The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

I agree, my cutoff is very clear and i like it a lot. I think the '13-15 headlights make it even better

 

Sound like my wife.

 

100%, I’m actually impressed by it!

 

I just want to ask, if anyone is running these bulbs (like osram H4 100/90w superbright) without the wiring harness? And if so, what is your experience. I get a little nervous with wiring. (even tho it seems like plug and play) Also, I am seeing wiring harnesses on Amazon for $30-$40. Are those any good? $100+ for a wiring harness seems pretty steep.

 

Electricity is a black box to me...I get you!
The harness really is plug and play and this thread can answer any question...

The harness seems simple and it is. But the difference is quality and if you read back a bit, you'll hear people 'got what they paid for'.

Can't comment on running just the better bulb as I also have the harness.

But installing the better bulbs and using the better (ie - longer lasting) harness is tied for the best mod I have done. I say that considering how much I use my lights.

 

Those bulbs will draw a lot of current for the stock wiring. Too much current draw causes the wires to heat up which raises resistance which makes the wires even hotter. That leads to potential fire danger.

Cheap harnesses use poor quality items especially relays.

 

Thanks guys. I'm going to hold of till spring to pull the trigger. Being that its 20° out here in Chicagoland area and being I don't have a garage to install the harness. But I think this is the mod I will end up doing. Harness and osram super brights. Is the link for the hardness on page 1 of this thread still good to buy it from??

 

You can install the harness in 10-15 min easy, and it is such a useful mod for the dark winters. Yes, the Headlight Services harness is the way to go, I keep all links in the original post up to date.

 

Ok, awesome. Might just buy then now then after a little more research on the install. Would be helpful now that it gets dark by 4 out here. Thanks everyone

 

Last question, any recommendations on yellow fog lights? Specic brand?

 

Rigid Selective Yellow D-series are the best performers by far with the Rago 12-15 mounts. The new 360 series does mount a lot nicer, looking like stock, but lacks the wide angle and higher intensity.

You can see the 360 vs D-series SAE pattern differences in the SAE fog thread here:

 

The Rigid D-Series (in white) are sick! Insanely bright...makes me want to do the Fog Light Anytime Mod

 

Does anybody know the part number for the rubber boot on the back of a Second Gen. ('13-'15) housing? Lost a headlamp comin' home last night & when I went to replace 'em today the drivers side boot was gone. Likely replaced before as they were mismatched lamps as well. Any issues with higher lamp temps and this rubber boot? I really don't want to clean up a bunch of melted goo.

 

Those rigid d series look sick but was looking to just swap the bulbs

 

There are brackets that you can mount into the stock fog housing IIRC...

 

I don't think I have any spare boots but, FWIW, I've run the Ultimate Headlight Upgrade for almost 4yrs (both Osram Hyper 85/80w and Super Bright 100/90w H4s) with no melting issues.

 

What bulbs are these?

 

Hello all, first post here. @crashnburn80, I was linked your foglight thread from the automotive section in candlepowerforums a whike back. Very informative. From there, I found your 3rd gen tacoma upgrade thread, and now this thread. I read the entire 3rd gen tacoma thread looking for answers for a friend of mine who just picked up a '19 trd pro. He was looking at some of the LED options available, but was happy to see that there was significant upgrade potential with H9s in his lowbeams. The comparisons you posted really sold it (and thankfully he won't be going with LED now).

I have a 3rd gen 4runner, a 1999 with the original headlamps still installed. They're starting to show some dulling of the reflector cups, so I'll be looking for some new, hopefully OEM koito assemblies in the near future. For now, I'm running Phillips +130 H4's.

I've been messing with my lamps since I got the vehicle in 2014, trying different bulbs. For the past few years, I had to do a considerable amount of night driving, and had about an hour commute each way on windy backroads with tons of deer. And TONS of fog, especially in the spring/early summer.

I found that the best foul weather performance I got (all anecdotally, which I understand is flawed) was using philipps +100 h4 (no bulb tint) and 3 coats of duplicolor metalcast anodize yellow on my lenses (transparent yellow, effecticely tinted the output to "Selective Yellow." This worked really well in heavy fog/rain/mist, and also made signage on the side of the road (blue metallic base paint) less reflective and blinding.

I got popped multiple times for tinted lenses, which were illegal under PA law. So after about 18 months I stripped the lenses bare and got those selective yellow bulb covers that Candlepower/susquehanna motorsports sells. They did the job for lowbeam, but the curvature of the filter is right over the lower 1/3rd of the highbeam filament. I got fewer tickets for this, and was able to get them all thrown out in court (PA requires white headlights but makes no reference to a definition of white, I used the federal standard and a buddy's lightmeter which showed the clear bulb and yellow clip on filter resulted in a borderline federal white output. Technically correct, the best kind).

I'm looking for better fog/rain/foul weather lighting at this point. I thumbed through this thread earlier and saw someones post about Lunex "plasma yellow" H4 +80 bulb. I have a set on order, but they wont be here until mid/late december. Have you tested these out? I haven't come across that post, if you have. I did see in your H11/H9 upgrade thread that you stated they are an indian company trying to pass themselves off as a UL startup, but Im hoping they're half decent.

**Edit** went back over the H11 uograde thread, your post #48 showed a soectrum comparision between the GE +130's and also the XD rebased HID. You stated that the lunex h9 put out "almost as much light" as the GE's, but I didnt see the intensity comparisons. Still thumbing through This thread if anyone has posted about the Lunex H4s. **/Edit**

I have run hella "3000k" yellow bulbs, which were basically amber, Philips colorvision (standard bulb, just a *Bare* touch of yellow filter) which were not very good imo, and tried a few other brands. None have been nearly as effective in fog/bad weather as my tinted lenses. I'm half hoping these lunex bulbs are at least "ok" performers.

If anyone has been running these, can you give me your assessment of their performance in bad weather? Appareciate it.

 

Unfortunately, nobody will be able to tell you what bulbs those are by looking at the outside of the vehicle / light housings. We need to see the back side of the housing and / or the bulb itself.

 

So, if I'm reading this correctly. I will need both the "Conventionally switched wiring harnesses AND Ground switched wiring harness", and I can get it from either Rallylights or Headlight Service, correct??