Lasfit LEDs - Review
 

In my search for improving my headlights I decided on a few things. I always like my vehicles to look as stock as possible. So, no aftermarket housings and I'm not a fan of the HID "blue" look. Also, I wanted to keep costs down. So, it seems like LED, H11/H9 conversion or get better OE bulbs. But, those bulbs seem to burn out every year. So, either conversion and keep the same halogen color with better performance or try LED. Let's try LED, but we'll start with the low beams. My fog lights are connected to the stock wiring, so they turn off with the high beams and I like keeping them on.

Now, there is a lot of contradicting information around LEDs it seems, so I've been trying to do as much research as I can. I'm sure a lot of that is subjective to the users expectations. I understand an aftermarket LED bulb inside the projector housing isn't optimal. I understand that whether they are cheap or expensive may be erroneous. Great reviews, poor reviews, it's the wrong application, what gives?

I decided I'd just try myself. If they suck, i'll ship em back or sell them. Maybe someone else would be happy with them.

Saw a lot of negative on here about XenonDepot, so avoided those. I settled on these from Lasfit after seeing some recent good reviews on FB and on here. The price was reasonable, seem to be well engineered with the fans. Looks promising. I'm sure I could have gone even cheaper, but thats ok.

2014-2020 4Runner Custom-Made H11 LED Bulbs w/Dual-Cooling System｜LASFIT

Props to Lasfit. Quick shipping and packaged really well. Nice heavy box and the bulbs were snug in their foam cocoons. Easy instructions (not that install was hard) and 3 different color stickers. I love a company that throws in stickers. The bulbs look great and seem to be high quality. Everything feels well made and strong. They also worked! Huge plus.

https://i.imgur.com/IKJfiDf.jpg

Install:
Literally untwist the old ones and twist these in. Make sure to test them before install. If they dont work then flip the wire around. It's a ten minute job, tops.

So here they are. They are the exact color I wanted and look OEM. I couldn't be happier there.

https://i.imgur.com/RUCBBlS.jpg

Night time. I know blinding oncoming drivers is a hot button and I don't want to be that guy if I can avoid it, so yes, I did aim them lower than what is in the pic below. They were a bit high (45"@25') after my leveling kit. I measured 40" to the center of the headlight. So, I'll start at 40" on the garage door at 25' and see if I get flashed. Can always go lower.

https://i.imgur.com/8DgkuMo.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/d6xDv48.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/sAnvBoH.jpg

With my Diode Dynamics SS3 Sport ambers on with the LEDs.
https://i.imgur.com/pH7pcIu.jpg

Overall impressons are great. I took a quick drive and it's an amazing difference. For the price I'm extremely happy. Again, I've never driven with HIDs, Alpharex, or anything else. So, really don't have much else to compare them too except the OE halogens. Regardless, these suckers are BRIGHT!

I hope this helps some people on the fence about LEDs.

I hope the projected light is better than previous LED’s.
Suggestion to reduce projected beam height on wall 2“ below headlight height @ 25’. That’s the recommendation. If you get flashed there, adjust accordingly.

Well for 175 let’s hope they at least last 18 months.


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Any weird hot spots or dark spots??

Projector headlights have a cutoff shield as part of their design, so lights will always have a crisp line. Part of the design also lets a small amount of light leak above this cutoff in order to gently illuminate reflective surfaces like street signs and plow markers. This is why some users of HID kits in halogen assemblies are still glaring to other drivers, even when aimed properly. Because the HID capsules are 3 to 4 times brighter than the halogen filaments, this designed uplight is also 3-4 times as bright above the cutoff.

With LED drop-in bulbs, the chief problem is lack of focus. This is because the little chips mounted on the heatsink blade cannot be shrunk as small as a halogen filament, which is what your projector assembly relies on to correctly focus and project the headlight beam far into the distance.

The LED bulbs are often indeed brighter, but what you've gained in near-field vision, you have given up in distance projection. That is, the ground thirty feet in front of your truck is brighter, but the focus is now washed out and you've lost critical distance vision at highway speed. It's like riding a bike and looking at your front tire- by the time you see the open sewer you're already falling in. Check out what Daniel Stern has to say on the subject:
Why Most LED Headlight Upgrades Don't Really Work: An Expert Explains

Unfortunately, no amount of cool marketing can change the fundamental geometry needed by your headlight assembly to project light correctly. LEDs need optics that are properly designed for them, not shoehorning them into halogen assemblies. Many symptoms of this poor implementation are sold as "features". Would you buy a light bar that needed computer fans to work properly?

Take a look at this thread here, there is a lot of information that will save you money. I went down the drop-in LED road too. I am back to halogen for safety and driveability. I can also pick up a pair of H9 bulbs at any auto parts store for $12, instead of waiting on mail-order when one of the fans burns out or the chipset falls apart (as mine did).

3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights | Tacoma World

OK, thanks. I saw online NJ standard was the same height as the OE headlights, so that's what I based it off of. I can lower them.

Me too!

Not that I've noticed.

Yea, I get it. That post was posted in just about every LED thread. As I said in my post, there is so much contradicting info on these. Extensive write ups on why you shouldn't and 100 people saying they like them regardless of the science. If they like them then who cares? I'm still early on in my life with them. They'll be good or bad. I wanted to at least try because I'm sure as hell not spending $1k on "correct" LED headlights.

