GA Tacoma Owners BS Thread

I’ve read his threads and come to the conclusion that OEM LED are the best long term answer. It just seems extremely complex to adapt to my SR5. I was hoping someone in GA did the upgrade to LED.

 

Dude, get the @spartanxcstoms (on Instagram) low beam and high beam. They are really bright and you can get them in 3 colors. 6k white, 3k Amber (matches the Baja Amber), and 4200 which is 50/50 whits and Amber which I really like. The way you change colors is Turn the lights on and off real quick.

first picture is the led high beam on the driver side with stock halogen lowers.
I have a really good video of the low beam comparison but can’t post it here

Also I don’t blind people with my lights. It is a very crisp line on the low beams and the high beams put my $400 light bar to shame.

 

OEM LED>H9 swap>Tungsram Nighthawk Xenon +120 performance halogen>Good LED replacements (Hikari Ultra/Morimoto 2stroke 3.0)>stock>poor replacement LEDs (most all)

All the data is in the headlight thread:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-hid-vs-led-vs-halogen-h11-projector-headlights.589465/

Hard pass on that garbage. No reputable company sells those as they are a complete gimmick. Multi-color LEDs require multiple emitters to support multi color. In order for an LED to even attempt to replicate a halogen, the LED emitter must be precision placed in the very center of the assembly to mimic a halogen filament. Even just being slightly off is disastrous to pattern performance and distance projection (which replacement LEDs already struggle with). Since you have multiple emitters to support multiple colors, no emitter can be placed on center where it belongs as this would make the other emitter set so far out of position the light just wouldn't work at all. So they split the difference and place both emitters off center, devastating the beam pattern performance and deliberately design the product 'wrong' just so that it can support multiple colors because that is a gimmick that will sell a poor quality product to those that don't know better.

You can see a review of such a product here in post #29 here. The numbers presented in that post actually make them look way better than they are, since an appropriate test showing significantly greater losses to the LED would be carried out at an extended distance like 42' in my other LED tests, as the short range 18' test artificially inflates the LED numbers to make them look better than they are. In short you shouldn't trust anyone trying to sell you these garbage products, as it is clear they have no idea what they are talking about. Unfortunately you'd be surprised how many LED sellers don't actually understand the products they are selling at all, so it doesn't mean it is deliberate.

 

Well was a productive day for my Taco yesterday. Can give more but alot done random pics:

Got a 2nd gen Tacoma box for 35 bucks a while back figured I would make it work. It's a PITA but I had to retain child seat locks which made it more work. Got the amp and 2 subs in a trade so will try them out, already know what amp I'm getting for replacement soon and we will see how the old subs do "Soundstream DVC 4 ohms". Wired up my front facing PA speaker, changed my cb antenna to hood mount as last spot didnt work for my bed cover. Welded in Jones Muffler Flowmaster- if you aren't aware Flowmaster let the patent slip on the 40 and 44 series mufflers a few years back so these are actual Flowmaster patent for 30 bucks... Have to finish today by running the auto turn on and roads but thats it, for this quick round. Oh, I sealed and high tp.coated then heat treated the paint a few cycles with my heat gun before throwing back on. Oh yeah, got 285's on last week finally as well lol.

 

Probably should have posted in off topic section but wanted Georgia peeps to see this!

Ordering a Pizza in 2022

CALLER:
Is this Pizza Hut?

GOOGLE:
No sir, it's Google Pizza.

CALLER:
I must have dialed a wrong number, sorry.

GOOGLE:
No sir, Google bought Pizza Hut last month.

CALLER:
OK. I would like to order a pizza.

GOOGLE:
Do you want your usual, sir?

CALLER:
My usual? You know me?

GOOGLE:
According to our caller ID data sheet, the last 12 times you called you ordered an extra-large pizza with three cheeses, sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms and meatballs on a thick crust.

CALLER:
Super! That’s what I’ll have.

GOOGLE:
May I suggest that this time you order a pizza with ricotta, arugula, sun-dried tomatoes and olives on a whole wheat gluten-free thin crust?

CALLER:
What? I don’t want a vegetarian pizza!

GOOGLE:
Your cholesterol is not good, sir.

CALLER:
How the hell do you know that?

GOOGLE:
Well, we cross-referenced your home phone number with your medical records. We have the result of your blood tests for the last 7 years.

CALLER:
Okay, but I do not want your rotten vegetarian pizza! I already take medication for my cholesterol.

