headlight bulb

I'm looking for the best, brightest white led bulb for my low beams. relatively inexpensive would be nice

 

You know how it goes.

Fast, Cheap & Reliable. But you can only have 2.

Same thing with the light bulb.....

 

See my sig

 

I have done some testing. Feel free to have a look - www.youtube.com/LionRunner/videos
(No I don't have bulb selling business. I just test them on my vehicles and my friends.)

I have tried high output halogens and HIDs. LEDs have come a long way and they are much better now. Needless to say they have a life expectancy more than anything.

 

A lot of opinions on these, but I love my GTR Ultra 2's

 

+1
They are the best I've tried.

 

If I could ask, why are you looking to replace your halogens with LEDs? Are your halogens burned out? Do you want a different color temperature? Do you want to see farther down the road? All of these are important to know.

Quite honestly, "drop in" LED bulbs are generally a performance downgrade - especially the inexpensive ones. Worse yet, the cheap ones don't last very long and they dazzle oncoming drivers with unwanted glare for their entire short lives. That would be on top of issues with poor sealing leading to water intrusion in your (expensive) headlight housings and significantly reduced range.

Are there "better" drop in LED bulbs out there? Yes, but they're few and far between. (Oh, and they're going to cost you a pretty penny.) The only one's I'd recommend are Hikari Ultras. Some have recommended the GTR Ultra 2's, but my son junked them for the Hikaris after less than a month. And please don't fall for the Headlight Revolution "testing" videos where they "prove" that bulbs that they have manufactured for them are better than anything else.

Remember, 99.9% of the time, the best bulb for a housing designed for halogen bulbs is a halogen bulb.

 

I want them to be whiter as the factory bulbs are not, also better sight down the road would be great

 

Just posted another video on the same topic. This time its a high beam bulb. Relatively cheap yet very good light output;

https://youtu.be/ttkQZnWz5oA

 

Although this is for / from a Tacoma forum, the information is valid for any vehicle. You might want to read the first few pages of this before you jump into "drop in" LED bulbs.

3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights | Tacoma World

The short answer is that yes, you can get "whiter" light with an LED bulb, but it may not be the best thing for better vision - particularly in poor weather. As for seeing farther down the road, drop in LED bulbs are pretty bad for that. They're great for adding lots of foreground lighting - which people mistake for better lighting. Unfortunately, more foreground light fools your eyes and actually reduces your distance lighting. That's exactly not what you want as you're sailing down a dark expressway.

Lastly, drop in LEDs sort of work in projector housings. They work very poorly in reflector housings. Don't fall for the misleading marketing used by all of the cheap (under $100) LED manufacturers stating that they've solved the problems with LED bulbs and their design now matches the positioning of a halogen filament. Quite simply, it's all BS as you'll see below.

Why LEDs should not be run in Halogen reflectors | Tacoma World

 

My suggestion, ignore discouraging posts like above and try few options others use. If you don't like it return the product and try another. You won't loose any money right? I know Amazon has multiple return drop off locations which is very convenient and don't have to pack again. I use kohls near my house for return drop offs.

I know how dangerous the pre 2020 halogen headlights are. So I encourage you to try few options and see how it goes. Not only my videos there is another member who had well documented picture comparison with different bulb options. Can't remember the name. May be a search might help.

Hope you find a good solution and get rid of those utterly useless stock halogens which could be dangerous.

 

I'm sorry if I sound "discouraging," but as an engineer, I prefer science over personal opinion. Both of the links I provided are written by one of the foremost experts on automotive lighting. He does a very good job of dispelling myths, internet "truths" (that are not) and false advertising (like most Headlight Revolution stuff). I've been experimenting with improved lighting on my vehicles since 1976 and I've been there and done that for every single "advance" that was (a few of them) and wasn't (most of them). I just try to do my best to help others make informed decisions so they don't waste the time, effort and money I did. Please take what I say as "well informed opinions."

Getting back to "discouraging," I prefer to think of myself as annoyingly realistic.

 

Has anyone used https://www.lasfit.com/products/h11...kf6QdZnaRoCg1EQAvD_BwE&variant=32056052514900

 

I’ve been running these for about 4 months. I really like these, but I was skeptical at first, after trying another brand that I couldn’t seem to adjust properly. The Lasfits are truly plug and play, designed just for the 4runner. I didn’t have to adjust at all. Good beam pattern and very bright. Keeping my fingers crossed and my H9’s at the ready, just in case. I can’t speak for longevity and they are a little pricey, but I’m happy so far.

 

Based on what I've seen and my own experiments, my first choice would absolutely be to retrofit Toyota's OEM LED headlights (2021-2022 MY) onto my 2020. I keep reading it's possible but haven't found one damn real life example of this with instructions on how to do it. Some people complain about the stark cut-off above the beam pattern, but to me these headlights perform excellently.

My second choice would absolutely be to maintain the performance I get from H9s without worrying about bulb burnout at an inconvenient time. They honestly perform quite well, and even after running them for more than 11,000 miles and one year now, I'm on the original set. Just used standard off the rack Phillips H9s -- nothing that claim to be extra bright or anything. When used in combo with the OEM LED fogs installed by my dealer, you really have good illumination in both distance and width, and the halogen lighting is easy on the eyes. As I mentioned recently on another headlight thread, I think my H9 / LED fog combo produces better overall results than some factory LED systems. I think I'm getting a better and safer view of the road at night than in my wife's Honda Passport Elite, which comes stock with LEDs for both headlights and fogs.

 

What about for 9005 high beams? I would like something that matches the factory LED projectors, while still putting a lot of light down the road where it should be!

 

ZonCar are great light for the price in comparison to other expensive brands. You can obviously see the difference from the stock halogen on the left side of the vehicle and this LED light on the right.
You may check the ZonCar light at suncentauto https://www.suncentauto.com/headlight-bulbs.html
The brightness bid exactly what I wanted with my tinted lense covers and you can’t beat the plug and play yet alone the price!! the other picture is the high beams green.

 

I think you missed to upload the pic.
When I compare I even try to compare with stock LEDs of another 4Runner. In below screen capture on one of my videos the silver one has aftermarket LED bulb vs the grey one has factory LED headlights. To me its very interesting how relatively cheaper LED bulbs performing well these days.

 

Just updating this old post to note that I now have 22,000 miles on the standard Phillips H9s I installed summer of 2020. Illumination continues to be excellent, no noticeable dimming. If the truck came with these bulbs I never would have felt there was any kind of deficiency in the quality and amount of light output.

Lifespan is the only big reason I’d opt to transplant in the OEM LEDs from the newer models. These halogens perform more than well enough — and I really care about headlight performance!