Headlights suck

[CMTAZ]

I have been using these since October. I find them 'better than stock, but not as good as cars that had factory HIDs (my old escape)'. That is what i was hoping for.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TWRFYPC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Bumbo]

It’s legitimately frustrating not having quality OEM HID projectors. It’s even more frustrating having to jump through hoops to find a solution which technically isn’t even legal, and end up with some half-baked solution which still isn’t as nice as a 13 year OEM HID setup on my Acura TL.

Pretty sad that Toyota cant include something like this as standard equipment. Even if the option cost 1k extra I would have gladly paid it.

 

[brtnstrns]

The new LED headlights on the 2020 Tacomas are pretty dang nice when I did my test drive a few weeks ago when it was dark and raining. About as much light throw as the Morimoto XB's without the sharp cutoffs, at least within city limits. The technology is there and Toyota has it figured out, they just need to implement it into the 4Runners.

 

[Trail4me]

OK... So I've read a lot of the back and forth on this thread about LED vs. HID headlights. I bought what I thought was a nice LED H11 conversion kit. I hooked everything up outside the housing first (laid out the wiring on the hood) to make sure everything worked. Two beautiful bright LED lights, IN THE DAYTIME! I was very impressed, so I went ahead with the install. However, the bulbs are almost infinitely brighter when they are outside the housing. Once they are locked into the stock housing, there's very little noticeable output. I can barely see them in the bumper of the car in front of me. In the rain, forget it. It's very hard to see! Any help would be great.

Just send them back. They are not designed to work properly in projector housing. This is because they are not focusing the light where it's needed and scatter it allover the place. Besides LED's in 5000+ color and not really great in the rain and snow as in that spectrum your eyes will perceive lots of reflection from the elements.

 

[EddieV4runnin]

Ordered myself a set of Kustom 54 headlamps with 5.0 D2S projectors. I found out how terrible the OEM lights are down interstate 40 on my to the Grand Canyon at night. Had to run my Baja fogs the entire time, pretty sure I was blinding everyone.

 

[Jonny_04]

I had initially felt the headlights were fine, especially high beams, but with some snow and rain i find they are terrible compared to my other cars that had top tier HID's.

So i am going to have to do something. I would rather not spend big bucks but IMO that's the only way to do it right. Key for me is reliability, all my other cars never had an issue with the HID's and that's what i want here.

Its possible better fog lights would help since i need more of the ground lit up, but headlights is where i think i need improvement? Been reading that Morimoto HID's with 5500K are good.

Ill be stopping by my local vehicle builder guy who does some crazy custom off road stuff and see what he suggests as well.

Been running Morimoto for 1yr now with no issues from the product or other drivers; majority of my driving is at night as i work a split shift schedule. During the duration I've had these lights for they have not burned out and no dullness in color.

LED high beam- 9005 Morimoto 2Stroke | 9005 LED Headlight | 9005 LED Bulb Kit

HID low beam- H11 Morimoto Elite HID Systems | H11 HID Headlights

 

[Runner4Randy]

Just send them back. They are not designed to work properly in projector housing. This is because they are not focusing the light where it's needed and scatter it allover the place. Besides LED's in 5000+ color and not really great in the rain and snow as in that spectrum your eyes will perceive lots of reflection from the elements.

Has anybody heard of any mods (maybe silicone since they run hot?) to focus the light? I've heard of this problem as I've watched about 7876089 youtube videos, but no solutions. I'd really like to keep these and not spend the time/money on return shipping, new lights, etc.

 

[jhguth]

I'm not quite sure why LED's have become so popular. HID's are so much better.

LEDs are cheaper

 

[uh0h50]

Ordered myself a set of Kustom 54 headlamps with 5.0 D2S projectors. I found out how terrible the OEM lights are down interstate 40 on my to the Grand Canyon at night. Had to run my Baja fogs the entire time, pretty sure I was blinding everyone.

How were you able to pull up the option for D2S projectors?

 

[Ripper238]

Been running Morimoto for 1yr now with no issues from the product or other drivers; majority of my driving is at night as i work a split shift schedule. During the duration I've had these lights for they have not burned out and no dullness in color.

