Led headlight bulbs

Damn that's a deal. Hid low beam and fog kit for $112 total?

 

$112.50 each. Not together... I wish tho!

 

I am in the group buy and I believe this is a great deal!

I am questioning the 'reach' or lux of the LEDs in our reflector for our high beams and the lumen ratings of the bulbs. I am considered by some to be a flashlight nut and in that world it is about pairing the right emitters and reflectors to achieve flood vs spot light. In our trucks the reflector is fixed.

 

Did you go with 35 or 55 watt?

 

55 watt

 

Sorry, I missed this John! I prefer LED's as the light really reacts to the reflective material on signs. unfortunately the LED's currently out do not work well as a replacement in projector housings. You would have to purchase a LED specific projector. The plug andplay lights cause a spread of light from the projector and not a bean as it should. BTW, the high beam is NOT a projector housing. So go with the highest LED Lumens to get the best reach. The LMZ's have an adjustable base which can be changed to get the best light output vs some of the others with a fixed base. VLED recommends running the light all the way out from the base then adjusting so the LED's are side to side once installed.

 

Thanks for the assist Josh!!!!

 

Sam - you're costing me a lot of $$$!

So now for the tail lights - I see you ordered 2 sets in red (obviously), but only 1 set of load resistors. Why is that?

And did you also replace the bulb for the high-mounted stop light?

Finally, I assume you've also upgraded the amber directional lights as well - front and rear. I guess that's next on my 'Sam-influenced stuff to buy list'...

I see you're in Poway - I lived in Escondido and Lake Hodges for many years. If I ever get out there again, I owe you beers for all of the help you've been to the Taco community!

 

LMAO. Hank, you are not the first to say that!!!! While I did replace every light on my Harleys to LED's I have not done that on the Tacoma yet. I have replaced the essential what I consider safety lights...mainly tail and headlights. I will get around to the 3rd brake light but may not touch any other lights.

The rear does not have amber directionals. The turn signals are the red upper part So I used 1 7443 red set for the brake and 1 7443 red set for the turn signals. Only 1 set of load resisters is required for the turn signals. They are not required for the brake or any running lights. 60 ohm is required if you only have the back LED's. If you are inclined to go with the LED amber fronts also then you only need 30ohm load resisters. The resister is to fake out the computer so it does not think it has a bulb out. Without the resister, the blinkers will flash fast(as if a light is out). More bulbs in the circuit, less resistance is required. The VLED kit is 2 resisters(one for each side. I installed them in the back since there is alot of room behind the tailight. It's a 3 wire plug 1 gnd, 1 on and 1 blink. You need to determine the gnd and the blink and splice the resistor into those 2 wires. VLED has pretty good instructions. I mounted the resistor to the bed wall(not fender wall) just inside the tailight.

 

It seems possible! Would have to research P/N's. See if the Gen 2 and Gen 3 flashers are comparable.

 

Thanks Sam - much appreciated!

I already bought the Miromoto switchback front turn signals in amber with load resisiters. I'll probably go with the VLEDS for the rear as you suggested. IDK how many ohms the resisters are for the Miromotos... I'll figure it all out once everything arrives - first and foremost that damn truck!

 

Hank,
If the Morimoto fronts have load resistors, it may be good enough for the whole system and none would be required for the back. Need to see the secs on those lights. Less ohms required when more LEDs are used. Looking at them now...

 

Thanks Sam!
That answers my question. I am going to do the Morimoto HID and their LED projector. I will have to figure out how much the halogens irritate me before I replace them. It looks like you made the best choice with the LMZ and I am not ordering anything else from vleds yet so it can wait.

 

Hank, I dont see any Morimoto XB bulbs that have the resistor built in. You add them and have to splice in as far as I can tell. Looks like the Morimoto is a 9ohm resistor. Hopefully compatible with VLED LED bulbs.

 

Sam,

Thanks for the research!

For the fronts I bought the:

3157: Morimoto XB LED Bulbs 1 $55.00
Bulb Color Amber
2 x 3157 (CK) Switchback $5.00
Hyperflash Resistors (Pair)
2 x Morimoto HD Load Resistor (Single) $15.00

I didn't see any specification on what the resister capacity was... I'll wait until they arrive and read the documentation for the exact specs.

If they aren't compatible, I'll return them and go all VLEDS!

 

Hank, It looks like you purchased 2 sets of resistors, hyper flash and HD resistors. Probably need to use one or the other.

 

Here's a question... What tooling do I need to install these HID's and the LED fogs? I have some tools, but i was going to get more when I headed to pick up my truck. Does anyone have a recommended "MUST HAVE" for a truck like this? Just the basics please

 

Some tie straps and small wire cutter to trim off the end. If you got the Morimoto HID' of equivalent and it comes with a relay... I mounted the relay with the existing radiator shroud bolt closest thing the battery. I think it was 13mm. So a ratchet and metric socket. Also a drill to drill out the relay bracket hole so the shroud bolt will fit. Taillights are 2 metric bolts .

 

Cool, thanks! I think I have most of that stuff.

 

The bolt is either a 10, 12, or 14mm. As a Toyota technician, I can assure you there isn't a 13 in the engine bay

Taillight bolts should be 10's.