Proper headlight upgrade

I wonder if you have many drivers flashing their high beams at you when your headlights are already on low beam.

 

Not yet. I think my headlights were aimed pretty low to begin with.

 

THANKS to crashnburn80 for posting the original thread, and goldentaco03 for referencing it here in the 1st Gen forum!

When I spoke with Ray at Susquehanna Motorsports today, he reiterated crashnburn80's recommended Ground Test Procedure. Based on crashnburn80's and goldentaco03's results with their '03s, I expected to find Ground Switching in my '04. Interestingly, the results indicate Conventional Switching. I suspect DRLs MAY be what drives the difference. (My '04 and crashnburn80's '15 both have them. He confirmed none of his older trucks, including the '03, had them. Waiting to hear from goldentaco03.)

Can anyone confirm/deny my theory (i.e., NO DRLs = Ground Switching while DRLs = Conventional Switching)?

 

My 96 doesn't have the composite headlights, of course. I went with GE Nighthawks and built my own relay harness. Made a huge difference in light output.

 

Crashnburn80's ultimate headlight upgrade is one of the the best modifications I've made to my truck!

Props to Ryland, this dude is a class act.

 

That sounds correct. My DRL's are in my "turn signal" lens. Is the 04 different?

 

just pulled the trigger on some 70's... wicked sweet. thanks for the thread.

 

i wish i knew bout the 85w solution before i already did 70's ..

 

Thanks! Like you, I was almost positive my '04 would mirror your (and Crashnburn80's) '03. I'm betting all non-DRL First Gens probably do. Based on your description, it sounds like your truck does NOT have DRLs. (True DRLs are headlights that are always on, at a lower-than-low beam brightness, and not controlled by a manual switch.)

 

So my 01 with DRL will take a different harness? Which #. Or I can go to crash&burns thread I guess.

 

Go to crashnburn s thread and you'll see a link to the conventionally switched harness and the ground switched harness. But I would do the test that he talks about in the thread to make sure which harness to get.

 

Thank you Liam.

 

+1 to ALL of this. HIGHLY RECOMMEND testing wiring before ordering.

 

Installed Conventionally Switched (HL28200) Headlamp Wiring Harness and Osram H4 (CP64206) 85/80W 2400 lumen Hyper Bulbs this morning. (Truck is an '04 equipped with DRLs that I previously disabled.)

Harness is well-made. Instructions were clear and easy to follow. Everything worked as-designed. Looking forward to some night-time driving...

 

Good! Let us know how the light output is.

 

I did the HID 6,000K 35 watts and Ballast, plug and play took 30 minutes for both sides total time and taping and wire tie, Heads and fogs Both !!! easy and both 6K 35 watts!

 

hopefully those are in projector housings/retrofits. and welcome to the 1st Gen section

 

Regular OEM Housings ,cant afford projectors,had Toyota re aim and alighn !

 

Thanks for spreading the info to the first gen section.

No, this is just flat out wrong. You cannot put an HID bulb in a halogen reflector lens and not blind oncoming drivers. You cannot aim them to fix the issue because the optics are not compatible causing significant scatter, meaning light escaping outside of the aimed region. Aiming them at the ground does not prevent light escaping outside of the aimed region and makes your distance driving worse (counter productive).

You miss the point of this upgrade. It is a properly engineered upgrade for the technology used by the trucks factory lighting system. Meaning it it maintains the factory light horizon cut off, does not blind other drivers, is reliable, and has no negative effect other than shorter bulb life while having significant advantages such as a massive flood of light. If you want HIDs you need to do a full projector retrofit to do it properly.

See this post for more explanation of scatter:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...de-not-led-or-hid.398066/page-5#post-11096831

Low beam photos taken during a black out:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...de-not-led-or-hid.398066/page-7#post-11182996

There is actually another step you can do to make this mod even better in light output than the composite light trucks, if your truck has sealed beams. Swap the sealed beams or whatever conversion you have in there for the Hella H4 E-code conversion housings. E-code lights are the European standard, they are far more focused than the DOT standard, they focus significantly more light onto the road and much less overhead wasted into the air. The housing alone makes a huge improvement, but the E-code conversion, plus the 85w bulbs, plus the harness practically gives your truck the power of the sun. It seriously puts to shame the results you see with the composite housings. I did this on my 2 Toyota pickups. I strongly recommend the Hella brand, as other brands I've tried did not fit snuggly and allowed the headlight to vibrate.

 

Yeah, I've looked into the E codes. I don't have the extra cash for them right now. I have to swap frames, so I need to save up for new shocks, struts, clutch, etc. Might as well replace the stuff while I have it all stripped down and easy access.