I had no idea about not putting LEDs in original headlights. Sorry, thread is very long. I saw some youtube vids of people that did it and it seemed ok. The light was cleaner and brighter. They even did comparisons. I guess I should read this threat from the beginning before I say more. If I skip LED headlights and go with better halogen bulbs, which is a bright halogen that won't be anoying to other drivers? I have an SR which doesn't come with fog lights pre-installed so I have the option to go with original LED housing. But the KC lights are like over $300. Aren't there any decent LED fog lights in the $100 or less range?

 

My bad. Will look into it. Such a technical post. Good stuff. Thanks OP.

 

As mentioned drop in LEDs do not project, the data is covered in the original post and some follow up posts in post #3. In halogen reflectors like fogs, LEDs also do not project and in addition cause significant glare to oncoming drivers. KC lights are some the best LED fogs, there are more budget friendly options like OEM Toyota LED fogs. All the info and options are in the SAE J583 fog thread below. Here is the post on the Toyota LED fogs that are just over $100.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...fog-light-review.554813/page-37#post-20419703

 

Thanks OP. What about 6kled.com fog lights, found here: https://www.6kled.com/tacoma-led-foglight-kit-p/bk90010.htm ?
They're cheaper than the Toyota ones and also have their own housing. Saw a youtube video about them. Don't like how they look though with the black line in the middle, but not sure if they perform better.

 

Also, why do you say in another post not to use fog lights all the time? I used to have my fog lights on all the time in my Mitsubishi Montero Sport 2002 and they made things brighter at nights, and didn't seem anoying for other drivers. That's why I was planing to get fog lights. Otherwise I don't really have much use for them for fog purposes.

 

Definitely no. Those lights are not a fog light and not J583 compliant. They have forward facing exposed LEDs which mean they have no cut offs and are basically the same as a light bar, they will blind other drivers and perform poorly in the conditions that fogs are designed for. People produce lots of poor uneducated videos on youtube.

The OEM halogen fogs do a poor job of glare control, legal, but not great. Most of the aftermarket LED SAE fogs do much better. The usual goal is to see further at night, and outside of areas that have lots of ambient light, you see further when there is less near field light. Fogs produce a bunch of near field light which then will reduce your ability to see as far as possible. Fogs are a short distance wide angle light, they are not intended to help you see further or better down road, just immediately around you in poor weather conditions.

 

Good to know. Will stay away from the 6kLED. Glad I found your thread. Very high level stuff. Was actually reading a thread here about LEDs, and after watching some Youtube vids with positive reviews about Tacoma LED mods I was sure I was going to plug in one of those LEDs. Then I ran into a post from El Duderino which linked to this thread. Glad I did. Will study it further before thinking about putting LEDs in the headlights. Great resource. Thanks again.

 

i Wish there was an auto read feature so I could listen to all these posts while I do other stuff, what a thread... must get off TW now, Thanks for the info @crashnburn80

 

If you want LED headlights that perform decent, check out the Morimoto complete assemblies or the upcoming 2020 LED headlights. Will be significantly more expensive though.

Should be able to do auto read by page on a smart phone. Might be kinda challenging to listen to though.

 

Does the chrome is the

$137 PT413-42190 Toyota Fog Light - PT413-42190

PT413-42190 make it significantly brighter than the

$124 PT413-42191 Fog Light (Black), 1 Pack

PT413-42191?

 

The chrome is outside of the projector and does not affect output, it is cosmetic only. The lights are equal in output.

 

I just put in the Philips XV2 capsules from XD(purchased from TRS during the 4th sale). I can honestly say these are by far the best of the best that I have used when it comes to halogen, LED, and HID. Powered by Hylux 35w ballasts. They give off a pure white/warm white color(no blue). Distance is great, glare is minimum. Still playing with the height adjustment as I just installed my lift as well. I also bought a D2S pair to put in my Infiniti QX70S but comparing the two would be apples to oranges considering it has proper HID projectors. The RX350 projector retro-fit is next on my to-do list for the Tacoma but for now these are great. I previously had the Morimoto 5500K bulbs. Good, but just too much blue for me.

 

I'll be anticipating your writeup on the rx350 projectors. Id love to see how they compare head to head with the same HID system in the stock housings so i can justify the investment or not.

 

Just put the H9s in the low beams! Bought the extension harness and it was an easy 2 seconds for everything to fit. Projection/output is much better! all for $14. Thanks @crashnburn80 !

 

Which H9s did you put?

 

Retros will have better focus and projection with improved output, but importantly have sharp flat cut offs without the halogen squirrel spotters, which are not the kindest to oncoming vehicles with HIDs. You also get to run legit D2S German bulbs, rather than Philips bulbs that have been rebased. Rebasing accuracy can very and is not equivalent to a proper precision made bulb by an OEM supplier.