LED H11 Low and Fog Lights

Hey Ya'll,

I installed the same LED bubs in my Low Beam and in my Fog Lights.

The Fog Lights light up the night, The Low Beam light seems to be getting lost in the ether...

On a 3 lane highway at night. From the center lane I can see the lanes to my left and right and about 20ft in front of me with both Headlight and Fogs on.

With Fogs off, I can really see $#!+..?

Any help would be appreciated..

 

These HALOGEN light housings aren't really designed to project LEDs effectively, what you are seeing is light scatter, it appears brighter but in theory its not effectively projecting the light correctly. Read up on this thread: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-hid-vs-led-vs-halogen-h11-projector-headlights.589465/

It has all the info you'll need plus more.

 

The H9 mod in the low beams has worked great for me. About the only time that the headlights get washed out is in a generally well lit area or when I am driving near other vehicles with high output lighting.

 

OP....yank those LEDs out of the Low Beam. Go back to an OEM type bulb.

An LED in a non-LED housing only results in beam scatter. An unfocused beam is useless.

 

I've had tremendous success using the bulbs specified by a professional lighting engineer employed by the largest automobile manufacturer in the world.

 

I had a set of LED's from my Subaru and did not like them. Installed HID's and the light is much better and more full. I plan to install the RX350 HID projector this summer.

 

https://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html

 

I get what you're saying, but do disagree. The gov spec is so outdated with respect to lighting (FMVSS). It seems there is some recent update for adaptive lighting.

IMHO, the H11s were a bad choice for output and the low beams were aimed to low from the factory.


The funny part is the 2020+ LEDs. They are wicked bright when coming in the other direction. It is funny, but they appear like bad retrofits until the cutoff hits, which seems to be set pretty high. Seeing other factory LEDs, I would say that they are the brightest when oncoming? I haven't seen them from inside yet.

 

Apologies... didn't realize Gen 3 thread...

Use an H4... these came recommended and can see an improvement over OEM.

$40 Philips RacingVision GT200 H4 car headlight bulb +200%, set of 2 White

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-RacingVision-Headlight-12342RGTS2-Upgrade/dp/B08KGH3JK8?crid=3KSFT5ZII0JLY&keywords=H4+racing+vision&qid=1641317627&sprefix=h4+racing+vision%2Caps%2C108&sr=8-12

These are NOT the high output 90/100w with upgraded harness bulbs... I may go that route in the coming weeks. The Racing Vision above are nice for now.

 

For the 2nd Gen, you are correct. 3d Gen Tacomas are Not H4.

 

Can the stock housing handle a 90w bulb?

 

Here is the tread on headlight upgrade... The OP is up to date. Pretty good read. I'm still working on understanding the switched vs. unswitched ground (2014 DCSB)...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

Just noticed this is a Gen II mod... apologies if this doesn't work for many.

 

Outdoorgb's recommendation is useful for the 2nd Gen Tacoma, but not at all for the 3rd Gen.

A philips H9 (65w nominal rating, about 75w in practice) bulb is close enough to stock wattage for an H11 (55w nominal rating, about 60w in practice) bulb that it is fine on the OEM wiring harness. An H9 is also placing its filament in the same exact location as an H11, so the bulb will be properly focused by the projector low beams small reflector bowl.

So many headlight bulb threads, it's a wonder how people miss the 200 page testing and recommendation thread...

 

I do believe it is possible to obtain better/brighter/further lighting than OEM.

I also believe less than 5% of those that stray from OEM do actually improve their lighting, 75% not only reduce lighting performance, but blind on coming traffic as well and 20% spend several hundred dollars to gain nothing.

 

I 100% agree with everything that you have said.

I hope that I am in that 5% zone with the $16 that I spent.

 

Sounds like everything went exactly as expected (being serious). LEDs in halogen assemblies are not an upgrade, they are a significant downgrade and often a dangerously low performing one. IIHS has cracked down on all domestic LED headlight bulb sellers forcing them to recall their unsafe products as they are federally illegal. You obviously fell for some illegitimate brands misleading marketing. A basic $9 bulb significantly outperforms even the worlds most advanced replacement LED in a 3rd Gen headlight, and it sounds like you bought something that was far form the most advanced product on the market. If you want to correctly run LED, you need an LED assembly the best of which is the OEM LED headlights. See the headlight thread below, specifically post #2 and #3. Best option for the halogen assemblies is performance halogen bulbs.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-hid-vs-led-vs-halogen-h11-projector-headlights.589465/

The fact you say your fog lights 'light up the night' is also further evidence that the products you are running are a failed design that doesn't work correctly. Foglights shouldn't light up anything other than the the area immediately infront of your truck with sharp cut offs. Regardless of whatever company sold you these products, they deliberately sold you stuff that doesn't work. To correctly run LEDs in your fogs you must replace the entire assembly with one designed to use LEDs. You cannot put LEDs in your halogen fogs, designed for halogen lights, and get a good outcome. That requires halogen bulbs, not LED. To use LED you must use an LED assembly, and the LEDs are fully integrated in an LED assembly, not something you can remove. See the thread below, check out Diode Dynamics SS3s linked at the top.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-led-sae-j583-fog-pod-fog-light-review.554813/

 

I will disagree with the light snobs on here yet again. My under $40 LED's provide me MUCH better vision at night than the stock yellow light halogens. The difference is huge. No one has ever flashed at me or told me they were blinded by them. Tech has gotten better over the past couple of years, its not cut and dry anymore. https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2020/03/...dlights-work-and-others-just-blind-everybody/

 

Very nice. I totally agree!!!!

 

Lol. Ignorance is bliss.