Toyota Tacoma Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Headlight MOD Question

Jump to Latest
1.4K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  Tred  
#1 ·
ive been noticing more and more lately that our tacoma headlights dont seem as bright as other cars (probably since prerunners are a higher off the ground and that increases the distance the light has to travel before its reflected).

a HUGE reason the lights arent that bright is that concave cone thing directly in front of the bulb that blocks light from moving directly forward/sideways and reflects it back towards the back of the lamp. this design is highly ineffecient (reflecting the light back toward the rear reflective surfaces helps but blocking forward and side projection greatly reduces light emitted) and ive noticed a lot of newer cars have done away with this and their lighting is great.

i was wondering if it was possible to or if anyone has already removed this part. if you have, how is it working for you, does it help? does anyone know if its legal to do this (id imagine it would make our headlamps a lot brighter... maybe too bright)? ive already replaced my bulbs with some nice piaa ones and although it helped... its still dimmer than all of the other cars i drive.
 
R
#2 ·
Considering the headlight was designed as a REFLECTIVE unit, that is how it's supposed to work.
Image
You'll notice that most replacement bulbs are actually coated on the tip. Taking it off won't do much. If you're looking for good output, do a HID retro.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
0
#4 ·
The PIAA bulbs are only costing you light. They are not brighter than a clear bulb. The coating on the PIAA's just absorbes light and makes them LOOK whiter and brighter. Look at it this way, is there any way you could shine a flashlight through some window tint and it becomes brighter???

You could try upgrading to a brighter bulb like a Sylvania Xtravision, GE Nighthawk, or the European Osram Silverstar or Philips Vision Plus. All of these bulbs have no coating on them to absorb any light and are designed to give more light than a standard bulb.

You could also install a wiring harness that runs relays to the headlights to boost the current going to the bulbs so that they have every ounce of juice to make them as bright as they can be. You can also run higher wattage bulbs with this harness.

Otherwise, you are looking to do a HID conversion to get the most light you can possibly get. Hope this helps.
 
#5 ·
my piaa's actually dont look like they have any type of coating on them (tiny if any). an HID conversion is a tad expensive. does anyone have any instructions on how to reaim my headlights? thanks for all the input so far.

im also installing some piaa 525's which should give off more than enough light but arent legal for street use where i live.
 
Toyota Tacoma Forum
posts
1.9M
members
64K
Since
2001
A forum community dedicated to Toyota Tacoma owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, overlanding, lift kits, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Performance 1995.5-2004 1995.5 - 2004 Introduce Yourself Industry News