Toyota Tacoma LED Projector Headlights - LUXX Series From Alpharex

Are these worth buying and replacing the stock headlights? I like the design and the alpha black is a big plus The price point is also there for me. I have the stock headlights that have the led drls and amber sequential.

 

apha is garbage
they buy cheap housing from china and mushroom stamp their logo and a flashy light show on them
in testing they do not meet the legal definition of a headlight pattern

 

No. Save the money.

 

I'll ask you the same question I ask everyone who asks about "non-OEM" headlights. Do you look at your headlights as a decorative item (looks are most important) or a safety item (performance is most important.) If you chose looks, Alpharex is just fine. (And good luck on dark roads.) If you want performance, OEM is the only way to go.

 

if the truck in your avatar is yours, then you're talking about replacing the best performing headlights made for a 3rd gen Tacoma with some actual garbage. save your cash and keep what you've got.

 

Complete ass.

 

@BabyBilly yes the truck in the avatar is mine, I will take your advice. Did not know they were some of the best. If I did want to change them one day, would the Morimotos be an even swap?

 

@Too Stroked if I wanted both looks and performance, what would you recommend that would be worth swapping them for?

 

As far as what is out there, your OEM LED will be the best performing. I understand that Morimoto is okay though? But I am far from the expert. Hit up @crashnburn80, he is the guru. If you do swap, you can sell yours for a pretty good amount. Also, what ever you go to will most likely need a conversion harness. Since @daveeasa and I are pretty much the ones that do those, and Dave would gnaw off his left arm before helping someone downgrade from LEDs, feel free to hit me up. I can walk you through it, or build something for you. But honestly, I would keep what you have.

 

There is no upgrade. Only downgrades.

 

OEM TRD Pro. And that's a lot of money for the same performance with slightly better looks. Trust me, stick with what you have and be happy.

 

OEM LED is the best presently available. Aftermarket, especially AlphaRex is a downgrade. If your OEM units are halogen projectors with LED DRLs the best upgrade is to swap Philips H9 bulbs in the low beam projector. Morimotos lack uplight, all proper/OEM headlights have uplight so you can see beyond your headlight cut off. The Morimotos have very high contrast at the cut off line, with high intensity light below and complete blackness and absence of light above limits your vision so you cannot see below the low beam cut off, effectively blinding you with your own headlights. It is not a proper headlight design and is a downgrade from stock.

 

I prepared this post for the main LED discussion thread but, since I'm not 6 MO yet, I couldn't post in it. Sorry to bug you in this thread M8 but, I saw you were active yesterday.

While I applaud the OPs scientific method and depth of information covered in this forum, I didn't see the bottom line/consensus and current wisdom for an inexpensive option for the third gen projector 6000k LED option. I gather then that isn't one and I should give up my quest for a simple (read inexpensive) replacement to 6000K blue/white lighting. I truly dislike yellow color headlights so, I may have to settle for a less than optimum dispersal pattern. I live in Florida which doesn't have vehicle inspection criteria to meet.

So, my question, without digging through the massive amount of data collected (and becoming even more confused) by the OPs, would a 4 sided 6000K LED bulb produce an acceptable result in the low beam projector in the 3rd gen? The previous owner of this truck used a two side H11 bulb and the result is as expected... horrible!

 

I personally do not like led bulbs in halogen projectors but for those who do it, crash recommends morimoto 2 stroke as best performing and Hikari ultra as best value. More detail within the first 3 posts of the third Gen thread.

 

So, what are you actually looking for? Improved - but inexpensive - 6000k LED lighting in the stock housing? I think you already found the answer. Not going to happen. I'll let @crashnburn80 fill you in on the technical reasons why. I will note that if there really was an inexpensive - and legal - option, the manufacturers would have done it already.

 

Just looking for something acceptable... not perfect and, not necessarily better the OEM. I'm a photographer and I spent a lot of time and effort on white calibration so, yellow light bugs me to no end! I understand the reasons behind LEDs not working well in these projector housings. Most thing in life are a compromise so, this is no exception it seems. I did not see any reference to the bulb styles between 2 and 4 sided types. I believe a 4 sided bulb might be acceptable so, I asked the local expert.

 

What he said ^

 

While a 4-sided LED bulb might theoretically solve some of the issues with 2-sided LED bulbs, it would be a significant step backwards in the critical distance between emitters. Again, I'll let crash explain.

As for you aversion to "yellow" light, are you aware that in inclement weather, "whiter / bluer" light actually works against you?

 

I have a set on my truck, they look great but visibility is bad specially in rainy days.

 

I'd have to disagree on that one M8. The reflective pigments used in the line paint on the roadways (at least where I live) will be brighter than under yellow light. That will be your best reference to maintain a lane in inclement weather. As for fog, it's a toss up between the two. The aiming of the fog lights makes a bigger difference than the color.