The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

If we’re talking that blank wall behind the toys, I think a nice dogs playing pool painting would do nicely

 

Pretty much only buy white vehicles. I think I have owned 10-12 now. Two silver

 

Primarily the matching white Tacoma and T4R but also walls, ceiling, door, floor. Ultimately it boils down to me reading Frozen so many times that I’m starting to talk like Olaf.

 

Beware of Goose!

 

That Goose is the bringer of Judgement

 

Lol I can only reread your original comment now in Olaf’s voice

 

Fact: What’s Good for the Goose is good for the Gander.

 

Just finished this upgrade to the Osram lights and the Headlight service’s harness. Incredible difference in output, very happy with it and was very simple to do. 20 minutes.

 

I still haven't driven my truck at night since this mod. Makes me realize how little I drive these days.

 

sub

 

Gonna clean up my headlights and apply some UV protection on them this weekend. Hopefully will have truck running by Monday!

 

@crashnburn80 just found this thread and thankful that you took the time to provide us all with such great info and product review. very much appreciated. determining my ground wiring: i have a 2011. did toyota mix n match which system they used for 2nd gens (conventional vs ground switched) or is it known that they had been switched to conventional when entering the 2nd generation? i read the part where you determined how to test for the one you have. just curious if there was a point where all trucks were switched to conventional at some point. thanks again!

 

No joke. He can be very intimidating. It took me almost a year to feel confident enough to "discipline him". From time to time he needs to be corrected especially in the spring when he acts like a complete asshole.

 

Your goose and the story that goes along with it deserves it's own thread!

 

As long as your truck is not from Canada and does not have headlight DRLs (where you cannot turn the headlights off), your truck should be conventionally/power switched. You'll need this harness:
https://www.headlightservices.com/Wiring.html

 

@crashnburn80 thanks brudda. Looking forward to doing this!

 

I second that

 

I received a question on best 9008/H13s which are common in many US SUVs/Trucks. I thought it would be beneficial to copy/paste the response here for general benefit:
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Ugh, H13s. H13 don't have a lot of high performance options since the 9008/H13 is primarily used domestically and not in Europe. Note that 9008=H13. There isn't anything like a higher power bulb, or a bulb swap to improve performance.

The 3 options I would consider:
Volsa +120 <-These are hard to find

$16 Philips 9008XVS2 9008 / H13 X-tremeVision Upgrade Headlight Bulb (Pack of 2)

Philips Xtreme +100

$39 HELLA H13 2.0TB High Performance Bulb, 12V, 60/55W, 2 Pack

Hella Performance 2.0

I had intended testing the Philips vs Volsa H13s in a Ram, but the Philips bulbs exploded. WTF. Must have been some kind of defect, I wouldn't have that deter from buying them again though as I've run them in other vehicles. The Volsa +120s are more traditional halogen color than the Philips, which is only slightly whiter than stock. The Hella Performance 2.0s are coated, but it is a very light coating minimizing the loss (lighter than the pictures make it appear), and in testing the H9 version they did well covered in post #1577 here. They are listed at 3700k, my testing puts them at about 3500k, the stock H9 was about 3300k. By comparison most coated bulbs like silverstars are over 4000k, where you start to take significant losses.

The Philips Xtreme are likely the sweet spot. If wanting slightly whiter light, I wouldn't feel bad about running the Hella performance 2.0s. I would then consider adding a standalone HD wiring harness to boost H13 output if looking for a little more. You'll gain something like 8-15% for any halogen bulb you run, though I cannot say an exact number since I haven't tested the voltage drop on that vehicle.

I haven't used these guys before but they make H13 HD harnesses, opt for the 12 gauge power wire size if going this route to maximize the output.
https://www.aspireautoaccessories.com/product-page/9008-heavy-duty-headlight-relay-harness

 

Got mine today!

 

In the past when I had a couple F150's I ran the Philips Xtreme and it worked very well. I did not do a different harness as this was long before I was this deep into lighting. However I did notice the biggest upgrade on those trucks was upgrading the fog light bulbs, 9145 to h11. Can't recall the bulb I used anymore though.