LED or HID

[lext4r]

I actually had a set of leds before going for a retrofit. While the leds were an improvement over stock halogen, they did produce a fair amount of glare with virtually no cutoff at all. They were meant to bridge the gap between throwing down money for a retrofit or finding the time to do one.

There is no better headlight solution for our 3rd gens than a projector hid retrofit.

 

[starclassic]

So i'm getting some new headlights because my halogens suck, and I was wondering which y'all would recommend. I also want to know which is brighter and the pros/cons for each the LED and HID. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to pay some money for them to put the kit with the conversion in, so i want to make sure that I get the right one. Thanks.

So, I only just ventured into LED land, but I've been very happy with the Auxbeam f-16 series headlights I got for my '97 SR5 (But I have the 99+ glass). To me, the LED cuts off just fine...

Low beams

High beams

 

[Renegade_Medic]

HID retrofits are easy and work

I looked into doing LED in the stock housings, but ended up doing an HID projector retrofit. Cost me a whopping $205 including buying new housings. If you reuse your housings, it cost $135 for everything you need.

here's mine:

vs stock:

No experience with LEDs, but the clean cut off hard to argue with.

 

[Cuco]

I looked into doing LED in the stock housings, but ended up doing an HID projector retrofit. Cost me a whopping $205 including buying new housings. If you reuse your housings, it cost $135 for everything you need.



here's mine:

vs stock:

No experience with LEDs, but the clean cut off hard to argue with.

Hi! Renegade-Medic! I want to perform the Retrofit project. I have a spare pair of 99 clear lenses and I want to know which parts do you purchased to perform your project? I will appreciate your help. Thanks


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[Renegade_Medic]

Hi! Renegade-Medic! I want to perform the Retrofit project. I have a spare pair of 99 clear lenses and I want to know which parts do you purchased to perform your project? I will appreciate your help. Thanks


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Howdy, it's a very simple project, took me a few hours. There are several ways to do a retrofit. There are better projectors put there, but for something to get you started, this is hard to pass up. It's also very simple in that it required no modification to the headlight itself, other than paint if you want. Here's my build thread, lots of pictures in there and if you read through a little further there are some links and a ton of information. I wish I would have done this a long time ago.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...-mothra-budget-camping-rig-5.html#post2675021

 

[hdowda12]

If I just buy some 50$ LED bulbs and plug them in will they work fine and be a lot more brighter than my awful halogens?

 

[I_bRAD]

If I just buy some 50$ LED bulbs and plug them in will they work fine and be a lot more brighter than my awful halogens?

No. See post #7

 

[Tyler James Inc]

If I just buy some 50$ LED bulbs and plug them in will they work fine and be a lot more brighter than my awful halogens?

Brighter? Probably.
Light up the road better? Maybe.
Shine in other drivers eyes? Likely.
Light up the road well? Not likely, and definitely not well at a long distance. Where the LED is really falling short is the ability to throw light very far out.
I took this pic on the way in to work this morning, and it pretty much sums up LED drop in replacements-

Are they aimed too low? It sure looks like it, but I'll bet they have to be aimed about that low in order for the scattered light to not piss off oncoming drivers.

 

[hdowda12]

No. See post #7

Okay my question was more like this: do i need any conversion or anything or can i just plug in led light bulbs and they work?

 

[kiana]

Okay my question was more like this: do i need any conversion or anything or can i just plug in led light bulbs and they work?

When they sell LED bulbs or HID Ballasts + Bulbs in kit they're adapted to work with your car. When I say "adapted" I assume I'm answering your question, the plug with whatever new bulbs you buy it will usually fit the current plug for the halogen bulb. However, you definitely SHOULD NOT use anything other than a halogen bulb if you have stock headlights. If you want to genuinely upgrade your light output so you can drive safer and have your car look better you need to look into a projector retrofit. It is not very difficult at all if you have the right tools and brush up on it beforehand.

I'd take a look at this, it's what helped me do my projector retrofit recently.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/61409-diy-cheap-easy-hid-projector-retrofit.html

 

[absalom]

So many reasons to choose HID (in a projector) over LED, but for me the 2 biggest factors are:

• Color temperature selection (I hate that cheesy "cool white" 5700k color that every LED seems to ship in)
• Greater efficiency per watt

 

[hdowda12]

I looked into doing LED in the stock housings, but ended up doing an HID projector retrofit. Cost me a whopping $205 including buying new housings. If you reuse your housings, it cost $135 for everything you need.

here's mine:

vs stock:

No experience with LEDs, but the clean cut off hard to argue with.

How do you only spend 205$ total?? All the ones i'm finding are at least 300 or 350.

 

[hdowda12]

When they sell LED bulbs or HID Ballasts + Bulbs in kit they're adapted to work with your car. When I say "adapted" I assume I'm answering your question, the plug with whatever new bulbs you buy it will usually fit the current plug for the halogen bulb. However, you definitely SHOULD NOT use anything other than a halogen bulb if you have stock headlights. If you want to genuinely upgrade your light output so you can drive safer and have your car look better you need to look into a projector retrofit. It is not very difficult at all if you have the right tools and brush up on it beforehand.

I'd take a look at this, it's what helped me do my projector retrofit recently.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/61409-diy-cheap-easy-hid-projector-retrofit.html

Why do you say that I should not use anything but halogen with my current stock headlights? Like the headlight housing?

 

[hdowda12]

Projector retrofit with 55w hids are hard to beat.

And where would I find that for under 300 or so?

 

[Cuco]

Howdy, it's a very simple project, took me a few hours. There are several ways to do a retrofit. There are better projectors put there, but for something to get you started, this is hard to pass up. It's also very simple in that it required no modification to the headlight itself, other than paint if you want. Here's my build thread, lots of pictures in there and if you read through a little further there are some links and a ton of information. I wish I would have done this a long time ago.



http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...-mothra-budget-camping-rig-5.html#post2675021

Thanks, I will try it!


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[I_bRAD]

Why do you say that I should not use anything but halogen with my current stock headlights? Like the headlight housing?

The reflector is designed to work with a specific light source (halogen in this case) If you put in a different light source, the reflector won't work properly.

 

[absalom]

And where would I find that for under 300 or so?

Ddmtuning

 

[lext4r]

Ddmtuning

and ebay or amazon. Right now I'm running a cheap sdx 50w kit from amazon but I've had success with them in the past. If/when some of it dies, then I'll throw down for something better. I've also run plenty of ddm stuff in the past with minimal issues. When I did have an issue, they replaced the part free of charge.

To the OP: A basic/cheap projector from ebay or amazon plus a decent/cheap hid kit will net you far better results than tossing out money for LEDs.

 

[hdowda12]

and ebay or amazon. Right now I'm running a cheap sdx 50w kit from amazon but I've had success with them in the past. If/when some of it dies, then I'll throw down for something better. I've also run plenty of ddm stuff in the past with minimal issues. When I did have an issue, they replaced the part free of charge.

To the OP: A basic/cheap projector from ebay or amazon plus a decent/cheap hid kit will net you far better results than tossing out money for LEDs.

How about some really high end halogan and then I won't have to make any adjustments? What type would you recommend?

 

[I_bRAD]

How about some really high end halogan and then I won't have to make any adjustments? What type would you recommend?

These will work the best for the stock housings and wiring. Also, they are inexpensive.