Led head light bulb h4/9003 recommendations

Any recommendations on LED bulb lights for 2011 Tacoma h4/9003. looking for some decent ones that don’t need any modifications to the back plastic or weather protection just to make them fit. So any ideas or recommendations welcome!

 

Read the first post of this thread before proceeding with your current plan.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

 

Will definitely read it.

 

Looks good but I’m looking for a more plug and play options to get a little more distances with brightness. Still open to recommendations!

 

So, you're looking for a simple way to upgrade the performance of your headlights using LEDs. That sounds like a simple request - and many folks selling products on Amazon or eBay would lead you to believe it is. Unfortunately, it's not. If it was, the OEM's would have done it years ago by offering a simple drop in bulb option / upgrade that dramatically improved headlight performance. As you may have noticed, they did not and do not. Why not? This article does a pretty good job of explaining why:

Why Most LED Headlight Upgrades Don't Really Work: An Expert Explains (jalopnik.com)

Are there "drop in" LED bulbs that claim to dramatically improve the performance of your headlights? Yes. Are there companies that claim to increase the size of certain male body parts by 150%? Also yes, and just as false. Don't get me wrong, a correctly designed lighting system (light source, lens, reflector, housing) can dramatically improve headlight performance, but that's going to cost some serious money. Wild marketing claims are virtually free though.

Most of the current crop of drop in LED bulbs do one of several things. They might dramatically increase foreground light - which gives you the impression of better lighting. They do this at the expense of distance lighting though. (You did want to see farther, right?) Many give you dramatically increased light output - but not in the right places. Ever been blinded by an idiot with aftermarket drop in LED bulbs? Yup, that's because the beam pattern is all wrong and way too much of it escapes as glare - which just blinds oncoming drivers. Then there's the issue of longevity. The less expensive bulbs in particular don't last very long at all. There's also the issue of what I'll call collateral damage. For instance, some drop in LED bulbs with built-in cooling fans have been known to cause electrical interference with a vehicle's computer(s) causing all sorts of weird and wonderful issues. (Just look in the 4Runner forums.)

If you truly want better performance out of your 2nd gen headlights, read the post on the Ultimate Headlight Upgrade carefully. There are several drop in halogen bulbs that will give you a pretty decent increase in performance without the need for the heavy duty harness. That said, the whole upgrade with the harness offers truly stunning performance. Whatever you do, please don't be another one of those idiots with the blinding glare of cheap aftermarket drop in LED bulbs. Many of us will thank you.

 

The current recommendation in this thread to upgrade your harness and higher wattage halogen bulbs is the only real way to go. If you go with any of the drop-in LEDs, it'll quickly turn into an "emperor's new headlights" situation and won't actually improve performance at all. Looks like it'll be $138 from Headlight Services currently, compared to $40-60 for Amazon LEDs with a decrease in performance and glare for oncoming traffic. Say one of those cheap LEDs fails and you're spending more for another set and you quickly catch up to the cost of a reliable harness and bulb.

Take advantage of the good design behind the OE headlights and just run a better halogen bulb with wiring to support.

 

Take it from someone who put LEDs in, because he knew better.

All they do is light the road 50-100ft in front of you. You get flashed WAY more, and distance light is gone. I spent $200CAD on bulbs, and now I have the harness and halogen bulbs from the thread above. The new halogens are MUCH brighter.