Headlight Comparison Help

Hello,

I am a new member here and I felt I needed to start this thread since I didnt find any thread associated with these especific Bulbs. Looking to see if anyone has any thoughts or input in regards to the following:

http://www.xenondepot.com/h4-philips-12953BWX2-LED-Bulb-p/12953bwx2.htm

or,

http://www.xenondepot.com/2017-tacoma-h11-led-kit-p/30si-0000-h11-led-kit.htm

or,

http://www.xenondepot.com/2017-tacoma-h11-hid-kit-p/30si-0000-h11-hid-kit.htm

Which of these would be best on a 2017 Tacoma SR5? If these suck, which would work best? LED's or HID's on High/Low Beams and Fogs?
Thoughts? Concerns? Input?

Thank you in advance.

 

Welcome to the forum. It's been said that LED's don't work well in projector lights and your best bet is to run HID's.

 

LED's look brighter up close but have considerably less throw than HIDS or even stock halogens. I am very pleased with my hylux HID kit. You do not want HIDS for high beams unless you consistently run them because HIDS take a few seconds to warm up to full brightness.

I would run HID low beam and stock halogen for highs and fogs. You could run LEDs for fogs, but they would generally blind people since the light is not focused. Many people are happy with morimoto led fog lights though since they are focused and a direct replacement for the OEM fog unit.

 

Thank you for the information gentlemen. rlx02 - could you tell me where you bought your HID kit? Perhaps a link? Thank you.

 

Www.theretrofitsource.com

One stop shop. They have everything you need.

 

i have the TRS morimoto kit. Is it as good as an OEM kit with HID projectors? No, but it's the best job I can do in terms of performance for the price point

 

I'm running the GTR3 LED kit from headlightrevolution.com. I haven't had any problems with mine and its all about bulb placement positioning the LEDs for the correct beam pattern. My highs and lows have a longer throw then halogen but not as extensive as HIDs so really it is about preference on what you're looking for. My lights are similar to a 6000k brightness. You can check out my album in the link below to see what they look like and what kind of throw I have.


https://www.tacomaworld.com/media/albums/nemesis.37349/?page=3

 

I checked your gallery and wow, those LED's look great. Im torn because i've always changed regular bulbs for HID's but now im not sure. I want the best lighting I could possibly get without breaking the bank if that makes it easier.

 

Hid kit might be harder to install with ballasts and igniters. Might want to consider that. When I hit bumps or am on a Really rough road, my right headlight vibrates a little. Don't know if that's projector or bulb tho. I've been told it's the projector

 

So do you think its better to go with LED's?

 

Everything you need to know about the kit/installation is in this thread

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hyluxtek-hid-kit-with-cnlight-ball-bulbs.457461/

Here's the link for the kit. I was able to get it cheaper than the listed price. I upgraded to the round-ball HID bulb as well. I opted not to get the HD relay kit, but just the regular relay kit. I believe total cost of everything was under 100 dollars, which is cheaper than some LED bulbs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HYLUXT-A2088-Quick-Start-CN-LIGHT-HID-Conversion-Kit-H1-H3-H7-H8-9005-HB4-H16-/271655333640?hash=item3f3feb6f08:g:EZwAAOSwF1dUR6-4&vxp=mtr&rmvSB=true

 

I don't really know, but I'd definitely do more research on the gtr lighting. Heard they were good, but also I do like my hids haha

 

Thank you! You can always buy quality HIDs for a reason price that's what I'm running in my scion currently, but with LEDs reasonable price isn't always the best solution depending on the bulb or board the manufacturer used. Plus there are different cooling options for LEDs I went with the counter heat sink just because its almost fall proof (basic and straight to the point), the cooling fans in my opinion is just another electric issue waiting to happen.

 

Powerprozeus - Thanks for all the info, quick question. Did you have to remove the bumper and the headlight to be able to install those LED's? If so, how hard was it? Do I need an extra person to help me?

 

I didn't have remove anything just popped the hood and went to work. lol I had to be careful which angle I slid the bulbs in so the heat sink wouldn't catch anything behind it. The driver side is a piece of cake, the passenger side is little tedious because of the wiper fluid tank but it took me 45 min tops to get both high and low beams in and zip tying everything down.

 

I had XenonDepot HID's in my 15' 4Runner and they were great, but my new Tacoma has StreetGlow LEDs for lowbeam, high beam, and fogs. They are excellent and I would say pretty comparible to my HID's. I will take some good pics tonight. I know they don't 'throw' quite as far as the HID's, but everything is much more illuminated.

 

this is your answer, OP. i also have this kit and would buy it again in a heartbeat. it's perfectly awesome. everything's in that thread, so read up.

 

I have been running opt7 led for over a year and no issues. It has the same coverage as stock but a lot brighter. I have them in highs , lows and fogs and I haven't been flashed once.

 

Not at all. LED bulbs aren't focused at all and scatter.

Any OEM led headlights use a lot more than 2 unfocused LEDS per headlight. Mercedes uses 24 individually controlled, focused LEDs. Acura/Honda uses 5 but split into 10 focused areas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqgcnXtCPPk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR0EWPIBbTk

Many people here have returned their LED lowbeams after driving in the rain or other inclimate climates as well. The only people who have had issues with HIDs are people with morimotos and their shaking issue.

 

Your headlights were designed to work with halogen bulbs. Due to the nature of filament style bulbs, the reflector is tuned to that that long 360 degree light source and focus it to a pattern that provides most light where you need it and less where you do not.

A led bulb has a single or two diodes that produce a similar amount of light output in one specific spot in one specific direction. Because of this it throws similar amount of light in every direction. Which is not good since most people usually want to see further down the road than further into the ditch off the side of the road.

Think of a halogen bulb pattern like a spear head. A led pattern would be like a round ball. Sure you can hit someone in the face with either and they will both hurt. But one is designed to do the job and the other just kinda works. Ill take the one that penetrates best and engineered for that use (halogen)

Wicked scientific pics to backup my claims

Halogen light pattern

Led light pattern in yellow:


Tldr; led if you want to be seen, halogen/hid if you want to see.

I ran opt7 bulbs for a couple days until i saw a newly paved wet road and had to literally change my lights on the roadside. Ive run piaa leds for a year and only continue to because i have very bright halogen fogs for wet weather. Eventually ill go a proper retrofit n call it a day