LED tail light bulb, HELP !!!

[ghosted]

Originally Posted by DonM

How much brighter are the LED tail light bulbs than the standard ones in a 2013 LS?

Ridiculously bright.



Edit: nevermind, I just woke up and thought we were talking reverse lights.

[ghosted]

Originally Posted by BigRed82

Where did you purchase yours from? I know the Phillips type come with a resistor installed but they're about $10-each.

Just standard cool white 194 LED bulbs from Superbrightleds.com

[DonM]

Looks like I'm going to need to buy 8 LEDs then, two for the reverse lights, 2 turn signal/running lights for the front and 4 for the tail/brake lights. I want to make SURE I'm seen

[DonM]

Originally Posted by ghosted

Ridiculously bright.



Edit: nevermind, I just woke up and thought we were talking reverse lights.

No, I want to replace ALL the exterior lights with LEDs, especially the reverse lights b/c I can't see squat when backing up, the factory bulbs are useless.

[ghosted]

Originally Posted by DonM

No, I want to replace ALL the exterior lights with LEDs, especially the reverse lights b/c I can't see squat when backing up, the factory bulbs are useless.

Ah, well I'm running cool white 194s from SBL, and I got my reverse lights from Amazon. They're JDM ASTAR 800 lumen 921 LEDs, they should come up in a search for ya.

Also, the side markers are 194s as well, but if you go with cool white, it washes out the color a bit too much, so you might just want 2 Amber and 2 Red 194s from SBL.

[DonM]

Originally Posted by ghosted

Ah, well I'm running cool white 194s from SBL, and I got my reverse lights from Amazon. They're JDM ASTAR 800 lumen 921 LEDs, they should come up in a search for ya.

Also, the side markers are 194s as well, but if you go with cool white, it washes out the color a bit too much, so you might just want 2 Amber and 2 Red 194s from SBL.

Thanks, now I just need to find out if the red or white LEDs would be best for my brake/tail lights

[ghosted]

Originally Posted by DonM

Thanks, now I just need to find out if the red or white LEDs would be best for my brake/tail lights

Same thing applies there as well, both tail light and LED manufacturers recommend using LEDs that match the lens color. You *might* get lucky if using white, so long as the lens is thick/dark enough.

My internal LEDs are red by default, and plenty bright!

[DonM]

Thanks ghosted, it looks like my shopping list is going to be:

6 194s, 2 white, 2 amber and 2 red,

6 3157s, 2 amber and 4 red

and 6 resistors. Does that sound right?

[ghosted]

Originally Posted by DonM

Thanks ghosted, it looks like my shopping list is going to be:

6 194s, 2 white, 2 amber and 2 red,

6 3157s, 2 amber and 4 red

and 6 resistors. Does that sound right?

Not sure what the stock bulbs are, to be honest, my front signals are 7443s, but I'm also running aftermarket headlights. And the 6 resistors sounds correct, one resistor per blinking bulb.

[DonM]

Originally Posted by ghosted

Not sure what the stock bulbs are, to be honest, my front signals are 7443s, but I'm also running aftermarket headlights. And the 6 resistors sounds correct, one resistor per blinking bulb.

I talked to SBL and they are the ones that told me the 3157s were for the front turn signals/running lights and I ASSUMED they would also be the ones for the tail/brake lights. I will of course check with SBL to make sure about the 3157s for the tail/brake lights.

[ghosted]

Originally Posted by DonM

I talked to SBL and they are the ones that told me the 3157s were for the front turn signals/running lights and I ASSUMED they would also be the ones for the tail/brake lights. I will of course check with SBL to make sure about the 3157s for the tail/brake lights.

Hope it all works out for ya. SBL is a fantastic company, I've been using them for years.

[2SSRS@Gen5diy]

Originally Posted by BigRed82

I did, they're definitely fully seated and they still flash. Under the description of the resistors on the gen5diy site it says the resistors are for the license plate lights as well.

That's for the gen6 car.

[Low Saturn]

Originally Posted by DonM

No, I want to replace ALL the exterior lights with LEDs, especially the reverse lights b/c I can't see squat when backing up, the factory bulbs are useless.

The reverse lights are so other motorists and pedestrians know you're about to back up. No to illuminate the road behind so you can see to back up. It would be nice if that's what they were intended to do. For this reason I added rear facing driving lights on my Suburban so I really can see what's back there at night.

[BigRed82]

Originally Posted by Low Saturn

The reverse lights are so other motorists and pedestrians know you're about to back up. No to illuminate the road behind so you can see to back up. It would be nice if that's what they were intended to do. For this reason I added rear facing driving lights on my Suburban so I really can see what's back there at night.

Are you serious, Clark??