3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

Ah, understood. I read it this morning with a small human crawling all over me, so my comprehension was a bit weak.

 

Keep in mind too, out of the box aiming is only comparable on a similar trim stock truck. Start adding suspension mods, have a Pro with front lift, a heavy front bumper ect. Anything that affects the truck rake or height will mean the headlights may need to be adjusted differently than the next truck.

 

Precisely why I’m keen to learn. I have intent to fiddle with the truck more in the future. I think headlight aiming skill is a valuable one. Though I’m sure a machine could do it better.

 

Assuming the tech knows what they are doing. I called around to find a Toyota dealer with an aiming device to see if they could correct my aim after I accidentally messed up the horizontal alignment (don't do that). It was no help. The aim was so bad I went in and got my money back and spent painstaking time trying to recenter the horizontal adjuster. Took a while but I finally got it. Without a perfectly flat surface 25' to a wall, it can be a real challenge often requiring ongoing fine tuning to get it dialed in.

 

I’d say at least 51% I raised them. It’d make sense that they are a bit conservative out of the box. But I don’t have any other trucks to compare to. And I don’t know if the pro light is aligned for the pro suspension and might be different from the non-poser ones you got.

Maybe just keep an eye out for a good location. That’s 90% of the challenge. Blue tape and patience is the rest. I suspect with multiple iterations I’ll improve.

 

Unfortunately they do not show their lux meter in the video, so it is impossible to say if they were using appropriate equipment or not. 20' is definitely a short test for focus, which will lead to more favorable LED numbers.

I believe the Bosch Gigalight +120 is a rebranded GE/Tungsram Megalight +120. Should be a decent bulb, the Tungsram/GE Xenon +120 performed better as did the Megalight +130 based on my numbers for an H11 in a Tacoma projector. Projectors actually tend to experience better increases with stock wattage performance halogens than reflectors. Now all projectors are not equal, there are good and bad ones, if you have a lower performing projector it may not have as precise of optics to make the best use of the more precise light source from a performance high efficiency stock wattage bulb. And if you are running an aftermarket replacement assembly, the optical quality definitely won't be there meaning the performance bulbs will not be as effective.

 

Apparently Morimoto updated their XB headlights, adding a 3rd projector to the low beam and making 2 of the projectors bi-projectors for high beam. All sounds really great, until you read the part about intentionally increasing foreground light, possibly to compete with AlphaRex.

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/toyota-tacoma-xb-led-heads-B-LF530?quantity=1

 

IS THAT A SUPRA

 

A bit of a teaser post on the Valeo/Cibie/PIAA J581 aux high beam pods

These pods are manufactured by Valeo, the same lighting manufacture as the Toyota Tacoma fogs, both LED and halogen. Valeo owns portions of both Cibie and PIAAs parent company, making sense why they are marketed under these other labels. These pods use 2 down firing LEDs into a sloped reflector, just like the OEM Toyota LED high beam headlights, which is an extremely efficient and performant design.



The pattern offers a very large area coverage with a very smooth beam distribution and a center focused hotspot for maximum distance projection. This pattern distribution is very different than other SAE J581 lights I've tested on the market and far more like what you'd see in an OEM application.


Compared to the SAE J581 SS3 Pro, you can see this is a far more focused driving high beam. This similar style circular focus is what is found in KCs Pro6 lights as well. While it does offer higher intensity in the case of the Pros, you can see the area of coverage is smaller.


By price point the SS3 Sports would be a more appropriate comparison. By spec the Cebie/PIAA lights are higher in intensity than the SS3 Sport Driving, but lower than the Pros. I had a Pro in driving handy so that is what I used for the comparison in this post. Measured output below.


A more detailed analysis will follow in the upcoming SAE J581 thread, with a more appropriate comparison to the Sports. But I was pleasantly surprised at the unique element of performance that these pods bring to the table.

 

I love my Hikari Ultras. Did both high and low beam for around $110 total shipped on the sale. Dropped right in. Great cutoff and pattern. I figured with free returns on Amazon 'till the end of Jan now I'll run them for a month or so no risk. So far no plans to return though.

Low

High

 

The things I do for you guys. Gen2 coming soon:

 

I want these to be better than the Gen 1, and I think they might perform slightly better... but at $1250, you can almost get OEM LEDs for that money.

Edit: Just realized these won't even work for my Canadian truck as I can't turn off the DRLs... looks like OEM is my best bet.

 

I think you'll find that OEM is far better on so many fronts. I just don't see the engineering in the aftermarket stuff and the standards they have to meet are realistically far lower.

 

The only thing I don't like about OEM is the price to get them to Canada. Landed, they're close to $2000CAD and that's before the border takes a look and dings me for duty/taxes.

 

Ouch! But look at it this way. If you buy the (admittedly still pricey) aftermarket lights and they crap out relatively quickly, you'll have to spend even more money to replace them - again. You know the old saying, "Buy once, cry once."

 

The Gen2 Morimotos should be interesting. I wouldn’t be surprised if peak low beam intensity surpasses OEM with the addition of a 3rd low beam projector. Curious on the high beam changes since the originals where quite poor. Hard to say though without measured data.

 

Not sure if you can stop your order, but they are $1000 here with free shipping.
http://www.4x4truckleds.com/morimoto-xb-led-headlights-for-2016-2020-toyota-tacoma/
And they are the gen 2’s. Would save you $250.

 

That pricing shown above was before the full cart of lighting stuff and coupon codes, they were $1000 after all said and done from TRS, with free shipping.

EDIT: Based on my experiences with that specific linked vendor, I would definitely not recommend them.

 

Could you refresh our collective memory on the timeline of the last applicable / relevant product release from Morimoto? Something significant or groundbreaking? It feels like it has been a while but I am not sure I’ve been paying good enough attention.

 

Can you elaborate or point me to where this is the case? My truck was manufactured in Canada and imported through Seattle. I can’t turn my DRLs off either. Was considering these lights as well.

much appreciated!

edit: crap!! OEM it is for me too

https://morimotohid.ca/products/toyota-tacoma-16-xb-led-headlights