The truth/rant about OEM and Aftermarket headlights.

blackohio · Nov 4, 2016

not worried about headlights when I have these.

Snowy · Nov 4, 2016

127.0.0.1[OP] said: ↑

really ? it is the thought of the Fed and all the vehicle lighting and safely engineers,
that critical safety systems not be fucked with.

your vehicle exterior lighting
it a critical safety component
Click to expand...

127.0.0.1[OP] said: ↑

Headlamps are life-safety equipment. All aspects of their performance -- not just the beam patterns they produce, but also their mechanical and environmental robustness and, with HIDs and LEDs, electrical and thermal safety -- are specified in detail, objectively, by the applicable technical regulations. A wide range of performance and design are permitted, but the basic requirements are stringent and exacting.

None of it can be assessed by eye. "Gosh, it looks good to me!" or "Wow, look at that sharp cutoff!" or "Nobody ever flashes me at night" or "I drive past cops every day and I never get tickets" just are not relevant responses to the real safety and reliability issues involved.

It takes an enormous amount of money and a long time to design, engineer, tool, and test/approve/certify a legitimate headlamp. It's not because the people doing the work are slow-paced or lazy!

US National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966
(This is the Act that eventually established the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and its authority to write and enforce the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards). Originally located at 15 USC 1394-1410, it has been reorganized and is now located at 49 USC 301.

Old to new location conversion of various subsections is here.

Sections most frequently relevant to discussions on this forum include:

•
49 USC 30122: Prohibits regulated parties to "render inoperative" a mandatory regulated device, system, or design feature; "render inoperative" can mean to remove, disable, damage, destroy, or alter the performance so it is no longer compliant.
Click to expand...

Okay Barney Fife. Bet you never pull the tag off the mattress either for fear of federal prison.

For all the hours you've spent researching this, you should apply to work at Toyota's light engineering department. I'm sure they'd love you to come in and tell them that they have been doing lighting wrong for the last 60 years.

snefo · Nov 4, 2016

Overall, My 2016 has the best headlights I have ever had on a vehicle. The low beam has a sharp horizontal cut off, BUT... the high beams are even and bright over a wide field. Fantastic! First time I hit my high beams I was like "Wow!"

Aussiek2000 · Nov 4, 2016

I just got used to how good these lights were over time. Been driving a few customer cars on the dark now that the days are getting shorter. I can barely tell the lights are turned on in half of them

stevotivo12 · Nov 4, 2016

crashnburn80 said: ↑

While the 3rd Gens can run LEDs in the headlights due to the cut off provided by the projectors, you cannot run them in the fogs without causing massive glare to oncoming drivers. Your pictures easily show the glare in the street signs and lack of distance throw. If this concept is not understood, I suggest reading about the incompatibility of running an LED in a halogen reflector:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/why-leds-should-not-be-run-in-halogen-reflectors.454371/

Also note how poorly the Opt7 high powered LED (directional light) upgrade compares to a properly engineered halogen (omni-directional light) upgrade designed to work with the stock headlight assembly optics.
Click to expand...

yeah only solution to this is to buy the Morimoto LED fog replacements that have actual projector lenses built in. I have these as well and can attest to their quality. Ill get a picture tonight when its dark out of their output but its substantial

Scruffie · Nov 4, 2016

stevotivo12 said: ↑

yeah only solution to this is to buy the Morimoto LED fog replacements that have actual projector lenses built in. I have these as well and can attest to their quality. Ill get a picture tonight when its dark out of their output but its substantial
Click to expand...

X2 on the Morimoto led Fogs. I will also attest that they are an excellent upgrade. Easy to adjust so that you can put the projector cutoff exactly where you want it.

HolmbyTaco · Nov 16, 2016

Scruffie said: ↑

X2 on the Morimoto led Fogs. I will also attest that they are an excellent upgrade. Easy to adjust so that you can put the projector cutoff exactly where you want it.
Click to expand...

So folks would these be them, for the 2016 tacoma? http://www.ebay.com/itm/MORIMOTO-XB...ash=item281ff2d2f2:g:WAIAAOSwknJX0XZW&vxp=mtr

stevotivo12 · Nov 26, 2016

Those are fog lights for the 2016 tacoma. Theyre talking about the headlight retrofit kit: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/a...Toyota+Tacoma&preselect=&preselect_restrict=1

Log in or Sign up

Welcome to Tacoma World!

The truth/rant about OEM and Aftermarket headlights.

#81
blackohio Well-Known Member

#82
Snowy Is neither here nor there

#83
snefo Well-Known Member

#84
Aussiek2000 Well-Known Member

#85
stevotivo12 Well-Known Member

#86
Scruffie Well-Known Member

#87
HolmbyTaco Member

#88
stevotivo12 Well-Known Member

Products Discussed in

Log in or Sign up

Useful Searches

Welcome to Tacoma World!

The truth/rant about OEM and Aftermarket headlights.

#81 blackohio Well-Known Member

#82 Snowy Is neither here nor there

#83 snefo Well-Known Member

#84 Aussiek2000 Well-Known Member

#85 stevotivo12 Well-Known Member

#86 Scruffie Well-Known Member

#87 HolmbyTaco Member

#88 stevotivo12 Well-Known Member

Products Discussed in Entire Site Forum: 3rd Gen. Tacomas (2016-2023)

#81
blackohio Well-Known Member

#82
Snowy Is neither here nor there

#83
snefo Well-Known Member

#84
Aussiek2000 Well-Known Member

#85
stevotivo12 Well-Known Member

#86
Scruffie Well-Known Member

#87
HolmbyTaco Member

#88
stevotivo12 Well-Known Member

Products Discussed in