The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

Just an update on Headlight Service Harness.

I chose to follow the 1st post and upgrade. As noted their site didn’t function on iPhone but worked fine on a desktop. I reached out to confirm grounding which Mike responded that my 2013 TRD Sport is power switched. He also let me know he also has the Osram bulbs in stock and would knock $5 off them from $19/each to $14/each if I wanted to buy them as a package. Shipped it all for $5 and was quick to respond to any questions.

install was easy with instructions. No issues with headlight function.

http://www.headlightservices.com/Wiring.html

 

I ended up emailing him he also gave me the deal of $5 off with purchase of a harness. Since I was unable to purchase via his website on mobile he sent me a invoice via email. Easy transaction due to Mikes great customer service.

 

To summarize here:

The Phillips RacingVision GT200 bulbs are an improvement over stock (1000/1600 lumens), don't require a harness, and have up to 400 hours of life expectancy.
The Osram SuperBright Premium bulbs are the best (1700/2900 lumens), require the harness, and have up to 200 hours of life expectancy.

Is there some middle ground here on life expectancy? Some bulb that works with the harness for great output and lasts a bit longer.. Do you have any indication that your bulbs are about to fail?

Just for S&G's, what is the life expectancy of the stock bulbs? Mine are at 10+ years without burning out (but are incredibly dim...)

 

No but even if they're not burnt out replacing them every couple years isnt a bad idea as halogens degrade with time (use)

 

Those are actually really good numbers for both. The Philips +200s are the same in performance as the +150, but they doubled the lifespan vs the +150s 200 hour span. They can call them +200 because the +150 was compared against a standard bulb, and the +200 presumably against a long life bulb, so they really just moved the bar down a notch but also significantly improve the life. Other high wattage bulbs are typically around the 150 hour mark, so the Osrams are pretty respectable for bulb life as well. Life drops pretty quickly when upping performance. Philips +100s also only have a 400 hour life. Bulb life is a spectrum against performance, the more performance the shorter the life generally speaking. You may squeeze a little more life out of a more mild +30 or +50 Philips Vision bulb, but gains are also going to be pretty small. Really the Philips Racing Vision +200s are the best RIO on performance gain vs bulb life. 200 hours is good for 1 year based on my daily driver use, so the Philips should be good for about 2 years.

If you want to go with a low performance long life bulb, which will be lower performance than stock, you may get 800-1000 hours. The 400 hour Philips +200s are about $36/pr, meaning roughly $18 a year for the best plug and play low beam available. So you might be able to save the equivalent of $9/yr by choosing significantly lower performing bulbs greatly reducing your visibility at night, to save ~$0.75/mo with the life of the bulb. Bulbs also diminish 20-30% in output over time, so old bulbs produce even less output. Point being, I don't think it is worth getting caught up in bulb life beyond 400 hours. If that is a real concern, the best bet is to buy the standard bulbs, like stock.

No there is no indication the bulb is about to fail. Bulbs should always be replaced in pairs because of that dimming over time. So your indication that one is about to fail, is when the other bulb fails first.

 

Some vehicles like vws will tell you when its time to replace the bulbs prior to them failing. I replaced a set about a year ago that hadn't failed but where starting to, they wouldn't always light up right away. But when I pulled the bulbs and inspected them when putting in the new ones they weren't long for this world.

 

Interesting. If it used some smart technology like monitoring voltage drop that would be extremely impressive (vs going by resettable hours). I'm not sure how well voltage drop would translate across performance bulbs, but neat tech regardless.

 

Thanks for the info, the longevity is less about cost and more about avoiding a failure while driving during a winter storm or other inconvenient time. Your point is well taken.

Turns out headlight services is just up the road from me here in Colorado. I'll see if I can stop by and pickup a harness/bulbs.

Any idea if Toyota Parts has Black Friday discounts? I love those pro headlights but don't want to buy if I can save $$ in 3 weeks.

 

Last year they did 10% off plus free shipping. I have seen 20-30% coupons show up once a year or so. The last two times I saw those were around Feb/March. If you don't need them right now I'd probably wait for Black Friday at the least.

 

Edit: See below. And, in the first post of this thread there are instructions to check for which type of DRL you may have.... Thanks, Crashburn80...

I have a 2014 DCSB Sport TRD. My DRL's are not disabled with the aftermarket harness. Not saying you are wrong, just what I have going on.
And I might add... the harness is the way to go. So much better light. I got two converts and work who also agree.

 

Keep in mind there are 2 different types of DRLs. Headlight DRLs (where it is not possible to turn off your headlights) and the amber indicator DRLs next to the headlights. Unless you get a special harness, the harness will disable the headlight DRLs. The harness will have no effect on the amber indicator DRLs.

 

Question: Has anyone purchased a replacement relay that’s on the harness? I ask because my low beams went out but still had high beams. Bulbs are new, fuses were good as well as the headlight relay. I switched the 2 relays that was on the wire harness and got my low beams back but lost my high beams. Anyways, I’m just curious if any of you replaced it and where did you buy it from. Thanks in advance!

 

Documented in the old halogen fog thread courtesy of @Norton. The replacement here:

$9 Bosch 332019150 Relay

$13 Bosch 332019150 Relay

Bosch 332019150 Relay, made in Portugal.

 

I wager it's a nc vs no issue

 

One thing I really do like about Mike's choices in relays, the dual 87 output makes the whole harness a lot cleaner.
I'll keep searching for a skirted dual 87 relay for a sealed option, but to date I haven't found one.

 

Thanks guys! I emailed Mike and he is helping me out. He’s sending over 2 new relays at no cost. He was quick to respond through email. Great customer service if you ask me.

 

Still working well here, four years later.

 

FYI Bulb America has the Super Brights in stock for $7.99/ea in case anyone is needing to order some, They are also offering free standard shipping and a 10% off code (MOBILE10). Got 4 bulbs shipped for $29.

 

So after 4 years, my HID kit (redacted vendor name) has finally begun to give me some issues. Phillips 4300K bulbs will fire off, but the passenger side will, after X time, go dark, attempt to reignite, flicker, then stop trying.

My question is, what's the current best bang / buck in terms of luminosity for a given wattage. 2018 Taco, projector housings.

Are LED's no longer a desired bulb setup for low beams?

 

Might want to try this thread since you are a 3rd gen. The one you posted in is for 2nd gen.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-hid-vs-led-vs-halogen-h11-projector-headlights.589465/