Mornin' all. After suffering through this weekend's snowstorm, it seems that brighter taillights would be a good idea. I had trouble seeing cars without frosted over OEM lenses. I've spent several hours going through threads on this forum and looking at LED (3057) bulb reviews on Amazon and am more confused than when I started. Seems as though...

1. The euro style "Altezza" replacements are poor quality and prone to melting and glue loosening.

2. Many LED replacement bulb reviewers claim that the LEDs aren't much, if any brighter than the original bulbs they replaced. I am assuming they replaced incandescent bulbs.

I would like more visability from my vehicles hind side. My current thought is to try and polish up/clear coat the rear lenses and switch to some brighter incandescents. Any ideas?

BC

 

The same principles on rehabilitating headlights apply to taillights. If anything, it works better. Have to caution that taillights dont seem to use the same acrylic.. rather a little softer, so you should be careful. But I tried it out on an old tbird lens and it worked great.

LED replacement bulbs from what I have read and thought about will never work properly in a housing made for incandescents until someone comes up with:
A. A glass diffuser to spread the light
B. a way to dissipate their heat.
I'm thinking perhaps a whole new socket with integral heat pipe extending outside the housing.
LEDs indeed DO produce more light for same power but some makers actually use resistors in the 'bulbs' which negate the benefit.

 

If you want them to be really bright, you could wire in some halogen headlight bulbs in the tails. It probably wouldn't pass safety, and would also probably melt your housings, but it's an idea.

 

My aftermarket lights have held up fine. I'm running hotter 1156 halogen 55watt bulbs in the backup. The problem with leds is they are highly directional. In the dark they seem brighter but its often limited on the angle and distance you are looking at them.

I've had good luck with the spider led bulbs for tails. They are the ones with legs that folds down to fit in the hole and expands in the housing. I have a first gen and my bulbs face backwards compared to some that do use reflection more to get light behind you. If you have a 2nd gen they make led tails for most of them.

I also have 6 inch oval red leds in my bumper and they are bright.

 

I tried the spider LED bulbs, and they are trash, just glad I did not have to pay for them. So I have just moved on to making my own LED tails.

 

you should make a how to for that rich

 

I am taking pictures along the way, When I am completed with them, I will make a how to.

 

oh whoops i guess i misread your post. i thought that you had already made them lol

 

not yet, I will have the LED's and circuit boards by the first week of march. Coming from hong kong, then its onto soldering, doing 98 leds per tail.

 

I made my own front grille leds. I had a how too on s10planet. Everybody requested a how to and then nobody looked at it after a week. Once people learn work is required in making them the subject drops fast. Only us few nutcases willing to do the math, and going crosseyed doing all the soldering.

I can't say I have any complaints about the spider bulbs short of cost. I found them in a junkyard so I didn't pay anything for them either. They are imho better than the cheap overpriced cluster bulbs you see everybody using.