LED HEADLIGHTS

Hey guys, I am new in Tacoma and Tacoma world . I would like to change my 2018 tacoma limited headlight to white color LED but there are so many choices and all of them claim to be the best one.
Would you please recommend me one that you already used it and you are happy with it .

 

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

 

If I had the coin to spend I would gladly invest in the 2020 OEMs. I would not bother with LEDs otherwise.

I have upgraded my low beams to HID and like the color but that's not what route you seem to be on. It was a nice improvement over stock halogens.

 

I've been looking as well between HIDs and LEDs, but wouldn't do drop in bulbs for either. If you want quality LED headlights then you'll have to go with Alpha Rex, Morimoto XBs, or you could do an LED retrofit.

 

Man. I’m extremely happy with my supernova sv4 bulbs. Really clean beam pattern, bright, and absolutely no “spray” to oncoming traffic. Would totally endorse the bulb.

 

@Blacken see post #3 in the thread linked below.

 

I'm probably gonna get crap for this from all the headlight snobs out there but I don't care...

I don't care what all the super technical testing says about drop in LED bulbs. I love my Diode Dynamics SL1s! Plenty bright for me, good cutoff, and crisp, clean white light. I'm happy.

 

Hid blah blah 2005

 

x2 with the drop in LED’s.

I have the Morimoto 2 Stroke 2.0 for low beams, high beams & fogs. Super bright and haven’t been flashed yet. The only issue I’ve had was the connection with the supplied adapter wiggled a little loose on the highbeams causing some flickering. A little electrical tape securing the connection and its been perfect since.

 

The good cut off has nothing to do with the bulb, that is due to your headlights internal projector light shield. The performance of the SL1 in the 3rd Gen projector is the same as the stock bulbs, just whiter. Pretty poor compared to the significant performance upgrades available. The in-depth review of the SL1 is included in the headlight thread in post #3 that has already been linked in this thread.

Morimoto 2.0 strokes are a poor performing LED product. They are far too wide, with poor focus and blow out the pattern with high amounts of foreground light while loosing distance light, which is exactly what you don't want in a headlight. Unfortunately high foreground light looks visually appealing to the untrained eye, leading most people to think it is an upgrade when it is actually a significant downgrade. In short you have more light, but now cannot see as far as stock. See the full review in the linked headlight thread in post #3 about why this is a poor product. There are vastly superior LED options at a lower price that put the poor performing Morimotos to shame.

 

I went down the "drop in" LED bulb rabbit hole. Long story short, they are only for looks. As soon as it rains their performance is HORRIBLE. The only LED option that I've found to be a worthwhile upgrade are the Toyota OEM LED headlights. They are far better in every aspect when compared to the factory halogen projector.

 

Short wavelength LED light is highly reflective, meaning in rain/snow/fog your light scatters everywhere illuminating the precipitation but not what is beyond it. This is an effect of color temperature of the light. Halogen or selective yellow light is based on longer wavelengths that do not reflect to the same effect, meaning the light illuminates beyond the precipitation without reflecting off the precipitation back at the driver.

 

I agree, love my Diode sl1. I know what test have shown, but very happy and I say that do out perform my old GE Mega 130s.

 

I never owned a pre-2020 Tacoma, but it's almost obscenely hilarious how much better the 2020 Tacoma LED headlights are compared to the 2016 and 2019 4Runner headlights I was used to.

I'm flabbergasted by the people that try to proclaim upgrading headlights isn't worth the money. I'm assuming it's because they haven't yet had the opportunity to compare an actual good headlight on back country roads in the dark while it's raining versus Toyota's halogen headlights. There's just no comparison at all. The halogens are laughably dangerous compared to the updated LED headlights.

 

I know for me its not that upgrades are not worth the money, it's that the proper upgrades are expensive and they takes budgeting and time to afford as it relates to other expenses and financial goals. I really like the look of the PROs, how they sit, that I would not have to upgrade anything on the suspension ever what how I'd use it , but here I am with a used SR5 because that is what makes financial sense. If I could get OEM-quality (or better) LED headlights like the 2020's for $500 I would save and do it. Any 3rd party that could do that would have a huge seller on their hands.

 

For sure.

It's more the typical old school mindset you see on car forums of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it [even though technological advancements are advancements for a reason]" while that person is willing to drop $5k on all sorts of useless stuff but thinks 1/5 of that on a component that makes worlds of difference in safety is unreasonable.

Budget constraints due to personal financial situation is a different conversation and not something I would ever criticize someone for.

 

You could easily do a bi-xenon retrofit or bi-LED retrofit for <$400 if you do the work yourself. All you need to do is buy the kits from The Retrofit Source. They will be as good as OEM. You could also buy the RX 350 projectors and bi-xenon HID lights for ~$400 and get what could arguably be some of the best light output.

 

are you speaking from experience? Because I have sv4 drop in bulbs and drove through a massive storm and I could see my light output on the road. Much better than the halogen and I had HIDs in my last g35 and I’d argue my LEDs outperformed.

 

That's what I was gonna ask. I know lab testing may say one thing, but in real world actual driving experience with my DD SL1s they have performed perfectly fine in the rain.