Aftermarket headlight bulb question

Hey,

I am planning on buying these headlights for my 2013 Tacoma.

However these new headlights take h9 halogen bulbs (included in package) but I want to get some high quality leds to drop in.

My question is do I now look for h9 bulbs instead of my former h4’s? And will any h9 led’s fit?

I have been considering diode dynamics, Tacomabeast color changers, and lasfit. All seem to call their h9’s “fog lights” and I want to make sure I get proper headlights with high/low beams.


Any insight appreciated!!!

 

Light out put will suck. Just stick with stock housings and do the ultimate headlight mod discussed here https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

 

I prefer the look of the aftermarket headlights, and have seen lots of setups with projector housings with leds that were substantial upgrades over stock. Thanks for the feedback though.

 

LED bulbs don't work in headlights designed for halogen. Light pattern will be bad and dangerously affect oncoming drivers.

 

I hate to be that guy, but I owned these exact headlights, for well over a year, and I dropped in LEDs. They sucked. Period. No way around it. If you're going for looks, these are definitely slick headlights, but if you're trying to improve light output, just do the ultimate headlight harness mod.

Even though this is heavily discouraged, your stock headlights with LED drop in bulbs provide far better light output then these aftermarket ones with LED's in them.

Also I'm not a lighting expert, and I'm sure some will chime in on this thread. Projector headlights can be an upgrade, but as has been stated on this forum many times is that Spyder (who is the actual maker of those headlights) use very poor quality projectors, leaving a lot to be desired.

 

Oh okay, thanks for the feedback. I didn’t know that spyder was poor quality, is there a better brand out there?

I’ve considered doing leds in stocks but I know that’s frowned upon, that’s why I was looking for a good projector headlight.

 

I had LED bulbs in my stock housing and in the fogs. Live in the country alot of back roads with no lighting. And I was completely happy with them. I now have these headlights with LED bulbs and even happier with them. Just make sure they're not pointed high and blinding people. I can see as far as my eyes allow me too on the back roads. I'm happy that's all that matters

Edit: Lasfit LEDs by the way.

 

If you're considering aftermarket housings. The only brands I would entertain are Morimoto and Alpharexx. I've heard mixed things about Alpharexx, specifically that their customer service was bad, but I would take that with a grain of salt. Morimoto makes good products also, but can be costly from what I have seen.

The other option that you could investigate if you're willing to spend the money are retrofits. This is the best route to go for projector housings, as retrofit housings usually contain higher quality projectors which will give good light output. I can't comment on this given that I don't have a set, but there are quite a few members here that do - hopefully one of them may chime in and give better input. I haven't seen anyone unhappy with retrofits, they're usually an improvement over OEM from what I hear, but I personally haven't seen any factual evidence to show that's the case (keep in mind I never really looked for any comparisons of the two.)

There is a user on here: @crashnburn80 who has made educational writeups on lighting, and if you want factual evidence and to educate yourself on the rabbit hole that is Tacoma lighting, I would investigate the threads he has written on this forum. His threads are what led me to ditch my spyder housings and reinstall OEM with an upgraded harness and high power bulbs, and I couldn't be happier.

Best of luck!

 

I currently have Hikaris in, had them in for about 18 months, and am happy with them. Was flashed once but I think it was because the other driver was at the bottom of a small hill and I was at the top. Another time I was flashed was because I forgot to go to low beam, my fault. Hikari does have a new version of this bulb out. Yes, kind of spendy but is as plug-and-play as you can get. I know some LEDs you need to modify the rubber dust boot, these you don't. Just make sure you aim them.
The deer seem to stand out better with these.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077B3SNJR?ie=UTF8

 

I have these and they output and light spread is pretty good
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZD8CGNQ?ie=UTF8

 

Are those headlights just smoked or black OEM style? Thanks for the suggestions!

 

They are black OEM style. Got them for $60 on offerup lol.

 

I have similar ones, with LEDs installed, and they are far better than stock. Clean cut-off, brighter, very little dispersion... maybe I got lucky lol.