The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

@crashnburn80 Have any knowledge on Toyota's Osram H16? From what I can find, it's seems to be a low wattage H11.

 

I was wondering why all these non-2nd gen questions, you must have just ordered or got the TR4 as a replacement for your 2nd Gen?

The confusion on the H16 is often because the bulb naming conventions, in the US we call a bulb a 9003 but elsewhere it is an H4, while the regulations are slightly different the bulb base is the same.

An US standard H16 is very different than the Japanese H16. I believe the bases of a Japanese H16 and an H11 are compatible but I've not had any experience with the H16 and am not sure if the collar fits without modification. The latest Tacomas also switched to H16 fogs. I would actually suggest replacing the fog assembly with one off a TRD truck so that you get the 'wide angle' fogs, which project 75 degrees to the side for a wider area of coverage. The TRD fogs use H11s.

 

Just wanted to say @crashnburn80 is crazy knowledgeable when it comes to this stuff!

I did this upgrade a while back and love it.

 

Same this is one of my useful an favorite mods.

 

I picked up a T4R TRD OR over the weekend. I suppose the lighting is more similar to the 3rd gens, but I don't follow many threads in that section. The T4R forums suggest upgrades with HID/LED. I've read people have ordered H16s to find they're different than the stock H16s.

 

Congrats on the new ride! The TR4 has odd side-entry headlights, so the bulbs don't enter from the back like a Tacoma, they enter from the side of the projector. Everyone likes to push LED and HID as higher output 'upgrades' in the Toyota projectors but what nobody talks about is focus. All the precision optics for projection are based around the light source being in a specific location. Making light sources smaller increases focus for better distance projection, making them larger and moving them off center (like LED) causes loss of focus and loss of distance projection. Also interesting in the TR4 side-entry housing, you end up with an LED 'rod' blocking some of the reflected light off the back side of the internal projector. Of course this is further compounded by the light source not being omni-directional. This results in a ton of foreground light with no distance projection and unfortunately people see the increase in foreground light right in front of their vehicle and think it is an upgrade. I've talked to many that have later switched back realizing they cannot see adequate distance at speed.

I should add I know your engaged in these threads, so I’m sure this isn’t new.

The H16 mistake is pretty common, when people accidentally order the US standard style H16s rather than the Japanese style ones.

 

Ok Guys/gals, I'm looking to comprehensively test for what is the absolute best bulb out there for an H4.

Ever since the discontinuation of the 85/80w Hypers I have not really been satisfied with the Superbrights as an alternative. So I am looking to test a variety of bulbs to compare to determine the best performer. So far I have these below, all which do not make a compromise on the high beam bulb by covering the filament with a with a blue coating. Is there something else/others I should consider?

Osram Superbright 100/90w
ARB (IPF) 60/80w
Xencn Kablights 85/80w
GE Megalight +120
GE Nighthawk +120

 

I've had the ultimate Headlight Upgrade in my 2014 Tacoma for about 2 1/2 years now and couldn't be happier. The amount of useable light on the ground in front of the truck is significantly greater than stock and I think I've been flashed about twice since I put everything in. The problem is, one gets used to having this much light and you really don't realize what you have until you drive an identical Tacoma without it - which I did the other night.

You see a friend of mine has a very similar 2015 Tacoma and I'd been singing the praises of the headlight upgrade for may months to him. Well, the other night he was over at my house and I offered him a test drive after dark in mine. He was totally blown away with the difference! Then we went for a ride in his truck and I couldn't believe how bad the OEM lights really were. Needless to say, he's got the parts on order and I will be installing everything for him shortly. Thanks again crashnburn80! Another satisfied customer!

 

hey @crashnburn80 ,

Is there a better mod for headlight replacement? I mean, when replacing the headlight bulb, there is that small metal arm that looks like a damn paperclip that hold the bulb in place. IS THERE ANY OTHER METHOD TO USE BESIDES THAT??? OR SOME-KIND OF MOD? Reason I ask is because when these bulb H4 bulbs burn out, and im driving somewhere at night, I want to make a quick change and go. I plan on carrying another extra pair of bulbs in my truck in case this scenario happens. This is also a good way NOT to get pulled over because of a burnt out bulb.

Also, read, took your advice, and purchased the harness. installed. tested. saw the difference it made. happy. Now, in regards to bulbs, which bulbs have the whitish look? Dont care much if it has a slight bluish tint. Just trying to ditch the candle looking light look. I have the Philips RacingVision H4 Headlight Bulbs (Twin)

$36 12342RVS2 Xtreme Vision Upgrade

12342RVS2 Xtreme Vision Upgrade (Amazon). They are good. But want something better. Any suggestions?

