Morimoto 2Stroke 2.0 LED Low Beam Headlight Install

[NW.OH.T4R]

Thanks for the information. I've done a lot of reading about them and your post is the first saying anything about adjustable components.

I actually did read the post about them free spinning. Good to know it was remedied.

It was, but now the hot spot on the passenger bulb of my second set is off, as confirmed by a CSR from XD. In our email exchange he mentioned that the latest revision of the 2Stroke's can be spun 360 degrees to ensure LED chip alignment. I'm not sure what is different with this revision, though.

I am just hypersensitive to lighting, I think. The OEM BiXenon headlights on my previous car were exceptional and I'm chasing that type of nighttime vision with the 4R without luck.

 

[Angelo]

I am just hypersensitive to lighting, I think. The OEM BiXenon headlights on my previous car were exceptional and I'm chasing that type of nighttime vision with the 4R without luck.

Not trying to sound salty, just sharing my experience with trying just about every mod to the OEM headlights... you're not going to find the kind of bi-xenon qualitative difference without dropping some major coin to completely retrofit the stock headlights. The OEM projectors are the issue here- putting it simply, they're just not designed to handle high-intensity lighting, and the side-mount design makes the back-to-front LED chip design a poor choice.

My experience has also been that even if you do completely retrofit, you have to visualize the height difference between the front of a 4R (lifted or not) and your typical passenger car- oftentimes nearly two feet of height. This means that even with the sharpest cutoff in the world and perfectly aimed lights you're still going to be more likely to blind oncoming drivers because the lights start higher, and the light is less usable to you because it has to drop quicker instead of shooting straight out from a lower starting point. Remember what it was like facing a truck with bright lights coming at you at night in your car before the 4Runner? Yeah.

Anyway, sorry to give you all that opinion you didn't ask for but I see a ton of these posts on various headlight mods and I wanted to share my experience as someone who has tried just about everything. I'm still always looking, though...

If you haven't considered / tried the H11-H9 swap, that's always my first recommendation for usable, great quality, virtually undetectable, no-dust-cap-drilling, and easy upgrading to the OEM projector. They last about 2 years, and you can spend about the same amount of money to upgrade the bulbs over the life of your ownership as you would on one round of drop-in HID or LEDs.

 

[pointman]

It was, but now the hot spot on the passenger bulb of my second set is off, as confirmed by a CSR from XD. In our email exchange he mentioned that the latest revision of the 2Stroke's can be spun 360 degrees to ensure LED chip alignment. I'm not sure what is different with this revision, though.

I am just hypersensitive to lighting, I think. The OEM BiXenon headlights on my previous car were exceptional and I'm chasing that type of nighttime vision with the 4R without luck.

You're never finding a bi-xenon substitute for the Runner.

 

[NW.OH.T4R]

You're never finding a bi-xenon substitute for the Runner.

I’ve started to come to terms with that. Beginning to think about a rear projector retro. I need to get into the wiring diagrams to check some things and see if a conversion is possible. I saw the retro-quick but that’s not what I’m looking for. I believe [MENTION=133649]Angelo[/MENTION] mentioned in a separate thread about the 4R height should be considered with oncoming traffic in mind balanced with your own visibility. Not something I had to worry about coming from lowered Euros.


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[clin9383]

not sure but I'd like to see that too

Has anyone put the 2stroke 2.0 in a 2010-2013 with the reflector headlights? Everything I'm seeing here seems to be in the 2014+ projectors.

Anyone yet?

 

[dakgildea]

Having an unbelievable hard time installing these. They just don't want to lock into place. Feels like they just keep spinning.

 

[jdhunz]

I ended up swapping the rubber gasket/o-ring from the stock bulb to the Morimotos and they went into place early and locked into place. Before the swap I couldn't even get them to seat well enough for the tabs to even grab. The passenger side seems spot on (no pun intended) but I still have to make some minor adjustments to the driver side.

 

[Irishperil]

The photos looks great. Excellent cut off.

I'm on the fence whether to buy these. I started my light upgrade with Morimoto XB fog Lights. Then went with Diode Dynamics SL1 for the low beams. The color temps are slightly off, 5700K vs 6000K. The 2Stroke2.0 would be a matching color temperature at 5700K.

