Toyota lights on your TJ! Cheap, quality LED alternative

There are very few LED headlights that I like the look of, especially on TJs. I'm going to move to H4, just trying to decide which way to go. I hear really good things about the IPFs. Glad to know you have experience with them too for comparison.
The first set of LEDs, installed by the PO, were trash. The color was right, but there was no pattern to speak of... just a huge wash of bright light. Surprised I wasn't getting flashed by oncomers. I sold them to a local kid for $50 and a bag of Doritos and installed the TruckLite's based on recommendations here. Again, color is right but the pattern is all over the place... Like a huge smile out in front with a few dark patches, plus that annoying overhead projection.

My TJ is super clean and unmolested. Aside from 33's, ProComp 69s and all the necessary suspension work for the lift, it is visually very stock looking, so while the LED technology is nice, visually they are out of place.

I remember the IPFs being a HUGE upgrade on the JK. I upgraded to 100/80s and I can't think of anything I didn't like about them...except the price.

You could always try a whiter color h4 bulb in the housings once you get them.

I am running a 100/80w Hella bulb now. It's nice at night being able to see.
I'm going to do exactly the same on my Unlimited. I ordered the 100/80 Hella bulbs from Q-Tec.

That's the plan. I have the $2 Hella 100/80's from Quadratec ordered. That's a good place to start. Not sure about the color but the pattern, brightness and coverage are more important than the color.
 
My TJ is super clean and unmolested. Aside from 33's, ProComp 69s and all the necessary suspension work for the lift, it is visually very stock looking, so while the LED technology is nice, visually they are out of place.
100% this. Mine is literally still stock for the time being but it had cheap LED lights. Didn't fit at all. I bought sealed beams the first day I had it home and I'm looking for an H4 upgrade path.
 
100% this. Mine is literally still stock for the time being but it had cheap LED lights. Didn't fit at all. I bought sealed beams the first day I had it home and I'm looking for an H4 upgrade path.
Exactly the reason I tried these. I went down a rabbit hole of good quality headlights which lead me to Daniel Sterns website from a few forum recommendations. These koito beams are front and center on his site as a recommendation for a good h4 lamp.

https://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html
Searching koito h4 lead me to an ih8mud thread with a Toyota part number. I couldn't believe they were that cheap from an oem with a quality harness. On the site above and other aftermarket sites the koito lamps are about 90 a piece.
 
Anyone notice how much heat these put off? Wondering if they get warm enough to keep ice and snow from building up on the headlights. Have the kit sitting in the basement.
 
Anyone notice how much heat these put off? Wondering if they get warm enough to keep ice and snow from building up on the headlights. Have the kit sitting in the basement.
They should give off the same as most h4 or sealed br housings. Higher wattage bulbs will produce more heat typically too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wigsajumper
That's the plan. I have the $2 Hella 100/80's from Quadratec ordered. That's a good place to start. Not sure about the color but the pattern, brightness and coverage are more important than the color.

If you look at the thread on the ih8mud forum linked at the beginning of this thread, you can see the output of various bulbs in these lights. The stock bulbs included with the kit appear to be just as good as any others.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 06lj
Picked them up yesterday and installed them them last evening. My very early impressions...

The Good:
  • As others note, the kit is a steal for the price. Complete with a bag of way-to-many zip ties.
  • Build quality is great. Glass is crystal clear. I like the flat lens.
  • Beam pattern is what I remember from the IPF housings I had. No dead spots like the LEDs had. Sharp upper cutoff with a clean rise for the right-side ditch illumination. The LEDs were spotty with bright spots where there shouldn't be and plenty of dead spots. I did a rough alignment and coverage with this kit is a nice smooth, even wash of light where it should be and nothing where it shouldn't. I need to adjust them both up a bit..
  • Install was plug-n-play.. bulbs were already installed. Pop out the old and in with the new. It's a one-banana job.
  • Stock bulbs ran warm enough to remedy my concerns of ice/snow buildup on the cooler running LEDs. That's a real problem here in the NE. Problem solved. That said, the polycarbonate lens of the LEDs were less susceptible to cracking and chipping than the glass. I've got a set of Lamin-X clear protection film so no worries about chipping
  • Though I like the LED technology the look of the H4 lenses is more period correct for a 20+ year old vehicle
The Bad:
  • The bulbs that come with it are woefully dim compared the TruckLite knockoffs. I have a set of Hella 100/80s in transit from Q-Tec which should be measurably brighter so this is a manageable issue
  • Same goes for the color. If I hadn't turned them on with only one installed alongside the LEDs it might not have been so painfully obvious, but the color is almost yellow. After driving with them for a bit the color difference began to wear off and I know there are tons of bright white H4 bulb options, but I fear the ones I bought from Q-Tec might not be the solution
  • I did a rough alignment but still have one spot where the overlap is leaving it dim. The side-to-side adjusters in my buckets might be shot, so once I fix that I should be good.
  • The end fittings on the harness are definitely too small to fit over the battery terminals. An easy fix.
The Ugly:
  • The high beams... ugh. Hard to tell just how bad they are with less than an hour of seat time and the stock bulbs, but the high beam is not great. It begs for a set of auxiliary lights, which I haven't installed yet.

