[bombmeo]

Hey all, I have an '85 and want to upgrade my headlights to led, something brighter and plug n play. I keep seeing ads for Headlight Experts. Anyone know if they're good or recommend another brand? TIA!

 

[teranfirbt]

There are only a few brands that make drop in led lights that are worth anything. JW Speaker, Philips, GE, and Truck Lite. There's a reason they're expensive.

You'll need to also have a relay harness made to convert from switched ground (stock Toyota) to switched positive (what every LED light maker expects).

I've made the mistake of putting LED bulbs in H4 housings and buying the less expensive conversion housings. This is truly a buy once cry once situation. If it's not the 4 brands I listed, it's probably hot garbage.

 

[bombmeo]

There are only a few brands that make drop in led lights that are worth anything. JW Speaker, Philips, GE, and Truck Lite. There's a reason they're expensive.

You'll need to also have a relay harness made to convert from switched ground (stock Toyota) to switched positive (what every LED light maker expects).

I've made the mistake of putting LED bulbs in H4 housings and buying the less expensive conversion housings. This is truly a buy once cry once situation. If it's not the 4 brands I listed, it's probably hot garbage.

Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely look into one of those brands. My current headlight are so dim that I don't really drive my car at night.

 

[J.harris]

Dont forget morimoto sealed5.

As halogens age they dim so maybe replacement halogens will get you by. Or your connectors are corroded causing high resistance.

 

[bombmeo]

Good point. May just do replacements but I'll get my wiring checked out as well. I'm not a car guru in any way, so I'll maybe my mechanic will know.

Thanks for the info, and I'll check out those lights as well. I'm assuming all these lights need relays.

 

[JimKing]

I've ordered some PIAA LED H4 bulbs and will test them to see if they would fit the Hella 200mm H4 housings that are used on the MK1 and MK2. I'm not optimistic. @teranfirbt what LED H4 bulbs did you try?

 

[se7enine]

I've always just did these types of retrofits myself. They are super easy and will save you $$. Just need to buy the correct headlight to start with. My go to at the moment is United Pacific's basic 5x7" reflector for $38 a piece. Composite surround thats easy to cut, good plastic lens that doesn't distort the projectors cutoff like the glass version and won't break/chip. Add a $5 PVC part from home depot and that's it. Just add the LED/HID projector of your choosing and boom.

 

[teranfirbt]

I've ordered some PIAA LED H4 bulbs and will test them to see if they would fit the Hella 200mm H4 housings that are used on the MK1 and MK2. I'm not optimistic. @teranfirbt what LED H4 bulbs did you try?

It doesn't really matter, cyber something or other. The problem is that it's physically impossible to package an LED in the same space as a halogen filiment, so there's no way for a housing designed for an H4 (or any other halogen) to collect and distribute light from an LED correctly. The focal point of the light is in the wrong place to work correctly.

This is true for all types of lights; projectors aren't immune from having an incorrect focal point for an LED if they were designed for a halogen.

Retrofitting an LED or HID based projector into a cheap H4 housing like se7enine is definitely a way to go, but decent projectors are just as expensive as a drop in H6054, once you buy all of the giblets and spend the time doing the work.

 

[JimKing]

@se7enine - Nice, but what does the high beam pattern on that setup look like?

 

[se7enine]

@se7enine - Nice, but what does the high beam pattern on that setup look like?

I don't use it but pretty sure its something like this. It's an old version so they don't even sell it anymore.

I still have some HID projectors to use up but after that I'll probably try some NHK's w/ Laser next time.

 

[Adelelewis67]

I took the advice from previous posts and installed the Truck-Lite 267450C in my '86 last Fall. It was super fast, super easy, fit the retainer bracket, and was true plug and play.
I did NOT have to use an adapter for the plug. I did NOT need resistors. It was as quick as replacing with stock halogens. Now I can see the road at night.

 

[bombmeo]

I took the advice from previous posts and installed the Truck-Lite 267450C in my '86 last Fall. It was super fast, super easy, fit the retainer bracket, and was true plug and play.
I did NOT have to use an adapter for the plug. I did NOT need resistors. It was as quick as replacing with stock halogens. Now I can see the road at night.

Thank you for sharing. I'm going to try this out. I'll be ordering today

 

[J.harris]

I took the advice from previous posts and installed the Truck-Lite 267450C in my '86 last Fall. It was super fast, super easy, fit the retainer bracket, and was true plug and play.
I did NOT have to use an adapter for the plug. I did NOT need resistors. It was as quick as replacing with stock halogens. Now I can see the road at night.

Did your high beam indicator work?

 

[bombmeo]

Did your high beam indicator work?

I read an Amazon comment that the High Beams work, just doesn't register with the dash indicator. He installed them in a 1994 Toyota truck. Not a deal breaker for me.

 

[J.harris]

Everyone has that problem. You can wire in a resistor or do what I did and wire in a small 194 bulb as a low beam light. The 194 bulb will light in low beam mode but once you switch to high beam it will go out and the dash indicator will turn on.

I had to do it for my 04 tacoma that I converted to bixenon.