LED Upgrade on 2020 TRD Pro....Critique My Plan

[BlueEyedDevil]

I’ve only had my TRDP for about 3 weeks. I love it with a few glaring short comings (to me anyway). This is 4Runner #3 for me. An 08 (whatever they called their 4x4, Trail type offering back then), a 2013 Trail, which I loved that I recently traded in on a new 2020 TRDP.

The TRDP has a lot going for it. 3 things about it that suck are the roof rack, which I’m still confused about how to effectively replace despite reading a ton on it. Limited low profile rack options, fitment/leaking/install issues....just not real straight forward. The slight rake is annoying but easy enough to level. And finally, the lighting up front. Low/High/Fog. Very underwhelming at best. Youd think putting in lighting that is both effective and matching on a $50K vehicle would be a given, but alas, here we are.

Ive read a lot on this and like every other mod category in this T4R world, this site takes each to wildly broad spectrums. As for these lights I want to replace, heres what I want....and heres what I decided makes sense. Feel free to savage my plan.....but please offer some direction if thats what you choose.

I want high/low/fog to be both the exact same color (true white) and Id like them to be at least somewhat brighter than the OEM lights. My last condition is that the simpler the solution, the more appealing. Im not interested in getting forensic here and I dont believe Ill need to.

Based on numerous suggestions, Xenon Depot was where I ended up today. Kudos to them for having an extraordinarily informative webpage. Its a huge help .

I called up and asked a guy some questions and he directed me to sets of their XtremeLED line. They have another line that does essentially the same thing called the Xenon Depot line. Ones more expensive and Im told they justify the price. Ok, I guess.

The appeal of these appear to be that theyre simple to install and dont require any special skill or mods on my part to do. Big plus. Additionally, these replacements will make all lights up front uniform in all white, and at least somewhat brighter than these OEM lights. Those are my goals and these appear to satisfy the requirements. Seems to make sense....and if thats really all there is to it, Ill probably buy them. Xenon Depot seems well regarded here as well, so its good to have a reputable vendor behind these.

Any flaws in my thinking above?

A few questions remain and maybe someone here can educate me.

1) The highs require an additional gizmo to allow for DRLs to continue working apparently, as the highs and DRL’s are the same bulb, just different power based on their use. A ballast/box thing that adjusts power to accommodate the DRLs is an option with the bulbs for another $60. I’d be ok with losing the existing DRLs so long as I could, afterwards, add a few amber grill lights that would serve as my DRLs. Just not sure how that gets done. Probably easy, but I have zero electrical skill, so “easy” is more than just a good idea as far as this goes. If the amber grill lights, after the fact, can easily be installed and serve as DRLs, I don’t need the ballast box for the new LEDs. Anyone have thoughts on any of this?

2) The Xenon Depot has two different offerings for these LED bulbs. The XtremeLED line and the Xenon Depot line. Both LED, both replace what I want, one is twice the cost of the other and Im not sure I fully understand why. Maybe they’re just brighter? Id happily pay whatever for the ones that are easiest to install. The difference in the two is unknown to me so thats my baseline at this point. I just dont get the twice the price thing. Anyone have experience with these two and can clear this up a bit? Maybe recommend one over the other?

3) Xenon Depot lists these LED options out well. What was confusing is that they also carry a bulb, specifically named for being the DRL bulb. Ummmm....I thought the DRLs were a lower setting for the high beams? As in the box-gizmo option mentioned above that is supposed to address that with the high beam install? Having a low/high/fog.....and DRL bulb options would indicate there is a separate fixture specific to the DRLs that an additional bulb is used on. What am I missing here?

4) How easy or difficult would it be (for a guy like me, as described above) to install 3-4 amber grill lights and have them connect to a switch on my dashboard? My guess is that I would probably be well served to have someone knowledgeable do that and not learn on the job with a brand new TRDP. Its likely not real tough but I just don’t know.

