Tacoma Headlight / Fog Lights

[sargeek]

A couple of Tacoma Questions:

1) Does anyone know if the OEM fog lights can be modified to operate with either the low-beams or parking lights on, and then turn off with the brights?
The fog lights on my TJ operate like this and it's great. It allows me to use the fog lights as DRL in bad weather.

2) HID bulb replacement in the OEM headlights? Has anyone done this modification? Is it helpful, or just a wast of time & money. I have HID lights in our Murano and they are awesome, but they were designed as HID.

$218.00 for H4 HID light upgrade:
http://www.plasmagarage.com/XenonHIDconversionKit.html

 

[robert]

The OEM fog lights only work when the low beams are on; they cut off when you switch on the bright lights. They don't operate when just the parking lights are on. There is a mod you can do so that they stay on when the bright lights are on and one where you can switch them independent of the headlights. I don't have the links, but you can find them on Tacoma Territory or Custom Tacos.

Plenty of people have done the HID mod, but the headlights weren't designed for them and I think there are some issues with cuttoff (of the beam, not the power to them). The two forums above have threads on it; Custom Tacos is more street oriented and Tacoma Territory is more dirt oriented. IIRC, there was a thread on ih8mud too.

The factory headlights are actually pretty darn good, but HID would make them better. I'm running Silverstar bulbs and haven't felt the need to drop the money on HIDs yet.

 

[sargeek]

Thanks

Thanks for the links - I will check out the other sites - I have read some of the installations for "street" applicaions. I care much more about the functionality of the lights rather than the image.

 

[kai38]

I had a '06 Tacoma and did a fog light mod to allow the fog lights on by there selves, with lows or high beams (not a good idea in a snow storm or fog)
found the info here http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93275 There are a couple of different ways to set it up.

 

[Clark White]

I've been thinking of something similar, but I want to wire it so that I can use the switch on the steering column as it is now, but reversed. You turn that switch and they go ON with the brights, OFF with the lows, so I can use my off road lights as extra brights, but have them go off soon as I turn the brights off. I would then wire in a toggle switch to turn them on any time regardless of brights. Has anyone ever done that? I haven't seen a good wiring diagram, so I'm not sure what to change around (I have a 3rd gen 4Runner).

Clark

P.S. I don't mean to hijack, but thought it was a close enough idea to fit in.

 

[java]

hids in halogen housings will blind oncoming traffic a bit. its kinda a pet peeve of mine.
hids light off put pattern is completely different than halogen bulbs so they really dont refelct the light the same.

but hids will make your lightsw brighter. ddmtuning.com has them way cheaper btw, and have 55W kits where most are 35W. not affiliated in any way, just used them before and they are cheap

 

[robert]

Remember if you switch to HIDs that our two headlight system is not designed for them and you'll loose your bright lights. You probably wouldn't miss the brights with the increased lighting, but there could be some issues if your state is one of those that has draconian vehicle inspections.

 

[laxtoy]

thought i'd chime in, as i have researched this to death on ttora and the like. the consensus over there is hid's are just not desinged to be used in a stock housing, unless you have a 01 and newer tacoma with the clear headlight lenses, since the prior ones refract the light too much. even then, most comment you need to aim them way down, so as to not offend the oncoming traffic. the link java gave for ddm tuning does have options for hi/low beam kits for h4 style bulbs, and the nice part is they offer replacement bulbs for cheap. i was thinking of using one of their hid kits in my lightforces, it has been documented as a pretty kick *** upgrade. one other option you may look into is upgrading your stock headlight wiring, many say it improves things significantly at less of a cost compared to hid's. http://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html
http://www.suvlights.com/product_info.php?products_id=114

 

[sargeek]

I guess I am kind of a lighting snob. On my pervious 4x4's I have been able to upgrade the headlights to e-code headlights. I think they have a much better light pattern, fewer hot spots, great cut off, and the part of the low beam to light up street signs on the side of the road. I don't know of any Tacoma e-code headlight replacement.

Fog-Lights are usually my first upgade, unless they are OEM. Most OEM fog lights are ususally junk, and are IMHO more of an auxilary headlight/foul weather marker light then an effective fog light. Fog lights should be mounted low and wide as practical on the vehicle. I like the OEM interlocks that deactivate Fog lights when the brights are on, but as I said in my origional post, I perfer when they allow operation with only marker lights on.

Then I move on to installing driving lights. In short, the bigger, generally the better. I generally install one set on the front brush guard, and a second set on the roof rack. Again, these lights should be interlocked to come on with the brights only. I have installed bypass switches that allow you to override them, so they can be used alone.

So now the hunt for methods to upgrade the OEM Tacoma Headlights. I like all the honest feedback on HID upgrades. I had reservations reguarding the upgrades since the OEM headlight was not designed for the HID bulb. Just looking for all my options.

Thanks