I thought that ring needed to come off but was struggling with it, since they are in the mounted already. I’ll have to try again tomorrow.
Toyota lights on your TJ! Cheap, quality LED alternative
- Thread starter Longwhitejeep
- Start date
Huckster
TJ Enthusiast
What was the Toyota part number that y’all are talking about. Sounds like it has bigger wire and heavier part to handle the 80/100 wattage. What all comes with.
C.J. Roberts
TJ Addict
Huckster
TJ Enthusiast
Thanks. Looks like a needed upgrade in wiring for mine after living in the edge by running the 80/100 Hellas in stock wiring and sockets
Got these installed with the harness over the weekend. The lenses are beefy. I was a little worried about the look with the hard shoulder on the lens edge but i think it looks great - better than stock. Haven't had a chance to aim them yet, but the brightness and color are improved over the Sylvania sealed beams that were int there. I might throw the Hella 100/80 Quadratec bulbs in the cart on my next order to try them out. Overall, I'm very happy with the way it turned out.
Nice... at less than three bucks per bulb, it doesn't make sense not to upgrade them if you did the harness install.
Huge thanks to @Longwhitejeep for the heads up on this. Thanks to @Jamison C for his install writeup. 
OP
Thanks, strange @Jamison C made no mention of this thread in his write up though.Huge thanks to @Longwhitejeep for the heads up on this. Thanks to @Jamison C for his install writeup.
Maybe you've got it already but I just removed the housing to change the bulbs. The rings were tight enough that I was worried about breaking the light bucket or something else trying to take the ring off with the housing installed.
I was able to get them off while still installed in the jeep but it is a pain in the ass. I had to put gloves on to get a better grip.
I didn’t see this thread until I had already done the install. I had been googling 7” light options and came across an FJ forum.
LONGJP2
TJ Expert
Although Daniel Stern strongly recommends upgrading the harness with his 'kit'. Got mine yesterday so will plug in and play unless I can find a decent description of plugging in the new harness. Or is it that obvious?
C.J. Roberts
TJ Addict
C.J. Roberts
TJ Addict
Glad I could help. Any other questions, just ask.Thank you. I was on pg. 43 and on my way to re-reading the whole shaboom..
For the sake of discussion. FWIW: This from Daniel Stern (only part of the complete email response I got):
"The Koito lamps come with good quality
standard-luminance/standard-output bulbs. Bulb selection matters a _lot_
to how well you can (or can't) see at night. Please see bulb test
results posted by my colleague Virgil at
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?392498-Interesting-headlight-bulb-test-results
. Note the performance difference, especially on low beam, between the
standard bulb (bulb "A", the kind that comes with the headlamps) and the
high-efficacy bulb (bulb "C"). The current best pick in 60/55w bulbs is
made by Tungsram (GE of Europe); it is a +120 item that is a few
developmental iterations improved over the +80/+90 bulb "C" in the
linked comparison. I keep them in stock for $43.18/pair. With relays in
the system it's tempting to grab for big wattage numbers (100/90, etc),
but for a good collection of sturdy reasons it's usually
counterproductive at best; more info on request."
> Lots of folks going with LED replacements. I'll be you can address that
> ...
"First principles: halogen lamps need to use halogen bulbs. The "LED
bulbs" now flooding the market, claiming to convert halogen headlamps to
LED, are not a legitimate, safe, effective, or legal product. No matter
whose name is on them or what the vendor claims, these are a fraudulent
scam. They are not capable of producing the right amounts of light, nor
producing it in the right pattern for the lamp's optics to work.
If you wish more detailed info on these so-called "conversions", please
see
https://jalopnik.com/why-most-led-headlight-upgrades-dont-really-work-an-ex-1843070472
and
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html
.
Nutshell version: this is not like trying out different bulbs in the
kitchen or living room or garage, where all it has to do is light up in
a way you find adequate and pleasing. Headlamps aren't just flood or
spot lights; they are precision optical instruments (yes, even a cheap
and minimal headlamp counts as a precision optical instrument) that have
a complex, difficult job to do in terms of simultaneously putting light
where it's needed, keeping it away from where it's harmful, and
controlling the amounts of light at numerous locations within the beam
to appropriate levels (too much light in certain areas is just as
dangerous as not enough). Headlamps cannot just spray out a random blob
of light, and that's what they do with anything other than the intended
correct kind of light source.