Thank you to anyone who got this far, on a subject that has been discussed at length many times. I couldnt find answers to the 4 questions above, so after doing my diligence, its what remains. And Im very interested in any input from any of you with experience with this, so thank you in advance, much appreciated.

 

[John in NC]

If you are going to level it, AND put in brighter headlights, please re-aim the headlights lower so you don't blind other drivers.

Really makes me ill when drivers have ultra bright aftermarket (not DOT legal) fogs and headlights blinding me and everyone else on the road.

Research the H9 and H11 options.

 

[david05111]

I have two comments and two questions.

C1) I think that if you take the time to really read into it, LEDs aren't a great option. There's a really great article a guy did on the Tacoma forum that illustrates why LEDs are ineffective in projector housings. To each his own, but all you're going to be doing is lighting up the first 20 feet in front of your car really bright and nothing particularly far away and you're going to be blinding other drivers. I really don't think LEDs are the way to go. HIDs are a better option if you're really looking for performance. That write-up is linked below:

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

C2) The amber lights in the grill that I think you're referring to are essentially raptor lights. They're really pretty easy to install, even for a novice. They typically just run off a fuse tap, such is the ignition fuse, and run whenever the car is on. I haven't personally seen a set that has a switch on it to be run from inside. I suppose you could tap another fuse that is switched, but that would still necessitate you turning something else on to make them work. I'm not sure about wiring in a dedicated switch, but I imagine it wouldn't be that hard if that's what you really wanted to do.

Q1) Where in FL are you located?

and

Q2) What color is it?

:cheers:

 

[BlueEyedDevil]

I have two comments and two questions.

C1) I think that if you take the time to really read into it, LEDs aren't a great option. There's a really great article a guy did on the Tacoma forum that illustrates why LEDs are ineffective in projector housings. To each his own, but all you're going to be doing is lighting up the first 20 feet in front of your car really bright and nothing particularly far away and you're going to be blinding other drivers. I really don't think LEDs are the way to go. HIDs are a better option if you're really looking for performance. That write-up is linked below:

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

C2) The amber lights in the grill that I think you're referring to are essentially raptor lights. They're really pretty easy to install, even for a novice. They typically just run off a fuse tap, such is the ignition fuse, and run whenever the car is on. I haven't personally seen a set that has a switch on it to be run from inside. I suppose you could tap another fuse that is switched, but that would still necessitate you turning something else on to make them work. I'm not sure about wiring in a dedicated switch, but I imagine it wouldn't be that hard if that's what you really wanted to do.

Q1) Where in FL are you located?

and

Q2) What color is it?

:cheers:

So let me hit your comments one at a time.....

I’m not seeking highest end, end all be all performance out of these LED’s. Simply uniform white light, that is to some degree an improvement (brighter) over the OEM front lighting. Xenon Depots comparison pics seem to indicate that as well. That’s really it. The photos I’ve seen look really sharp to me, so if they can meet the rather basic requirements above, they’d seem like a fix I’m seeking. Rather inexpensive, solves the two problems, looks good. Would these LED’s be a step down from the OEM lights? Hard to imagine that being the case. Nobody would buy them, right? And the simplicity of the install is very appealing. Are HIDs simple plug-n-play as well? If so, I should well look in to them. I’d definitely adjust the lights so they aren’t blinding to oncoming drivers. Thanks for the link, I’ll definitely check it out.

Sure, if the Raptor lights just run to a fuse and turn on when the engine is started, that’s fine. No switch needed and now thinking about that, a switch is just dumb. So they could easily be set up as the DRL’s and not have to factor that in when selecting new lighting. seems very easy too.

I’m in Palm Beach County. The SE portion of the state....or the arm pit, whatever you’d like to call it. I love FL, I just don’t like the demographics of the SE and being boxed in between the Everglades and the ocean. it jams a LOT of people in to a small space. The douchebag factor is quite high as well. Glad the Keys are close anyway.....a little chunk of paradise.

