3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

Not only is removing the green clip free, it's also more reliable since less connections means less potential problems.

 

I just ordered the Philips H9 to go in my lowbeam headlights. Will do the install this weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing the difference.

Next lighting project will be to replace my SR5 fog lights with TRD wide angle lights.

 

you're gonna love the H9 upgrade, I have the German Phillips H9 in both high and low beam, makes such a difference. The TRD fogs are definitely better than than the weak sr5 fogs, but an aftermarket plug and play will be superior to anything oem. I have KC Gravity LED G4’s and they are incredibly bright and super wide. The Diode Dyanamics and Baja offerings are excellent as well. Good luck!

 

If you're on a budget these OEM LED ONES can be had on Amazon for under $100 bucks as returns. I got them and a yellow lamin-x kit and it works pretty well. I'm into it for under $100. Maybe one day I'll get some high dollar ones.

Toyota PT413-42190 Fog Light (Chrome)

$134 Toyota Genuine Parts - Led Foglight Chrome (PT413-42190)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DBPYC4D

 

Made the swap in the low beams today. Elected to trim the tab in the light instead of removing the green connector. Did no trimming to metal tabs as crash showed they can fit if put in a certain way

 

That will be a huge upgrade vs those just awful LEDs.

 

Yup. Thank you for your dedication to making sure we get the best output. I was really ignorant before this thread. For all the nighttime rural driving I do, I'm surprised it didn't click sooner for me that the performance was ass. But I swapped my bulbs out pretty quick after getting the truck. What a waste of $35 lol

 

The OEM LED fogs are a good budget 6000k option but lamin-x isn’t going to give a good yellow over a 6000k light source. The light is too blue, making the output a bit green. More expensive than the OEM units, but for yellow I’d look at the Diode Dynamics Elites as the best yellow budget friend LED option.

 

A friend and fellow GX owner swore by his expensive LED headlight bulbs. I explained Crash's testing and science and talked him into running H9s. He was blown away by the H9s! Light in the proper place on the road!

I'm not sure what high beams in a 3rd gen Taco are but I'm thoroughly impressed with Sylvania 9011s. The ones made in Korea are HIR. Not sure if that's changed recently.

 

3G Taco highs are H9's (OEM spec is Philips).
I, too, love those 9011 HIR's (run them in our '18 Odyssey) and wish we could have them in a Tacoma. It's one reason I'm extra tempted to go 4Runner.

I'm probably at the point where I would consider swapping the 2016 Tacoma for a current gen T4R but I've got so much time into mods on the 2016 which hold me back. The T4R would be a better all around kid/family hauler though.

 

Hey @crashnburn80

I ordered the Philips H9

$11 12361B1 H9 Standard Halogen Replacement Headlight Bulb, 1 Pack

12361B1 bulbs on Amazon to replace my H11 halogens in my '21 SR5. I've trimmed the tabs off to fit the H9 connectors but the metal tabs on the bulb base do not match my H9s and they do not fit into the housing. Do I have the wrong bulbs or is there another step here that I've missed? I ordered on Amazon from the link posted and they sent me German bulbs. Apologies if this has been covered somewhere in this megathread. Here's a photo:


New H9 is left, old H11 is right.

 

The tabs are different but they will fit with the right angle. Alternatively you can trim the top tab on the H9 to fit much easier.

https://youtu.be/FXL8LahHiuI

 

Thank you very much for the fast reply

Ok awesome I'll work on them a little more to see if I can get them without trimming, figured I'd ask before I broke something.

Also, I didn't realize till now that my OEM high beams are already German Philips H9, Is that still the best halogen option for highs?

 

Yes they are the best option for the highs. The bulbs will lose ~25% of their output over their lifespan, so if you are a heavy high beam user a fresh set of bulbs can give you a small boost.

For better high beams you need to add aux driving lights. Thread discussing many options is here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-sae-j581-aux-high-beam-thread.696597/

 

I'm down that rabbit hole now, looking into your updated LED options.

Got the bulb in perfectly using the method shown in your video, once you line it up just right it glides in with no resistance.

A little late, but my condolences on the Gladiator, I have a buddy who works in QA in Toledo where they're built and he's told me it's been a pretty dicey production line for the past few years. Lot's of unionized zombies working there... most are not very happy people, all in all not a very precise or consistent operation.

Here is an image of my bulbs for comparison, new H9 on left, 2+ year old h11 on right. My doors are red and driveway isn't quite level but nonetheless easy to see difference in output.

Thanks so much man for the help here and everything you've done.

 

Here's on the road -- much brighter everywhere, especially to the sides, without being overly hot in center. Pic taken with HDR off to emphasize the cutoff, which is really excellent as well. I prefer the warmer color temps and higher CRI of halogen vs LED so this makes me very happy

 

For the driving lights, mounting can drive what kind of form you are looking at. I think the BAMF behind the grill mount works well on the newer trucks, but must be paired with a grill that has adequate void space. In pods, the SS3 yellow Pro with white driving lens swap are really nice, 4000k output is close to the halogens. The Max is higher intensity but 6000k and smaller area coverage. I also like the KC Pro6 driving lights at 5000k and large area coverage. And if you want to spend more, the SS5s yellow with clear lens swap seem impressive, though I have not tried them myself. The Max and the SS5s are too high in output intensity for SAE compliance but do have the SAE driving pattern. Lots of options out there.

The Gladiator was a disaster. Thanks though. I actually think having separate vehicles for the daily driver go-fast car and weekend warrior truck has worked out for the better with the Tesla and the 1st Gen.

 

This is the setup I have and cut holes in the grill so the SSc3 pros are not obstructed. It works very well.

 

OP, I have found many forums and many threads, but none as informative as all of this you have compiled. This is definitely a lot of work, thank you for sharing the results. Can't wait to have some time to read a lot of it.

 

I hope you find it useful. I have many threads like this, where the objective is to present science and measured data for objective product evaluations.

You might also find the fog thread useful:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-led-sae-j583-fog-pod-fog-light-review.554813/