Best "just plug in" headlight upgrade?

[ElectroBoy]

That does it...I’m getting H9’s!

As [MENTION=134890]00Sebby[/MENTION] said, it’s a great beginner mod. And the result is very satisfying. You’re not messing with your truck, just a bulb. The Standard Philips H9 is about $14 on Amazon. Do like he did, modify one bulb, shine it on a wall. Take a photo. Then go for a drive at night. See which bulb is brighter and has greater distance.

 

[85GT-79FJ40]

I have been quite happy with the PIAA night tech bulbs in mine. About 2 years now and no issues. I have them in high and low and have cheap amazon amber LED's in the fogs that seem to work pretty decent.

 

[zcruiser]

Best "just plug in" headlight upgrade?

As [MENTION=134890]00Sebby[/MENTION] said, it’s a great beginner mod. And the result is very satisfying. You’re not messing with your truck, just a bulb. The Standard Philips H9 is about $14 on Amazon. Do like he did, modify one bulb, shine it on a wall. Take a photo. Then go for a drive at night. See which bulb is brighter and has greater distance.

There are a billion H9 LED bulbs on Amazon... any problems with pattern projection from LED bulbs?

 

[ElectroBoy]

There are a billion H9 LED bulbs on Amazon... any problems with pattern projection from LED bulbs?

LED drop-in bulbs are going to give you terrible performance in housings designed for halogen bulbs. Your foreground will be bright but your distance will be crap. Some Tacoma guys did lots of research and tested bulbs to show how bad they project and cause glare. As RichinRidgewood said, it’s science.

If you want LED headlights, buy a complete LED headlight package for $$$.

But [MENTION=208721]mynameistory[/MENTION] describes it best here:
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3474295-post42346.html

 

[Sp00ner]

I think it’s because if you’ve driven any other modern vehicle... [] you realize how deficient the stock 4Runner lights have been for at least the past decade.

This.

 

[00Sebby]

Good point. My 2016 4R is my first "modern" vehicle in 36 yrs. so the lights seem good to me! However I do miss the glass lens rectangular headlights on my 84!

Hey, I remember the old days looking for Hella and other "upgrade" sealed beams! I also remember getting the Hella E-code square housings that took an H4 halogen bulb for my XJ Cherokees. Those were great. My favorites were the 7" round Lucas Tri-Pods. :thumb:

But nowadays, even my old beater '08 GTI faded headlights are lightyears ahead of the 4Runner. My '20 Rubicon for the short time I had it, was like lighting up a stadium with the factory LEDs (terrible snow-blind in the snow though and one of the reasons I am not a big LED fan). I do drive a lot at night and good lighting is a must have for me.

 

[00Sebby]

LED drop-in bulbs are going to give you terrible performance in housings designed for halogen bulbs. Your foreground will be bright but your distance will be crap. Some Tacoma guys did lots of research and tested bulbs to show how bad they project and cause glare. As RichinRidgewood said, it’s science.

If you want LED headlights, buy a complete LED headlight package for $$$.

But [MENTION=208721]mynameistory[/MENTION] describes it best here:
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3474295-post42346.html

My '20 Rubicon had OEM LEDs with projectors. It was still glary in the rain and you couldn't see crap in the snow at night. It lit up the snow flakes so brightly and high (not a great cutoff) in your field of view that you couldn't see 100 feet in front of the vehicle if completely dark. In nice weather they were amazing though. But it made me wary of LEDs in general though I know that is all we will have eventually. You can almost always tell a LED-equipped JL Jeep from a distance. Looks like the same blinding glare you see from the cheap aftermarket LEDs.

 

[Lost-Again]

To each their own. I'd get auxiliary lights before replacing OEM.

 

[ElectroBoy]

My '20 Rubicon had OEM LEDs with projectors. It was still glary in the rain and you couldn't see crap in the snow at night. It lit up the snow flakes so brightly and high (not a great cutoff) in your field of view that you couldn't see 100 feet in front of the vehicle if completely dark. In nice weather they were amazing though. But it made me wary of LEDs in general though I know that is all we will have eventually. You can almost always tell a LED-equipped JL Jeep from a distance. Looks like the same blinding glare you see from the cheap aftermarket LEDs.

I did not know this about the Jeep LED headlights. I wonder if this poor foul weather performance is a characteristic of all new OEM LED headlights, or just Jeep.

I do know from driving thousands of miles at night in the last three years that as more newer vehicles populate the roads their headlights keep getting worse for oncoming traffic. The glare is at times unbearable, even in a higher vehicle like my 4R. Even on multi-lane highways with lanes separated by wide medians. I always attributed this to owner retrofits of crappy LEDs, misaligned headlights, or bozos driving in clear weather with their fog lights on. But now it seems that even some OEM LED headlights could inherently be crap.

 

[Salvo Jimmy]

I did not know this about the Jeep LED headlights. I wonder if this poor foul weather performance is a characteristic of all new OEM LED headlights, or just Jeep.

I do know from driving thousands of miles at night in the last three years that as more newer vehicles populate the roads their headlights keep getting worse for oncoming traffic. The glare is at times unbearable, even in a higher vehicle like my 4R. Even on multi-lane highways with lanes separated by wide medians. I always attributed this to owner retrofits of crappy LEDs, misaligned headlights, or bozos driving in clear weather with their fog lights on. But now it seems that even some OEM LED headlights could inherently be crap.

Keep in mind as you get older cataracts can make oncoming headlights a problem, regardless if old or new.

 

[ElectroBoy]

Keep in mind as you get older cataracts can make oncoming headlights a problem, regardless if old or new.

Haha! Yeah, don’t have that issue yet. On a busy highway you can quickly see the difference between good well aimed headlights and poor ones.

 

[jp.vegas]

Just tint your windshield, problem solved.

 

[00Sebby]

I did not know this about the Jeep LED headlights. I wonder if this poor foul weather performance is a characteristic of all new OEM LED headlights, or just Jeep.

I do know from driving thousands of miles at night in the last three years that as more newer vehicles populate the roads their headlights keep getting worse for oncoming traffic. The glare is at times unbearable, even in a higher vehicle like my 4R. Even on multi-lane highways with lanes separated by wide medians. I always attributed this to owner retrofits of crappy LEDs, misaligned headlights, or bozos driving in clear weather with their fog lights on. But now it seems that even some OEM LED headlights could inherently be crap.

I find most LEDs, even the OEM ones on the obnoxious side of the automotive lighting scale. Here's my Jeep in an overcast daylight pic with the LED low-beams, fogs, and LED parking lights on.

 

[Wolfman’s Brother]

The matching color temps makes my OCD brain warm and fuzzy tho. It’s a bit mutch, but at least the shiz matches.

 

[NoDak]

i would say get the lasfit 4runner specific low beam setup.

4Runner Headlights, Custom Made Low Beam, LED Bulbs｜LASFIT - Lasfit Auto Lighting

 

[Jpilot]

Cost

i would say get the lasfit 4runner specific low beam setup.

4Runner Headlights, Custom Made Low Beam, LED Bulbs｜LASFIT - Lasfit Auto Lighting

He said keep it affordable. Lasfit lights are a whopping $588!

 

[Gamma Ray]

He said keep it affordable. Lasfit lights are a whopping $588!

That's the price for the whole package. You can buy just the headlights for $175. There might be an affiliate code available. Search on Youtube for Lasfit, and adjust the results to show the most recently added videos first. You might find a discount code in the description of a recent video.

 

[acidrane]

i would say get the lasfit 4runner specific low beam setup.

4Runner Headlights, Custom Made Low Beam, LED Bulbs｜LASFIT - Lasfit Auto Lighting

This. Tho search on eBay for the same bulbs. The company posts them under different names for much less, the smaller bulbs at least.

 

[4FL]

Thanks all, but like I said, no mods, I'm not clipping or shaving ect, it would probably work fine, but in my book, if you have to modify it for it to work/fit, it doesn't belong. I just need the brightest, off the shelf, direct plug-in low and high beam bulbs for my 2019. A bulb that would give me a 5% improvement is not worth it either.......maybe there isn't one.........

To install the H9, which gives awesome performance and the bulb itself is cheaper than the factory replacement, literally takes a couple of minutes to clip a piece of plastic and thin metal on the bulb off so it fits.

Do as you wish, but I cannot fathom that someone would actually think this is some sort of huge and challenging task to do, when you outlined the criteria you want.

 

[AZ Craig]

i would say get the lasfit 4runner specific low beam setup.

4Runner Headlights, Custom Made Low Beam, LED Bulbs｜LASFIT - Lasfit Auto Lighting

Anyone run these? Thinking about them, GTR Ultra 2s, or just sticking with a Sylvania performance bulb...