LED high beam- 9005 Morimoto 2Stroke | 9005 LED Headlight | 9005 LED Bulb Kit

HID low beam- H11 Morimoto Elite HID Systems | H11 HID Headlights

This looks like the best option, thank you. Reliability is going to be key for a full upgrade for me. But it seems expected life span is only 3-5 years?

So far it seems Morimoto is the best partial upgrade option.

 

[Phade]

Just do low beam conversion to H9 bulb. It will give you adequate light. Yes, the stock low beam is not great, I couldn't believe how bad it was when I first drove the truck on the overcast night in the boonies. After going H9 it's much better. I also changed the high beams to 9011b bulb and now night turns into day. H9's x2 is $7 and 9011b x2 is $46.

Can someone link me to the H9 conversion? I searched on here and can't find a job aid that shows the modification. From reading it sounds like a tab has to be zipped or snipped off, but pics would help hugely.

 

[ElectroBoy]

This thread, especially posts 122 and 123.
How To: Headlight Bulb Conversion (H11 to H9 & 9005 to 9011)
This mod for high and low beams gives you a lot of bang for the buck.

 

[Ripper238]

This thread, especially posts 122 and 123.
How To: Headlight Bulb Conversion (H11 to H9 & 9005 to 9011)
This mod for high and low beams gives you a lot of bang for the buck.

Thanks for reposting. I was just going to cut the tabs on the H9 to match H11 by comparison. Seems like some of the info in there is old and the H9 listed is different than what I bought, but i guess an H9 is an H9.

Post 122 & 123 are for the 9011.

 

[EddieV4runnin]

How were you able to pull up the option for D2S projectors?

You have to call Kustom 54 and tell them you want that option. They don’t have it on their site because you have to cut the radiator support in order to fit them do to the size of the projector. Here’s the pictures that they sent me when I inquired about the 5.0s. I’ve cut so much off this thing now, it doesn’t bother me anymore.

 

[Jonny_04]

This looks like the best option, thank you. Reliability is going to be key for a full upgrade for me. But it seems expected life span is only 3-5 years?

So far it seems Morimoto is the best partial upgrade option.

you have a 5yr warranty if purchased thru theretrofitsource.com just in case the system decides to take a crap on you; but like i said the 1yr i've had these no issues at all.

 

[tristero]

You have to call Kustom 54 and tell them you want that option. They don’t have it on their site because you have to cut the radiator support in order to fit them do to the size of the projector. Here’s the pictures that they sent me when I inquired about the 5.0s. I’ve cut so much off this thing now, it doesn’t bother me anymore.

I'd be really interested to see the back of these. I went with the IS projectors due to the limited space back there.

 

[GJ675]

I had initially felt the headlights were fine, especially high beams, but with some snow and rain i find they are terrible compared to my other cars that had top tier HID's.

So i am going to have to do something. I would rather not spend big bucks but IMO that's the only way to do it right. Key for me is reliability, all my other cars never had an issue with the HID's and that's what i want here.

Its possible better fog lights would help since i need more of the ground lit up, but headlights is where i think i need improvement? Been reading that Morimoto HID's with 5500K are good.

Ill be stopping by my local vehicle builder guy who does some crazy custom off road stuff and see what he suggests as well.

I just installed complete LED lighting inside and out on my 4TH Gen. Superbriteleds.com I run these in all of my vehicles for several years without any issues or failures. Switchback fog/driving lights are nice.

 

[EddieV4runnin]

I'd be really interested to see the back of these. I went with the IS projectors due to the limited space back there.

I’ll post pictures when they come in.

 

[Ripper238]

Well I installed the H9 bulbs and they dont seem to provide any better coverage than before, and they don't appear to be any brighter. But it is daylight out.

I'll take it for a drive tonight and see to be sure.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[SlickTRD]

Well I installed the H9 bulbs and they dont seem to provide any better coverage than before, and they don't appear to be any brighter. But it is daylight out.

I'll take it for a drive tonight and see to be sure.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

The improvement is pretty considerable at night. Leave one bulb in and swap the other bulb and use a towel to cover one headlight at a time you will see there is significant difference.