LED Highbeam/Foglight swap on 2014 LE

[HomieJaime]

I'm sure I'll get ridiculed because there's a forum about these that exists, however, I haven't seen a swap on the 2014's yet. I have also done my interiors and reverse/license plate lights, but have not gotten to take photos yet, these are iPhone pictures so they may not be the best, but I figure I'd let you guys take a look and see if it's something you like that's fairly easy to do.

These are what I replaced the Highbeam (9005) bulbs with


They are rated at 2200-2400lm and the color is a 5000K output


This is what I had in there originally, but the light output was not enough to use your highbeams with at night on those dark roads, I have the same type in my fog lights and the output on these is 725lm. Again, you get a nice bright look if you plan on using them as just DRL's, but they in no way substitute as headlights.


Passenger side has the old bulb installed, the driver side has the new bulbs installed, you can see the difference right away, I can take some night shots if you guys want to see, but I had to get to class and didn't have a chance. My low beams are 6000K 55W HID lights, however, after seeing the light output of these new LED bulbs, I might swap them out. The instant on is nice and they run a lot cooler than the HID bulbs, plus they last almost forever :eyebrows:


Any questions, let me know. If you want pics of any of the other lights I have installed, I can try to get them up, I swapped the lights on the mirrors as well, though that was a scary process :yuck:
I also need to figure out if these will dim when they come on as DRL's. I turn them off for now because I didn't have a chance to test it and I didn't want to blind people driving towards me.

 

[crackiswack]

I'm sure I'll get ridiculed because there's a forum about these that exists, however, I haven't seen a swap on the 2014's yet. I have also done my interiors and reverse/license plate lights, but have not gotten to take photos yet, these are iPhone pictures so they may not be the best, but I figure I'd let you guys take a look and see if it's something you like that's fairly easy to do.

These are what I replaced the Highbeam (9005) bulbs with
View attachment 131941
View attachment 131942
They are rated at 2200-2400lm and the color is a 5000K output
View attachment 131943
View attachment 131945
This is what I had in there originally, but the light output was not enough to use your highbeams with at night on those dark roads, I have the same type in my fog lights and the output on these is 725lm. Again, you get a nice bright look if you plan on using them as just DRL's, but they in no way substitute as headlights.
View attachment 131946
View attachment 131947
Passenger side has the old bulb installed, the driver side has the new bulbs installed, you can see the difference right away, I can take some night shots if you guys want to see, but I had to get to class and didn't have a chance. My low beams are 6000K 55W HID lights, however, after seeing the light output of these new LED bulbs, I might swap them out. The instant on is nice and they run a lot cooler than the HID bulbs, plus they last almost forever :eyebrows:
View attachment 131959

Any questions, let me know. If you want pics of any of the other lights I have installed, I can try to get them up, I swapped the lights on the mirrors as well, though that was a scary process :yuck:
I also need to figure out if these will dim when they come on as DRL's. I turn them off for now because I didn't have a chance to test it and I didn't want to blind people driving towards me.

what do you think you 55w hid kit will do?

 

[Marcocopuffs]

I'm sure I'll get ridiculed because there's a forum about these that exists, however, I haven't seen a swap on the 2014's yet. I have also done my interiors and reverse/license plate lights, but have not gotten to take photos yet, these are iPhone pictures so they may not be the best, but I figure I'd let you guys take a look and see if it's something you like that's fairly easy to do.

These are what I replaced the Highbeam (9005) bulbs with
View attachment 131941
View attachment 131942
They are rated at 2200-2400lm and the color is a 5000K output
View attachment 131943
View attachment 131945
This is what I had in there originally, but the light output was not enough to use your highbeams with at night on those dark roads, I have the same type in my fog lights and the output on these is 725lm. Again, you get a nice bright look if you plan on using them as just DRL's, but they in no way substitute as headlights.
View attachment 131946
View attachment 131947
Passenger side has the old bulb installed, the driver side has the new bulbs installed, you can see the difference right away, I can take some night shots if you guys want to see, but I had to get to class and didn't have a chance. My low beams are 6000K 55W HID lights, however, after seeing the light output of these new LED bulbs, I might swap them out. The instant on is nice and they run a lot cooler than the HID bulbs, plus they last almost forever :eyebrows:
View attachment 131959

Any questions, let me know. If you want pics of any of the other lights I have installed, I can try to get them up, I swapped the lights on the mirrors as well, though that was a scary process :yuck:
I also need to figure out if these will dim when they come on as DRL's. I turn them off for now because I didn't have a chance to test it and I didn't want to blind people driving towards me.

