The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

After a few requests for color temp comparison to OEM, here are the Osrams temp vs the OEM halogen fogs, the Osrams are clearly whiter.

 

Well then, how best to make the figs brighter?

 

Where does one find a "lightbar deflector shield"?

 

Found one here. May look into it. Look into purchasing that is, not directly into the light. Never. Do. That.

 

The great thing about our headlights is they run an H4 bulb, which probably has the greatest number of aftermarket performance options available.

Our fogs on the other hand run an H11 bulb, which is on the other end of the spectrum with fewest options available.

I would recommend the Osram night breakers as the best you can buy. Note that as these are a performance bulb their light output is increased but their life span is decreased.

Here is why I recommend these bulbs, complete with lumen output numbers vs life hours compared to a stock long life bulb at the bottom:
http://store.candlepower.com/osnibr.html

 

Actually, there may be slightly better with a little longer service life. Here is a clip from the link above, I include the last catagory to point out the difference in the sylvania silver stars vs the Osram.

Plus-50 Ultra High Efficacy (Philips VisionPlus, Osram Silverstar, Narva Rangepower+50, Tungsram Megalicht, but not Sylvania Silverstar): 1795 lumens, 350 hours

Plus-80/90 Mega High Efficacy (Philips Xtreme Power, Osram Night Breaker): 1780 lumens, 250-300 hours

Blue coated 'extra white' (Osram CoolBlue, Narva Rangepower Blue, Philips BlueVision or CrystalVision, Tungsram Super Blue or EuroBlue, Sylvania Silverstar or Silverstar Ultra, which is just a rebrand of the Silverstar product, also PIAA, Hoen, Nokya, Polarg, etc): 1380 lumens, 250 hours

 

Ordered up. Came in. Installed. Done!!!!!!! Cant wait for tonight to try them out. The ONLY thing I had trouble with was getting the new bulb connectors onto the bulbs. They are real tight and I needed to find the sweet spot to press them on. But that was probably just me. I have trouble with the OE ones also for some reason.

But great mod OP. I like these nice, cheap and easy ones. Especially when they produce benefits like this does.

 

They are pretty snug on the first fit. Afterward they seem to go on easier in subsequent fits. I struggled to get the connector on bulb in the truck initially and the limited space didn't help, so I attached the connector to the headlight and bulb I had removed from the truck first, to open up the connector. Then I took it off and attached it to the lights mounted in the truck and it was much easier.

 

I approve of this thread.

I've been debating on going the LED route for some time now after my HID debacle. But the heat and fan and all that jazz has me pretty hesitant. Now theres no more hesitation, LED & HID are out, this upgrade is in.

 

So I'm not so electronically versed. I see the OP mentions two aftermarket harnesses, one for
Switched Ground Vehicles and one for Conventionally Switched Systems, Which one is for 2nd gens? How hard is it to install for a novice like me? So the 85w Osram Hyper Bulb with the harness is the best halogen upgrade for our trucks? Whats the difference between these: http://www.amazon.com/OSRAM-SilverStar-2-0-H4-Pair/dp/B00BA8R2AW and the Osram Hypers? They're both about the same price.

Has anyone upgraded the foglights on 2nd gens? Its an H10 bulb I believe right, which is also 9145? I've heard 9005 also works with some modification. Which would be the brightest and most efficient?

 

Good read.

i posted a similar thread a while back and it was cut down pretty fast - https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/relayed-headlights-thoughts.335085/

I still want to relay mine until my retro's are finished.

 

My 2nd gen was conventionally switched. My 1st gen was ground switched. I spelled out test procedure so you can check it before ordering. You can pickup a multimeter at Harbor Freight for $5 to check it and have for future projects. The bulb and harness install is very easy and all plug and play.

Yes, IMO this is the best halogen upgrade available. My background is in vehicle design so I am not blindly claiming this. The bulbs you linked are in my above post earlier on this page. The Osram silverstars (not sylvania) are a good bulb, but it will not compare to the Osram 85w hypers as they do not have the additional power.