For less than $50 plus a a few pennies of gas and tire wear to pick them up, these are a bargain worth spending on. The harness alone, high quality and complete, is worth nearly that much. Since mods are never really DONE, I'll have some fun experimenting with bulbs once the harness is installed. No solution for the high beams, though I use them so infrequently it isn't a big deal for me.
 
Picked them up yesterday and installed them them last evening. My very early impressions...

The Good:
  • As others note, the kit is a steal for the price. Complete with a bag of way-to-many zip ties.
  • Build quality is great. Glass is crystal clear. I like the flat lens.
  • Beam pattern is what I remember from the IPF housings I had. No dead spots like the LEDs had. Sharp upper cutoff with a clean rise for the right-side ditch illumination. The LEDs were spotty with bright spots where there shouldn't be and plenty of dead spots. I did a rough alignment and coverage with this kit is a nice smooth, even wash of light where it should be and nothing where it shouldn't. I need to adjust them both up a bit..
  • Install was plug-n-play.. bulbs were already installed. Pop out the old and in with the new. It's a one-banana job.
  • Stock bulbs ran warm enough to remedy my concerns of ice/snow buildup on the cooler running LEDs. That's a real problem here in the NE. Problem solved. That said, the polycarbonate lens of the LEDs were less susceptible to cracking and chipping than the glass. I've got a set of Lamin-X clear protection film so no worries about chipping
  • Though I like the LED technology the look of the H4 lenses is more period correct for a 20+ year old vehicle
The Bad:
  • The bulbs that come with it are woefully dim compared the TruckLite knockoffs. I have a set of Hella 100/80s in transit from Q-Tec which should be measurably brighter so this is a manageable issue
  • Same goes for the color. If I hadn't turned them on with only one installed alongside the LEDs it might not have been so painfully obvious, but the color is almost yellow. After driving with them for a bit the color difference began to wear off and I know there are tons of bright white H4 bulb options, but I fear the ones I bought from Q-Tec might not be the solution
  • I did a rough alignment but still have one spot where the overlap is leaving it dim. The side-to-side adjusters in my buckets might be shot, so once I fix that I should be good.
  • The end fittings on the harness are definitely too small to fit over the battery terminals. An easy fix.
The Ugly:
  • The high beams... ugh. Hard to tell just how bad they are with less than an hour of seat time and the stock bulbs, but the high beam is not great. It begs for a set of auxiliary lights, which I haven't installed yet.

For less than $50 plus a a few pennies of gas and tire wear to pick them up, these are a bargain worth spending on. The harness alone, high quality and complete, is worth nearly that much. Since mods are never really DONE, I'll have some fun experimenting with bulbs once the harness is installed. No solution for the high beams, though I use them so infrequently it isn't a big deal for me.
I have been very satisfied with the high and low beam patterns with these. You could try some different bulbs for the color of your preference.

I wouldn't call the high beams ugly or woefully dim or bad. They are much better than the stock lights and Hella e codes I had previously. The beam pattern photos I posted in this thread support that I believe along with the beam pattern photos in the ih8mud link.

II would try adjusting the headlights for the high beams. https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/how-to-aim-and-align-your-headlights.2218/

Here is my beam pattern with Hella 100/80 bulbs. Also a photo of my harness connected to my factory terminals on my 05 lj. I posted these photos previously in this thread.

20210709_232139.jpg


20210710_000449.jpg
 
Last edited:
No worries! I’m not done with this setup. After driving home last evening I see I have the aimed far too low. I’ll get that refined tonight.

The brighter bulbs are here and I’m confident those will help dramatically. Color is another story. No idea how the new bulbs will look.
 
Last edited:
So this may be a dumb question but I have no experience with H4 bulbs. I went to try and install the 100 watt hella bulbs this evening after I aimed the headlights and I can’t figure out how to get the bulbs out the Toyota housing. Any pointers?
 
So this may be a dumb question but I have no experience with H4 bulbs. I went to try and install the 100 watt hella bulbs this evening after I aimed the headlights and I can’t figure out how to get the bulbs out the Toyota housing. Any pointers?
Grab the connector of the bulb and rotate counterclockwise. It will turn about a third of a turn, and pull out. Look at the three tabs on the new bulb. Notice that they are different sizes, They have to be lined up with the right size slots to insert it into the housing.
 
So this may be a dumb question but I have no experience with H4 bulbs. I went to try and install the 100 watt hella bulbs this evening after I aimed the headlights and I can’t figure out how to get the bulbs out the Toyota housing. Any pointers?
Take the boot off. Then you have to twist that metal collar that says lock the opposite direction of the arrow etched into the metal collar. Pic of the back of the housing you can see the lock wording.

20210709_152406.jpg
 
Have been running these on my Jeep for a little bit. Definitely much better than the stock (original?) sealed beams they replaced. At the same time not as good as the headlights in our Honda Odyssey. Could use more light output, and the high beam pattern could be wider. But definitely a vast improvement over stock. I feel much safer driving at night.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Blondie70