3rd Gen LED and HID Lighting upgrades Discussion (POLL)

Haven’t really looked yet..does 3rd gen lights adjust like 2nd gen? Or by each individual bulb?

 

There is one adjustment knob that does both low and highs.



Circled in yellow.

 

Just vertical no horizontal correct?

 

Can anyone tell me how to clock the LEDs? I have bought the Hakari ultra for my high beams and I am unsure how to position them if indeed they need it.
thx

 

Right, only vertical.

 

Post a picture of the set screw in the main assembly part just behind the rubber gasket.

 

Hey there man! So, they should sit at 3 and 9 o'clock in the housing, but I'm not sure those bulbs are adjustable.

 

So, I do a lot of driving at night that involves dark back roads with bends, curves, hills, etc. I've gotten better halogen bulbs, but frankly doesn't really do much. I'm considering HID/LED, I've read the forums and posts and threads, and frankly I just have a simple question. Does LED or HID have the better throw-distance while remaining a brighter? I can see LED's are bright, but says the throw distance is lacking while others say it's not.

I'll prob just go with XD bulbs, just trying to figure out to go HID or LED.

 

Throw distance is all about maintaining the lighting geometry optics to keep your hot spot intensity. No hot spot means no focus, no focus means no throw. See the comparison in this post:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...s-discussion-poll.573318/page-2#post-18949693

 

I think I wrote my thoughts out wrong, it's Monday and I'm at work, so yeah haha. So, leaning towards HID at this point TBH. My vision at night/rain sucks as it is, I saw the higher bulb temps are bad for refraction? If I did the HID's, is the 4300k brighter but won't murder by eyes? Or should I just go to the 3k?

I swear I read the forums btw, the information is sometimes jumbled because the answers are typically to a different question.

 

The information is jumbled because there is a lot of bad misinformation in forums, so it can be difficult to differentiate. I would go with the 4300k bulbs, higher color temperatures do refract more but is more of a problem when blue light starts to become more prevalent in the output. 3000k is a lower color temp than stock halogens.

 

Why do people say LED lights don't cut through fog as well or throw as far as Halogen/HID? Does the LED wavelength reflect off the water vapor more?

 

Yes, 'white' LED lights that are high in blue light reflect of water vapor much more, this is known as refraction. There are amber LEDs, or amber filters that filter out the blue light that is the source of the refraction. LEDs don't throw as far due to what I mentioned above with the lighting geometry. It has nothing to do with the LED itself, it is when LEDs are placed in lights designed for halogens that the beam focus is lost due to the change in geometry of the LED 'bulb', the hot spot is reduced or eliminated and so the light is not concentrated to project. If the LEDs were put in a reflector designed for the LED light source they would work just as well, which is what KC does for their LED lights.

 

I voted OEM.

If I did a lot of night time highway driving, I'd probably get a set, but as it is, people already think my highbeams are on, when they are not.

 

Thanx Crash - on another note, why did I lose the ability to reply to a post? All I have is Like/Multi-Quote/Quote!! That's why I had to add your name to the post! Then again I DID sleep this weekend, so maybe it's always been like that!

 

A quick answer for most of you. I'd recommend getting a solid set of HID bulbs for the Low Beam Projectors and get something between 4300K and 6000K. Those number will depend on your preference for color output. I'd recommend either XenonDepot Xtreme HID's or Morimoto Elite HID's. @Sn4rlax i'd probably recommend that you get THESE in the Phillips 4300k based on what you're saying.

For the High Beams, I'd recommend a solid set of LED's. You really can't go wrong with the XenonDepot XTREME LED PRO HEADLIGHT. However, I am currently testing a set of LED's for a company in the Highbeams that are probably the best I have ever seen. They aren't available yet so I don't have a link. I will post a review on those as soon as I wrap that up. The Hikari Cree and Hikari Phillips also perform very well in the HighBeam.

For the Fog Lights, a good pair of SAE replacements such as Morimoto XB's or similar is your best option. If you still want a quick and easy drop-in option though I'd recommend again the XD XTREME LED PRO FOG LIGHT bulbs. The Hikari Cree work fairly well tbh, but not as well as the XD's. The Hikari Cree are cheaper though significantly.

The Hikari Phillips SUCK in the fog lights so don't buy these for the fogs.

To be sure you know the difference.
Cree on the left and Phillip's on the right.

 

Please do not recommend drop in HIDs in a reflector fog light to someone that may not know better. That is awful advice.

 

Deleted my other post cause I dont want to be a dick.

Look man, I get that you know a thing or two about lights and shit. However, I think your part of the reason why people are so confused. Here in one post you have verified valid evidence that LED works great in a projector light as well as a reflector light from a real world user.

Then in another you've got a guy posting with what some people think are fancy tools and providing what people my portray as "valid facts" bashing these same lights. That's why they are confused.

There are so many of us Tacoma owners that have the lights and that drive with them regularly who can tell you that, THEY WORK GREAT!

To be honest with you. I only recommended the HID's in that fog location because of comments you've made in the past which have led me to belive that they would work. I already knew you'd probably have something to say. So I tried to through that out, in hope's that you wouldnt, but low and behold you still had something for me.

This is exactly what I didn't want on this thread. All of the BS where all of the actual information is lost and people don't know what to use or what is best.

 

Appreciate that information. I got the Phillips HID from XD. So, can’t wait to test them out.

For Highbeam, I’ll keep the same for now, the halogen don’t do that bad tbh there.

I’ll be upgrading to Amber Fogs down the road as replacements that fit the factory housing. So no worries there.

Again, thanks.

 

I'm not trying to pick on you or 'have something to say'. I do appreciate the willingness to listen and adapt as that is the sign of someone smart. The difference in this case is HIDs in a reflector like the fog are far more hazardous than LEDs as the light source is massively brighter, much brighter than LEDs and the light source is still not correct for the housing which causes insane amounts of blinding glare. As in the worst combination for blinding glare possible, way worse than any LED. I mention HIDs work better in the projector than LEDs because the light source is on center providing better distance projection, but the light source is not correct so it would induce significant glare however in the internal projector light shield prevents the glare. You may think I am 'bashing' but if you talk to an honest lighting vendor they will tell you the same exact thing, HIDs will outperform LEDs in the projector headlight every time without question, and that HIDs should not be run in a fog light due to excessive glare. I am trying to provide actual information so that information isn't lost or misleading to help, as unwelcome as it may be.