GOOGLE:
Excuse me sir, but you have not taken your medication regularly. According to our database, you purchased only a box of 30 cholesterol tablets once at Lloyds Pharmacy, 4 months ago.

CALLER:
I bought more from another Pharmacy.

GOOGLE:
That doesn’t show on your credit card statement.

CALLER:
I paid in cash.

GOOGLE:
But you did not withdraw enough cash according to your bank statement.

CALLER:
I have other sources of cash.

GOOGLE:
That doesn’t show on your latest tax returns, unless you bought them using an undeclared income source, which is against the law!

CALLER:
WHAT THE HELL!

GOOGLE:
I'm sorry sir, we use such information only with the sole intention of helping you.

CALLER:
Enough already! I'm sick to death of Google, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and all the others. I'm going to an island without the internet, TV, where there is no phone service and no one to watch me or spy on me.

GOOGLE:
I understand sir, but you need to renew your passport first. It expired 6 weeks ago...

Welcome to the Google future

 

All I know is my stuff is a lot brighter and I can see more with my “garbage” then with the stock bulbs. They have a crisp cut off to them and I don’t get flashed. Also when I need my high beams I can see way down the road and I don’t have to guess what I am looking at. Here are the 3 colors and the out put vs the stock of any is interested. The pictures may be a little grainy as I took screen shots of the video I have.

 

You could put any low quality poorly designed light source in a projector headlight (like the 3rd Gen low beam) and it will always have a crisp cut off. That has nothing to do with the engineering design of the light source and everything to do with the low beam projector construction utilizing an internal light shield to provide the cut off. If any company is using that as an advertising point they certainly don't even understand headlight design.

Brighter isn't better at all unless it is brighter in the correct location, and those LEDs put it in the wrong location, this is an indisputable fact. Many LEDs appear brighter than stock, and unfortunately due to poor design it is typically all foreground light, and loss of distance light/projection. Humans are horrible at evaluating light output by nature, we favor foreground light so the loss of distance isn't noticed due to the overwhelming increase in foreground light. Foreground light makes people feel like they can see better, as by nature we focus on the light immediately ahead of us and not the light off in the distance. However, this is exactly opposite of how a headlight is supposed to work, foreground light is supposed to be minimized as it reduces your distance vision and distance light is supposed to be maximized so you don't outrun your headlights. So the "I know my stuff is a lot brighter" commentary is just more of the same I have disproven countless times, yeah it is brighter foreground light which any lighting engineer will tell you is exactly what you should avoid for a performant headlight, and also exactly what a cheap garbage LED company will sell you to make a positive impression on a poor quality product.

 

Crash is the only person on this site I listen to about headlights.

 

+1,000

 

I bet you feel schooled no homie lol
Someone told me they didn’t like the bumper I had on my truck the other day in the parking lot, I told them in a nice southern deep voice “go fuck yourself bro” said it took anyway from the original
Lol
Who goes out if there way to tell you shit they don’t like about your ride. Haha

 

I just wanna know who is “outrunning they’re headlights” here. I thought this was a Tacoma forum

 

JB got them gears Bro.

 

That’s right playas!

 

Just my $.02

I appreciate the feedback from both @marinemonkey and @crashnburn80 .

Well, maybe I don't....because now I feel like I need to upgrade my headlights.

 

I'm starting to assemble a parts list for my Bussmann build. This is going to get expensive.

 

Post it up.

I'm to the point where I have too many wires running everywhere. I need to clean it up a bit.

 

Depending on minimums I may offer a built unit or two for sale. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so we'll see.

 

Ditto

 

Dude science the shit out of it and that’s awesome. I have had high quality halogen bulbs, I had HIDs that shot way down the road, and I absolutely love these LEDs over everything. The fact that I can change the color in shitty weather is awesome. Do they shot as far as HIDs, no but when the weather is bad and I change them to Amber my buddy with his HIDs follows me haha. At the end of the day do what you want. I like my shit and it works awesome for me.

 

Taco update

The Bad: They said one of the parts was on national backorder, so it'll be like 20 more days in this shitty rental Also they're only giving $200 for the bumper, and would have to still buy one and cut it if I chose to go with that c4 bumper, so I passed on it.

The Good!: These morons are saying we have to replace the fake TRD pro grille and valuing it at $500! Even better they said the Air Intake is valued at $700!!! Then finally $374 for the passenger headlight. So looks like I'm upgrading to better headlights, and a S&B intake

So now the real question, Morimoto's or AlphaRex? Or do y'all think I can get a set of Retrofits in time and around the same price?