The brand new, super deluxe, smells great 2020 TRD Pro is all black. My 13 trail was magnetic grey, which I liked better but I ran out of patience and the all black one really does look nice. I think I’ll like it a lot more once it’s been personalized to my liking. And truth be told, I still like the look of the 13 Trail better. There’s no comparison between them beyond that though, The new one is vastly better in a number of ways.

Thanks for your advice, really appreciate the reply.

 

[ForRun]

I would read the link above. Good info. The 4runner projector is still a 10 year old design and does not play well with LED and most hid, poor design. Many and myself went with the H9 mod. 12 bucks and your set.
Here's my un scientific test of a crapload of bulbs. In the end I wished I listened to everyone about the H9
Headlight before/after comparisons

 

[david05111]

So let me hit your comments one at a time.....

I’m not seeking highest end, end all be all performance out of these LED’s. Simply uniform white light, that is to some degree an improvement (brighter) over the OEM front lighting. Xenon Depots comparison pics seem to indicate that as well. That’s really it. The photos I’ve seen look really sharp to me, so if they can meet the rather basic requirements above, they’d seem like a fix I’m seeking. Rather inexpensive, solves the two problems, looks good. Would these LED’s be a step down from the OEM lights? Hard to imagine that being the case. Nobody would buy them, right? And the simplicity of the install is very appealing. Are HIDs simple plug-n-play as well? If so, I should well look in to them. I’d definitely adjust the lights so they aren’t blinding to oncoming drivers. Thanks for the link, I’ll definitely check it out.

Sure, if the Raptor lights just run to a fuse and turn on when the engine is started, that’s fine. No switch needed and now thinking about that, a switch is just dumb. So they could easily be set up as the DRL’s and not have to factor that in when selecting new lighting. seems very easy too.

I’m in Palm Beach County. The SE portion of the state....or the arm pit, whatever you’d like to call it. I love FL, I just don’t like the demographics of the SE and being boxed in between the Everglades and the ocean. it jams a LOT of people in to a small space. The douchebag factor is quite high as well. Glad the Keys are close anyway.....a little chunk of paradise.

The brand new, super deluxe, smells great 2020 TRD Pro is all black. My 13 trail was magnetic grey, which I liked better but I ran out of patience and the all black one really does look nice. I think I’ll like it a lot more once it’s been personalized to my liking. And truth be told, I still like the look of the 13 Trail better. There’s no comparison between them beyond that though, The new one is vastly better in a number of ways.

Thanks for your advice, really appreciate the reply.

No worries dude, happy to contribute if I can.

Read the link I sent you. I think you'll be surprised about how ineffective the LEDs are, despite them being "brighter" at the source. I forgot to mention that the guy who wrote it is some sort of lighting engineer; he knows his stuff.

Here's a chart showing LUX at 18 feet. Now this is going to get worse than this as distance increases. The LEDs are essentially comparable to stock bulbs, and because they're not really designed for projectors, the beam isn't going to travel as far as the halogens. You'd really be just spinning your wheels, aside from getting the color of the lights to match. And they blind other drivers, because the brightness of the LEDs just bounces around the housing and doesn't get focussed.

Just food for thought.

I'm in Jacksonville, so I just wanted to see if you were local or close by. I came dead close to buying a midnight black one. There was one on a lot here that was just gorgeous and I drove it. They said they'd get me a green one so that's what I went with, but man that black does look good.

 

[NJTMayhem]

I 100% back the H9 mod, I had it on my 16' Trail and it will most likely be done on the 20' TOP

 

[RusPro17]

I have a set of raptor lights I will be adding but not till I pull off the front bumper and add my Bajadesigns LP4’s behind the grill. Using the NFab light mount. I’m fine for now with the factory headlights and fog lights. Raptor lights just give it the cool factor. But the Baja lights now they will light things up. I had a Cali led light bar in my Tacoma years ago and loved it. These LP4’s will blow the led bar away. Still thinking about trying the LP6’s instead. Just got to check measurements again. I know the LP4’s will definitely work. Plug them in and run the wire in thru the firewall and you will have the switch inside. Plus the lights will be backlit with amber which will give that cool factor with the amber raptor lights.

