3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

Aux driving lights. The OEM high beams are about as good as it gets.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-sae-j581-aux-high-beam-thread.696597/

 

Per this thread helped a coworker with his 2013 Highlander which has H11 low beams. Threw some H9s in and made a big difference! His fog lights were the funny thing. Every thing we read, the fogs took 9006s. So he ordered some 9012 HIRs. We pulled his bulbs out and they were PSX26Ws. I've never seen a bulb like that before. Is there a legit halogen upgrade for PSX26W fog lights?

 

Thanks for this. The contrast problems seem obvious/intuitive, well demonstrated trying to read a stamped part number on a part in the engine bay with 6000k flashlight vs a warmer light source. And the wet/ice/snow trouble I can intuit as well from wet roads (hope to some day observe first hand, never had an LED headlight anywhere near the snow before but hoping those days are coming.)

The fatigue part got me interested. I did some quick searching and I would like to learn and read more based on what I came across. If you have additional sources worth posting, I'd be very appreciative. I assume we're talking about an increase in eye fatigue vs daylight driving as a reference when we discuss ideal light wavelength for minimizing fatigue? To compare 4000k directly with 6000k you'd likely want to use the same intensity and pattern which could be a legitimate challenge. Perhaps that is actually easiest with HID?

It seems clear that driving in general causes some basic eye fatigue but I didn't easily find a study which isolates light wavelength as an input variable and attempts to measure driver fatigue as a function of that.

This article in particular was rather well done but I am not sure it really discusses headlight peak wavelength specifically.
https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/61186/100999.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Intuition (or at least my intuition) doesn't directly make the leap from higher wavelength headlights to increased eye fatigue. Admittedly I have no long trips with my one and only LED headlamps so my direct observations also don't help me out on this either. I'll accept others' opinions that whiter light increases their fatigue. My own observations with H9's in low beams on a 3h drive are that I get a bit sleepy with the warmer color, but it's awfully difficult to know if I'm more sleepy than the lousy OEM bulbs which were a bit whiter and certainly a lot more dim.

And, yes, I also do get that the comment was specifically about HID industry norm 4300k vs higher wavelength 6000k and how clear and good that specific recommendation is.

 

This is interesting. From my limited knowledge on the subject, it may be worthwhile to separate eye fatigue from general fatigue. The reason I say this is there are variables affecting both. A few factors that come to mind that cause eye fatigue while driving.

• Not refocusing. Applies to long trips while cruising more than anything. If your eyes are constantly focused at the same distance they get tired, similar to staring at a computer screen. It's good to be mindful of this and check your mirrors etc. occasionally to change focus distance.
• High temp light. The more 'blue light' the more strain on your eyes in theory.

Now the flip side to this is general fatigue. I think eye fatigue can lead to general fatigue over a long duration. But the interesting thing is the correlation between blue light and sleep. Blue light blocks the production of melatonin. Which is why you should avoid screen time close to bed or use programs like f.lux to reduce the color temperature of your screen after the sun goes down.

I'm not trying to detract from your post @daveeasa hopefully this adds to the conversation, but this peaked my interest. Now I'm going to look for information on correlation between eye fatigue and general fatigue/sleepiness.

 

Bought over $1000 worth of headlights mod parts and lights from retrofitparts

 

watcha makin over there?

 

Drove home in the snow last night.

1 - 3500k low and fogs killed it.
2 - Bunch of oncoming cars with bright white lights. These were enough that they actually reflected off my housings, reflected off the snow from there and then back into my eyes. Color me impressed - at least in the snow, I'm happy to have 3500k lights! Maybe when I move to Texas I'll get some of the white ones again but for now, F that.

 

I'm very curious to see what's in those boxes...

 

Few weeks ago I came here to this thread seeking some advice.
@TacoFergie was kind to explain, help put together parts and give advice to me.
(No thanks to @mynameistory)
I had previously modded my lights with BHLM and Meso side marker lights, and Meso Amber DRLs
But both low as well as high beam performance on road was poor, though my headlight housing looked badass (see pic comparison below).
Also a recent long road trip taught me good lights are as important as seat belts, it's a safety feature.