And there's also a mountain of unsafe junk in the form of trinkets
claiming to be complete "LED headlamps", as well. But there's a number
of engineered LED headlamps on the market — they range in quality and
performance from pathetic to very good. By a big, big margin the king
daddy of them all is the JW Speaker 8700 Evolution-2 in black or chrome:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075Y1K6YV/?tag=2402507-20 . Those have a
heated-lens option, too, in black
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FR3WSJB/?tag=2402507-20 or chrome
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FQY9P4Y/?tag=2402507-20 .
A pretty sizeable step down from there, the 701C from Peterson (in
Peterson or Sylvania Zevo packaging — same lamp) is fairly good,
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MHX979S/?tag=2402507-20 . The Truck-Lite
unit is fairly good, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007K8AA7I/?tag=wranglerorg-20
, or with heated lens https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0193VFCO0/?tag=wranglerorg-20.
And down from there is a whole lot of knockoff/fraudulent/counterfeit
junk; don't buy."
"The Koito lamps come with good quality
standard-luminance/standard-output bulbs. Bulb selection matters a _lot_
to how well you can (or can't) see at night. Please see bulb test
results posted by my colleague Virgil at
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?392498-Interesting-headlight-bulb-test-results
. Note the performance difference, especially on low beam, between the
standard bulb (bulb "A", the kind that comes with the headlamps) and the
high-efficacy bulb (bulb "C"). The current best pick in 60/55w bulbs is
made by Tungsram (GE of Europe); it is a +120 item that is a few
developmental iterations improved over the +80/+90 bulb "C" in the
linked comparison. I keep them in stock for $43.18/pair. With relays in
the system it's tempting to grab for big wattage numbers (100/90, etc),
but for a good collection of sturdy reasons it's usually
counterproductive at best; more info on request."
> Lots of folks going with LED replacements. I'll be you can address that
> ...
"First principles: halogen lamps need to use halogen bulbs. The "LED
bulbs" now flooding the market, claiming to convert halogen headlamps to
LED, are not a legitimate, safe, effective, or legal product. No matter
whose name is on them or what the vendor claims, these are a fraudulent
scam. They are not capable of producing the right amounts of light, nor
producing it in the right pattern for the lamp's optics to work.
If you wish more detailed info on these so-called "conversions", please
see
https://jalopnik.com/why-most-led-headlight-upgrades-dont-really-work-an-ex-1843070472
and
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html
.
Nutshell version: this is not like trying out different bulbs in the
kitchen or living room or garage, where all it has to do is light up in
a way you find adequate and pleasing. Headlamps aren't just flood or
spot lights; they are precision optical instruments (yes, even a cheap
and minimal headlamp counts as a precision optical instrument) that have
a complex, difficult job to do in terms of simultaneously putting light
where it's needed, keeping it away from where it's harmful, and
controlling the amounts of light at numerous locations within the beam
to appropriate levels (too much light in certain areas is just as
dangerous as not enough). Headlamps cannot just spray out a random blob
of light, and that's what they do with anything other than the intended
correct kind of light source.
And there's also a mountain of unsafe junk in the form of trinkets
claiming to be complete "LED headlamps", as well. But there's a number
of engineered LED headlamps on the market — they range in quality and
performance from pathetic to very good. By a big, big margin the king
daddy of them all is the JW Speaker 8700 Evolution-2 in black or chrome:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075Y1K6YV/?tag=2402507-20 . Those have a
heated-lens option, too, in black
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FR3WSJB/?tag=2402507-20 or chrome
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FQY9P4Y/?tag=2402507-20 .
A pretty sizeable step down from there, the 701C from Peterson (in
Peterson or Sylvania Zevo packaging — same lamp) is fairly good,
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MHX979S/?tag=2402507-20 . The Truck-Lite
unit is fairly good, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007K8AA7I/?tag=wranglerorg-20
, or with heated lens https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0193VFCO0/?tag=wranglerorg-20.
And down from there is a whole lot of knockoff/fraudulent/counterfeit
junk; don't buy."
Part of the problem is they sold you blue coated bulbs. Halogens can be driven up to to something like 3,600 which is still yellowish and 4,000 is about ideal for maximum distance vision with a headlight for a human eye. Plus all the kiddies want white or blue so manufacturers put blue filters on them to make the light whiter. Its whiter light but the filter is just just reducing output by removing part of the spectrum so we cant see as far as with the same 100/80 that doesn't have the stupid blue coating.