The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

Apologies for my incorrect assumption and good luck with your bulb upgrade!

+1. As recommended by @crashnburn80, PowerBulbs is the way to go.

 

Here are some pictures of what I did to mount the relays using the two threaded holes on the side.
I found some scrap metal laying around (I think from a ceiling fan and install that I did in the house) and threaded and tapped a couple of holes so I could mount the relays onto this along with the new 90° bend.

Prior to the relay harness I was using those two threaded holes to mount my OnBoard Air relay switch. This homemade bracket allowed me to mount my relays without moving my OBA relay.

 

Thanks for all the pictures and ideas! I mounted the relays alongside my catch can. When I fabbed the mounting bracket for the catch can I made duplicates in the event I made a mistake or needed to make a change. I used one of the duplicates and cut it down in both width and length so it would piggyback on the catch can mount. Very solid. I will at some point paint the mount but that's down the road.

Being that I'm OCD about wiring, I hate using the standard wire ties. Instead I use Cobra low profile wire ties. They are smooth as silk and have no sharp edges when the excess is cut (although I do use flush cut pliers).

 

Fixed up my parent's '10 tacoma driverside headlamp today, using the same method/materials.

The driverside had been polished repeatedly over thecpast few years, but my dad had just topcoated with whatever wax product came with the kit he used, so it inevitably always faded/crazed in short order.

Edit- and of course if had to start to rain...

 

when i first got my taco in 2011 i put a cheap protection film. You can see where its had contact, but not UV discolor. I have some film from Weathertech ill have to recover it with.

 

Another part of the having good lights is to keep them clean/clear.


I was polishing my truck today and did the lights and all I can say is wow, what a difference!

 

This might sound like an odd request, but does anyone have a broken 2nd Gen. headlight? I'm looking for just the rear section in the remote hope of fabbing an alternative to the metal clip which is a PITA. I'll pay the shipping. I'm waiting on my bulbs to arrive but I do recall when I swapped out the bulbs in our 2009 that they were horrible. There has to be a better setup. I've been keeping tabs on the local pick-n-pull inventory and no joy on 2nd, Gen wrecks.
Anyone?.....

 

I happen to have one of those stupid clips in my stash of spare parts. If you just need the clip, it sounds like you're not far from me. Drop me a PM.

 

Hey @crashnburn80 This may be a stupid question but I thought I read that the better wiring harness would improve the output of the stock style bulbs. Is that right?

For reference I just put in these bulbs again. My 1st set lasted over 3 years.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EPLCP3U?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

They will indeed sir

 

As mentioned, yes you do get a bump in output running the harness with stock wattage bulbs. Note that the best performing low beam stock wattage bulb is the Philips +150 Racing Vision, but Philips did just launch a new +200 version claiming it as their highest performance bulb of all time. I plan on testing some soon.

 

Are they out now, I will buy a set to see if they are better?

 

They are available for purchase but Powerbulbs.com is out of stock.

https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/product/philips-racingvision-gt200-h4-twin

 

That was quick. They still have the new +150 Pros in stock, not sure how they compare to the outgoing +150 Racing Vision. I'd expect the high beam to be better on the Pro as I believe the Racing Vision used a darker coating over the high beam filament.
https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/product/philips-x-tremevision-pro150-h4-twin

 

So are the xtreme bulbs better than the racing vision? I'll those newer pro 150's to.

 

I think I ordered the wrong wiring harness. I have a 2008 Taco and ordered the switched ground harness when I think I should have ordered the Conventional one.

 

Yeah, you should be conventional with a 2008. The ground switched would work on your 2002 if you still have it though. I'd just ask to exchange it.

 

PSA: Powerbulbs is currently having 20% off if you use code OCT20

 

They have the same sale everyday of every month.

 

Yeah they typically always run a 20% off sale, if you sign up for their emails they often send out codes for 23-25% off that are not listed on the site.