cgtracer

so i was thinking how i could some how make my tails with LED lights. Like, drill alot of small holes then place an LED in each, then run each different LED to the wire it should go to such as RED LED for brake lights, White LED's for reverse... stuff like that? has it been done? what will i need to do so? just LED's and wire? what.... thanks alot...


something like this... but different
<img src="http://www.inprocarwear.com/taillights/LED/LEDT-2034C.gif">

M1LL10N

Well I prolly plan on doing something similar to my tail lights, but not like whats pictured. I was planning on using the stock light bulb holder and replacing the stock bulbs with LED Bulbs. I have a list somewhere on what type of bulbs the stock ones are and what they match up with as far as LED bulbs types go, but I used this website to figure that out. You just need to know what type the stock bulbs are. Anyway great prices on that site too! HTH

DRAGON88

Please, save the azetza tail lights for the riced out hondas.

M1LL10N

I'm going to assume thats supposed to be a bulb holder behind the actual tail lenses ; )

cgtracer

no guys, im not talking like riced out tails, i jsut wanted to show a pic of like the layout. You know how the new M3 tails look? like that. I just want it to be very bright, im not gonna mess with the look other then with LED's.... jesus... im no ricer.

1984cgtturbo

and they have a page to compare stock bulbs to led replacement bulbs too. Not ricey altezza junk, just better bulbs.

I just did the dash bulbs in both my Audis with new 6-way LED replacement and man what a difference.

J.

Thanks to Skyler for getting me the link to begin with.

quattrokens

Is this the link you're talking about M1LL1ON?<ul><li><a href="http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/LampReplacementGuide/">Handy Bulb Link</a></li></ul>

M1LL10N

yea thats the website I have, I just forgot to add it to my post lol great site tho!

SIXSIGMALARRY

First, I am really not sure how ALL the bulbs are set up in the 4KCS taillight assembly, but I do know that the one I replaced is aiming up and would not be a good candidate for LED light bulb replacement.

That being said, if you're going to use LED's, I advise you to think about how all bulbs are oriented.

Here's why.....
Last year, I decided to replace my traditional incandescent light bulbs in my Infiniti's taillights and reverse lights. True there are LED's back there, but for some strange reason, Infiniti decided to use a standard light bulb too in the 2003-2005 models!

Lessons learned....
LED is what I would refer to as directional light. Meaning, that the light will emit ONLY at the direction it is pointed or bent, as some LED bulbs has different ends/lens (some are concave, some are convex).

That being said, for the most part, the typical replacement LED bulb will be useful ONLY if the bulb is aiming outwards. That is, the bulb is not lying parallel to the tail light assembly lens, but rather, in a perpendicular manner.

You see, the incandescent bulb emits light at almost ever angle due to the filament glowing. So it doesn't matter how it is oriented in relation to the tail light lens, as long as the bulb/glass is at a point where is can shine through the lens.

Some LED bulb replacement manufactures have caught on to this and are probably tired of hearing people complain, so the have bulbs that I refer to is as "multi-directional". These lights not only shoot light from bottom to top, but also have several LED's implanted on the sides to help glow the housings. The problem is, they don't use many LED's to do this and don't offer it in all varieties or colors, so the incandescent light bulb is going to be brighter.

My G35's reverse light socket oriented the bulb so that it pointed straight up. When I put the car in reverse, yes, there was a light, but it was hardly noticeable (actually, you couldn't see it during the day). Even though there was reflective material there, it wasn't designed to reflect light being emitted straight up. It was designed to reflect the light emitted from the sides of the bulb, not the top (as many LED replacement bulbs are designed). So, needless to say, I replaced the LED with the stock bulb.

Now my turn signal socket was a different story, it had the light aiming outward. It looked great!

Here are some other things to consider that I learned from seeing these LED replacement bulbs in other cars.

Don't expect to see the COOL LED bulbs through the lens of older cars, as their lens are meant to hide the bulb (i.e., a "milky"/thick plastic). Seems that the new trend is to see the bulb (e.g., the Mazda RX8) through the lens and would look GREAT.

With a replacement LED bulb, you will have a brighter light, but it will be focused and unless you have one that is multi-directional, will not light up the entire lens like before. On my friend's 3000GT, you can see where her bulbs are (you should see her, you can definitely see her bulbs-LOL....sorry!), as the rest of the lens is dim.

WOW, I didn't mean to write that much. Guess I had a lot of free time. :P

I hope that didn't bore anyone too badly and I hope that made sense. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

M1LL10N

the link posted by 1984cgtturbo