3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

Yep, YouTubers who run their own online stores calling "AlphaRex" (aka VLAND) products "amazing" with "unreal output."

I love this thread because it cuts through the marketing BS with pure data; no free lights, no sponsorships.

 

To be transparent and clear some lights are provided without cost and some are provided at reduced cost, the vast majority are included at my own expense although some others are member contributed. There certainly is no sponsorships and I don't sell anything to have financial motivation in the results. The great part about being measured data focused is it makes analysis purely objective and being completely independent and self funded I have no brand alliance.

 

out of curiosity, have you tested other headlights, such as the rectangular headlamps from older vehicles? Such as the 6054? If so, whats the best bang for the buck? If so, thanks. If not, thanks anyway, this is a great thread...

 

Yes, though back in the days of my early 89 and 94 Toyota pickups I wasn't logging data for posterity. Recommended replacement for the 6054 is the

$120 Hella 200mm Rectangular E Code H4 Halogen Replacement Headlight Kit with Standard 60/55W H4 Bulbs

Hella 200mm E-code ECE H4 conversion. These were superior in build quality, output intensity and durability than other brands I experimented with at the time. Output with the new assemblies will be a drastic upgrade with substantially more light on the ground and better cut offs. From there improve the output further by using bulbs recommended from the H4 headlight thread, such as the Tungsram Nighthawk Xenon +120, Philips Racing Vision +200 or the Osram Superbrights with standalone harness for extreme output. Note that the early Toyota trucks running 6054s/200mm lights use a ground switched electrical system, and require the ground switched harness linked in the headlight thread for use of high power bulbs, unlike the 2nd Gen which is power switched. All the info is covered in the thread.

For fun here is the pic of my 94 running that upgrade. My avatar pic is from when I built a performance 22RE and was doing the swap on this truck.

 

When I had my Fiero, i upgraded the sealed beam headlamps with APC H4 conversion. Being APC, I'm sure it wasn't nearly as great as Hella, but far better than the stock headlamps. Plus i didn't have to take apart the whole assembly again if a bulb blew.

 

great, thanks to both of you!

 

Can't wait to see the results, depending on that I may finally pull the trigger on a set!

 

I always kicked myself I never did the Hella conversion on my 93 when I did the front fenders / ARB. Between the time when I put a deposit on the truck and when I picked it up the previous owner claimed it was hit when it was street parked (I think she deliberate bumped something since she actually didn't want to sell it) so I had her reduce the purchase price by the cost of a bumper / valence / fender and I ended up buying a pair of fenders for it and replacing the bumper with an ARB. As I'm sure you remember, to remove the sealed beams, you needed to pull the grille. To pull the grill you'd have to pull the ARB. I sold the truck before I burnt out the headlights so it was a non-issue. I had contemplated going with the 4Runner front end to change things up, but I heard the beam pattern in those was worse than the sealed beams, however right/wrong that was.

 

Yeah, the first time I changed my headlights I had many unkind words for the person that designed that. Why would you design something where the front of the truck had to be removed to replace the headlight when the truck used sealed beams which requires headlight removal for replacement?! It made the Hella H4 swap that much more appealing. In general I did like working on those old trucks though as most everything was so simple and inexpensive.

 

^^ you mean like OEM LED?

I think a bit more strategic design would have allowed headlight removal with bumper intact. Especially given Toyota’s proclivity for chrome. They missed a chance for under-headlight eyeliner chrome trim. Which we could then color match. That and the ridiculous tabs. Maybe just use an entirely separate part to connect headlight to body which would not result in a $700 headlight housing being garbage due to a single broken plastic tab.

 

At least in the newer trucks there was reason to not expect the consumer to be changing the headlight assembly, unlike the older ones where it was actually required when the sealed beam went out.

 

Except broken timing chain guides. I got a $2,800 quote to replace that. The FSM was to pull the head. That's what ultimately doomed my truck. I didn't have a garage at the time and it failed an inspection for suspension work in the middle of a very cold December. I sold it for what I paid for it, but I lost out on all the mods I did. I still miss that truck and would have done things differently had I still had it, but it was getting rusty in some tough to fix areas (although the frame was clean). It would have been worth double today.

 

Same!

 

Yeah, had to upgrade to the aftermarket metal timing chain guides. When I pulled mine the plastic guides were gone and found in the oil pan. The chain sawed into the aluminum head nearly exposing the water jets which would have been catastrophic failure.

 

Time to heat soak.

 

Patiently waiting for Gen2 results.

Or at least trying.

 

Tackling 2stroke 3.0 first. Unfortunately I had rain come through right when I was moving gear outside for the distance test, so I’ll have to finish that likely Saturday. I’ll be setting up the XBs for that test immediately afterward since I’ll already have all the gear out there, so I hope to have the XB Gen2 review posted by early next week.

 

I can't find the GE +130 or Xenon "Standard" Hella H9 anywhere, what is the next best alternative for upgrading OEM LB in your opinion? Phillips H9?

 

Tungsram (formerly GE) Megalight +130:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/TUNGSRAM-M...0XNUB2-PLUS-130/193553243494?epid=22038082470

Even slightly better performing Tungsram Nighthawk Xenon +120:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tungsram-H11-Nighthawk-Xenon-Halogen-Bulb-2-pack/313412664

Philips H9 outperforms the Hella H9, so no need to look for the Hellas.

$11 Philips 12361B1 H9 Standard Halogen Replacement Headlight Bulb, 1 Pack

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-1236...8&sr=1-1-88388c6d-14b8-4f70-90f6-05ac39e80cc0

The +130s are excellent, though slightly outperformed by the Xenon +120. The +130s are a little whiter than the +120s. The Philips H9s are the highest performing option, but more traditional halogen color. See output charts in post#2 for the color temp and output intensity comparisons.

 

You're the best, really great research! I read all of it but couldn't make up my mind past those two options, thank you for the summary.