Please help- retro fit

Aloha guys
I have a 2011 Tacoma. Looking to do a retro fit. But have no clue on ware to start what to buy what to get. Halos? Morimotos? Will the projectors fit my LED H4 bulbs? If anyone out their can help me. That would be awesome! Please put pics and what you guys ordered. If not then please guide me. Mahalo and have a good one aloha

 

Doing a Retrofit is not for the faint of heart if you haven't done one before. Not saying that you are not able to do one at all. Just if you haven't done one there are a lot of steps involved. I would contact @TRSAndrew on this site and he should be able to answer any questions you might have regarding doing a retrofit to your truck. You can also buy headlights that have been retrofitted every once in awhile by looking through the buy-sell-trade section of the forum though the prices vary. Someone that has done the work and looks to recoup as much of the time and labor as possible and I certainly don't blame them.

Good luck with whichever route you choose.

 

I have confidence in my delft to do the retrofit. But I just don't know ware to start on the retrofit source web page

 

Paging @gym_jamz and @TRSAndrew

 

Pm'd him. Thanks @SixthSnail !

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-not-led-or-hid.398066/

Better choice if you actually want good lighting.

 

I would disagree, as would others on here who have experience retrofitting.

Anyone can increase lumens, controlling those lumens in stock housings is another matter. Those extra watt bulbs, 85, 100w are no different than people adding those cheap HID kits to their stock halogen reflectors.

As you've already stated, at least one of them (bulbs) had to be replaced already where the HID capsules last a few thousand hours.

This guy can get a brand new set of Aftermarket lights (just as good as those new ones) that are retrofitted to his liking with ballasts and motocontrol for not much more than you spent.

 

Well here in hawaii your only allowed to run HID or LED in your head lights of you have projectors. So I really wanna stay legal. So that why I'm doing the retro. Other then that. Just don't know what to choose. Thank you for your write up. Awesome!

 

I don't know man. I have to agree with @hyper15125 here. It's gonna be hard trying to beat a good retrofit. Not the aesthetic part but performance wise

 

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

Pretty sure all non DOT approved lighting is illegal. Includes retrofits. Just unlikely you'll be ticketed unless you really botch it.

 

Sixthsnail is right. As soon as you alter your headlights, its not longer DOT approved. Simple as that. The best way to not attract attention is to make it look as OEM as possible.

 

Retros won't be an issue

 

True, heck they'll pull you over to ask who did it lol

 

Yes, not approved, however "compliant." So long as you don't change the reflective properties of signal reflectors, paint/subdue reflective properties of side markers, no one should bother you and you should pass a MV inspection.

 

Ok. But don't confuse me with the author of that mod, @crashnburn80. I have not done his mod, because I don't need extra lighting, and I don't need 'style'. However, if I still lived in rural Fl, I would chose to do his mod, just for better road lighting. For offroad improvements, there are too many other options to make messing with the OE fixtures worthwhile. IMHO of course.

But since retrofits must be the cats meow, maybe you can help out this gal then? Something has gone awry for her........

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/kustom54lighting-review-headlight-retrofit.440760/#post-12806205

 

Except HIDs in a projector are NOT the same as the halogen bulb that's designed FOR that housing regardless of mods. HIDs require a projector to focus the light beam since the bulb itself doesn't. A halogen however is designed to control where the light goes before it even hits the reflector. That's the key that makes all the difference.

 

Actually. It is completely different.

Upgrading the halogen reflector headlight assemblies with higher output halogen bulbs results in lights with the exact same cutoff as stock but significantly higher output. Zero change. You can see my side by side comparison in the linked thread.

If you think putting HIDs in a halogen reflector is the same as putting halogens in a halogen reflector, you are sadly misinformed. HIDs in a halogen reflector result in a joke of a beam cutoff pattern and scatter everywhere, blinding oncoming drivers. Inexcusable. Halogens in a halogen reflector look like stock and operate the same as stock, with the same cutoff as stock, not blinding anyone, because you are using the same technology the reflector is designed for. I'm not sure why this is so hard for some to understand.

Drastically more light output. Fraction of the cost. No retrofits required. Looks like stock.

Edit: this is not to degrade retros in anyway. Quality retros are an excellent way to improve light output if expense does not matter.

 

Yes, putting HID's in most reflectors is the same difference; in the sense that they aren't DOT compliant. The beam may not be exactly the same as HID's but they are both "NOT approved" by Federal Standards or even "Compliant" with Federal standard Specs; So, IT IS the same difference. It isn't "so hard to understand," if you actually read the code.