Despite slight difference in temperature color, I prefer the 5700K. The very slight blue in 6000K has been bothering me.

Headlight Revolution just released their review on these bulbs too - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkGaKEb-GXE&feature=youtu.be

So...I've been reviewing my options for headlight upgrades and I wanted to see if I could sum up the most popular options after reading pages and pages of different threads.

LOW Beams
It seems like most people are choosing LED over HID based on advancements in LED technology bridging some of the gap and catching up to HID in performance. Even though they aren't as bright as HID, the positives for us 4R's is that they don't blind oncoming traffic as much and you don't have to drill the dust cover and risk moisture in the headlight housing.

That said, the most popular bulbs seem to be
1. MORIMOTO 2STROKE 2.0 (newer, but uses a fan to cool the bulb which is loud when the engine isn't on. Also pairs nicely with the same brand fogs)
2. DIODE DYNAMICS SL1 (seems equal in lighting quality, but doesn't use a fan? Also makes LED fog bulbs, but not the housing)

If anyone wants to chime in on any other positives or negatives that would be great.

High Beams
Most of the forum posts on this were from 2018 or earlier when everyone was waiting to see if someone would make an LED bulb replacement that could work for the High Beam and preserve the DRL feature.
I believe Morimoto has a 9005 bulb but I don't see whether it solves the DRL issue. And Diode Dynamics does have an S1 bulb for highs.

Fogs
There isn't a clear winner here as there are many options, but it seems like people love the Morimoto XB fogs. I haven't seen whether they're as plug n play in the Limiteds as they are with the other models. Some people do Tundra replacements. Some go with off-roading brands like Baja, but those are generally too bright for daily city driving.

 

[mynameistory]

So...I've been reviewing my options for headlight upgrades and I wanted to see if I could sum up the most popular options after reading pages and pages of different threads.

LOW Beams
It seems like most people are choosing LED over HID based on advancements in LED technology bridging some of the gap and catching up to HID in performance. Even though they aren't as bright as HID, the positives for us 4R's is that they don't blind oncoming traffic as much and you don't have to drill the dust cover and risk moisture in the headlight housing.

That said, the most popular bulbs seem to be
1. MORIMOTO 2STROKE 2.0 (newer, but uses a fan to cool the bulb which is loud when the engine isn't on. Also pairs nicely with the same brand fogs)
2. DIODE DYNAMICS SL1 (seems equal in lighting quality, but doesn't use a fan? Also makes LED fog bulbs, but not the housing)

If anyone wants to chime in on any other positives or negatives that would be great.

High Beams
Most of the forum posts on this were from 2018 or earlier when everyone was waiting to see if someone would make an LED bulb replacement that could work for the High Beam and preserve the DRL feature.
I believe Morimoto has a 9005 bulb but I don't see whether it solves the DRL issue. And Diode Dynamics does have an S1 bulb for highs.

Fogs
There isn't a clear winner here as there are many options, but it seems like people love the Morimoto XB fogs. I haven't seen whether they're as plug n play in the Limiteds as they are with the other models. Some people do Tundra replacements. Some go with off-roading brands like Baja, but those are generally too bright for daily city driving.

Here's an instrumented review of the Morimoto bulb.

3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights | Page 106 | Tacoma World

Long story short, it doesn't focus and throw light as well as a halogen bulb, like pretty much any LED drop-in bulb. See how he's measuring the cross-section of the emitters, and they're twice as thick as a halogen filament? That's why nearly every single LED bulb is out-performed by stock halogen bulbs. They seem bright in the near-field view, but won't illuminate anything at distance.

Use halogen bulbs, you have halogen housings. You can upgrade to H9 bulbs for low beams, and 9011 HIR bulbs for the high-beams. Done.

 

[ForRun]

Here's an instrumented review of the Morimoto bulb.

3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights | Page 106 | Tacoma World

Long story short, it doesn't focus and throw light as well as a halogen bulb, like pretty much any LED drop-in bulb. See how he's measuring the cross-section of the emitters, and they're twice as thick as a halogen filament? That's why nearly every single LED bulb is out-performed by stock halogen bulbs. They seem bright in the near-field view, but won't illuminate anything at distance.

