3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

My question is how much you got charged for his 'upgrade'. I feel certain they aren't buying a bunch of drop in LEDs to install for free. Also, what do they care about 30% more light as it pertains to the sale? You didn't buy the truck because it had an alleged 30% more light output, you had already made the purchase. Just seems shady to me, but I'm a suspicious type anyway.

 

It's all about marketing. The guys selling you the truck, or any other car on their show floor, most likely do now not know much about the vehicle to begin with. But it is easy to regurgitate BS like that to every customer on every vehicle. They add them as hidden "dealer service" chsrges. So when you come back and question/complaIn about somethIng, they pull that out to reassure your purchasing decision.

 

I have not tested the M LED 2.0, but I'd favor a completed assembly over a retrofit, though the OEM LEDs put down better low beam performance numbers than the Morimotos, and I very much expect the high beam to be far better.

Most people don't think about those issues much, which is why the LED market is flooded with so much garbage. Many think LED must be better just because it is LED, ignoring the fact the assembly is specifically designed for a halogen and they work very differently.

My guess would be that people commonly complain that halogens "look old", see it all the time on the forum, and someone at the dealer probably came up with the brilliant idea that they could make the cars look more modern by putting in replacement LEDs. The dealers would charge the customer in one way or another for the $50 pair of LED headlights but likely more than retail, the customer would be happy thinking they got modern looking LED lights without having to pay the premium for the real properly engineered OEM LED upgrade. Then they spew BS about 30% more light output not realizing they are making their vehicles less safe. That LED in particular has a pretty big red flag of being a very low output unit with no external driver.

 

The Morimotos would have better high beams? or the OEM LED?

 

The OEM LED, which IIHS testing shows as a significant upgrade from stock high beam. The Morimoto high beam is a significant downgrade from stock. See Morimoto high beam test in post #3.

 

Since I have an SR5, the OEM LEDs aren't a viable option. I know it can be done, but it's not worth the harnesses, wiring and cost of the OEM LEDs. My only option would be Morimoto XBs or retrofit with M LED 2.0. Not fond of the reviews of the Alpha Rex.

 

What's everyones thought on these fanless LEDs? I'm concerned that it'll get so hot that things will start to melt. Anyone use these and have had a good experience with them?

Otherwise, I'm going HID - I'm guessing a 35W kit should be plenty of light without blinding everyone around us? What do you guys run for HID setup?

 

I know Morimoto LEDs are available for my 4Runner, but it doesn't seem likely there's OEM LEDs coming out for the 5th gen. The lack of high beam performance wouldn't bother me since I rarely even need them.

 

If it is an LED specific housing it is not illegal. If it is an LED upgrade in a halogen housing, the DOT deemed that illegal. If you research the proper bulbs and don't just randomly buy some bulb on Amazon, then make sure they're aligned correctly, no one should bother you generally.

 

I'd like to buy the GE +130's and compare them to the LED's but they are out of stock everywhere. Until then, I will drive on with very little night time driving.

 

Xenon depot 35w HID kit, love it! Very clean output, no issues. Clean cutoff, not blinding to others at all.

 

Actually even if you buy LEDs, in LED housings like the Morimoto M LED 2.0, they are still not DOT approved. The Morimoto XB and Alpha Rex are DOT approved since they went through the appropriate process. I believe they are the only DOT approved LEDs, besides OEM for 3rd generation Tacomas.
Same goes for HID kits, all of the retro fits are not DOT approved, even the RX350 retro fit is not DOT approved for the Tacoma.

 

Hikari Ultra are the only bulbs that is worth anything as stated in post 3 of this thread. Even so, the Philips H9 outperforms it.

HID has its own set of issues in this truck with many reports of bulb bounce. After venturing into the world of non-OEM HID kits (fog lamps on my C5 and KC roof lights), I’d never do it again.

Either get the OEM LED assemblies or get the Philips H9.

The 2021s have them.

 

Nice. I did a bunch of searching for the 2020 model when I heard the Taco and Tundra were getting them, but nothing came up at the time.

 

That's not what I was referring to. Some housings are LED specific with LEDs built in, such as the new Tacoma LEDs, the Ford Explorer, and a few others. The Morimoto, or the S-V.4, etc. would not fit in there at all because they are designed to fit into halogen housings.

But again, you'd have a hard time finding anyone who cares as long as you do it all appropriately. So many cars come with LEDs or HIDs now that it is hard to determine, often, which ones actually came with them or not.

Basically, if it is a halogen housing, any HID or LED bulb put into them is not DOT approved for road use. There are several LED specific housings, but again, you have to replace your entire housing.

 

Between the custom retrofit and the Morimoto assemblies, I'd go with the full Morimoto assemblies, though I don't have any information on how they compare to the M LED 2.0.

Which fanless LEDs are you referring to? Problem with replacement LED bulbs is they need to be driven pretty hard for decent output, and to do so they get hot. Passive cooling in a hot engine bay will limit the output, best I've seen is the Philips passively cooled units I imported from Japan in post #3. Active cooling with fans allows for higher output, but a microprocessor cooling fan isn't the most reliable item in an off road trucks engine bay and the products often fail after a few years, depending on use. If you are looking for replacement LEDs, the only ones I would suggest are the Hikari Ultras covered in post #3.

For HIDs, the stock halogen projector allows uplight above the cut off for overhead sign illumination. Because HIDs are so much brighter than the halogens the assembly was designed for, this results in significant uplight that is glaring to drivers ahead of you. Proper HID projectors have a much stronger cut off, unlike the halogen projectors. There are also no legitimate HID products for a halogen projector, you might find some that use Philips capsules and remanufacture the base in China, but they are not legal products. And then there is the bulb bouncing issue common on the Tacoma when doing so. If you really wanted to run HID, a retrofit with the proper OEM components is the way to go, but even that is not legal and results can very based on the craftsmanship of the retrofit.

This can get deceptively tricky, because the LEDs will likely appear brighter initially, as they may place more light closer to the vehicle which people will think is brighter, rather than focused light further away from the vehicle that projects further. A free upgrade to try, swap a Philips high beam H9 bulb into your low beam. You don't need to buy any bulb. Simply trim the inside plastic tab on the H9 bulb so that it looks like the H11.

Like this (different H9), stock H9 on left, trimmed H9 on right. I just used a small pocket knife.

Running HIDs in a halogen projector produces uplight/glare significantly over legal levels due the halogen projectors uplight allowance.

 

I think I'll just wait for the +130's to come in so that I don't have to modify a bulb which I think requires cutting the plastic tab and some of the metal tabs as well. Good idea though.

 

It honestly takes thirty seconds with some sharp snips.

 

Was planning on testing the OEM LED high beams this evening, but realized I needed some more/new fine power leads thanks to the compact connector/pins on the back of the OEM assembly. Ordered new compact power supply leads this evening and should be in on Saturday, so assuming nothing comes up I should be testing the OEM LED high beam performance Saturday night.

 

The Philips +100’s are a nice bulb. Not as bright at peak intensity, but in my experience, more light to the sides owing to a shorter glare cap. I like them better than the GE for this reason alone.