The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

Red wire is going to the seat heater switched hot pin, the rest are going to the original relay

 

If you have a second smaller compartment, is it wired for seat heaters? Or take a test light and check for switched power? Not being a dick or anything, I’ve only got mine to go by!

 

That’s what I thought. Thank you much

 

OP, out of curiosity what bulbs are you currently running?

 

I was running a pre-production sample of the Osram 85/80w Hypers when I sold the truck a couple months ago. My current Gladiator Mojave has factory LED headlights, and they are pathetically awful.

 

Did they ever release those to the pubic? Or are they still working on it?

How do you like the gladiator besides the headlights?

 

The Osram 85/80w hypers were the bulbs from the original thread that were discontinued. Supplies got wiped out everywhere long ago. I was able to find a set of original test run bulbs from before the full production run which is what I was running. They were no different that the discontinued 85/80w hypers except the bulbs being pre-production had no markings.

The Gladiator is very different than the Tacoma. It is less practical, has less storage, doesn't ride as well despite having Jeeps top of the line extended travel remote resi Fox suspension and the straight axle steering wanders a bit, which takes a little getting used to but then is fine. The removable top and doors plus brick design do make for more wind noise. The 8spd is awesome, there is always a perfect gear for everything and the truck doesn't haunt at all. The factory tuned equal length exhaust actually gives the 3.6 V6 a good note with mild gurgle under load. The truck is designed for 35s, but comes with 33s, so 35s fit everything stock. The truck has far more tech available, but unlike Toyota most everything is purchased in piecemeal which does get expensive. Around town the power is decent, on the highway it does lack especially coming from a Supercharged 2nd Gen, but Magnuson has a 440hp fix for that. The stock brakes are larger than my 2nd Gen StopTech BBK, both front and rear, but the pedal does have more of the American mushy feel. In some ways the truck is a bit of a dinosaur, dressed up with a bunch of tech that doesn't make a lot of practical sense. But that is also exactly why I bought it.

 

Hows the lighting for the new carriage? vs the Taco.

 

I believe the phrase he used in a previous post was "pathetically awful." Trust me though, he'll get that rectified pretty quickly.

 

Wow totally missed his comment... TY @Too Stroked

 

Well, it’s a Jeep. I mean, how good can it get.

 

Stock lighting is far better on the 2nd Gen Taco, no comparison at all. Working on improving that. The truck does have integrated bed lights which is nice. And you can program a few settings for the lighting from the infotainment system, like how long the lights stay on after you turn the vehicle off and exit the vehicle, if the lights automatically come on with the wipers, what the lights do to confirm lock/unlock. When you touch the door handles all the exterior lights come on and the truck automatically unlocks or locks if you have the key on you. I plan on tapping the bed light circuit and running some KC cyclones under the truck for courtesy lights to come on whenever the doors are touched or opened. I can then program the run duration in the infotainment system. I can also activate the "horn and lights" via satellite from my phone, though it would be nice to select just the lights. Lots of things to play with that I still need to dig into. First is replacing the stock fogs with selective yellow SS3 Max fogs and trying to determine what is the best route forward on upgrading the headlights.

 

Had one behind me the other day. Thought of you right away, Crash. Thought, Just how long before you shitcan those poor excuses for headlights. Kinda screams for some KC replacements if they got ‘em.

 

Already tried one product, JW Speaker Evo J3s heated.

Major disappointment. I might try the JW Speaker heated Evo J2s, which are lower output but 50% higher candela. Rigid (Truck-lite) also has some heated headlights. I was hoping to ideally use a heated option. KC does have a couple LED headlight options as well though their premium 'Pro' lights look to have a terrible pattern.

Working from home and with everything shut down, I really don't drive anywhere at night to have to use the headlights much. I'm hoping to be able to determine a good upgrade without having to buy them all and test them myself.

 

I finally got my Philips racing vision GT200s and installed them today. This thread was extremely helpful!
Despite it being daylight, there's a big difference in the light pattern. The cutoff looks much better.
Now I won't feel like a jerk driving around with LEDs. They were on my truck when I bought it recently. I threw those LEDs in the garbage. Haha.
Here are some shots for anyone that is looking for comparison photos.

 

Let us know your driving impressions after a drive outside of urban light!

 

Will do! And a sincere thank you for all the work you've done sharing info with the community on here.

 

Hey @crashnburn80, I know this is a halogen thread, but I have an HID retro with Osram d2s 4300k bulbs. One has finally burned out so I need replacements. Do you have an HID recommendation? I would prefer to stay 4300-5000k, unless there is a reason not to.

I looked into the 3rd gen lighting thread, but didn’t really see a recommendation since I think your threads stay with the stock housings, I.e., non-retro’s.

 

I'd go with the most advanced +200 D2S bulb:
https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/product/osram-xenarc-night-breaker-laser-d2s-twin

Though you could also consider Philips +150
https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/store/category/xenon-hid-bulbs-d2s-d2r-d1s-d1r/fitting/d2s-85122

Be sure to use the coupon codes on the site. Although if you need them now, those might have a little bit of a wait time coming out of the UK.

 

XMAS23

was the last one i received in the email