Headlight conversion

Does the 96 Tacoma require additional relays or wiring?

 

No

 

Does the 96 Tacoma require additional relays or wiring?

 

What about something like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/7x6-Haloge...h=item4d7c2a178d:g:COsAAOSwLAhbkUug:rk:9:pf:0

 

Yes and No. Some LED projectors are polarity sensitive and so you need to convert the ground switched harness to positive switched. Simple to do if you are familiar with the relay wiring.
I used the Low Range H4 harness and just rewired it to be positive switched. You get better, constant voltage with a relay harness anyways so it should be the first thing done before upgrading headlights. I would also avoid anything with a glass lens because it will distort the cutoff and blur it. Unless you go with the Nokya headlights. Some of the clearest glass you can get but too expensive compared to Pilot which uses a poly lens. Nokya's are $90 vs the Pilots $40. Price on both is a pair. If all you want is a better performing halogen setup then I would go with Hella E-Codes and Philips Xtreme vison +130.

 

I've got LED's in my garage that are similar in width and lumen as my HID projectors. They are just proving much harder to retrofit than a small MH1.

HID


LED

 

I hope the OP has this figured out from summer.

But for the best performance without a custom HID retrofit:
1) Convert to Hella Ecode 200mm assemblies
2) This:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

I’ve performed lighting upgrades on many vehicles and that combination is beyond outstanding. It was great having people ride in my 94 pickup asking me what the heck I had for headlights because it made their modern vehicle make it look like their lights were not even on.

 

what brand? i'll look.

 

The ones I'm waiting to retro are these

 

there seem to be similar products out there.

 

They have all copied Koito for the most part.

 

So, If I wanted to spend around $100 to upgrade my sealed beam units, what would your recommendation be?

 

The easiest and most reliable solution would be the Hella E-Codes and some Philips Xtreme Vision +130's. Plug and play and a vast improvement over stock sealed beams.

 

What kind of improvement over the stock halogens would that be in your honest opinion?

 

Hella ecodes alone are a substantial improvement over stock, without even upgrading the bulb.

 

Stock H6054 is completely garbage and should not be legal to use in modern vehicles - this is the design form 1950s and does not belong to roads in 21st century.
Hella e-code is top of the line H4 compatible housing that can be used in place of stock H6054. Excellent durability, perfect light cut and efficiency. Match it with brand quality H4 bulb (avoid "noname" H4 bulbs as the geometry of those is hit and miss).

My second option a bit cheaper than Hella (Hella set is about 100 dollars) is Autopal e-code. Needs TLC to fit in lamp holder properly and a little less robust glass (but I had one for last 5 years and no cracks yet). Quality H4 bulb is needed too.

Avoid temptation to buy cheap plastic housing - not worth the crap. In both recommended lamps the key is "e-code" (often named Euro-style) which makes "Europe legal" good cut-off in low beam.

 

Euro Hella E-Code


DOT Hella Vision plus E-Code


Both are quality units and same price. The sharper cutoff is on the Euro version which is what most prefer.
I've got a set of the Hella Vision Plus with I think Osram Night Breakers bulbs if you want them. PM for details.

 

Looks good.