Why are headlights like..... the G-spot

(wante to get someone attention but there isnt an answer like the g...) Hey All! New to the forum. I am very interested in lighting. @crashnburn80 has an amazing write-UP. I have always been interested in great lighting and for ten years I haven't found the ANSWER. Why is there so much discrepancy in the best lighting...? I am a ME and understand vehicle-specific design on the smallest detail. By no means am I a novice if that but I spent 4 years designing, building and racing formula cars during college for an SAE event.


I haven't found a wealth of info on the best headlights besides the write-up I mentioned earlier. The retrofit source is tempting for aestheetics however I am looking for the brightest, most friendly, and effective lighting.

I cant find a comparison of the Osram upgrade VS. a @retrofitsource upgrade.

What are your thoughts? Ideally, I wouldn't have 6 lightbars fog lights etc. I would have my main headlights with one or two additional aux lights....


Thank you for any and all interesting engagement!

 

What year is your truck?

 

2012

 

Welcome to TW

 

Not quite apples to apples but here is how the Headlight upgrade with the 100/90w Osrams compares against 3rd Gen H11 XD replacement HIDs. The 85/80w Hypers were a fair amount higher performing but no longer available. These numbers are without factoring the wiring harness for boosted voltage and output or running the AGM voltage booster which gives an additional ~16% halogen gain.



The above data points are using a 3rd Gen Tacoma halogen projector running rebased HIDs, which isn't ideal. A quality retrofit using quality proper HID specific parts will perform better, and better than a halogen upgrade. But the key there is quality, you can see the significant difference between the house brand XD bulbs vs the XD Philips version. You also need to invest in quality projectors, the Lexus RX350 being some of the best.

I wouldn't really consider the two upgrades comparable though, a proper HID retrofit is going to cost significantly more, is more complicated components and build wise, but you also get higher output if using quality components, higher color temp light which many like (4300k is best for HID) and much sharper cut offs using proper HID projectors plus the unique look if that is important. The benefits of the halogen upgrade are that it applies the KISS principle, it is extremely basic utilizing the technology the lights were designed for, it is plug and play and it is very effective for a low cost.

 

@crashnburn80 Thanksa gain for the thorough follow-up! I noticed you had posted this before. I am assuming you run the halogen set up for the idea of KISS...?

Thanks in advance

 

Yep. Simple and effective. Lots of people like their full retros though.

 

Just want to offer my $0.02

The sky is the limit for lighting mods. But if you want something simple that you will thoroughly enjoy? Simply install a good quality set of Euro / Driving lights on the front bumper (or grill) and trigger them off of your high beams (you really don't even need a switch). Also, recess a couple of Floods into the rear bumper and trigger them from the reverse light circuit. Those two simple mods gave me the most enjoyment out of all of the lighting work I've ever done. PS: Use Relays for isolating the OE circuits from aftermarket circuits.

 

Great point on aux driving lights. I'm working on a write-up demoing that exact setup using SAE driving lights toggled off the high beam, a teaser post is here:

 

Great work Brother.