The fogs are H11. H11s have very poor aftermarket support, and nothing like the Hypers. For the H11 I would look at getting a bulb like the Osram silverstars or Osram night breakers.

 

Doesn't seem this upgrade is all that common (yet), so there's probably no definitive answer as to what your truck is, or what all 2nd gens are just yet. I would grab a cheap old meter or bulb light like he mentioned and follow his instructions to the letter. Save yourself the hassle of ordering the wrong harness and having to send it back. Seems plug and play installation to me.

As for the bulbs you linked, they're 55w... OP's are 85w... nuff said.

 

Just read through this, sounds great, going to save it and come back when I have more time, ,,thanks, ,great info

 

I've seen H9 bulbs being modifed to fit H11 housings. What are the potential drawbacks when using a brighter and higher wattage bulb in a fog light housing? Two that I think of are melting the housing and glare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mrbdQmck7E

 

This thread says they are H10: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/lighting-faq-please-read-before-posting.84308/
Yet on this thread: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/brightest-stock-fog-light-bulb.27291/ TacoCo says that 9005/HB3 size will fit, but then Vansurfing says that he put in H11 bulbs. So I'm confused. Will our trucks accept 3! different kinds of bulbs and if so, which size/bulb offer the best brightness that is still compatible for our factory fog lights?

 

Seems like the conversation here revolved around 100w bulbs as the aftermarket choice discussed (though not proposed by you). 100w bulbs tend to have very short life. The advantage to the Osram 85w bulbs is they have both exceptional light output through higher wattage and better technology and relatively decent life for a high wattage bulb of their output level.

 

The confusion here is in the pre-2012 vs post 2012 tacos. 2012-15 take H11s which are higher wattage than the 2005-2011 using the H10.

The 45w H10 does appear swappable with the 65w 9005 with some modification. If going that route I would look into 65w 9011 HIRs which are far brighter than a 9005 and use the same wattage, but also require bulb modification. I've done this for headlights, and the results are impressive. The 9005s are 20w more so you would need to check your fuses to be sure the amp rating is compatible. Amps=watts/volts. Though you are approaching +50% power which could lead to a heat issues in the small fog lamp. Without first hand experience I cannot suggest this as safe mod.

I am familiar with the 55w h11 to 65w h9 conversion, though some report the bulb fitting loosely after the mod. Loose bulbs mean bad optics and light bouncing everywhere. The higher wattage is 18% higher, so if the fuses are up to the task I wouldn't be too worried about the fog light housing. I've not done it myself so I cannot comment from personal experience.

If you are replacing with a compatible bulb, glare for others should not be a problem as the beam pattern is not affected. Yellower light cuts through fog better than white light as the wave length does not reflect as easily, so whiter light is not an advantage. Fogs are a supplemental light source, not a distance source. With the 55w H11s I don't think it is worth the hassle. My headlights now overpower everything, I don't see a big advantage in slightly higher wattage fogs. I plan on buying a high quality bulb like the night breakers or similar to replace the OEM bulb.

 

My impressions with this mod. I absolutely love it. First off, for the people hesitant because of the law or getting flashed. It's really not that much more brighter looking. When driving on normally lit roads you can barley tell the difference. I had someone drive my truck behind me while I was in a car and it looked normal to me. I then watched that someone drive my truck in traffic as I sat and watched them all go by. Again my Tacoma looked like all the rest. Yes they are a little brighter looking but not like I have a 6' light bar on the roof or anything. Then I went to the darkest street I could find and these lights made it so much better to drive on. Everything is so much clearer now on the unlit roads. So I think this is a no loose situation. Been driving it for 3 days now, not flashed once. And when pulling up to buildings(next to other cars with their light on doing the same thing) it doesn't look like my light are way too bright or anything like that. At stop lights behind smaller cars I see no one adjusting their mirrors or anything. Not that I'm an expert in anything but I do recommend this and can't find a bad thing to say about it.