3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

Correct. US standards measure bulb output at 12.8v and bulb life at 14.0v. I measure output at 13.8v because that was my voltage reading off of the headlight connector plug on a running Tacoma. Using a voltage data logging app, I've later measured the running voltage range over time from about 13.5-14.1v on the Tacoma, meaning the 13.8v is a fairly representative middle-ground value for actual voltage performance. As halogen output is highly sensitive to voltage and LED output is not, I've tried to use a 'real world' voltage baseline for what people can expect to see for actual product performance in their Tacoma across all my comparisons.

 

I have seen some manufactures put the LED driver exposed in the headlight and make it part of the style of the headlight. I don’t know how much it helps, but I would imagine it may help a bit.

 

KC does this as well. However, the problem with this design is that the reverse facing LED reflector optics are super efficient, meaning the power required is very low by comparison. And since the power is much lower than the forward facing optics designs, the heat is almost non-existent. Nice idea in concept, but I haven't seen it executed in a way that makes a significant difference yet.

 

That makes perfect sense! I was just thinking they put it there for a reason to help keep heat in the housing, although I imagine it’s quite minimal at really low temps with snow and freezing junk that many of see. I’d be curious to see how much heat actually puts off.

 

Wow, this has to one the most complete, thorough, thought out and informational posts I ever read. Certainly don’t need me to say it, but I’m going to say it anyway ... Great job!

Seems to me the biggest bang for the buck without making any modifications are The General Electric H11 MegaLight Ultra 130+. They seem to be readily available on eBay shipping from Germany. For about 30 bucks or so, I’m roll the dice and order a set.

Thanks for time, effort and detail that went into this thread.

 

Hi All,

I just read thru this whole thread and learned so much.

I have purchased but have not mounted a light bar to go into my lower grill which I plan on using with my high beams, I will be upgrading my low beams to the H9 that are recommended hear.
Anyone check these out yet?
https://caliraisedled.com/collectio...yota-tacoma-smoked-quad-projecting-headlights
To the phenomenal people who contributed to these 122 pages thanks again.

To the man who did all the testing and helped us all see better!

YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!

 

From everything I have read on TW the optics are terrible on them and OEM headlamp is way better.

 

Well that is to bad. Had some hope.

 

So I had one of my GE +130 bulbs finally go out after about 18 months. So I decided to try something different in an H9. I went with these...

https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/product/piaa-hyper-arros-h9

The blue coating is very minimal. They are definitely brighter. Performance in my eyes is a slight improvement, although I'm sure they will not last as long. I still have a couple Philips for when they go.

 

I went ahead and ordered a set of the Hikari Ultra LEDs yesterday. I've also got a set of Hella H9s to play with as well. It should be an interesting weekend.

 

Post some pics when done

 

About to drop 50 bucks on some

$50 Lasfit H11 H8 H9 LED Light Bulbs, 2024 Super Bright H16 6000K Mini Size Easy Install, New Upgrade Non-Polarity - Pack of 2

Lasfit H11 heard good things found a deal on eBay.

 

You can immediately tell by looking at the arrangement of the six LED elements on the Lasfit that it comes nowhere near where it needs to be in order to mimic the size and placement of the original halogen filament. Why waste your money?

 

Not sure what ya mean they’re plug n play and do fit without trim.

 

I mean that in order to work properly, whatever bulb you put in your headlight has to mimic the size, shape and placement of what the spec is for the tiny halogen filament that is in a halogen H11 bulb. These clearly do not and this has been demonstrated over and over again throughout this thread. Pay particular attention to the images where Crash has broken the glass capsule on an H11 halogen to put a digital caliper to the filament and then compare to whatever LED array he has in front at the time. The halogen filament has to be within 2.-.3mm of spec in order to perform according to spec and these clearly do not. It's not a matter of whether they "fit" or not. It's a matter of whether whoever designed these had any understanding of optics and physics, which they do not.

 

what would you recommend i haven't found GE h11 yet always out of stock, i have Inscisor bulbs from toyotaproshop but they knock out my radio all the time

 

They are not going to work properly in the housing that is designed for a halogen. Your lights will be bright, but not focused. All you are going to do is blind oncoming traffic.

So far, The Hikaris look to be a good fit for the housing.

Research young Jedi, research...…...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ctor-headlights.589465/page-123#post-22520145

 

Hella H9 bulbs - with trimming - are also a halogen option.

 

If going for a slight coating on the H9 bulbs, the Hella Performance 2.0 H9s are lighter spec'd at 3700k (my measurements say 3500k) vs PIAAs 3900k spec. The higher the color temp, the darker the coating and the lower the output. See Hella H9 Performance 2.0 bulbs in post #1577 here. They come in just under the Philips H9s in peak intensity. They are also not way overpriced like the PIAAs.

Wow, as others mentioned those look terrible and in no way replicate a halogen filament. Performance will be poor regardless of what the marketing says. If your set on LED the only one I have tested to be decent is the Hikari Ultras, see the original review in post #1608 here.

Post #2 in this thread has the highest performing halogen recommendations (better than the Hikaris) with several bulb options and comparison charts. If you are looking for plug and play the H11 GE Xenon +120s are higher performing than the H11 GE Megalight +130s, and the Xenons are readily available from domestic sellers.

 

I am very happy with Hella H11 2.0. $18.90 at RockAuto. Much brighter than the stock bulbs, which were so dim I could barely tell if they were turned on or off.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=9541752&cc=3437069&jsn=5