MESO Total Tail Light Kit

I took the v6 back out for now. I’m going to try again tonight and see if it it’s just me during the day. Thinking about it though, I wonder if the difference in power draw running two different bulbs was bringing the output down.

 

I put the triton back in but on the drivers side this time. Unhooked the stage 1 on the passenger side to make sure different bulbs weren’t causing any issue and there was no change. Hard to show the difference using a camera without manual controls, but these pictures do enough to get the point across. You can see the difference in the center of the reflector between the triton on the drivers side

and the stage 1 on the passenger side

The amber is supposed to have the same output in lumens (500) between the tritons and stage 1s. But when viewed by someone behind the vehicle, the chip placement in relation to the reflector makes the stage 1s brighter to the naked eye. Seeing it in person is more dramatic than what I could capture with my phone.

Reverse appears to be equal when viewed from the rear in the daylight but I will check those at night to see if the extra 400lm is translating into better throw and thus visibility for the driver.



Unless reverse is substantially brighter at night, I’ll likely be taking advantage of vleds return policy.

 

Hey everyone. Sorry for being MIA lately. Training a new employee, shop reorganizing, and some new products getting ready for launch.
The Total Tail has been a great success, and thank you for all the support. It helps validate my decision to make this after hearing all the positive feedback.

Unfortunatly I ran out quicker than expected...but more are being produced I also decided it was time to package them the MESO way.
So any future kits will be in custom foam and packaging. (I know it's little stuff, but it all adds up)





Regarding VLED and their new 921 bulb that is being posted.
Full disclosure: The last batch and all future Total tail kits are being 100% produced by MESO. I still use VLED for Triton V6,old warranty, and other little odds/ins. We are still on good terms and they are an awesome company. But It was much more cost effective to start producing my own bulbs. (Not to mention I have more control over production scheduling, inventory, etc)

As for the output of the 921 Triton( I refer to them as stage "1.5") Here is some of my testing results when they sent me a prototype last year. I am not paid, sponsored or biased towards any 1 brand or product. I test real world output, beam coverage, etc and pick the best that suits said application. I sent them the results and my own opinion was although they were a great design and quality built...the performance difference didn't justify for price increase. They were going to adjust the optics/depth but I have not tested or corresponded with them since then. So I decided to stick with the simple Stage 1, and the brightest (Stage 2)with the full size Triton V6.
Here's my testing with the old prototype. Notice the beam shot of both Amber outputs which may play into what @Absolut_Boost is seeing.



STAGE 1 WHITE




STAGE 1 AMBER



STAGE 1.5 WHITE



STAGE 1.5 AMBER



Keep in mind this is my home brew testing which is unorthodox and far from perfect. But both lights were in the same position, distance and LUX meter the same spot. The bulb could have been updated since by VLED but I have no intel on that. Just providing my feedback so take it for what it's worth.

 

Thank you for posting numbers to back up my eyes, lol. Makes me happy to have evidence that I’m not just imagining it. I’ll make a final decision on them when I see the difference of the reverse at night. The numbers look better there and reverse output is more important to me than the amber.

 

Man I came really close to buying that 1.5. But now I'm thinking 110$ is not worth it to lose brightness in the turn signal.

 

That’s why I posted. I wanted people to be aware before dropping that kind of money.

 

My set arrived today. I went with the 5K.
Shooting for the install this weekend.

 

Damn, i just ordered them earlier today before meso posted. They have already been shipped. lol I like vled though, all of my leds are from them for my truck and car.

 

I'm sure you'll still be happy with them, I'm just still in love with the brightness level of the OG stage 1 turn signals.

 

Ok, night shots of reverse output. Drivers side is triton, passenger is stage 1.

the triton is definitely a bit brighter (especially to the naked eye, but the backup camera makes them look much closer). for me it’s not enough to justify the cost. Especially when you factor in the lower output for the amber. I’m going to contact VLED about returning them.

 

Yes, I agree with above. Some slight noticeable differences but still great output from all options.

vled 921 / meso 921 / vled 7440



I think the full size 7440 is great. Going to stick with the 921 size for now. I’m going to hang on to the 7440 since the tundra uses that size.

 

Nice comparison. I’m also sticking with the VLEDS 921’s. I like that it has the lens. I’ll keep the Meso ones for spares

 

I submitted for an rma from vled, but their return policy says any “used” items will have a 50% restocking fee. If this ends up being the case then I’ll throw them up on here for sale and give someone a discount over a set from vled (even cheaper if someone sends me their current stage 1s for spares). If you have the original stage 1s that were the lower output then these will be a substantial step up. I’m willing to eat some loss, but I’m not throwing away $55.

 

You can’t go wrong with any of the bulbs

 

Switched out the switchbacks and all is good.
I went ahead and removed the Bed Stiffeners, and put in Stainless rivi-nuts and went with 5/16” -18-1” cap screws for the vertical mounting Hardware.

As far as the 921’s go, there plenty bright and like I mentioned it’s a clean look with the lens.
Everything is all back together and looking forward to the next project which is a Lowmax Bed Cover. Its been delayed in the shipping process.
Thoughts and prayers for the folks that are in the path of the hurricane, and those that we lost overseas this week.

Thanks again @MESO for continuing to make awesome products for our Trucks.

 

Did you get the 5k or 6k Tritons?

 

@MESO when will the new stage 2 be available?

 

If you have a kit you can upgrade the bulbs. I haven’t seen or heard of meso upgrading his own designed bulbs?

 

Have any stage 1 kits in stock?