3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

Thanks for the reply @crashnburn80. Unfortunately the GE +130s are sold out everywhere so I’m gonna go with the GE Xenon +120s through Amazon. Eventually I’ll also upgrade the fog lights to LED based on your information. Looking at the high beams, I read that H-9 is the correct unit but is there another unit number that it’s listed under?

 

The GE Xenons are the best performing H11 and outperform the GE +130s, so don't feel like you are settling. The +130s are a little whiter. H9 is the correct high beam bulb, the OEM H9 is the German Philips bulb, which is the best performing H9 halogen. So there is no halogen bulb upgrade for the high beam. The Hikari Ultra LEDs showed a small improvement in the high beam, but to get a real improvement you'll want to look at adding aux driving lights/light bar.

 

Again thanks for the reply Crash. I pulled the plug and ordered 2 sets of the GE Xenons. I’m just gonna stick with the stock high beams for now. Definitely looking at the Rigid fog lights mentioned in this thread but that will be a near future upgrade. Cheers!

 

The Rigids were the highest output when the SAE thread was posted, but at the top of the thread there are links to all the updated product releases. The new SS3s from Diode Dynamics are now the highest performing light, and they are offered in selective yellow which is better for poor weather conditions than LED white. Even better is the SS3s have a much nicer OEM mounting solution than the Rigid D-series. Link to the SS3 post: Diode Dynamics SS3

 

Fantastic! I’ll look into those instead. Again, thanks for all your work with this thread @crashnburn80. Makes choosing so much easier.

 

Thanks for the link. I'm also considering just using the H11 bulbs (GE Nighthawk) in the High Beams - would those be appropriate if I swapped them for the OEM bulbs? If so, then I'll use the GE Nighthawk 130+ there and then buy the DD selective yellows.

 

You know what they say..... “You’ll find it at Fred Meyer!”

 

The high beam is an H9 bulb, H9s are higher in output than high performance H11s. The stock German Philips H9 is already the highest performing halogen bulb for the high beam application.

 

Just to clarify, the $7 Phillips H9 performs better than the $46 GE H11?

I'd definitely prefer plug-and-play but it looks like you can do the H9s + a harness three times over before hitting the price of the GE H11s.

 

Correct. Modifying the bulbs only takes a minute with a small knife, but if you don't want to hassle with that the adapter also works. Ideally you want to minimize wire length for maximum performance, and the adapter does add some, but effects should be minimal. The GEs are a little whiter for those concerned about color temp.

 

Thank you sir for an amazing post. You have saved me time, money and blinding other drivers. Oh....GO SEAHAWKS!! Big fan since the Steve Largent days!!

 

As others have posted, you can use the adapters and modify them. I needed some small wire cutters and got a flush cut wire cutter and mini pliers when I was doing some wiring work. The flush cutters will make short work of the H9 plug tabs for drop in convenience. Got them at Home Depot.

 

@crashnburn80 After learning from this thread that the GE +120 & +130 lamps are the shit, do you have a recommendation for replacing headlight assemblies but not changing to LEDs?

 

GE has been phasing out of Automotive lighting, however their parent company Tungsram that produces the bulbs will continue to sell the products under the Tungsram label. While Tungsram branded bulbs have been available in the past, they were pretty uncommon to find in our markets. This is the first one I've seen at a major bulb seller as part of the label transition.
https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/product/tungsram-megalight-ultra-150-h4-twin

While the popular GE Megalight +130s are still available under the GE label, I'd expect them to start being sold under the Tungsram label sometime in the not too distant future. The product isn't changing, the same manufacture will continue to make them, just the brand labeling will eventually be different.

 

LOL, that didn't take long. I checked and these were not listed yesterday.
https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/product/tungsram-megalight-ultra-h11-twin

 

I had the GTR CSP Mini LEDs in my low beams. They got moved to my foglight fixtures cause I just got the GTR Ultra 2 bulbs. The GTR CSP Mini H11 LED bulbs were a good improvement over the halogen upgrades I thought would work in the low beam. The Ultra 2 bulbs, though, are amazing. Oncoming traffic absolutely does not wash out my vision now. The OEM foglight bulbs didnt even look like they were on. There is no comparing a halogen bulb to these LEDs. Not on the same planet.

 

LED lamps do not belong in housings made for halogen bulbs.

 

If the bulb is designed, tested and manufactured to work in a projector fixture, why dont they belong?

 

Hello Everyone,

Great post about lights and great work @crashnburn80. I was trying to read all pages but its a lot, please in conclusion and just to be correct, i have three question:

the best road light for 3rd Gen tacoma is GE Megalight Ultra 130 H11?

why I will need a aditional wiring?

what it is the best light for fog ligths?

thanks.

 

going to guess you didn't even read the first post of this thread?

and what does this even mean?
Did they swerve off the road blinded by your LEDs in your fog lights?

S