So I decided to do a dual projector retrofit. RX350s for Low/High and also separate HighBeam projectors.
Changed Fog lamps to DD SS3 Sport Driving White
And few other things.

1. Bi-Xenon: Lexus RX350 STi Lens
Lexus RX350 Bi-Xenon Projectors: 2 X Bi-Xenon: Lexus RX350 (Non-AFS) (LHD) $290.00
Clear Lens Upgrade: 2 X Lens: STi-R
2. D2S: Osram Xenarc Night Breaker Laser HID (Bulbs (CBH = CLOSEOUT): 2 X (5700K)) (Duobox) $160
3. H11: Pass-Through Harnesses with Grommet (Adapters: 1 X Harness: H-Series housing pass-through cables w/ grommet (H11)(2x)) $10.00
4. Rubber Housing Caps (Housing Caps: 2 X Housing Cap: Cylinder (75mm))
5. AMP to D2S Ballast Adapters (Straight)(AMP to D2S Ballast Adapters (Straight): 2 X AMP > D2S Ballast Adapters (Straight))
6. HD Relay: H11 (2x Relay Harness: 1 X HD Relay: H11/H9/H8/880)
7. AMP: Hylux A0050 (Ballasts: 2 X 45W / AMP: Hylux A0050 Ballast)
8. Bought a 270V aftermarket alternator from DC Power Inc for my truck. $1000
9. Diode Dynamics White (Driving) Max lights as fogs. $300
10. High Beam: Morimoto Mini HB LED Projectors
11. Mini Graphite Shrouds: 2 × Mini Graphite (Black Series) Shrouds
12. H-Series housing pass-through cables w/ grommet (H11)(2x)
13. Optional Centric Rings: 2 × Centric Rings: Mini H1
14. Diode Dynamics Switchback LED DRLs with Turn light functionality. (replace Meso DRL) $200
15. KC Lites, Cyclone LED - 2-Light Universal Under Hood Lighting System - 5W Flood Beam (for under the hood)
16. Rigid Industries Ignite Flood Black Surface Mount $89 (for side mirror integrated ditch lights mod)


Current setup (MGM truck below):

 

@crashnburn80 Looks like the alpharex/tacomabeast sales team is out in full force. So many new reviews about how bright and awesome they are. It's a shame, really.

 

Is there a post from crash tearing down the alpharex lights? I don't think I've read it.

 

One? LOL. Here is one one their projector lights. Their reflector lights are even worse, I'd have to comb together a few posts on those.

 

any word on oem led vs mori xb gen 2?

 

So in conclusion is the best upgrade modifying h9 bulbs into the housing and which h9 were the brightest? Sorry kind of overloaded by information now

 

curious does a h9 upgrade outperform the oem led or right there with it in terms of lux? Sorry didn’t see you test the oem led headlights or maybe I just missed it

 

OEM LED is superior. See review in post #3626. Best H9 is the stock Philips German H9s.

I know I am way overdue on the XB Gen2s. I'll get to them soon.

 

Thanks for your research and information,
Do you know what the highest quality light output and a little bit closer to the the whiter side of kelvin h9 bulb would be?

 

no pressure. i know there are always things to be busy with. all the same, i still come here every day to see if the test results have been posted.

 

Unfortunately Alpharex junk is everywhere in the 4Runner community too. I brought up concerns in the comments here, and the response was "well everyone's running them so they must be good".

4Runner replacement housings
(Apparently you can't directly hotlink Trail4Runner from forums, they bug up the address. Just click on the first Google result)

I've been put on probation on that site as well, all of my comments require approval before they'll post. So a lot of mine have been scrubbed. It's wild that so much of the Toyota community is caught up in encouraging all of this excessive spending without scrutinizing what is being bought.