To drive safely at night you need good headlights to see the road. But it’s also important to not distract or blind oncoming traffic with poor OEMs, poorly modded or mis-aligned headlights, or driving with fogs on in clear weather.

This. I just replaced my OEM halogens with 2021 OEM LEDs. Which meant I needed to aim them. The dots on the lights were at 40" and I followed the Toyota instructions first (have the cutoff at the same level). They were WAY too high. Light-in-the-face-of-oncoming-traffic high and seeing-the-bald-spot-of-the-guy-in-front-of me high.

So then I ran into @mynameistory and the 2" (lights) comment on another thread that was the same as what @Saker said above. I also found some posts and at least one "professional" site that said above 39" go for 3".

Last night I tried 3" and found it too low so settled on 2" per all the good advice on these forums. I'm going to drive around for a few weeks and see how that feels, as well as check if it's different with a half-full tank (my car was full last night.)

Because they have the potential to harm other people. I'm sure the people that like to drink and drive aren't not putting other people in harms way.

I say this as a Lasfit custom 4Runner LED headlight user.

I've had no problems with them. I did some reading and I saw something about (I'm butchering this but the principle is the same) five criteria that factor into LEDs in halogen housings being good or bad. Nearly any old LED headlight fails the five criteria spectacularly. However, there have been stories of people getting lucky and having their LEDs meet enough of the criteria to work well.

I'm betting on the idea that Lasfit really tried to make these custom headlights work well not just in airflow but also in light performance. They are specially made for the 4Runner, and they really do seem to work well. I've tested them for over 400 feet, and I can see down the road that far clearly. The US government info from googling real fast is 350 feet, so the Lasfits are working pretty well. I also haven't had people flash me indicating that they can't see, so they must be good for the other people sharing the road, too.

I do wish I tried some higher performance halogens first before buying the Lasfits, but as time goes on they do seem like a sound investment.

Remember, information that contradicts the truth is called misinformation. The criteria for headlight performance isn't subjective, it's very clearly laid out and can be measured with instruments. These criteria are important for the safety of you and drivers around you. These criteria are very rarely met by fly-by-night Chinese imports.

Ok, again: liking something is subjective, while legal criteria for safe road lighting is objective. I know lots of people that like driving on the road with their light bars turned on, but that doesn't make them right or safe.

Please also consider the possibility that I myself am misinformed. But remember that the difference between me and Lasfit: I am not trying to lighten your wallet by $180.


These are good points. It's very possible to get a Goldilocks scenario and be able to meet the necessary criteria. However, looking at the thickness of the heatsink blade between the Lasfit chips would suggest that the focal point has been destroyed. Remember, the halogen filament is only slightly larger than a millimeter in diameter.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/18...g?v=1594354960

If you're curious, you can always get in contact with crashnburn80 on Tacomaworld to see if he can test your bulbs. I sent in my Morimoto 2.0 bulbs to check. While brighter than stock, the focus was completely destroyed and they did not push enough intensity into the distance.

3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights | Page 105 | Tacoma World

I get the safety aspect of it, but I don't think that's a fair comparison. To me, having a properly aimed LED light, something that a ton of OEs now come with, doesn't compare to driving drunk. It's just another headlight to me.

I'm not saying you are wrong in any way and I appreciate the info. I'm sure the science behind it is correct. I just settled on Lasfit based off of reviews, so not particular to any brand. This was about LEDs as a whole and maybe these are just better than what was available in the past?

Maybe I just see it as less of an issue. To me, the science doesn't matter if I'm not getting flashed or not sending 100 vehicles into ditches per day. It's not a lightbar. They are just another set of LED headlights on the road to me, but I am safer because I can see now.

This is the dangerous part. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but you're actually seeing worse than before, especially at highway speeds.

The LED bulbs are brighter, this much we know. However, their distance projection has been destroyed due to the focal point of the light source being enlarged in comparison with a halogen filament.

There is also a double whammy effect: since the foreground lighting is much brighter than before, your pupils constrict themselves, making them even less able to see in the dark. They focus entirely on your new, shortened range of visible light.

Please look at the diagram to see what I am trying to relate to you.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...307c1a24_c.jpg

This is why LED bulbs are not fine, even if they "have a good cutoff" or "they're brighter than halogen".

And please don't think that I am denigrating LEDs as a whole. They are a wonderful technology and they are many times more efficient than halogen filaments. However, please do not conflate proper LED headlights with these terrible aftermarket examples. The optics and heat management for proper LED headlights are completely different than halogen assemblies. Trust me, when OEMs and real companies build "just another set of LED headlights on the road", they are not using computer fans and tiny blade heatsinks inside halogen lamps. There is a world of difference.

I swear like 50% of drivers I see are oblivious and drive with their brights on. It makes me want to say screw and just aim my lows high.

These custom Lasfit bulbs wouldn’t seem to fit this mold. They’re specifically designed for the 4Runner and have built in fans with their own housing to circulate the air.


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I really appreciate the info on this thread. Seems like a no brainer for simple mod. What would be the downside?