Upgrading Exterior Lighting...

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

Im lookin to upgrade my lighting with LED lighting. Need some advice on where to get em and brands more than anything. I see several on ebay but some look kinda cheap and some look over priced. Anyone use LED lighting and if so what brands and where u guys get em at? Thanks in advance... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/suave.gif.858fc102f7646e678ee8af7e1fbc41d1.gif

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[SpeedEuphoria 10+ year member]

they all come from China

I just bought quite a few for my car and they all work great other than turn signals. You need to have a led flasher to work them and if your car is setup differently they still may not work. Like mine has 2057 bulbs in the rear for stop and turn signals(4 total in rear) the led's work on the brake or flash for turns(although fast) but do not light up at all on the normal running lights

get SMD LED's as they are the better ones

 

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

Those r the ones I have been looking at...

 

[SpeedEuphoria 10+ year member]

yeah i had no probs on the actual lights from china from ebay, just waiting 2 weeks to get them except a couple of the lower priced ones were actually in the US

I did my whole interior with them and now am in the process of desoldering then resoldering surface mount led's for the gauge cluster(what a pain wish I just had removable bulbs I could swap)

also you know that you get the color led to match the lens color right? As in red led's for rear lights and amber for front turns. Also you dont want to put led's in where there is also a normal bulb in the same housing as the heat will kill them

As for headlights they wont be bright enough(yes the 64smd ones) each smd is ~6lumens and headlights are rated for 1100 lumens +/- 150. So you would need at least 128 or more smd's to get the output let alone having the correct beam

 

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

Im in the process of replacing them all... I thought bout the same thing, differant bulbs in the same housing....

 

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

Im starting with the license lights and the reverse lights as of now... The license lights i know r in a housing of their own and the reverse dont get used consistently...

 

[SpeedEuphoria 10+ year member]

for reverse I got the 3watt smd's white 1156 bulbs, most of the "white" ones are like daylight compact fluorescent bulbs for your house(pigtails) as in they have a blue tint. Mine are not quite as bright as the stock 1156 bulb and are slightly blue, to me they are sufficient though.

this is the style I got but with only 3 led's, this with 4 would prob be close to stock brightness

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-X-Car-White-4-LED-Light-Lamp-Bulb-1156-SMD-High-Power-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3f03f57122QQitemZ270649356578QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

How many LEDs would u say are sufficient? I see they have kinds with differant amounts on them...

 

[SpeedEuphoria 10+ year member]

for what type stock bulb? number?

For the 194/168 bulbs the 5 smd leds are what I have and are sufficient(maybe slightly dimmer than stock) the 9led ones are prob brighter then stock. For the 1157 I got the 18smd led ones which are prob slightly dimmer than stock

 

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

The 1156s I want r 9 LED and the 6418s I want for the license are 6 LED...

 

[SpeedEuphoria 10+ year member]

for the reverse I think the ones I posted are the way to go as they have a narrower beam instead of those towers. On superbrightled dot com they show 120 lumens for a tower with 18 led, and 160 lumens and more focused beam for the style I got. I think 9led would be dim

A normal 1156 per google is 402 lumens

 

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

They do seem kinda dim, thats why i was asking...

 

[SpeedEuphoria 10+ year member]

for your 6418 license plate bulb I assume?

I got a 4led 3022(same thing as far as led) in my trunk and its OK, prob be fine for license plate. I have the 6 led ones in my interior and they are good(kinda tight in the housing)

 

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

Good u say that, I was gonna get those for interior also...

 

[revrider1 5,000+ posts]

So far iv upgraded all my interior lighting with SMD LEDs and they are nice...