Just wanted to pop in and let you guys know about this. I've searched the boards quite a few times and I havent seen any mention of this, the general train of thought when upgrading the original halogen are to go with the Hikari Eye of Megatron LED bulbs or grab some RX350 HID projectors. But then I found this thread on the TacomaWorld forums about headlight bulb testing:
www.tacomaworld.com
Specifically this post on his expanded headlight testing:
www.tacomaworld.com
While the results wont be 1:1 on our trucks, it's one of the few places I've found online that have tested headlight upgrades, both LED and halogen with data at a distance: of 18' -42' with a lightmeter vs just pictures of how the headlights look on a wall. He also goes into the reasoning behind why LED's arent the best option for headlights designed for halogen lights. Overall, if you are interested, there is a lot of good info that thread. He will give data on each bulb ranging from lux at 18' - 42' to color temp etc.
I've changed my bulbs from H11 to H9's and the difference is pretty impressive. As long as you dont mind the halogen color and are prize pure performance over color, I think anyone making the change will be satisfied.
Data:
Lux @18'
Stock:
H11: 623
H9 (Made in china, what you find on amazon): 1266
Hikari LED review + comparison to H9:
www.tacomaworld.com
Lux @42"
H9: 257.9
Hikari LED: 224.4
End of Life H9 vs Hikari:
www.tacomaworld.com
H9: 948.6
Hikari: 935.2
Also, if you live in a colder temp area, he's done testing on how much heat a LED gives off for snow melting:
www.tacomaworld.com
Ambient 60 degrees
LED: 61.9 degrees
HID: 77.1 degrees
Stock: 118.3 degrees
H9: 139.6 degrees
How to trim a H9 to fit a H11:
www.sheldonchuphotography.com
TLDR:
The overall conclusion from is the H9 bulb, which runs at 65 watts vs the H11 55 watts, outperforms almost every other easy to install option that isnt HID. And due to the fact that the headlight was designed for halogen, the beam is naturally perfect. Even at end of life, the H9 still is brighter than a Hikari LED. If you live in a very snowy area, sticking with halogen will be even more preferred as LED snow clearing is minimal at best.
3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights
3rd Gen Tacoma HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights This thread covers upgrading the 3rd gen Tacoma H11 headlights and looking at the...
www.tacomaworld.com
Specifically this post on his expanded headlight testing:
3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights
3rd Gen Tacoma HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights This thread covers upgrading the 3rd gen Tacoma H11 headlights and looking at the...
www.tacomaworld.com
While the results wont be 1:1 on our trucks, it's one of the few places I've found online that have tested headlight upgrades, both LED and halogen with data at a distance: of 18' -42' with a lightmeter vs just pictures of how the headlights look on a wall. He also goes into the reasoning behind why LED's arent the best option for headlights designed for halogen lights. Overall, if you are interested, there is a lot of good info that thread. He will give data on each bulb ranging from lux at 18' - 42' to color temp etc.
I've changed my bulbs from H11 to H9's and the difference is pretty impressive. As long as you dont mind the halogen color and are prize pure performance over color, I think anyone making the change will be satisfied.
Data:
Lux @18'
Stock:
H11: 623
H9 (Made in china, what you find on amazon): 1266
Hikari LED review + comparison to H9:
3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights
Trying these out at the moment. Obviously the coating means they won't compete with the Philips H9. I like the color though. Easy on the eyes....
www.tacomaworld.com
H9: 257.9
Hikari LED: 224.4
End of Life H9 vs Hikari:
3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights
Trying these out at the moment. Obviously the coating means they won't compete with the Philips H9. I like the color though. Easy on the eyes....
www.tacomaworld.com
Hikari: 935.2
Also, if you live in a colder temp area, he's done testing on how much heat a LED gives off for snow melting:
3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights
Thanks to @crashnburn80 for this original post and continued engagement in what's a remarkable body of work. I've read nearly all of the pages on this...
www.tacomaworld.com
Ambient 60 degrees
LED: 61.9 degrees
HID: 77.1 degrees
Stock: 118.3 degrees
H9: 139.6 degrees
How to trim a H9 to fit a H11:
Low Beam H9 to H11 Bulb Mod — Sheldon Chu Photography
Longing for better night-time lighting while driving the busy highways of Los Angeles? Don’t want to spend a ton of moolah on more than you need to light up your night? Look no further than the low beam H9 to H11 mod, which should only take about 20-30 minutes to complete (with the right tools).
www.sheldonchuphotography.com
TLDR:
The overall conclusion from is the H9 bulb, which runs at 65 watts vs the H11 55 watts, outperforms almost every other easy to install option that isnt HID. And due to the fact that the headlight was designed for halogen, the beam is naturally perfect. Even at end of life, the H9 still is brighter than a Hikari LED. If you live in a very snowy area, sticking with halogen will be even more preferred as LED snow clearing is minimal at best.
