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Headlight Recommendations?

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by EatMeImATaco, Mar 4, 2019.

  1. Mar 4, 2019 at 7:48 PM
    #1
    EatMeImATaco

    EatMeImATaco [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2014
    Member:
    #124608
    Messages:
    119
    Gender:
    Male
    Portland, Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2014 DCLB TRD Sport 4x4
    07MAR14 - Husky 3-piece floor liners 07MAR14 - AVS 4-piece in-channel air vents 07MAR14 - Clear Bra 15MAR14 - Extang BlackMax Tonneau (Removed) 11APR14 - MetalTech Rock Sliders 11APR15 - Sport Hiline SnugTop Shell + Sportsmen Package 24JUL17 - CalKing seat covers 02OCT17 - OME 2886 Shocks and Coils, & leaf replacement 04NOV17 - Maglite Mount 18FEB18 - SPOD install 18MAR18 - CKMA12 in Engine Bay 21APR18 - SSO Hybrid Slimline with Smitty X20 10k and Heisse combo bar 13MAY18 - Relentless Pod mounts, Mictuning pod lights 13MAY18 - CB Radio with external PA 03JUN18 - Sleeping platform with drawers and marine carpeting
    One of my headlights went out today (passenger side) on my 2014 DCLB Sport. I've been wanting to replace the the stock headlights with something "cooler" for a while now but there have always been other priorities so might as well be now.

    What recommendations does the team have? Cost isn't huge, but it is something I will keep in mind. I'm looking at the Cali Raised Fog Light replacement kit (may as well do those at the same time) and would prefer something LED based, black/smoke casing, and definitely easy to install or plug-and-play as I want to do this myself and am not terribly confident in my mechanical skills. And if you've got pictures or links to what you've done it would be greatly appreciated!

    Thanks!

    Edit: Adding that I wouldn't mind replacing the tail lights with a matching set either, but it isn't something I NEED to do now...
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2019
  2. Mar 4, 2019 at 9:26 PM
    #2
    crashnburn80

    crashnburn80 Vehicle Design Engineer

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2015
    Member:
    #156893
    Messages:
    14,593
    Gender:
    Male
    Kirkland, WA
    Vehicle:
    2003 DCSB TRD OR
    Go Hawks!
    Best headlight upgrade without doing a full HID projector retrofit:
    https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

    You should not put LEDs in your stock housings, performance will be terrible, you’ll emit glare everywhere. See this thread:
    https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/why-leds-should-not-be-run-in-halogen-reflectors.454371/

    If you want LED fogs, select a real fog pattern LED pod. The Cali Pods are spots, not fogs. Check out most all the available LED fogs for a Tacoma:
    https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-led-sae-j583-fog-pod-fog-light-review.554813/
     
  3. Mar 4, 2019 at 9:33 PM
    #3
    EatMeImATaco

    EatMeImATaco [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2014
    Member:
    #124608
    Messages:
    119
    Gender:
    Male
    Portland, Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2014 DCLB TRD Sport 4x4
    07MAR14 - Husky 3-piece floor liners 07MAR14 - AVS 4-piece in-channel air vents 07MAR14 - Clear Bra 15MAR14 - Extang BlackMax Tonneau (Removed) 11APR14 - MetalTech Rock Sliders 11APR15 - Sport Hiline SnugTop Shell + Sportsmen Package 24JUL17 - CalKing seat covers 02OCT17 - OME 2886 Shocks and Coils, & leaf replacement 04NOV17 - Maglite Mount 18FEB18 - SPOD install 18MAR18 - CKMA12 in Engine Bay 21APR18 - SSO Hybrid Slimline with Smitty X20 10k and Heisse combo bar 13MAY18 - Relentless Pod mounts, Mictuning pod lights 13MAY18 - CB Radio with external PA 03JUN18 - Sleeping platform with drawers and marine carpeting
    Good information on the fog lights, I will definitely be looking into those more before settling.

    For the headlights however I was looking at replacing the entire housing, not just the bulbs. Something like this is what I had in mind: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FNVMMC4
     
  4. Mar 4, 2019 at 9:42 PM
    #4
    crashnburn80

    crashnburn80 Vehicle Design Engineer

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2015
    Member:
    #156893
    Messages:
    14,593
    Gender:
    Male
    Kirkland, WA
    Vehicle:
    2003 DCSB TRD OR
    Go Hawks!
    Aftermarket housings are a downgrade in performance. Housings are highly precision engineered optical devices, OEMs engineer best optical performance, aftermarket is looking to sell based on looks alone and performance suffers. So choose what is based on importance to you. The reason I recommend TRD smoked, is it looks more aggressive but still retains the highest quality optical performance available.
     
    ALI3N_123 likes this.
  5. Mar 4, 2019 at 9:53 PM
    #5
    EatMeImATaco

    EatMeImATaco [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2014
    Member:
    #124608
    Messages:
    119
    Gender:
    Male
    Portland, Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2014 DCLB TRD Sport 4x4
    07MAR14 - Husky 3-piece floor liners 07MAR14 - AVS 4-piece in-channel air vents 07MAR14 - Clear Bra 15MAR14 - Extang BlackMax Tonneau (Removed) 11APR14 - MetalTech Rock Sliders 11APR15 - Sport Hiline SnugTop Shell + Sportsmen Package 24JUL17 - CalKing seat covers 02OCT17 - OME 2886 Shocks and Coils, & leaf replacement 04NOV17 - Maglite Mount 18FEB18 - SPOD install 18MAR18 - CKMA12 in Engine Bay 21APR18 - SSO Hybrid Slimline with Smitty X20 10k and Heisse combo bar 13MAY18 - Relentless Pod mounts, Mictuning pod lights 13MAY18 - CB Radio with external PA 03JUN18 - Sleeping platform with drawers and marine carpeting
    I'm liking those... Thanks for the information!
     
    crashnburn80[QUOTED] likes this.

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