 

[BlueEyedDevil]

I would read the link above. Good info. The 4runner projector is still a 10 year old design and does not play well with LED and most hid, poor design. Many and myself went with the H9 mod. 12 bucks and your set.
Here's my un scientific test of a crapload of bulbs. In the end I wished I listened to everyone about the H9
Headlight before/after comparisons

Good info, thank you.

 

[RichinRidgewood]

Me smells a shill from Argon Outhouse.

 

[Irishperil]

So let me hit your comments one at a time.....



I’m not seeking highest end, end all be all performance out of these LED’s. Simply uniform white light, that is to some degree an improvement (brighter) over the OEM front lighting. Xenon Depots comparison pics seem to indicate that as well. That’s really it. The photos I’ve seen look really sharp to me, so if they can meet the rather basic requirements above, they’d seem like a fix I’m seeking. Rather inexpensive, solves the two problems, looks good. Would these LED’s be a step down from the OEM lights? Hard to imagine that being the case. Nobody would buy them, right? And the simplicity of the install is very appealing. Are HIDs simple plug-n-play as well? If so, I should well look in to them. I’d definitely adjust the lights so they aren’t blinding to oncoming drivers. Thanks for the link, I’ll definitely check it out.



Sure, if the Raptor lights just run to a fuse and turn on when the engine is started, that’s fine. No switch needed and now thinking about that, a switch is just dumb. So they could easily be set up as the DRL’s and not have to factor that in when selecting new lighting. seems very easy too.



I’m in Palm Beach County. The SE portion of the state....or the arm pit, whatever you’d like to call it. I love FL, I just don’t like the demographics of the SE and being boxed in between the Everglades and the ocean. it jams a LOT of people in to a small space. The douchebag factor is quite high as well. Glad the Keys are close anyway.....a little chunk of paradise.



The brand new, super deluxe, smells great 2020 TRD Pro is all black. My 13 trail was magnetic grey, which I liked better but I ran out of patience and the all black one really does look nice. I think I’ll like it a lot more once it’s been personalized to my liking. And truth be told, I still like the look of the 13 Trail better. There’s no comparison between them beyond that though, The new one is vastly better in a number of ways.



Thanks for your advice, really appreciate the reply.

I’m in the Jupiter area. Agree with your douchebag comment for South FL but my town isn’t bad.

Do the H9/11 conversion thing everyone is suggesting. You’ll get better light output, see farther, and not hurt the old people driving around.

I went with Phillips bulb HIDs from Xenon and they’re great but you’d have to drill your dust covers and it sounds like you don’t own or pick up a drill too often so save the money and do the conversion, it’s as difficult as breaking a tab of plastic.

You’re welcome to check mine out but I have LASfit switchback turn signals in so my headlight color doesn’t match my turn signals. Annoys me for sure but I like them anyway.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bmy1287]

I would take some time and read the supplied links. The one from Tacoma world is a ridiculously well written unbiased comparison of pretty much any bulb you would think about running.

I’m looking into the recommended H11 or H9 option. You can’t argue with the data. It’s there. If you are dead set on LED then the best LED option tested was the Hikaris and the data in the write ups supports evidence of why based on spacing of the diodes.

Ohhh and I have the XD Pro LED kits. In all bulbs, lows/highs/fogs. For over two years. I think it’s good quality and XDs website and customer service was great for me. I too like the simplicity and love the white light. But I’ve always thought they were lacking. I also had to adjust my lows down and I don’t run my fogs with oncoming drivers. Seems too bright and scatters everywhere. I’m looking at true LED fog replacements.

And a side note. I have the DRL driver and it works well. It wasn’t out when I purchased everything two years ago so I added it sometime last year. I have grill lights as well and I normally run DRL/grill lights together during the day and it looks great. I ran my grill lights off a fuse tap and to a switch matches a stock blank to the left of steering wheel. Very easy to do. Look at the options at cartrimhome.