Best led bulbs ??

So after researching a bit I put diode dynamics in my truck in February and one light has already gone out.. should I consider this luck of draw and reorder same brand or is there a better brand out there

 

$233 Morimoto HID Kit, H11A Elite System with 35w Ballasts and 6000k “Diamond White” Bulbs & Relay Harness, Flicker & Error Free, Universal Plug and Play Kit, Forward Lighting (2x BL11 1x MM.N.035 1x H20)

https://www.amazon.com/Morimoto-Elite-System-Ballasts-6500K/dp/B00TAPGF0A Have fun wiring it up but worth it! good cut off doesn't blind people when you come up.

 

Here's more information than you probably WANT, but fortunately the answer is in the 1st 3 posts.

3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

 

This might be a silly question, but have you considered using the warranty that the bulbs came with?

 

I am returning the bulbs from where i bought them for full refund. From what I've read including the link posted above it seem this brand was best one to go for.

 

Did you read the thread link? Diode Dynamics is not the recommended LED headlight bulb. Specifically see post #3. Hikari Ultras are the highest performing drop in LED headlight tested. Diode Dynamics has some outstanding products like their SS3s, but the SL1 in the Tacoma projector is not one of them. You can see the measured data comparisons between the SL1 and the Hikari in post #3 of that thread.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-hid-vs-led-vs-halogen-h11-projector-headlights.589465/

 

Just picked up a set of Hikari Ultra's and really like them on my low beams. So much so, I went ahead and bought 2 more sets, Hikari 2020 LED's for my fogs and high beams that's supposed to be the bee's knees. I'm going to see how the 2020 versions do and will put the best 2 of the 3 sets on my low beams and fogs while my high beams will be the lesser of the 3. Great value for the money in my opinion. I'm a professional photographer and like to think I have a good eye, and happily will say these appear to be an improvement over stock.

 

The ‘newer’ Hikaris are not well designed like the Ultras. They will lack focus, which is everything in a headlight. I would not recommend them. See the Hikari review in the link above as to why the Ultras perform so well, and you’ll realize the ‘new’ ones lack the critical design features.

 

I'm not seeing where the new 2020 versions are lacking the "critical design features" which I believe you're referring to is just the board thickness of where the LED's are mounted to? I do not see a board thickness or max LED width measurement for the 2020 versions? The 2020 versions have a bulb-type shape as opposed to the flat 3-in-a-row LED's of the Ultras? Would the bulb shape of the 2020 versions be the inferior "critical design feature" you're referring to?

 

You nailed both. The new ones are thicker, and the LED is not shaped like a halogen filament. Halogen filaments are not square, viewed from the side they are rectangular. Both these traits are going to lead to significantly poorer focus in the 2020 model, and increase foreground light while loosing distance light. If you look at the other LEDs tested in the thread in post #3, none match the performance of a stock halogen bulb at distance. The Hikaris Ultras are the only ones that perform better than stock because of the careful attention paid to these traits. Also note the new 2020 model is the lower end model, while the Ultras are their performance flagship model.

 

Gotcha, thanks for that. Ok sooo they're already on the way. Just going to try them out and if I notice a difference ill be sure to return and reorder.

EDIT: According to Hikari's descriptions, the Ultra's have a .8" thick copper base while the 2020's have .6" thick base. Thought the thinner the better, but we will see. I have no problem returning Amazon stuff.

 

Use a digital micrometer and measure the distance between LED faces on both, I can guarantee you the Ultras are thinner over all. You'll actually need a specialized micrometer to measure the ultras, but a standard one should be enough to disprove the newer ones are thinner. Also note that even if they were the same, the square design of the '2020' low end model will be catastrophic to focus and projection performance, most LED manufactures stopped making this style years ago because it is long understood this design does not work and performance is exceptionally poor. Hence Hikari keeps their premium performance model with the correct design. Unfortunately if you are just relying on your eyes as judement, the new design will blow out foreground light while dropping distance light, which will be very misleading for human eyes to judge, as people always intrinsically favor foreground light even if that doesn't help them see what they need.

 

Got it, love learning about this kinda stuff so thank you. Cancelled the order of the 2 2020 versions and just ordered 2 more sets of the Hikari Ultras. I LOVE them in my low beams so far. Need to take it off-roading to see the improvement difference.

 

Good choice.

 

I went with morimoto. I know a few ppl who had eye of megatron and they both had light failures quickly. Only thing with this 2stroke lights is when I put them in they dont seem to lock. As in I can just keep twisting them

 

Morimoto is covered in the same thread above. They also use an ‘adjustable’ design, which isn’t good. You must try to carefully get the emitters level at 3 and 9 o’clock. The focus on the Morimotos is poor, they are too wide and the hot spot in the beam is dipped below where it should be. They are not a product I would recommend. See post #3 in the 3rd Gen headlight thread for all the details.

 

Lucas Lighting there not cheap but they are the best!

 

Got all 3 Hikari Ultra LED's on my 2019.

Pic #1 = Low Beams + Fogs
Pic #2 = Low Beams + High Beams
Pic #3 = Low Beams only

 

Note that drop in LEDs are not recommended in the reflector fogs as they produce illegal and blinding levels of glare. This isn’t an issue I. The projector headlight due to the projector light shield. Instead a replacement SAE assembly designed for the LED light source should be used, which has appropriate cut offs, is street legal, and higher output. All the SAE Tacoma fogs are covered in the thread below. I highly recommend the Diode Dynamics SS3s linked at the top:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-led-sae-j583-fog-pod-fog-light-review.554813/

 

Correct, not recommended in fogs for road use since they are not projector lens, but for off-road these will be great!