LED Headlights.

I’ll keep this simple as there are a ton of posts but after an hour of reading I’m no closer to determining what to do. I’ve got a 2017 TRDOR. I HATE my headlights, dim, they seriously have a line where they cut off vertically. I want white, bright, see an elk a mile away headlights. I like the thought of LED’s. I run some aux lights off road but can’t on the highway. I need suggestions. What about the 2021-2022 factory lights? And I apologize if this had been done to death.

 

@crashnburn80

 

First off, your lights are designed to have a vertical cutoff to prevent blinding oncoming traffic so you are not going to be able to get around that legally. The least expensive option is to do the H9 bulb mod. The most expensive option is to purchase the factory LED’s and then get the wiring harness adapter. Only problem with LED’s is if you are in snow county the lenses don’t get warm enough to keep the snow off.

 

Diode Dynamics (and others) offer HID conversion kits that keep the cutoff and factory optics pretty much unchanged but push out more light overall. It's less $ than a OEM LED assembly swap, more than a H9 lamp change. There are some poorly performing HID kits out there, though.

 

@daveeasa

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2020-tacoma-oem-led-headlight-megathread.592039/page-123

Pick up a harness from Dave Easa
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ight-megathread.592039/page-122#post-26799092

 

Here's mine with ss3 Max's. I have a 2020 trd or grille arriving next week...

 

If you want to swap the housings you may be able to find a set of OEM LED Headlights used for under $1000 on eBay or on the 3rd Gen Parts Marketplace here on TacomaWorld. If you buy them new from the dealership, they'll cost you ~$1,300+.
Right Headlight - 81110-04290
Left Headlight - 81150-04290

I have a set of Morimoto XB LED Headlights (version 2) and they're amazing. I think crashnburn80 says they perform almost as well as the OEM LED Headlights. I was able to purchase mine for $1,400. Here are some links to where you can purchase a set.
Morimoto XB LED Headlights w/ White DRL - TheRetrofitSource - $1,431
Morimoto XB LED Headlights w/ Amber DRL - TheRetrofitSource - $1,489

 

Some have got them for $1100 for the set. The pro's and regular oem led lights have about a $10 price difference between the sets. I went with the pros, because they don't have a chrome strip across the top. Here's some pictures of the differences.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ight-megathread.592039/page-114#post-26532041

Pro led headlight part numbers:

81150-04300
81110-04300

 

The headlights are terrible. However, do check the aim of your headlights. They are easy to adjust. I installed the Toyota led fog lights and they help a lot when adjusted correctly. I always run the fog lights and the headlights together.

 

/thread.

Have 2020 OEM LED on my 2016 and love them to death.

 

Agree, I love mine.

I’d much rather have the non-TRD PRO version though.

The little bit of chrome wouldn’t bother me but the “TRD PRO” on my non-TRD PRO would.

 

Agreed, which is why mine are the non-Pro. That opens a whole other can of worms though.

 

DEPO now makes replacement LED headlights for the 3rd Gen Tacoma. I saw a set on Ebay so that's another alternative for those wanting to upgrade. Probably not as good as OEM, but they're at least reputable so in theory should be better than the countless various Mainland Chinese brands out there.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265336437576

Personally I'm not too impressed with Morimoto so look out I might be unloading my V2 led headlamps for cheap soon lol...

 

This.

Please, PLEASE, PLEASE, do not just swap your headlights for bulbs that are not meant to be put in those housings. Just spend the extra money for the whole setup and be done with it. If you plan on keeping your truck, it's worth the investment.

No need to apologize. Sometimes it can be information overload. Take your time and do it right.

 

Change to oem led headlight on my 2016 and is fantastic!

 

I bought the $1500 morimoto xb's...my 04 camry halogens are brighter, not lying. seriously horrible down the road...oh blinding 10 feet in front of the truck or looking right at them. if you don't have hid get morimotos hid's...if you do...don't know. just make sure if you install a light bar it shuts off when the low beams are on.

you'll still find lots of stuff with folks boasting of their luminosity so I can't explain it to you, but down the road led's just suck. I've never been disappointed with hid's and I hate when folks put on led light bars that aren't high beam only

 

The ONLY two viable and legal options for you are swapping out the stock H11 bulb (which is a Long Life, read dimmer bulb) for the same H9 that is in your current high beams, or to buy the factory LED with the harness referenced above. The factory LED is a superior light all 'round and is just fantastic. As someone mentioned previously, proper headlight aim is paramount. The OEM halogens with H9's and aimed properly are actually pretty decent lights and the high beam portion is great. The 2020 LED is broader, smoother, brighter, whiter (about 6200Kelvin after they break in) and just feel right. They're really a small investment in safety.

 

my 3 foot long LED bar will be waiting to melt your eyes lolcut off points are for incoming traffic.

 

First things first: read this link

http://danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

Very carefully, and then find a suitable location to take the time to measure, (tape)mark and (if necessary) adjust the aim of your headlamps As They Currently Are.

Next, of you have the halogen lamps, buy the same phillips H9 bulb that goes in your high beam, and use a pair of needlenose pliers to remove the small green plastic insert in the OEM H11 wiring harness plug. You can then install the H9 in place of the H11 bulb. You get about 70% more light Focused Correctly down the road vs a standard H11. A high performance H11 will reach about the same maximum distamce as the H9, but will have less light throughout the beam pattern.

If you need more ligjt, them you need more light. Check out this thread: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-sae-j581-aux-high-beam-thread.696597/ in the lighting subforum. There are plenty of pics of some different lamps, including some excellent apples to apples test/comparison data by @crashnburn80. Theres only ao much that can be done to make real/effectice improvements to the factory ligjts, and them its time to turn to the aftermarket, and choose carefully what you choose to use.