LED recommendations

I think crashnburn80 has forgot more about lighting, than most people on this forum will ever know. He literally has 1000's of posts on the subject.

 

Not saying he’s wrong but jeez.. wound up looking for a reason to go offUsually simply just reading what you are responding to would kind of... remove the assumption that has been gone off to create the unnecessary rant

 

Holy shit. Your dissertation is primarily what im talking about on this site. No one convinced me. I didn’t watch any snake oil videos.

The lights I have now are absolutely better than stock. So are my fog lights for every driving condition. I do admit, which I have commented on, that the brights aren't much better, bit still better. Dims are significantly better for illumination and its not just immediately in front of the vehicle either. It’s not just an illusion for crying out loud.

i made a decision. It works. We dont need people on this site calling other people jerks for their decisions in lighting. It’s pathetic.

 

+1 for the Diode Dynamics ss3 sport in yellow. I had them since November 2020. They were only $180 with tax then. Totally worth it. They cut through fog in the mornings way better than the stock halogen ones with laminx films did.
I also replaced the low beams with the Hikari ultra LEDs. I been happy with both for 3 years. I know oem LED headlights would be better but not an option on the sr5 and adapting them in is possible but expensive. For the amount of night driving I do I don't think it's worthwhile.

 

Back on topic...
I have SS3 Max amber fog pods and they are awesome. I could drive with just the fogs on if I wanted to. But then I have the OEM halogens which are horrible on low beam. I did the H9 / H11 low beam swap, and the lows are now what I would consider normal.
I thought about the DD Elites because they are cheaper, but my kid said, "get the good ones". Plus, I wanted snow melt with the fogs. A nice thing about the DD' SS3 series is that the lenses are interchangeable with different colors and beam patterns. I don't foresee ever changing my lenses unless I damage one, but the option is there if wanted. I believe the SS3 pods fit into ditch light harness if you changed your mind and wanted them up high instead of down low.
DD runs a 15% off sale periodically and I waited for what seemed like forever for the sale prior to purchasing. With the holidays coming up they'll probably be another sale around black Friday.

I also replaced my reverse bulbs with brighter LED bulbs off Amazon. They light up a huge area and when there is snow on the ground it's like a headlight. I think the brighter bulbs mess up my reverse camera's image a bit. IMO the Tacoma backup camera image quality sucks with or without the brighter bulbs. It's like a crayon drawing compared to the Honda and Subaru camera image. At some point I have to play around some more with the camera's brightness setting to try and improve the image.

 

someone got butthurt. Now show me where crash hurt you.

 

Such an underrated food staple even Anthony Bourdain said its life changing. So many Tacoma's out there too. But you'll see me cruising around in Salida in the BJ.

 

Not hurt. Move along.

 

Ok, here's my setup. OEM led headlights using Dave Easa's adapter harness, that he doesn't make anymore. Then the DD SS3 Max fogs and finally twin 6" DD Stage series light bars. The fogs and light bars both came from Hotshot Off-road. The fogs I generally only use during inclement weather and the light bars are triggered by the high beams so they go off when I meet oncoming traffic. Don't want to be a"jerk", right @Squirt ?

 

Magnetic grey metallic. Also did the PRO led headlight swap a while back. These are the only one's I've got at the moment...

 

I've got the Baja Designs fog lights. They're extremely well constructed and throw a wide beam. That said, as a fog light for anything not off-road they are ridiculously bright. It would be an asshole move to fire them up on a freeway... there's such a thing as too bright for a fog light.

 

Hey @BFrosty,

Since you are looking to replace your OEM fog lights. I would consider checking out our new SAE fog light replacement. This happens to be a plug-and-play kit and will have everything included to install them over the weekend. We utilize an aspheric projector to meet SAE requirements as well as create a nice sharp cut-off. I will link this kit down below. If you have any questions or would like more information please feel free to reach out at Bill@bajadesigns.com.

https://www.bajadesigns.com/product...-tacoma-2014-21-tundra/?vid=146667&sku=447642

https://www.bajadesigns.com/next-gen-squadron-sae/?vid=146667

Best,
Bill

Bill Sonevongxay | Forum Sales & Support 
Email: Bill@bajadesigns.com Phone: (760)560-2252

 

my 2 cents:

oem led headlights are the best
putting led bulbs in a halogen headlights is not effective
oem led fogs are fair (ok) kinda cool tint
a couple of good brands make pop in brighter led fogs (listed earlier)
ditch lights - no thanks (call em bitch lights when i see em)

p.s. halogen lights may be better for some since the leds wont melt ice or snow
in 10 years when all cars have led headlights the car makers will have to add headlight defrosters.

 

Whoa whoa whoa can't be reasonable here.

 

Factory LED headlamp conversion.
Diode Dynamics Elite Series in Amber.
Rough Country bumper light bar kit.



I am happy with the setup.

 

DD SS3 Pros here. Drive with them on at night. They’re great.

 

Morimoto XB Gen2 Projector LED Headlights with White DRLs
Meso Customs V5 Switchback Mirror Turn Signals with White DRLs
Diode Dynamics Elite Series Fog Lamps (Yellow) with Amber DRLs

 

I went OEM LED headlights, and DD for everything else. SS3 Sport in selective yellow for fogs, SS3 Pro for the A-Pillar, SS2 Sport for the rear of the RCI rack, SS30 combo in the bumper and SS42 combo on the front of the rack. All controlled by a Switch-Pros except the fogs which were plug and play with oem wiring/switch. I’ve been debating pulling the SS30 out now that I have the SS42 up top.

 

Do you live in an area prone to promoting rust. If so, i would stay away for the cheapies (including cali raised). Diode Dynamics and Baja Designs are nice. I have seen cheap factory Rigid lights too.

Nice Tacoma.