I see the light, I see the light...or, not..

Hello,

I'm looking at replacing the factory low, high, fog lights on my 2017 SR5 3rd Gen Tacoma.

I've read a number of posts and understand there is no sense going LED without replacing the entire assembly.

But, I'm hoping to squeeze out maybe an "OK" to "Moderate wow!" improvement over factory with a halogen "upgrade".

I'm looking at the "Philips Automotive Lighting H11 VisionPlus Deluxe H11VPB2". The package indicates it is a replacement for the all three locations — low, high, fog. When I look at the Toyota part numbers for these three locations they list a different number for each of them.

So, does anyone know if the H11VPB2 can actually be used in all three locations?

I'm not wedded to this choice so if anyone has any better suggestions I'd appreciate it.

Thanks so much.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-hid-vs-led-vs-halogen-h11-projector-headlights.589465/

 

Yes. Thank you. I’ve already read thru that amazing post.

 

H9 will be an upgrade over any H11 at the cost of bulb longevity, and Phillips H9s are significantly cheaper than H11s. OEM low beam = H11 OEM high beam = H9.
There are two very minor modifications you need to make to the H9s to get them to fit easily in the low beams. It’s detailed in the thread linked above I believe, but you can find the modification process by googling “h11 h9 mod”


You can get away without modifying the bulbs by pulling a piece out of the female plug and finagling the bulb into the housing, but it is so easy to mod the bulbs I just did them four at a time and kept two in the truck as spares. It’s kind of nice to only need one bulb for both lows and highs

 

Someone didn't read the post...


2nd post in this thread indicates the bulb types.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/is-there-a-place-with-a-list-of-stock-bulb-sizes.705331/
H11 for low beam
H9 for high beam

And two variants of bulbs for fog.
"Normal"is H16
"Wide" is H11
I believe most will have the H16.


That said, my experience is that the absolute 'best' halogen bulb is going to be the Sylvania ultrastar. However, the additional brightness is created by running the filament hotter. Expect them to not last more than 1 year.

Also, I would highly recommend changing the fog light assembly for an led projector-style assembly. It'll give you far better output than the stock fog lamp. The limiting factor with the stock fog is it's reflector design, not the bulb used.

Ideal would be something like the Baja designs squadron SAE fog, but they're cost prohibitive. Other versions like this are going to perform adequately. Not as great, but still far better than stock

$68 SIEMID New Generation LED Fog Lamp – Retrofit & Upgrade for Toyot.a 4Runner, Tacoma, Tundra, RAV4, C-HR, Highlander, Venza, Sienna, Scion xA 2005 2007 2009 2010 2011 2012 2015 2017 2018 2019 2020

https://www.amazon.com/Generatio-Upgrade-4Runner-Highlander-PT413-42190/dp/B084JR82XB/

$60 VI9000 Led Fog Lights Compatible with 2016-2022 Tacoma, 2014-2022 4Runner, 2014-2019 Tundra, 2007-2014 Camry Truck, DOT Approved Driver and Passenger Side Driving fog Lamps Assembly Replacement-Black

https://www.amazon.com/VI9000-Compatible-2016-2022-2014-2022-Replacement-Black/dp/B0D8KY2BZ3

 

I agree with this. I tried a few different kinds of halogens and although they were brighter, they burned out rather quickly. Bite the bullet and spend for something that will last you. I went with fogs from Diode Dynamics and love them. They blow the previous setup out of the water. Baja Designs or DD will set you right.

 

I ran these for a couple of years without and problems before swapping for DD fogs. Have been running similar in my stock headlight housings for five years without problems. Can’t find the link tho.

$30 Alla Lighting 5200lm H8 H11 LED Fog Lights or DRL Bulbs, 6000K Xenon White Extreme Super Bright H16 H8LL H11LL 12V LED Lamps Replacement, AL-R Version

https://www.amazon.com/Alla-Lightin...37e-4792-a707-68aea1b6fa8c&pd_rd_i=B07S7G41BG

 

I like that the selling point is all the extra glare and unfocused light the bulb produces.

OP, there were a few LED bulbs that performed about as well as the oem long life H11 bulb in the oem headlamp. None performed significantly better than a basic H11, and none performed as well as the H9 swap. Many performed significantly worse and made significantly more glare.

Just buy a set of H9s and plan to swap them yearly. Its fast, effective and cheap, even if you value your bulb-swapping time highly.

 

The H9 is the first upgrade anyone should make to the halogen lights. It’s dirt cheap. Throw an extra with a precut tab in the glove box and you’ve got a spare for the both the highs and the lows.

 

and also of note-- while your post is referencing the overall initial output of led bulbs, led's are extremely susceptible to heat, and proper heatsinking is needed to keep them working for any serious length of time, but big heat also significantly cuts into output lumens.

most led bulbs have about 1/50th the heatsinking they need for proper operation, so they fit in a really nice form factor that fits into factory housings. but it means that their lumen output is going to deteriorate relatively fast, and lifespan becomes a gigantic question mark--which raises the strong possibility of replacing the bulbs once a year, at a significantly higher cost than standard halogen bulbs.