1st Gen Headlight Recommendation

Teenager that has a 1st gen tacoma that’s in need of new headlights. I would like to purchase LED headlights. Although I am on a budget, I do not want to buy those Chinese cheapies. Any good quality budget-friendly brands you guys recommend?

 

why LEDs in a Halogen designed reflector are piss poor https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

 

The problem is putting LED bulbs in halogen reflectors doesn't play well. The LEDs cause a bunch of glare and scatter that really annoys other drivers.
I would just buy a new set of whichever headlights, some good halogen bulbs, a headlight relay kit, and call it good.

 

Which version of the front?

3 versions exist:
Original had “standard” rectangular bulbs (sealed beam), where you just need to buy halogen housings where you can swap in H4 bulbs (huge upgrade)

Facelift 1- large retangular but sloped plastic housings

Facelift 2- smaller more shaped plastic housings (with the “fishmouth” grill)

Each version’s headlights don’t work on the others.

(I have a 95 5-lug, so just got Hella H-4 housings & they are the best thing I ever did to my truck. Now. I can just change bulbs from the back without grill removal & they have FAR better light output & diffusion over the original sealed-beams. But, I have zero experience looking for the other housing types.)

 

Where is the best place to buy this?

 

With the early Tacomas, since they use rectangular sealed beams, they can use anything meant for vehicles using rectangular sealed beams like the Jeep XJ or 1984-1992 4runner.

After that they went to composite headlights, which have problems. They were plastic so they haze up, and all composite headlights lose brightness over time because dust builds up in the reflector.

Cleaning the dust out of my 4runner's housings gave a huge improvement in brightness, even more than I perceived when I tried out 100 watt bulb.

A good upgrade is installing 100 watt halogen bulbs for more power. This requires upgrading the wiring harness and bulb socket to ceramic. The stock wiring harness wasn't made to handle more than legally permitted power.

 

I agree on the Hella H4 conversion being the best option. Years ago I did the Roundeyes H4 conversion and still have them on the shelf. Sadly they’re no longer around and Hella is the best option.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hla-003427811

also, as said above any 6054 sealed beam conversion will work, but if you exceed the factory wattage you will likely need to upgrade your harness and relays to accommodate the extra power required

 

The 6 by 7 headlight housings are common among many cars.

At one time, US laws required sealed headlights, which pretty much ended up on a few sizes & available in either low, high, or high/low options.

Round were 7” or 5”

There were a few rectangular ones, but 6x7 were the most common.

I got my Hellas off Amazon.
Mainly, make sure it’s HEADLIGHTS & not driving lights or foglights.
Hella & several companies make all 3 the same size, though the last 2 are usually in specialized plastic housings for independent mounting.

Cibie makes good headlight kits too.
Some get very brand-territorial about Cibie vs Hella. Those are the “classic” good ones.
Add in LEDs, & several other companies make 6x7 headlight kits too.

Here’s my front end, with the Hella headlamps & KC fog lights (useful in the country, where I drive at times) when the weather gets bad & esp when foggy in the hollows & swampy areas.

If your stock headlights don’t look like that (2wd pictured, 4wd has same headlights, but different grill plastic), fitting the conversion lights will take much work & fabrication to look right.