1StGen headlight and fog light LED conversion!

I had ankle surgery so haven’t been out much. Got a chance to take pics of the lighting as my wife drove around. Again. LED headlight bulbs and yellow LED fogs

 

That's a lot of glare. You're headlight is throwing light way to high. You're lighting up the trees. I bet that car in front of you in the last picture was throwing every 4 letter word they could think of at you. Lol.

 

I agree. Mostly the passenger side. I haven’t had a chance to adjust it. I’ll take care of that little issue in a couple of weeks when I can stand on two legs.

 

The light output is very impressive though.

 

I agree. A lot brighter than OEM. I purchased new headlights as well which is why it’s all out of wack. Just like oem they do adjust. If you’re putting them in your current headlight you shouldn’t have to do any adjusting.

 

Did you ever swap them out and post pics in another thread?

 

Yes. I have pics in my build thread(click my signature). I ended up keeping the Katanas. They were slightly better than the other brand. I'm not sure they are really any better than halogens but they color is nicer and makes the truck look more modern. The high beams are pretty bad. If you depend on those I would not recommend. I rarely get to use high beams around here.

 

I agree about the high beams to an extent. Mine throw light everywhere. If a deer was going to drop in from 40' above me I would probably spot him in time to react. Really though, the light goes everywhere but it still seems usable for street driving when no other cars are around. I would want more light directly in front of me in the desert at higher (it's a tundra after all) speeds.

 

Fog lights compliment the low beam headlights and provide that fullness of frontal ground and wrap around lighting which blows my skirt fairly high. Did I ever mention fogs are my favorite light source?

No headlight reflector is perfect. In my case, the headlights needed to be paired up with fogs. I saw last month the PerfectFits were back in stock. I paid $129 for them last year and they’ve dropped to $79. Highly highly highly recco these in the 02 style fog assy.

 

My google kung fu is off today and I can't find perfect fits. Do you have a link?

 

Evidently the PerfectFits were clearance. That $79 price was sweet last month. Good news is this looks like the same identical bulb and has the same specs and Philips ‘CSP’ technology, but just under the brand GTR. Probably made at the same factory. Bad news is the price is back up to $130 (what I paid for the PerfectFit).

https://headlightrevolution.com/gtr-lighting-csp-mini-led-headlights-9006-bulbs/

 

Katanas newer (smaller) design for less cost still using Cree technology. Last years model was $49 and this years is $37. Apples for apples specs year over year from what I can see.

These are a great value and are bright without blinding. I have yet to be flashed by on coming traffic.

Way better light than when the truck was new. Way brighter than similar priced new filament style bulbs I was just using.

Check out page 1 post #29 for cut off line on wall.

 

Wish I could say the same. On dark country roads I get flashed. If there is other atmospheric light such as street lights I do not. I'm going to eventually do the retrofit. Not real pleased with these to be honest. $37 is a great price though. For that amount it's worth it for someone to try them out and see if their results are better.

 

I was pleased with my LEDs until I got the akkron aftermarket headlight housings. They were much better with the OEM housings. I will probably try katanas or something else and if that's not better I'll break down and do retrofits.

 

Maybe because your truck is leveled? Mine has forward rake and the housings were aimed/adjusted by me using the SAE site specs and also Toyotas alternate methods/distances.

I’m sure you positioned your housing so I’m not sure whats going on there.

I’ve even pulled right up on hoopty boyz tails out on the streets and they don’t readjust their rear views. I even pulled up offset on hoopty boi to blast side mirrors and nobody seemed anxious. Might be the cbd oils?

 

You all could do with taking a read of this....

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

This all applies to the Tundra as well, same switched setup and same bulbs in our first gens.

 

Excellent linked post for that snap shot in time (2015). I only read the OP first super long post and not the following 5 pages of commenters.

Since that time period, LED lights have evolved and incorporate cups to mimic the reflector cups inside halogen/incandescent bulbs. Also, LED’s have become thinner between the diodes to mimic the filament thickness. Drivers and fans on LED’s have also significantly improved. Katanas can be dunked underwater and still work. Check IP ratings. Rated 30,000 hours. Plug and play.

Your linked articles bulbs are rated for 150-200 hours life at a cost of $54-80 a set? Plus all the mod wiring, etc? Plus that 20% extra heat increase which will reduce the bulb brightness as time goes by. Not to mention haze out your brand new headlight acrylic. I remember studying these about a year ago and gave them a pass because of the above reasons.

My motivation is low cost and a better light than OEM. The Katanas fit the bill nicely. Now, are there better lighting set ups? Sure, but by how much better? And at $500 for projectors that I need to build etc is not blowing my skirt up. The cost isn’t justified. Projectors have a very extreme cut off that I’ve heard others complain about as it becoming a distraction. The cut off line bounces with the truck movements distracting the eye. Plus, I see all these projectors into there 6.0 redux of the past which means they aren’t perfect. They are improving just like LED.

I’m not sure what headlight Nirvana means and if it can ever be achieved. There are too many lower cost plug and play options out there that work very well. There are also others that are super top notch, but at a high price. Stoked on things improving and that we have options.

 

He updates that thread all the time and I've yet to see any LED come close to that setup. I run it in my Tacoma and will be swapping it into my Tundra since its the same. Granted its not cheap but so far as ive seen its the best. Perhaps I will grab a set of the Katana's and do a comparison to show everyone the difference.

 

Feel free to Bubbles. My reasoning won’t change for why I have my LED’s. Go back and read. If I set my mind to it, I would spend thousands to out do the other guys bulbs/projector/lamp etc.

As it stands, my Katanas ($49) far outdo my last brand new Sylvanias bulbs ($41) OEM set up and thats all I care about. Check my build page for proof from about a year ago.

Maybe you could do the last years Katanas versus this years $37 models? That way I’ll know if they are better.

 

Thank God for free Amazon returns, link me and I will.

 

Nah. You got this. You’re a smart dude.

 

I'm also a lazy one.

 

Have any of you had issues with snow freezing to the headlights with LEDs? I've heard of issues since the LEDs aren't hot enough to melt the snow like HID or Halogen, but I'm not sure how big of an issue it really is.