LED replacement bulbs

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Christopher Muto - 27 Sep 2006 13:51 GMT

I am wondering if anyone has tried installing LED type replacement bulbs and
if they are any brighter?
Anything that would help safety and visibility is always welcome. Seems
that these might help.
As always, thank you all for your insight.

here's what i am referring to... not a recommendation of this vendor that i
have not purchased from... just a clear listing of the thing i am talking
about...
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=CAR

Reply to this Message

miker - 27 Sep 2006 14:09 GMT

> I am wondering if anyone has tried installing LED type replacement bulbs and
> if they are any brighter?
> Anything that would help safety and visibility is always welcome. Seems
> that these might help.

I've been disappointed in those I've tried on *motorcycles. The ones that I
notice being bright on cars seem to be the large-area custom made type
rather than just an LED bulb.

miker

*Altho safety is of course always important, many guys with older machines
would really like to reduce electrical load due to weak
alternators/generators and LEDs pull a lot less current. I would have been
happy with even equal brightness and reduced load, but I didn't see it.

Reply to this Message

Christopher Muto - 28 Sep 2006 02:14 GMT

>> I am wondering if anyone has tried installing LED type replacement bulbs
> and
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> alternators/generators and LEDs pull a lot less current. I would have been
> happy with even equal brightness and reduced load, but I didn't see it.

thanks miker. i have been looking since i posted and found a faq at a place
called http://www.vleds.com/ that is brief but straightforward... it talks
about bulb count, reflective lens covers, and bulb color as related to
brightness and that, as you experianced, they do not usually appear to be
brighter than regular bulbs. interestingly it says that you should get the
same color led bulb as the lens for best brightness and color(red leds for
red brake light - as opposed to white one). also says that most are not
appear brighter because they mostly send light point directly out and so do
not fill the reflectors in most lens... but the light is more concentrated
in the spot that faces out. also notes and issue with fast flashing for
turn signals in some cars as well as false indication of burnt out lights
due to the lower resistance of these led bulbs. they do have a solution for
that, a resistor to connect in line. so it seems these are not really what
i thought they were. seems mostly for people with clear lens that want to
look good with clear bulbs by day that light up red or yellow at night... i
do like the instant on/off of these bulbs produce. it really catches your
eye when someone is breaking or turning with them.

Reply to this Message

miker - 28 Sep 2006 16:03 GMT

> also says that most are not
> appear brighter because they mostly send light point directly out and so do
> not fill the reflectors in most lens... but the light is more concentrated
> in the spot that faces out.

And on a bike, doesn't light up your license plate! :)

> also notes and issue with fast flashing for
> turn signals in some cars as well as false indication of burnt out lights
> due to the lower resistance of these led bulbs. they do have a solution for
> that, a resistor to connect in line.

The flashing rate can also sometimes be fixed with an electronic or
"wide-load-range" flasher unit. The resistors are in parallel to make the
LED draw the same current as a regular bulb would, so that was no help to
me.

Good luck!

miker

Reply to this Message

Joe Feise - 28 Sep 2006 08:12 GMT

miker wrote on 09/27/06 06:09:

>> I am wondering if anyone has tried installing LED type replacement bulbs
> and
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> notice being bright on cars seem to be the large-area custom made type
> rather than just an LED bulb.

Yup. Brainstorm used to have an LED 3rd-brake light module, and that works fine
and is as bright as the normal 3rd brake light.
In particular since I got this to flash, people notice it:
http://www.miata.net/garage/brakeflash.html
When I'm stopped at a red light, some in the next lane over tell me that my
brake light flashes...

-Joe

Reply to this Message