The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

So that's good news for Canadian Tacoma's then as they should not require any special harness as all Tacoma's I've seen use the amber lights as their DRL

 

Amber DRLs are no problem. Canadian law requires DRLs. Some Tacoma’s have headlight DRLs, might only be 1st Gen, but I thought some 2nd Gens did as well.

 

Does this harness really make stock wattage bulbs brighter? If so, how? I may build a harness if it really makes stock wattage bulbs brighter. I think I can build one for way less than most sellers get for them.

 

On vacation and my new Superbrights are waiting for me. Also ordered TRD Pro Headlights

 

Yes, it does. Ohm's Law is how, as explained in Post #1 of this thread.

With all due respect, if you couldn't take the time to read Post #1 and don't understand how reducing the resistance of headlight wiring results in higher voltage to the bulbs and therefore brighter light, you should probably leave harness construction to the experts and just buy one of their pre-made products.

 

I know ohm's law. I've been working with electricity for 40+ years, AC, and DC. I just didn't know that the stock wiring was so poor. Also, I don't believe anything I read on some aftermarket company's sales pitch website. They all claim everything they sell does miracles. That's why I asked on here, hoping some members who had actually tried a heavier harness, could say if it really made a noticeable difference, or not, on stock wattage bulbs, theories, and marketing hype aside. Not likely that I'm going to pay hundreds of dollars for a few dollars of wire, and a couple of relays, when I can make my own for way less, and it won't be a difficult task, at that.

 

Your skepticism regarding Internet marketing claims is well-founded. As I said, however, Post #1 answers your questions about why/how the harness upgrade is worthwhile. Almost 2.3K other posts in the thread include countless testamonials from members who actually tried heavier harnesses, confirming they really make a noticeable difference. Links provided in Post #1 show the parts to assemble your own harness are available for $69 and assembled harnesses sell for $110/ea - both options considerably less than "hundreds of dollars."

Good luck with your build.

 

Halogen output has an exponential relationship to voltage, meaning very small increases in voltage will have noticeable increased effects on output. Using oversized 12awg wiring directly to the battery is more electrically efficient reducing the voltage drop over the stock circuit, meaning the voltage delivered is slightly higher. On a modern 2nd Gen you can expect about 15% more output from stock bulbs with a well made 12awg the harness, likely more on older trucks.

You can also boost voltage with a voltage booster if running an AGM battery on a 1st or 2nd Gen As covered here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-northstar-agm-battery-voltage-booster-upgrade.604478/

 

I'm going to do some checking by running a heavy wire temporarily to one light, and check the change in voltage available as compared to stock. If I can't prove a difference for myself, I won't bother to build a harness for stock bulbs, but I'm still debating on higher wattage bulbs anyway. I don't have an AGM battery. I have no special need of one, and the price isn't worth it for general use, not to me anyway. I will probably need a new battery before winter, this one is 8 years old. Thanks for the info. If I do get a 15% improvement, I'll certainly upgrade the harness.

 

Mine didn't have either.

 

So I read a lot of the replies on here but wanted to confirm some stuff. I have an 02 Tacoma that I ordered some new headlights, TYC CAPA Cert from Rockauto.

Is this the wiring harness I need for a 1st gen Tacoma?
http://www.headlightservices.com/4runner3.html

Osram Super Bright? I couldn’t find the Allseasons mentioned.
https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/product/osram-super-bright-premium-h4

I read that this doesn’t work with DRL headlights which is fine because I was going to disable the DRL anyway by cutting the wire from the relay. If I go with the wiring harness from Headlight Services does that mean I don’t need to cut the DRL wire to disable it?

Any other help info to do this mod for a 1st gen Tacoma would be appreciated.

 

I cannot speak to 1st gen but I believe that is the current bulb people are running.

 

You may want to consult this thread's 1st Gen Proper headlight upgrade companion.

Before ordering, STRONGLY RECOMMEND you confirm your electrical ground system by following the steps outlined here... Many older trucks required Ground Switched harnesses. I was, therefore, surprised to discover my '04 was Conventionally Switched, requiring a Conventional Harness. I didn't care about DRLs and didn't want the function to further shorten my upgraded bulbs' already short lifespan, so I disabled them when when I upgraded. As I understand it, you need to disable your DRLs if you're Ground Switched, because they're incompatible with the upgrade.

Osram Super Brights are what I've run since they discontinued their Hyper line of bulbs.

 

Thank you. I’ll post my questions in that thread and I’ll confirm if I have a ground switch. Mine being 02 I would think so. I could see an 04 having the other type switch since it was the last year for the 1st gen, but I’ll confirm anyways.

 

I am planning on installing the harness and lights here in the next few days to replace an hid kit( I know... it's the ) but was wondering if I should just keep the same adjustment I currently or is there some dimension I should adjust the cutoff and center to?

 

Assuming your current headlight housings and adjustment are stock, no adjustment is required.

 

If your truck is not stock height I would adjust it. There are videos on Youtube showing you how to aim your headlights. It also doesn't hurt to check it again.

 

just got to page 2 of 115, woohoo

this is similar to what many people do to old Mercedes E320's ("W210" chassis)
putting brighter Osram bulbs (more watts) and sometimes thicker wiring

 

Yep, the concept certainly isn’t new. Just seems to be overlooked with LED/HID being the buzz words in automotive lighting.

To save you some reading time, I keep the first post constantly updated with the latest info, so no need to read all 115 pages for the latest info.

 

Does anybody know of any major companies that do headlight aiming? Maybe with a beam setter machine?