'23 Tacoma SR Headlight Solution

I have been on a crusade to figure out what my options are from easiest to most complicated to get better light out of my brand new Tacoma SR's headlights. The current OEM situation is just not good. Lights are yellow, ultra dim, I can barely see anything on the road.

I looked into a simple bulb swap, I believe we have H11(B)? bulbs. I got these for my wife's CR-
V. They were ok, brighter than stock but still not quite as bright as I wanted:

$22 Philips Automotive Lighting 9003 CrystalVision Platinum Upgrade Automotive Replacement Bright White Headlight Bulb with Up to 60% more Vision, Fits Select High Beam, Low Beam, Fog Positions (2 Pack)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B099GSB3ZC?ie=UTF8&th=1

I also looked into HIDs, these in particular:

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/H11-Ultra-Series-HID-System?quantity=1

And I remember running some version of HIDs on my Honda years back that gradually became blue over time. I don't know where we are with this tech and also don't know if it's worth the asking price.

Another alternate route I looked at was completely replacing the headlight housing and putting something aftermarket that gives me the light output I am after.

Ideally I'd like to solve this by upgrading the bulb, but would love to know what the recommended route for someone in my shoes.

 

Prepare a big bowl of popcorn and read the first post in this thread. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-hid-vs-led-vs-halogen-h11-projector-headlights.589465/

The easiest path is to buy Phillips H9 to replace the H11 low-beams.

 

Wow, that is simply awesome. I went ahead and got the H9's they were $13 a pop on AMZ. Looks like a simple pulling of the green plug from the harness makes them fit. I remember having to dremel bulb wings or tabs for my Honda Accord. It looks like the H9 just fits, no snipping needed. If this all checks, I can probably get this done in 10 minutes tomorrow. I was worried about having to install ballasts and running cables from a fusebox.. I feel a lot better now. Thank you!

 

I am ... yaaaaawwwwwnnnnn ... lazy. Count on me for easy solutions.

 

I am on the same boat! My kitchen light has a motion sensor that turns it on and off.

 

I do not Crapazon and Phillips H9 are not available locally. I was going to try NAPA H9 solution. 3000 lumens, no blue coating or "special tip color" to diffuse the light. Still $17 per bulb.

 

That's all correct. Initially people were trimming a tab off from the H9 bulbs (myself included) until someone figured out you could just remove the green plugs to make them fit.

Best bang/buck mod I've done for my truck, my initial reaction was the H9's are close to the output of the high beams, but with a cutoff obviously.

 

Just bought my NAPA H9. "Clear" coating, no silver or gold or blue tip coloration ... pure glass bulb. Will test 1-old/1-new later (sunset still 2 hours away). May or may not be as reliable as Phillips but better odds than the Sylvania blue-coated/silver-tipped.

 

Amen! I just got the bulbs today, both Made in Germany.. I guess I got lucky lol. Installation took a solid 2 minutes, blue tab out with nose pliers, popped the new bulbs in and I was done. We're going to go for a test drive once the sun goes down and I cannot wait to see the difference.

 

H9 is a great upgrade and the right price.

Be aware, the H9s will burn out more quickly than H11s. So do high output H11s for that matter. All bulbs also dim over time. Best bet is to throw a new set in every year. Rockauto has some of the best prices for new ones.

To temper expectations, these won't put the power of two suns into your headlights. They are better, they are noticably better, but will just be brighter and not some mind bending improvement. They will also be only a hint whiter, but will still have a yellowish cast.

 

I went through the same thing on my OR. I bought on Amazon XtremeVision 35w HID's with 4500k color temp. They produce the exact perfect cut off line as the OEM halogen bulbs and a decent price. Yes they are amazon and Chinese but so far I estimate 200+ hours on mine and zero color change or dimming noticed. Living in the snow belt HIDs we're important for me since I need the little bit of heat output to help with icing over of the housings in snowy conditions. For the high beams I went with the H9 Hella bulbs that are a little bit more white. Again chose these for the heat output, that and I was not happy with any aftermarket bulb in the high beam spot as far as beam pattern. Fog lights I went with an amber halogen bulb (I like the look). With the factory housing projector with an HID I have a better beam and output than my wife's new XC60 with factory LEDs. Just my 2 cents! But like others have said this will go on and on!!!!

 

Greatly appreciate the insight, everything you said makes sense and I am definitely not expecting a mind blowing difference. I also haven't completely ruled out the HIDs. I will run these H9's for a year and by then I will reassess the situation and see if I want to go with a different route. Figured I'd start with the simple and straightforward upgrades and dig deeper from there.

I liked my HIDs for the first two years I had them, granted this was a good 10+ years ago. I am sure things have changed and improved since then. If I find myself needing more light output by the time I am ready to replace these H9's I may consider trying HIDs as an alternative. I suppose that's the beauty of modding, you find what works for you and run with it.

 

I would recommend against hids. I recommend against them anyways, at least without a retrofit, but especially in these housings. The projector is specifically designed to put a fair bit of light ABOVE the cutoff. Any light increase below the cutoff increases the light above it by the same amount. This light is even spread so you can't just "aim them down" to make it better for oncoming drivers

 

I tried a few options, I tried a few different brands of LEDs and just wasn't happy with the beam pattern. None of them mimicked the stock bulbs. For me HIDs we're the only ones to match almost to a T the beam pattern yet a tab brighter still giving me luxury of no ice/snow build up. My lights are aimed accordingly and I never get flashed or anything of sorts. It is nice to see all the options people have done to give yourself some direction.

 

Whatever solution I end up with, even if it was HIDs needs to have a horizontal cutoff. Whether that's through retrofit or a different housing altogether.

That being said, wife and I went for a drive earlier, dark country roads. That H9 is a chef's kiss. More than enough for me right now. It's bright, nice coverage, with the highs in I can spot big foot.

I'll keep researching and I'm a tinkerer so I'm not scared of doing surgery. I love the debate though. Thank you guys for all the great input here.

 

My takeaway from that article is that mixing technologies does not work well. LED bulbs in a reflector-halogen do not cast a full-halo of light.

If you want LEDs, buy a designed-for-LED assembly.

But H9 in an H11 plug is just a stronger halogen in a reflector assembly.

 

Make sure to look into the factory LED lights. Supposed to be fantastic

 

I imagine those will need some sort of a harness/wiring conversion?

 

They do, @daveeasa can provide one that makes it plug and play.

 

Awesome, I am unable to post on his main thread but hopefully he will see my direct profile message.

EDIT: Posting here as well in the hopes of someone pointing me in the right direction. Are the OEM LED lights all made the same? Is there a specific housing I should be getting for proper fitment. I found them for sale but they only go up to 2021. If someone can share the part number, that would great!