3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

All modern passenger vehicles have composite headlamps. Composite lamps are vehicle specific, molded plastic headlights designed to contour to the vehicle, often including low beam, high beam, blinker and running light in a newer vehicle, which utilize replaceable bulbs. Compared to a universal sealed beam headlamp, in a standardized sizes like 7" round or 7x6", which only serve the headlight function. When they burn out, you throw away the entire headlight and replace it. These started being phased out in the mid-90s.

Sealed beam (non-composite)


Composite






The sealed beam is simplistic and standardized and will fit many vehicles, the composite is complex and will only fit the vehicle it is designed for. There are conversion lamps to switch from sealed beam use replaceable bulbs. But the reason why I qualified composite, was because companies like JW Speaker and others manufacture LED lamp conversions for sealed beam vehicles in the USA, but again they are the standard simple universal sizes and not the far more complex vehicle specific composite style lamp, which until DD recently started production, only OEM's had manufactured composite lamps domestically. Composites are far more expensive to manufacture, and due to only fitting very specific vehicles (unlike the somewhat universal sealed beams or sealed beam replacements) you end up with a more limited market for the lamp that is much more expensive to produce.

 

Well we certainly were using 5-3/4" round, 7" round, 5x7" and 4x6" from Cibié, Bosch and Hella since the mid 1970's that had replaceable H4 bulbs that even Stern still sells today. Cibié even had a sealed unit called the Bobi in which there was a glass bubble where the bulb was inserted in the back like all of their other lights except in these, the bubble separated the bulb from the reflector assembly, letting those qualify as sealed beams before the government finally allowed non sealed assemblies. And those 5-3/4" H1 pencil beams are still that I ran on my 510 Datsun were really that good but the aim was hyper critical. The only way to really align them was to take them out to a dark straight highway with your Phillips #2. There was no one around back then to tell you that 100 watt bulbs, or the H4 80/100 or even 90/100's were barely any brighter than the standard bulbs but burned out in a quarter of the time. Had to learn that through experience. Those new fangled halogen bulbs were so much whiter than the tungsten filament in those old GE and Wagner lights that it felt much the same as how it is going from 3400K to LED. You want to talk yellow light if it even qualified as light.

 

Some photos of this operation on how to remove green tab in harness to allow H9 bulb to fit H11 OEM harness without an adapter or bulb modification:

 

Copied from a post I made in another thread, but wanted to capture it here for possible future reference.

HID Glare

This is the GE/Tungsram +130 vs stock. The performance H11 is 74% brighter than stock, including increasing the uplight/glare. Look at where the arrow is pointing and the uplight/glare increase is easily noticeable on the GE/Tungsram side. Again, headlights are supposed to have some uplight/glare but it is to be a regulated controlled amount so that it doesn't blind other drivers. The pattern hasn't changed, it has just all become brighter.


But that is a performance halogen vs stock halogen.

Here is that performance halogen that has already increased light output 74% vs an HID in a halogen projector. The HID uplight is significantly brighter than the performance halogen, in fact over double the output intensity compared to the performance halogen, meaning it is 3.3x+ more glare than the designed stock allowance with a stock bulb. Even when compared to a significant halogen bulb upgrade, the HID uplight/glare easily overpowers the halogen uplight/glare. And this is the problem. The pattern did not change, it is brighter everywhere, including the uplight/glare. Add to that, that on coming drivers eyes are more sensitive to light containing short wavelength light (whiter/cooler) compared to long wavelength (warmer) and the effect is amplified to the on coming driver.



An HID projector fixes the issue by increasing output below the cut off, without the excessive light output in uplight/glare, because it is designed for the HID light source, unlike the halogen projector that is designed for more uplight due to a lower intensity light source.

 

Great images, thanks for sharing. I linked it for others to reference in the halogen bulb section for running H9s on the first page.

 

just picked up a set of these as I’ve always had great luck with the Philips bulbs (and color temp). These seem to be the right balance of a brighter light with a good color temp that seems nearly as bright as the other high performance ones you’ve ranked.

 

@bshammer0

These I presume you used these from page one post??

$11 Philips 12361B1 H9 Standard Halogen Replacement Headlight Bulb, 1 Pack

Philips 12361B1 H9 Standard Halogen Replacement Headlight Bulb

Edit: the bulbs referenced are what I went with - delivered and installed with no issues (no trimming of tabs and only had to remove the oem adaptor which was easy). Thanks to thread contributors for the tips and pics!

 

A very sad time in lighting history

 

$35 Philips Automotive Lighting H11 NightGuide Platinum Upgrade Headlight Bulb, Pack of 2

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099G5Z1GY?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

I used these for cheaper, and they were the German ones also:

$11 Philips 12361B1 H9 Standard Halogen Replacement Headlight Bulb, 1 Pack

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B003YMPN3A?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

Would love to see examples of low beam shining into oncoming driver's eyes. I am always amazed of the light people think they need. I still feel the pain in my chest from the one time I turned on my landing lights before I really needed them. My instructor wanted to know who I was trying to blind.

 

Just picked up my new 2023 TRD Sport tonight! it has stock halogens that I want to replace with LED's (Fog lights included). I really have no idea which one of these to choose from, so can someone post an Amazon link to whatever is the absolute best light output where I don't have to splice wires or alter anything electrical. This post originated Jan 2019 so I'm sure there's some better lights by now... Not looking for cheap or generic Chinese garbage. I just spent a ton of money on a really nice truck, so I'll pay a bit more for some top quality BRIGHT LED'S, if need be. Thanks for the help!

 

OEM LED 3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights
DD SS3 Max SAE fog https://www.diodedynamics.com/ss3-led-fog-light-kit-for-2016-2023-toyota-tacoma.html

 

The post is constantly updated in post #2 and #3, way newer than 2019.

^This is the best setup, hands down. Not inexpensive though.

Best bulb for the halogen headlights is to run Philips H9 bulbs in the low beam. Best H11 is the Tungsram Platinums. Replacement LEDs are not recommended, they perform poorly and produce more short range foreground light and less distance light, which isn't what you want. But the best replacement LED is the Morimoto 2stroke 3.0.

In terms of performance:
OEM LED> Philips H9 low beam swap> Tungsram Platinum> Morimoto 2stroke 3.0 LED

Fogs, the best is the Diode Dynamics Max in selective yellow, followed by the Elites or Sports in selective yellow. Only the Max will melt snow. Elites have a sharper pattern with better cut offs and gradients than the Sports. All the data is in the fog thread with links at the top to the updated reviews.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-led-sae-j583-fog-pod-fog-light-review.554813/

 

Looking to do this mod as well.
@scouterjan I'm here in the Lowermainland too. Where did you source your H9's and how much did you pay if you don't mind sharing. Best I can find here is Amazon_dot_ca at $21.17 each.

 

Lordco parts in Maple Ridge. I would havecto dig out the receipt

 

Yes I remember running aircraft landing lights in my high beams and a set on the front bumper of my 70 510. Damm they were bright

 

The original KC Daylighters were based on aircraft landing lights.

 

My 510 was a '69 and I drove it until it started knocking. That's the first car I put those Cibié's in but one of my buddies a couple doors down was running the landing lights. The problem with them was that, yes, they were super bright, but they did not last very long and since they were sealed beams, you had to chunk the whole thing when they burned out.

 

I'm in the Kootenays, I bought from Amazon c a, Do the currency conversion and it isn't that bad.