LED Bulbs?

Looking for solid LED headlight Bulbs for a 2nd gen Tacoma that are brighter than the stock halogen ones. Any ideas?

 

I hope you are talking about interior lights. Diode Dynamics has some.

LED headlight replacements for halogen housings just blind everyone while some people THINK they are brighter by being deceived from all the light scattering in the foreground.

 

if you summon crashnburn he can tell you why that's a bad idea

 

No, no, OP wants brighter bulbs, not crooked, dim bulb POSs.

But no, do not put LED bulbs in a halogen housing. The factory headlights are actually pretty darn good when they are clear and you use a quality bulb. Unfortunately they start hazing over time and Toyota wants like $190/each for them.

 

Here's why you shouldn't do it:

Why LEDs should not be run in Halogen reflectors | Tacoma World

A much better option is this:

The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID) | Tacoma World

If you really want LED bulbs, the only one our resident lighting expert @crashnburn80 has tested and actually endorses is the Hikari Ultra. Pretty much everything else is throwing your money away.

 

Correction! Not the Hikari Ultra in the 9003/H4 platform. They are a poor quality design and don't have adequate or properly designed low beam glare guards. They are only recommended in H11 for the 3rd Gen projector. If absolutely set on LED in a reflector (not recommended) stick with a genuine Philips product. However performance halogens in a halogen reflector significantly outperform them.

 

Oops. My bad. Sleep would be nice.

 

Don't do it... I tried some in the stock lights in my truck and was severely disappointed. Low beam was okish, but high beam was like you had no lights at all basically. I never got flashed, but I quickly went back to standard halogen bulbs.

 

This thread linked above contains everything you need to know for a direct replacement bulb upgrade. Significant performance gains can be had with proper halogen bulb upgrades as shown from the data in the thread.

 

I know,

 

bruh

 

To much OVTUNE

 

bruh

 

My son has given me two sets of LEDs to try in my Tacoma. The first set I tried and gave them back to him, the second set I still have and did try them in the garage and they appear to have a good concentrated low beam on the wall, but I also took them out and am back to OEM. I didn't even try them on the road. My problem with LEDs lights in my 2010 is that you have to remove the rubber moisture gasket or modify it with the LEDs I've tried and I'm not about to do it. The rubber gasket is there for a reason. I still browse for LED headlights on the internet hoping to find the latest and greatest and are a direct fit with no modifications, but not keeping my hopes up.

 

My opinion - You'd be best served if you went with the above mentioned link (Ultimate Headlight Upgrade). It's a long read but worth it and at the end of the day, it'll probably save you money. Discounting light output, if you live in an area that you have to deal with snow and ice conditions, LED's can freeze over and leave you with basically no lights. This is from personal experience.

 

It seems to me, that the reason people don't recommend LEDs in the stock housings is primarily because of the difference in the position(s) and orientation(s) of the actual diodes affecting the direction(s) that the light radiates, compared to the standard halogen, correct?

If I understand this correctly, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with LEDs in the stock housings but the problem originates from the design/form of the the LED assemblies that are offered.

I suppose shorter wavelength light would also scatter more and brighter light in general could potentially "blind" other drivers more easily--but I see these as secondary issues.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Unfortunately, there is something fundamentally wrong with running LED bulbs in housings designed for halogen bulbs. The link below will take you to a great post by our resident lighting expert @crashnburn80 on the subject. In short, it's the difference in how light is radiated from the light source(s) that makes all the difference in the world. Enjoy.

Why LEDs should not be run in Halogen reflectors | Tacoma World