See Federal code here for more explanation;

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2004-title49-vol5/xml/CFR-2004-title49-vol5-sec571-108.xml

(d) The maximum wattage at 12.8 volts (design voltage): Single filament headlamp, 55 watts on the upper beam; dual filament headlamp, 43 watts on the upper beam and 65 watts on the lower beam.
S7.3.3Type B headlighting system. A Type B headlighting system consists of two Type 2B1 headlamps and associated hardware, which are designed to conform to the following requirements:
(a) The requirements of paragraph S7.3.2 (a) through (c), except that the words “Figure 27-1 or Figure 27-2” are substituted for “Table 3” in paragraph S7.3.2(a)(3).
(b) The maximum wattage at 12.8 volts (design voltage): 70 watts on the upper beam and 60 watts on the lower beam.
S7.3.4Type C headlighting system. A Type C headlighting system consists of two Type 1C1 and two Type 2C1 headlamps and associated hardware, which are designed to conform to the requirements of paragraph S7.3.2 (a) through (d), except that the words “Figure 28-1 or Figure 28-2” are substituted for “Table 3” in paragraph S7.3.2(a)(3).
S7.3.5Type D headlighting system. (a) A Type D headlighting system consists of two Type 2D1 headlamps and associated hardware, which are designed to conform to the requirements of paragraph S7.3.2 (a) through (c), except that the words “Figure 27-1 or Figure 27-1” are substituted for “Table 3” in paragraph S7.3.2(a)(3).
(b) The maximum wattage at 12.8 volts (design voltage): 65 watts on upper beam, and 55 watts on lower beam.
S7.3.6Type E headlighting system. (a) A Type E headlighting system consists of two Type 2E1 headlamps and associated hardware, which are designed to conform to the requirements of paragraph S7.3.2 (a) through (c), except that the words “Figure 27-1 or Figure 27-1” are substituted for “Table 3” in paragraph S7.3.2(a)(3).
(b) The maximum wattage at 12.8 volts (design voltage): 70 watts on upper beam, and 60 watts on lower beam.
S7.3.7Type F headlighting system. A Type F headlighting system consists of two Type UF and two Type LF headlamps and associated hardware, which are designed to conform to the following requirements:

 

I think you are talking about two totally different things here. Yes, neither one is DOT approved. That being said, one will give an OEM cut-off (higher wattage halogen bulb) which will be less dangerous due to glare seen by oncoming drivers. If one of those oncoming drivers happens to be a police officer you are more likely to get ticketed for just throwing a HID bulb into an unmodified halogen housing the way most people do to save money. Halogens have shields that direct the light onto certain portions of the reflector which makes them have a cut-off similar to a true factory HID setup or a proper aftermarket HID retrofit.

If you want DOT approved and street legal your options are to leave your housing the way they are or buy a car that comes with HID headlights. There are some halogen bulbs you can replace your OEM halogen bulb with that are DOT approved but none of which will actually give you more light. Most coat the bulb housing to give the illusion of more light when in reality you are filtering out some of the light spectrum which actually equals less light.

If you want MORE light you have a few options but throwing HIDs into a halogen reflector housing should NEVER be one of those due to the danger associated with not having a proper cut-off. This is also more likely to get you pulled over by someone in LE after you blind them. If you modify your headlight properly they will NOT be DOT approved but if you've done it properly then oncoming drivers will never be blinded and the likeliehood of someone in LE noticing you have different headlights is slim to none. If you live in an area that does inspections you will likely fail with a modified headlight of ANY type anyway.

The two proper ways to modify are to go with a higher wattage bulb which requires an aftermarket wire harness to handle the additional wattage. This method is not only cheaper than a retrofit but it's easier and yields light production comparable to a proper HID retrofit. The downside is that bulbs seem to last about a year or so on average. To most this isn't a big deal as you can carry an extra bulb and switch it out within a few minutes. HID retrofits are very time consuming, a lot more expensive and leave you with an opened OEM housing which could also lead to more problems down the road that you likely won't get from a factory sealed housing. Sure the HID bulbs last longer but the housings that contain the starter/ballast can be unreliable unless you source super high-dollar OEM manufacturer components. There are trustworthy aftermarket suppliers but they have a higher % of failure rate so the warranty is always important and you run the risk of driving w/o a headlight for weeks even with a decent warranty. In the end, having done a retrofit myself, I feel like the higher wattage halogen is the way to go. Less expensive, simple and OEM-like look and reliability with a more often bulb change. Of course, there are varying opinions but that's mine.

I think that sums it up and now we should all be on the same page.

 

Well said.