 

I agree those clips are a major PITA. After doing it enough times I can put the clip back on moderately quickly when it falls off, because of course it will. I’m not aware of any clip mod to make things easier. The Hypers have a whiter appearance but the SuperBrights have the standard 3200k. As I posted a few posts up, I will be trying several bulbs all chosen for a specific purpose. I'm trying to avoid bulbs that cover and degrade the high beam filament like the RacingVisions. The GE +130s are quite impressive, I've tried them in an H11 for 3rd gen and they outperformed a 2100 lumen Volsa H9 in output in the 3rd gen projector, which is exceptionally impressive. They are whiter at 3500k vs the 3200k stock (like the SuperBrights). The GE Megalight +130s also easily outperformed the Osram +150s. Philips does not make a +150 in the H11 so I have not compared to the RacingVision.

GE Megalight +130s are available in an H4, but they cover the high beam with a blue filament, which is why I do not have them on the above list:
https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/product/ge-megalight-ultra-130-h4

I was going to try the GE Megalight +120s which do not cover either filament and see how they stack up.

 

If you think those clips are bad try the clips on a BMW Bixenon. Even when they're on they're not on.

 

Thanks @crashnburn80 . Let us know your opinion on those GE Megalight +130s. And as always, thank you for your time in testing these lights out! Makes decision making easier.

 

What about those Hella H4 100/80W?

 

Decent suggestion. Here were my thoughts:

Osram Superbright 100/90w - Standard high wattage bulb. This would be inline with the standard high wattage Hella 100/80w as well. Hellas are really cheap and do not employ much for any modern technologies in their high wattage bulbs, I could throw them in. My goal was to try differentiating technologies. Looking at the rest it might be a little more clear.
ARB IPF 60/80w - These 'fatboy' bulbs claim the freakishly large bulb inert gas volume gives them an advantage to burn brighter.
Xencn Kablights 85/80w - These bulbs claim to be a high wattage AND high efficiency +30 bulbs, much light the discontinued Hypers. This would be the only remaining high wattage and high efficiency H4 that I am aware of after Osram discontinued theirs.
GE Megalight +120 H4 - After testing a series of H11 bulbs for 3rd gen, the GE +130 bulbs cleaned house with stock wattage H11s blowing away 65w 2100 lumen H9s. Nothing was remotely comparable, including the Osram +150s. The +130s in H4 have a blue tint covered high beam, which kills performance. The +120s do not. I may consider throwing the +130s in just because for comparison to the +120s. But the +120s look to be the most promising non-high beam handicapped stock wattage bulb.
GE Nighthawk +120 9003 - This is one of the highest plus rated bulbs in North America. But is it the same as the above H4? The H4 must be ordered from Europe, the 9003 is available domestically. A stock wattage H4 has higher legal rated output allowance than the 9003, meaning for a legal bulb the H4 can be brighter than a 9003. So this is really about convienient access for the bulbs if they are the same.

 

Hey,

Great resource here.
I'm buying the harness from headlight services. The High Watt H4 100/90 down at the bottom on their bulb page is recommended?

 

I believe they sell Philips/Narva 100/90w bulbs. The reason I went with Osram over Philips was bulb life, the Philips are rated at 150 hours I believe and the Osram are rated at 200 hours. If you are already ordering the harness there I wouldn’t let the difference in life prevent you from also purchasing the Philips bulbs there.

 

Thanks bro.

 

1. Are these Wiring Harness’ below a replacement to the stock ones like the ones the original poster has from RallyLights?? Obviously the Rally Light Kit it better quality but will these Amazon Kits give u the same results in a brighter Stock H4 Bulb ??!?!? And will your Headlights work the same off your stock HL on/off knob ?

 

Yes, though large difference in quality. The Headlight Services harness replaced the Rallylights one as the recommended harness as it higher quality and less expensive. One of the main areas that affect performance of a harness is wire gauge. The kit you show on Amazon does not specify wire gauge. I would speculate it is 16awg, it might not be much bigger than OEM. The Headlight Services harness and the Rallylights Harness use 12awg, which is quite a bit larger which is important to reduce the voltage drop and have the bulbs burn brighter. That kit also does 'local grounding' which is where you need to ground the negative circuit somewhere on the chassis at the headlight, vs 'return to home grounding' where you connect it to the negative battery terminal.

In short yes it will work, you will likely see some performance gain, but it will not be the same level of performance gain you get with a 12awg harness like Headlight Services or Rallylights harness.

 

Thanx for the Info...I’ll just grab a Legit one from Rally then ☀️☀️☀️☀️