Can you post a link for the low beam bulbs? Plug and play correct?

 

[Stifler]

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[mdogg]

The instant on is nice and they run a lot cooler than the HID bulbs, plus they last almost forever :eyebrows:

Really hard to tell on the internet, but please tell me that was knowingly sarcastic. High power LEDs are horrible for reliability in enclosed areas where heat can build up.

 

[Swarty]

The heatsink on these is external

Really hard to tell on the internet, but please tell me that was knowingly sarcastic. High power LEDs are horrible for reliability in enclosed areas where heat can build up.

When the heat sink is in an enclosed area you are correct. These have the heat sink outside the light enclosure, not to say they will last forever or have the correct light pattern but the design isn't ridiculous for the claimed 30k hour lifespan.

I'd like to see the stock vs LED pattern on a wall with a camera using the same manual settings.

 

[uood8]

With the 2014 projector lamps the cutoff is very pronounced even with HID's, there is still light focus in the center because they are made for halogen lamps (there's a thread around here somewhere that shows this). I've never had anyone flash high beams at me with my 50w setup, I also use TRS XB bulbs with the ground wire on the bottom as to not deflect light to the bottom of the bowl or create a shadow. Anyways, back to LED's...here is a link to 27 pages worth of LED headlight info.

LifeTime LED Headlights?? - Tacoma World Forums

 

[HomieJaime]

When the heat sink is in an enclosed area you are correct. These have the heat sink outside the light enclosure, not to say they will last forever or have the correct light pattern but the design isn't ridiculous for the claimed 30k hour lifespan.

I'd like to see the stock vs LED pattern on a wall with a camera using the same manual settings.

I will try to get some pictures of them projecting on the wall tonight with one side having the stock halogen bulb, again, these are my high beam/DRL bulbs, the low beams are a 55W HID setup. I will leave the low beams on for some of the pictures for comparisons sake, but the cutoff on the low beams is nice and sharp with the projector lenses.

 

[mdogg]

When the heat sink is in an enclosed area you are correct. These have the heat sink outside the light enclosure, not to say they will last forever or have the correct light pattern but the design isn't ridiculous for the claimed 30k hour lifespan.

Having the fan attempt to dissipate hot air inside the engine bay will be a challenge at best. I hope there's a warranty on these since it will likely be needed - probably more than once.

Do it right. Do a retrofit.

 

[Swarty]

Confusion on the engineering challenge

Having the fan attempt to dissipate hot air inside the engine bay will be a challenge at best. I hope there's a warranty on these since it will likely be needed - probably more than once.

Do it right. Do a retrofit.

I design with LEDs. We have aircraft units that are unaffected by steady state 50+C (120+F) with no forced convection. It's all about the quality of the components and LED to heat sink interface. The trouble usually comes in trying to get the heat away from such a small point not in the location of the large end of the sink. Quality LEDs should be good as long as you can dissipate enough heat through the thermal junction to avoid overheating which usually isn't too hard since they are so efficient and you are trying to keep them below 120C (250F).

I'd argue that HID Retrofits are quite frequently shoddy and dangerous with terrible cutoff and no promise of reliability from the ballasts.

I'd be more hesitant of getting the claimed brightness/light pattern from LEDs not lifespan. That's a small area to fit the expected 1k-2k lumens you need for headlights. Hard to say from the pics if brightness and cutoff are acceptable without seeing a wall reflection using a before and after with stock lights using a camera with manual settings.

 

[philsey]

.....
I'd argue that HID Retrofits are quite frequently shoddy and dangerous with terrible cutoff and no promise of reliability from the ballasts.

Are you talking about HID bulbs installed in reflector headlights, aka PnP's?

If you are, I agree. If you are not, please elaborate.

