What's the consensus on headlight bulbs?

[AKmoney]

I've tried most headlight options in my '04. Here are the results:

HID Kit, 9006 bulb/35W/4300K, Plug-n-Play (ie, this kit) installed in stock reflector housings: Very easy to install. Very bright. Sprays light towards oncoming drivers all over the place. It makes you one of "those guys". Not a good option. Promptly removed and went back to halogen.

LEDs (9006 plug-n-play, 30W, 4300K) installed in stock reflector housings:
I was thinking this might have a better result than the HID because the LED bulbs are designed such that the LEDs themselves are in the exact same position as the halogen filament is in a stock 9006 bulb. In theory, this should work better with the stock reflectors to minimize glare towards oncoming drivers. End result was a little better than when compared to using HIDs in stock reflectors but not much. Still not good enough. I modified them and put them in the high-beams.

Philips 9012 HIR2 Halogen bulb. It requires a slight modification to get them to plug into a 9006 socket but this is very easy to do with a set of wire cutters. IMHO, this is the ONLY viable choice for a headlight upgrade for someone who doesn't want to retrofit proper HID projectors. There is zero additional glare towards oncoming drivers and the bulbs output a few more lumens compared to a standard 9006 bulb.

Projector Retrofit using D2S HID bulbs (35W, 4300K): By far and away the most amount of work, but by far and away the best possible result. IMHO there is really zero substitute for a proper set of HID projectors. You simply get the most and best light output while minimizing the glare to oncoming drivers.

Note: Regardless of what you choose to do, I highly recommend restoring your headlight covers. If you haven't done this already they're likely cloudy and yellow due to age. I recommend using the Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit. It worked great for me.

I recommend reviewing my post on my HID retrofit project (link above). It's certainly not for everyone but the results are worth it.

BTW, for 2006+ trucks that come with stock projectors, check with The Retrofit Source. I believe they offer a "RetroQuick" solution that's a lot easier to implement than on an '03-'05 truck. Even though these trucks come stock with projectors, they're optimized for use with halogens and it's still better to retrofit a projector that's properly engineered for use with an HID bulb.

 

[Krayziekid]

This is because of cheap ballasts. I bought a retrofit kit for my MR2 that came with some eBay special ballasts ($35) and had flickering in one bulb. I upgraded to the TRS Morimoto ballasts($150 with new bulbs and complete harness) and have had zero problems over the last 5 years.

In the world of HID you get what you pay for. And FYI TRS finally had a set of LED bulbs they are willing to sell. They readily admit these are on par with halogens but not HID.

The reason why you just can't slap LED bulbs into your headlights is because they emit light in a very focused beam pattern. That's why cars with LED lights always have multiple LEDs that aim slightly off to make a legal required spread. They don't use a traditional reflector housing but instead have mini housings on each LED.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Yea I am using the older generation of TRS LED bulb right now and I want to change. They also claimed to be on par with halogens, but I really don't think that is the case. I am definitely curious about the new bulbs they have, but I don't feel like spending that much to find out if I am right or wrong.

 

[94toy22re]

I purchased the H11 TRS HID kit for my 07 4Runner February 2016 and it went in the trash can in July. I had problems with flickering and ballasts not firing. They sent a few replacement ballasts but I could never get them to work reliably. After that I did the H9 conversion I was happy with that until i was given a set of the opt7 LED bulbs, not quite as good as the H9 conversion but better then any of the H11 bulbs that I have tried and no issues so far but I'm keeping the H9s in the glovebox just in case.

 

[adkfinn]

ZiaMan,

This is not exactly accurate. Most/all Lighting manufacturers 'are not there yet' is a bit truer. LED manufacturers are producing some amazing emitters these days. It is the application side of the industry that is not keeping up. We can't really be surprised, think how flat the innovation curve has been since halogen bulbs were created... LED tech has exploded and flipped the entire industry on its head.

I would guess that it is hard to commit the time and money to bring a product to market based on todays LED's only to have them be obsolete before you make your first sale. I am amazed that Rigid has managed to hang on considering they are still pushing products that are based on 3W and 5W emitters. The means of compensating has been to just increase the number of LED's and multiply by the max individual output. This is precisely why a 5000 lumen, 10 LED based product will fall short of the throw of an HID for example.

The good news? There should be some awesome stuff coming to the broader market soon (I hope). One example: the CREE XHP50 and XHP70 emitters. I have an XHP50 based handheld ( https://www.amazon.com/Bundle-Flash...rd_wg=wGBXw&psc=1&refRID=DAMRQK7YRVKWE4DZWKBN ) and it is silly, disgustingly bright. The XHP70, at 32W and packing a 4200 lumen output ( Cree XLamp XHP70 LED ), should absolutely compete and likely exceed a 35W driven HID. The throw of these things (in a quality application) is nutty. The flashlight I have easily throws a usable beam as far as my high beams, using a single LED, just not quite as bright. Two of these lights together would make it a close call. We just need to wait for someone to design a good application for automotive use.

Related Update:

I purchased a couple sets of the DDM Tuning Sabers (which use 2 XHP50 LED's per "bulb") and tried them out in my lo & hi-beams. My results are as follows (verbal description only for now, I know pictures are better and more fun, sorry about that):

low beams: (Factory projector) - They weren't great. I think the pattern and throw with modded H9 bulbs is better (this is what I am currently running). I did not even bother trying to clock the bulb, this set got promptly boxed up and returned.

high beams: They are seriously bright and the throw is a lot better than the 9005 halogens they replaced. Pattern is wide and tall (this is a high beam after all), but it is hard to say how different it is than the halogen bulbs. I can't really tell if it is just that much brighter or if the pattern is truly different. Decision: For me, this setup is a keeper. LOTS of light, Instant on, reasonable cost ($67), plug and play. My only gripe is the color. 6,000K is too white/blue for my taste. I would prefer closer to 4,500K.

I am still planning on retrofitting a true bi-xenon projector into my lo-beams at some point. FYI: I purchased through Amazon Prime for the free, no-hassle returns and got a slightly better price to boot.

Link to product page with info: DDM Tuning: HID and LED Lighting

This is a similar application to TRS's Morimoto 2Stroke, but with the added ability to clock the bulb key. This allows you to 'tune' the orientation of the LED's in relation to the reflector. I haven't played with it yet as the stock 3 o'clock - 9 o'clock orientation seems fine and it has been too cold out to fiddle around with it. I am curious to see if the 2stroke uses better bin code emitters and/or if the additional heat sink volume allows the Morimoto unit to drive the emitters harder than the DDM unit. Good news! My wife's car has the same high beam so I am planning on installing the Sabers in her car and, if they work well, ordering a set of the 2Strokes for the 4Runner. This would let me make a definitive comparison. Cheers! :flame: