The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

the high xenon content stock wattage bulbs, like the european Osram Silverstar (US Silverstars are blue coated, which reduces actual available light) will likely be the best bang, that and the wire harness upgrade, which raises the voltage at the bulb by a few 0.1V (brightness is the cube of the voltage, so that a 1% increase makes for a 3.5% increase in brightness) but in general, more light == more heat == shorter life, that's just how it works. the best light is from HID projector lamp upgrades (where you replace the whole reflector assembly), and these last for years, but good ones are quite expensive.

 

Unfortunately any performance halogen bulb is going to have greatly reduced life.

Here is an example of lumen output vs bulb life for a variety of bulbs. While this break down is for H1 bulbs, and lumen output and hour rating will be different than H4, the relative differences will be similar. Also note that Sylvania Silverstars are listed as lowest output (lower than stock) and shortest bulb life.
http://store.candlepower.com/osnibr.html (bottom of the page).

I would have suggested the 70w version of the Osrams hypers for increased output with longer life, but they have been discontinued. The Volsas mention in the original post are the suggested replacement by candlepower after they ran some tests, however they do not list the hour rating. You could email them and inquire.
http://store.candlepower.com/64205.html

Even stock wattage performance bulbs are not much better. For example the H4 Philips Extreme measures in at 300 hours. A +50 bulb like the Osram Silverstars LeftCoastNerd mentioned, are likely the sweet spot of more light with least compromise to bulb life, but it still is significantly shorter that stock. However the output will be no-where near that of the bulbs in the original post.

If your stock headlights are insufficient, and reduced bulb life over stock in not tolerable, a quality projector retrofit with HIDs would be the way to go. Note that you should get quality projectors from a vendor like The Retrofit Source, not cheap ones off ebay like Spyder that are known to have poor output.

 

For years, I've been using Sylvania XV bulbs in my euro cars (1980s/90s Volvos, Mercedes), and I drive those with the headlights almost always on ... they are a bit brighter/whiter than 'plain' bulbs, and have good life. I carry a spare, and when one goes out, I get two new ones, and put the 'other' one into the 'spare' box in the glovebox. They usually last at least a year.

 

Hey where did u get ur pro smoke headlights?

 

Pretty sure @wedgemoose got them the same place I did:
OEM 2012+ TRD Pro headlights :
Right #81110-04221 http://stores.revolutionparts.com/toyotaparts.bochtoyotasouth.com/oe-toyota/8111004221
Left #81150-04221 http://stores.revolutionparts.com/toyotaparts.bochtoyotasouth.com/oe-toyota/8115004221

 

Yes i did. The price was the best I could find and they are close to me so i got pretty quick.

Still to this day people say to me "how come your Tacoma looks different than what I'm used to". These headlights do make the truck

 

Your Pro grill helps too.

 

Great thanks guys! I looked at the site and the price offered is better than what is offered here at frontier Toyota in Valencia, CA. By like $55. Definitely gonna save up for these.

 

just finished putting these bad boys in and the harness, shit is it ever bright, easily x2 if not more

 

Enjoy!

 

I haven't scrolled through all 25 pages yet, and hoping I don't need to.

Are these dependable, meaning will they last the length of a normal bulb or do they burn up quicker?

Is there any heat issues? Will these damage the headlight housing in any way?

 

This upgrade is extremely dependable in the sense that all parts work like stock. There are no cooling fans, microprocessors, or ballasts to fail.

However, both high wattage bulbs I've listed in the original post are rated at 200 hours, which is lower than stock but higher than a Sylvania Silverstar bulb. And the Silverstars are lower performing than stock and much less than this upgrade. The Osrams also cost $10 less a set than the Silverstars. There will be more bulb changes than the stock long life bulbs, but the results are well worth it IMO.

There are no heat issues. I posted heat temp readings in the original thread. Across 4 Toyota trucks I've been running this upgrade for over 5 years. Zero issues.

 

200 hours MTBF, so if you drive at an average of 30MPH, thats 6000 miles with your headlights on. better carry spares...

pretty sure standard 9003 bulbs are around 1000-1200 hours, but I don't have any handy to look at.

 

For perspective though, if you drive 12-15k miles a year, 6k miles might be a lot, as that would be driving with your headlights on nearly 50% of the time. All depends on how much night driving one does, which is why some people say they last 6 months and others say they last a year plus.

Yes, I believe that is correct for 'long life' bulbs, which are lower in output than standard bulbs. However going to a performance bulb of even stock wattage will drastically reduce bulb life over long life ratings.

 

I am from the old-volvo-driver school that tends to leave my headlights on all the time.

compared with my older cars (1992 Volvo 740, 1990 Mercedes 300E), the stock tacoma headlights, properly adjusted, are freekin awesome, so I'm really not sure what this need to make them brighter is about.

 

I went with some Osram Rallye lights in mine. Way brighter, and aimed right, you wont have anyone flashing you.

http://store.candlepower.com/osraulhiouh7.html

 

@crashnburn80 Did you get the new bulbs installed yet? I need to order some new bulbs and wanted to make sure they do not get too hot.

 

Yep. I updated the original thread with temp readings from the new bulbs a little while ago. Lens surface is just warm to the touch.

 

Good news: Did this mod a week or so ago and notice a great difference. Thank you!
Bad news: Used a credit card I haven't used in many months to order from Candlepower Inc and Rallylights.com. Credit card is now compromised. In a week someone has ran up quite the bill. Be careful.

 

i've bought a lot of stuff from rallylights (susquehanna motorsports) in the past, they've always been straight shooters and good folks, so I'd be inclined to suspect the other guys.

of course, anyone's CC processing system could get hacked, sigh.