 

[V8PoWer]

I'd argue that HID Retrofits are quite frequently shoddy and dangerous with terrible cutoff and no promise of reliability from the ballasts.

I 2nd object this claim. Hopefully you are referring to plug-n-play retrofit kit into a halogen assembly, which 99% of the hid swapper use/do on the road.

Im in the process doing a "proper" retrofit with the rx-afs. As soon as im done fine tuning this thing i will post up some pics.

 

[Swarty]

Just no standards...

Are you talking about HID bulbs installed in reflector headlights, aka PnP's?

If you are, I agree. If you are not, please elaborate.

mdogg stated that high power LEDs are unreliable and that to do it right you had to do a retrofit.

I'm not saying there are no good retrofits.
There are some great retrofit kits... But the only thing to go on is the companies rep/ past performance. You don't know if the parts for your kit are the same quality as the one your friend bought six months ago. There is no industry regulations or standards that are required to be met.

OEM headlights have to meet DOT and many times stricter EU regulations. They are very well controlled. Anything you buy aftermarket is going to be caveat emptor, whether a retrofit or LEDs or a HID in a stock housing.

My point was there are as many poor retrofits as good ones and even the "good ones" usually aren't based on empirical testing or quality regulations that keep the optics and electronics consistent, only the manufacturers ethics and a picture of what the lights look like reflected on a wall.

And as far as doing it right, working performance is only one part. If I have a retrofit fail out in the boonies I have no fix. I have this LED design fail and I can grab a std bulb out of my spares pack and keep rolling.
And then there's price. HIDs are complicated both electronically and optically with much more design complication and failure points. Ballast failure rates alone are at best comparable to LED failure rates. You also have the mechanical mounting of the lenses.

Plug and Play at what these LEDs cost and the possibility of comparable performance with more simplicity in the design, what makes a retrofit the "right" way to do it?

 

[crackiswack]

mdogg stated that high power LEDs are unreliable and that to do it right you had to do a retrofit.

I'm not saying there are no good retrofits.
There are some great retrofit kits... But the only thing to go on is the companies rep/ past performance. You don't know if the parts for your kit are the same quality as the one your friend bought six months ago. There is no industry regulations or standards that are required to be met.

OEM headlights have to meet DOT and many times stricter EU regulations. They are very well controlled. Anything you buy aftermarket is going to be caveat emptor, whether a retrofit or LEDs or a HID in a stock housing.

My point was there are as many poor retrofits as good ones and even the "good ones" usually aren't based on empirical testing or quality regulations that keep the optics and electronics consistent, only the manufacturers ethics and a picture of what the lights look like reflected on a wall.

And as far as doing it right, working performance is only one part. If I have a retrofit fail out in the boonies I have no fix. I have this LED design fail and I can grab a std bulb out of my spares pack and keep rolling.
And then there's price. HIDs are complicated both electronically and optically with much more design complication and failure points. Ballast failure rates alone are at best comparable to LED failure rates. You also have the mechanical mounting of the lenses.

Plug and Play at what these LEDs cost and the possibility of comparable performance with more simplicity in the design, what makes a retrofit the "right" way to do it?

I dont think you know what retrofit means

 

[Swarty]

Could be, why don't you enlighten me instead of belittling?

I dont think you know what retrofit means

It means you replace one set of optics in a light housing for another set of light optics along with the electronics for running the lights.

You want to be more clear in what you disagree with?

 

[crackiswack]

It means you replace one set of optics in a light housing for another set of light optics along with the electronics for running the lights.

You want to be more clear in what you disagree with?

Well you made up a bunch of generalizations about retrofits when the majority of retrofits are done with OEM parts, and OEM bulbs and ballasts that are much more reliable than just about any halogen/led/aftermarket HID out there. OEM bulbs and ballasts rarely fail spontaneously and you can always pop in another OEM bulb. I've gotten 5+ years and 2000+ hours on OEM ballasts and bulbs before I sold the car and they were still trucking along. People who generally tend to go through the trouble of learning how to do a retrofit and investing in all the equipment necessary are also willing to spend extra on quality parts and will actually go through the trouble of aiming headlights and worrying about things like cutoffs and light distribution. People who want a plug and play option generally aren't as versed in the subject.

