New headlights 2001 Tacoma TRD

I want to replace the headlights- housing and everything- in my tacoma. Amason
has a bunch of choices but not sure which to get. Anyone have insight on the best ones? I was thinking upgrade to LED. Thanks!

 

I checked the OEM price and they were around $250 per headlight. Maybe I should rephrase my question. Does anyone have a recommendation for the best after market headlight replacement? I'm seeing a lot of bad reviews for the less expensive ones and wondering if anyone has anything positive to say about these cheaper ones. Thanks again.

 

Most folks are going to suggest the TYC housing from rock auto- be sure to select the CAPA certified ones. The biggest pain in the ass is finding somewhere to aim them properly. I don't have a flat surface around that I can easily get to.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-not-led-or-hid.398066/page-217#post-27127068

@crashnburn80 has supreme headlight housing/bulb knowledge.

In that thread he updates all recommendations including what the best housings/assemblies are.

 

Thanks for the link!

 

Thanks for this link!

 

sorry I screwed up the link.

I think it’s linked to a page/post well into the thread. You can start on page 1 for a wealth of info.

 

There are no legitimate LED options for 1st Gen headlights, all that stuff you see on Amazon is China garbage. The best performing lights by far are OEM.

See post #70 in my 1st Gen thread, showing an 86% output improvement without using high power bulbs.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-double-cab-build.762757/page-4#post-27253712

Or in post #4366 in the headlight thread:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-not-led-or-hid.398066/page-219#post-27253723

Of course if you want massive output, following the harness and bulb upgrade on first post of the 2nd thread is the way to go.

 

Don't buy Amazon crap. Just. Don't.

As others said, the TYC (CAPA certified) ones from Rock Auto are great (probably available from other sources, too). By far the best alternative to OEM. Mine were indistinguishable from the OEMs they replaced.


Not quite the cutoff pattern you'd get from proper modern HIDs, but there is no way you're going to get anywhere close to this by swapping some LED bulbs in the stock housings (and this includes all the Amazon sellers claiming their housings work with LEDs).

Don't do LEDs unless you go for the full retrofit, which is spendy.