Anybody try this flexible neon tube for mood lighting?

[Pete M]

Nope, I have some white ones like these but in a 15 foot roll as ambient lighting on my porch and they are still going strong after a year.
Hopefully these will last a while since they'll get a lot less use.
Going to put one in each foot well an one under each door if there is enough clearance

[BlkCamaroVert]

Originally Posted by spadz93

Could it work? Absolutely. Will the cheap china crap break on you within a month? More than likely. I'd get it and try it out, experiment and find something that you dig, but ultimately replace it with a higher quality version afterwards

My $8.85/pair LED DRLs are cheap China crap and they've been going strong for over six months. Look great. Yet my big bucks Oracle running lights are leaking on three of the units within a month. Returned twice on the right front and once on the left rear.

[Pete M]

You just never know what will last until you try them out!

[spadz93]

China stuff is usually hit or miss. I had a roll of LEDs from china last forever, and then another roll last a few weeks. I'd try out superbrightleds.com or just google "EL wire"

[eankar]

Originally Posted by Pete M

I pulled the trigger and ordered a set of these LED strip lights

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5x-Blue-30CM...pWC48D&vxp=mtr

Should be be here 1/4..
Will post when I get them installed

that's what I used for my footwell lighting, only red. I only needed one strip for each side.

[BlkCamaroVert]

Originally Posted by Pete M

I pulled the trigger and ordered a set of these LED strip lights

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5x-Blue-30CM...pWC48D&vxp=mtr

Should be be here 1/4..
Will post when I get them installed

Not at all the same as Neon (EL Wire)

[lvaoshley]

Saw something similar at SEMA this year and am tempted to try it.

[VTSummit]

Originally Posted by BlkCamaroVert

Not at all the same as Neon (EL Wire)

If you want to be specific, EL wire is not at all the same as NEON.

[BlkCamaroVert]

Originally Posted by VTSummit

If you want to be specific, EL wire is not at all the same as NEON.

I think it's called that because of the neon type glow it emits. I would think most people realize that neon wire, not to mention neon paint or neon posters don't contain neon gas.

[ghosted]

Originally Posted by BlkCamaroVert

I think it's called that because of the neon type glow it emits. I would think most people realize that neon wire, not to mention neon paint or neon posters don't contain neon gas.

I don't think I can agree with you there. Most people probably aren't of the mental capacity to know the difference, or even know that neon lights work on the principle of the excitation of neon gas with electricity.

But I'm just being pedantic.

[BlkCamaroVert]

Originally Posted by infidel2015

I don't think I can agree with you there. Most people probably aren't of the mental capacity to know the difference, or even know that neon lights work on the principle of the excitation of neon gas with electricity.

But I'm just being pedantic.

They should. I learned that in high school... high

[christianchevell]

All this crap is coming from China even if you think its not, I had great success for years with the thick under body lighting multi colored LEDs and they have a remote, I installed led strips from the local parts store up under the dash to help my cup holder lighting/abl via diygen5.... Work great just have to use 3m tape for the installs, and have found both oracle scanner bars I have had to be a POS and twice the coast or more of a similar product bought off ebay right off the boat.....( where they get them)....
And yes BTW that's just LEDs in a tube....... just because they call it the glow......only means its not much light coming out. Kind of like when the plastic degraded on these two models of scanner bars over the years...... on the new bend yourself lasted only 6 months before the plastic covering cracked and you have to cut reliefs for it to fit through the mail slot....



on the other hand the underbody lighting is heavy duty and stood up being down there and its thick.... I even scraped the crap out of it under the front airdam and it ate some off and it still worked fine....for like $30 to light up under the whole car by remote..... just running the wires is the hardest to hide ..lol

[With envy]

Just to eliminate the possibility of confusion before I post anything further, I thought I'd define the different types of lighting that are employed for this sort of thing:

Neon: Glass tubing filled with exotic gases with an applied electric charge.
Bright light, generates heat, not flexible. (The license plate frame in
my profile pic is an example of automotive neon.)


Electro Luminescent Wire (EL wire): Phosphorus coated solid wire core,
wrapped with copper fillaments, and
covered with a translucent plastic
sheath. Uses high frequency AC current.
Flexible, comes in many different
diameters. Not as bright as neon or LED.
Loses brightness over time.

Light Emitting Diodes (LED): Pretty much self-explanatory.

ABL Light Pipe: A flexible light transmitting conduit that is illuminated by an
external light source (LEDs).

Originally Posted by BlkCamaroVert

It has a 12 volt option so it's ready to go. Wonder if it's skinny enough to be pushed under the dash panel without removing it?

If you're talking about doing the ABL across the trim strip along the top of the dash, here's a whole thread about that subject. On the last couple of pages I posted information and answered questions about using EL wire.


http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...=47924&page=20

Originally Posted by infidel2015

EL Wire seems to be a great option for this kind of stuff. I've used it in skydiving applications, but the only things I caution against are UV degradation and the fact that they will lose some of their luminance over time.

But at the price, what could it hurt!?

He's right on all counts; although I question the idea of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.

Originally Posted by Welker2

Saw something similar at SEMA this year and am tempted to try it. If you do, please let us know how it looks & post some pictures.

I have to wonder if you're talking about the "Krypton" concept 6th gen. It featured some sort of electro luminescent treatment, although I'm not sure if it was paint or panels. I'm leaning toward panels. I'll have to check with my sources at GM.

Originally Posted by spadz93

Could it work? Absolutely. Will the cheap china crap break on you within a month? More than likely. I'd get it and try it out, experiment and find something that you dig, but ultimately replace it with a higher quality version afterwards

Originally Posted by scandata

That's part of what always kept me from doing mods like this. I'm worried it will look awesome for a month, then if I can't find a quality replacement, I'm stuck with an altered vehicle.

Originally Posted by BlkCamaroVert

All I was finding was the cheap ones. Got a link to better quality?

All of the EL wire I have used is made in Israel, of all places. I don't know if the Chinese even make EL wire. It's cheap, because it's cheap to produce. Most of the EL wire that I have used has proven fairly durable. I have used it on the exterior of my car, and even after exposure to the elements, it still works. The inverters that convert the DC to high frequency AC are a little more prone to failure than the wire itself. (They might be made in China.) EL wire is impressive at night, but is not visible in daylight like LEDs. You could conceivably use EL wire as indirect ambient lighting, but I think the LED strips are more suited for that sort of thing. EL wire is good for creating a neon like effect, where it's viewed directly on. You can form it into just about any shape you want, and it will look great in darkness, but don't expect to be able to see it in the daytime like real neon. Also, it comes in just about any color you want, but some colors like the reds, are less than impressive. (Green, blue and aqua are the brightest.) EL has the added flexibility of being available in tape, and sheet form. It can be cut to shape and mounted on a flat or slightly curved surface for some impressive effects. You can buy ready-to-use wire sets like the ones advertised, or you can order the wire by length, cut it to any desired length, add other colors, buy the inverters seperately, and install them yourself, to create a truly custom set-up. Like anything, it has it's pros and cons.

[ghosted]

Originally Posted by With envy

He's right on all counts; although I question the idea of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.

Hey, I don't question why you DON'T jump out of perfectly good airplanes, now do i? :P

Jump #46, about 2.5 years ago. Sunset jump, opened my parachute at about 13,000 feet, and spent about 10-15 minutes floating back to earth and chasing other jumpers around, with a beer or three in my cargo pockets (just kidding, Federal Aviation Administration!)





Now,