 

[Swarty]

Well you made up a bunch of generalizations about retrofits when the majority of retrofits are done with OEM parts, and OEM bulbs and ballasts that are much more reliable than just about any halogen/led/aftermarket HID out there. OEM bulbs and ballasts rarely fail spontaneously and you can always pop in another OEM bulb. I've gotten 5+ years and 2000+ hours on OEM ballasts and bulbs before I sold the car and they were still trucking along. People who generally tend to go through the trouble of learning how to do a retrofit and investing in all the equipment necessary are also willing to spend extra on quality parts and will actually go through the trouble of aiming headlights and worrying about things like cutoffs and light distribution. People who want a plug and play option generally aren't as versed in the subject.

My point on reliability was in regard to ballasts. I'm glad yours lasted. You added complexity and nothing failed, that's nice for you. Most people I've seen here buy a retrofit and have someone else do the install. Is the install good? Maybe. Maybe not. Are the parts the ones the claimed? Maybe, I sure wouldn't know how to check.

There are OEM based part retrofits and I said there were great retrofits. But still not OEM to a 4runner. Quite a few people here use the rx -afs which are OEM to a Lexus RX. If you look at a Lexus RX it's projectors are lower and mounted in board of a 4runners headlights. Well when you put them higher and wider apart they don't operate the same, they would normally use a different spread and beam center to cutoff distance. Are they better than OEM? Quite possibly. Maybe not. Who knows? Lets shine em on a wall and claim they're an improvement! Are the LEDs better? who knows! Let's shine them on a wall too! My whole point is that aside from actual tests by someone who knows what the hell they are doing you don't know whether you have improved performance or not.

Are the Projectors better than the OPs LEDs? Could be. Someone who knows what they're doing could test it and find out. Will shining them on a wall tell us? Nope. But it will tell us if the LEDs are placed in the anywhere near the correct position compared to stock which would be nice to know.

Again there are great retrofits. Some retrofits are very great. I don't think all retrofits are bad. I don't personally don't want one for the complexity. Doesn't make them bad or me ignorant. I also don't think that retrofits are necessarily "doing it right". These LEDs could be just as good. Or way worse. Point is no one knows.

 

[philsey]

You surely must be an engineer!

I generally agree with most of what you have said.

Except this:

.... My whole point is that aside from actual tests by someone who knows what the hell they are doing you don't know whether you have improved performance or not. .

I must assume you've never driven a vehicle with good hid headlights, OR a professionally-done retrofit using high end oem componentry.

To state, as you have, "you don't know whether you have improved performance or not" could only have been made in ignorance of the experience.

Properly installed and aligned HID headlights are remarkably "improved" in *visibility, *width, and *distance. Properly selected bulbs, generally accepted to be ~4300K to ~5000K, also present to the driver much nearer a "daylight" color, and also typically project more, and better focused, lumens down the road.

Granted, the "properly done" retrofit is in the vast minority. But I know this: I'll never drive another vehicle without high quality HIDs, retrofit or oem. (LEDs excluded for now).

 

[Swarty]

You surely must be an engineer!



I generally agree with most of what you have said.



Except this:







I must assume you've never driven a vehicle with good hid headlights, OR a professionally-done retrofit using high end oem componentry.



To state, as you have, "you don't know whether you have improved performance or not" could only have been made in ignorance of the experience.



Properly installed and aligned HID headlights are remarkably "improved" in *visibility, *width, and *distance. Properly selected bulbs, generally accepted to be ~4300K to ~5000K, also present to the driver much nearer a "daylight" color, and also typically project more, and better focused, lumens down the road.



Granted, the "properly done" retrofit is in the vast minority. But I know this: I'll never drive another vehicle without high quality HIDs, retrofit or oem. (LEDs excluded for now).

Lol guilty. I work in projection optics no less. I've driven factory HIDs on a TSX and do love the color and power. Factory LEDs are even more amazing. I've considered stealing my uncles A6 just for the lights... Saving my pennies for when they get aftermarket LEDs that perform.

 

[philsey]

..... You added complexity ....

...... I don't personally don't want one [retrofit] for the complexity.....

Talk about complex!