Use halogen bulbs, you have halogen housings. You can upgrade to H9 bulbs for low beams, and 9011 HIR bulbs for the high-beams. Done.

How hot can our projectors get. Stock bulbs checked with infrared gun came in 164 at the base running 10 minute's, put in H9s tonight and Bam are they nice, but temp came in over 200 at base and headlight housing was warm to touch. I'm in Chicago and temps in mid 20s outside

 

[SlickTRD]

How hot can our projectors get. Stock bulbs checked with infrared gun came in 164 at the base running 10 minute's, put in H9s tonight and Bam are they nice, but temp came in over 200 at base and headlight housing was warm to touch. I'm in Chicago and temps in mid 20s outside

So far I have yet to see anyone say that halogen H9 is detrimental to the stock housing so I don't think you need to worry. Another benefit to the heat is that it will be warm enough to melt snow which LEDs drop in bulbs cannot do.

 

[mynameistory]

How hot can our projectors get. Stock bulbs checked with infrared gun came in 164 at the base running 10 minute's, put in H9s tonight and Bam are they nice, but temp came in over 200 at base and headlight housing was warm to touch. I'm in Chicago and temps in mid 20s outside

Plenty of people run the H9 with no ill effect. That's another built-in benefit of halogen lights, they'll self-clear snow and condensation build up on the housings by throwing lots of infrared light as heat. LED bulbs do not, and HID bulbs put out very little.

 

[Irishperil]

So far I have yet to see anyone say that halogen H9 is detrimental to the stock housing so I don't think you need to worry. Another benefit to the heat is that it will be warm enough to melt snow which LEDs drop in bulbs cannot do.

Well snow isn't an issue for me in South Florida, but I hear you...

So now the decision is H9 Halogen which throws a better (farther) beam pattern which is what you should want for a headlight.....or....an H11 LED that isn't as functional, but gives off a crisp white light that looks newer and more luxurious, which is also what you want

Can't anything be easy!?

 

[SlickTRD]

Well snow isn't an issue for me in South Florida, but I hear you...

So now the decision is H9 Halogen which throws a better (farther) beam pattern which is what you should want for a headlight.....or....an H11 LED that isn't as functional, but gives off a crisp white light that looks newer and more luxurious, which is also what you want

Can't anything be easy!?

I went with the H11 LED option after trying the H9 mod. I like the new more modern look of white LEDs. But I won't knock the H9 mod cause that is the better and cheaper choice.

 

[Yo_Hec]

I purchased a set for my Tacoma and i was extremly happy with them. I was concerned that they would be bright but not go far cause its a projector light but it wasnt an issue. On my 4r its not a projector so i used a regular LED bulb and was happy with the output.

 

[NativeTexan]

What’s the verdict on these working with 2020?

I pick up my ORP tomorrow and this will be my first mod. New light!

 

[mynameistory]

What’s the verdict on these working with 2020?

I pick up my ORP tomorrow and this will be my first mod. New light!

The same as any other drop-in LED bulb for any model year 4Runner- like junk. They appear bright in the foreground and completely limit your distance vision.

I'm selling mine, you want a pair for cheap?

 

[ForRun]

The same as any other drop-in LED bulb for any model year 4Runner- like junk. They appear bright in the foreground and completely limit your distance vision.

These are not the same led drop in, quite good actually.
Heres a link if you want to see them with other bulbs
Headlight before/after comparisons

 

[mynameistory]

These are not the same led drop in, quite good actually.
Heres a link if you want to see them with other bulbs
Headlight before/after comparisons

I've heard that the new GTRs are supposed to be better. However I'm not aware of any LED bulbs that outperform a simple H9 swap. Plus I can get them at any auto parts store for $6 each.

 

[ForRun]

I've heard that the new GTRs are supposed to be better. However I'm not aware of any LED bulbs that outperform a simple H9 swap. Plus I can get them at any auto parts store for $6 each.

The link posted above has a comparison to the H9.