Jadz928

I have an mfg. direct order together for a set of rear tail light LEDs. 3W Lux, with 11 SMT on the side, available in 1156 and 1157.Link here for reference

Others who have used this are more than welcome to post comment on there results. I am happy with the one I tested in my '84.

So, I'm using a poll to gauge interest from people who would like to go in on the order with me. This is just for tail light bulbs, which mean 5 1156's for pre-87, and 5 1156's and 2 1157's for 87-later. This includes the 3rd brake light.

Pricing is prelim and may drop depending on the quantity. Somewhere between $10-12 ea. is my best estimate.

I'm only interested in tail lights.

hacker-pschorr

On the OB's, would these replace all four bulbs in back?

Jim M.

How have you addressed the bulb monitoring warning?

Jadz928

Yes. We time comes to order, just mention whether you need a 3rd brake light (makes 5) or not.

Jadz928

I have not addressed it, but Borland has... defeating bulb control module

Fabio421

I would be interested in a complete set if the bulb warning wasn't disabled.

Ed Scherer

FWIW, after having tried the ones you pictured on my '90 S4, I wound up getting the latest and greatest "115n-c45T"-family 1156/1157s LEDs from superbrightleds.com:



See another one of my posts for my full list of recommended LED bulbs for exterior applications on S4/GT/GTS cars.

The problems I had with the ones you had pictured were twofold:

• not quite bright enough when brake light on
• too bright with just parking lights on (in fact, while I was running these, I actually put tape over the parking light contact, because it was too difficult to distinguish between the parking light state and the full brake light state)

I'm accumulating a pretty good supply of leftovers and rejects.

Jadz928

Well, you don't have to disable the bulb monitor.

The question I don't know the answer to is:
Since the bulb monitor senses a current draw imbalance between left and right sides, would these 3.5watt LED draw enough power equally to NOT fault the bulb monitor?

MGW-Fla

You need to make your poll allow both answers just in case we want them for both category of 928s

RyanPerrella

Damn Ed,

Thats some bulb collection

What do your 5 LED bulbs cost?

I would be interested if the per unit cost was less, think $4 per bulb. I am not paying $10 x 12 for tail lamp bulbs. Am i understanding this correctly that its $10-$12 per bulb?

Jadz928

Wow Ed! That is an extensive collection of LED lamps. It appears with Ed's testing, the combination I've offered for the 87-later may not be the best choice.
I would say it's still a good choice for the pre-87. Though most likely not as bright and the new style 5 watt (1157-RLX5).
I can't find an asian source for those and if anyone finds a lead, let me know. They are $30 each retail.
Thanks Ed.

Jadz928

Ryan,
$10-12 each. They retail at $20-25. Minimizing cost is how this got started. I've asked my source what is the next quantity price break.

justin

Ive got LED's in both tail lights and brake lights, I really like 'em. The brake lights I installed 3w lux, in the tail lights I used 1w lux.,of course my car is an OB.

Jadz928

Well, I tried to edit the poll to change the criteria. I searched everywhere and couldn't figure out how. Anyone have a solution? PM me.

Ed Scherer

$29.95 from superbrightleds.com. I'd rank price pretty low on my selection criteria list and performance really high. It's just too important. If you have an accident because someone couldn't see your brake lights, the $$$ you saved will evaporate in a few milliseconds. Of course, that doesn't mean that you can't and shouldn't price shop, but just do your best to evaluate the various products.

IMHO, before you commit to anything, you might want to get a few samples yourself and try them out. Things to look out for:

• overall brightness
• if 1157 (two circuit) style, relative brightness of the two intensity levels
• beam pattern
• brightness relative to other bulbs (especially true for taillight assembly)
• build quality (some of the bulbs I've seen seem to be really cheaply made)

Here's the usual pattern for this process:

1. you get a batch of LEDs and install them
2. you view the results and, to be honest, are a little disappointed by one of the criteria I gave above (it's really not as bright as it should be, it doesn't fill out the lens uniformly with light, etc.)
3. you rationalize and fool yourself into thinking it's OK after all and leave substandard lighting in place (or get discouraged and put back the incandescent bulbs)
4. new products appear and you go through the cycle again, discovering that things are better, but maybe still not good enough

I've been through this cycle at least three times now. I think the latest 5 W bulbs are probably good enough for brake lights and turn signals, but even with the LEDs I've recommended, I'd like to do the following:

• build some kind of diffusers for the 4 parking light LEDs (the 15-LED 67-R15 units) because they don't produce uniform-enough lighting over the lens and they're a little bit too bright compared to the adjacent brake/parking light (when it's in the parking light state)
• possibly try the 1157-ALX5 for the front left and right turn/parking lights (I've got my doubts about that, given the shape of the reflector and lens, but I might try it anyway).
• get out my light meter and camera and actually do A/B comparisons between the original incandescent lights and the LED replacments

Remember, these lights are a major safety issue. It's just not worth the risk if you don't do this as best you can and be sure that you're not sacrificing safety. That's one of the reasons I've been reluctant to recommend anything; I'm really not convinced yet that these replacements are quite as bright as the original incandescents.

That said, I'm happy with my brake lighting now (plus, I've also got a LED strip under my rear wing, so there's a pretty good light show when I hit the brakes). The rear turn signals don't fill out the lens very well, but that was actually true (to a lesser extent) with the incandescent bulbs in there, too.

Finally, when you're testing your setup, whatever you wind up doing, make sure you look at it on a bright, sunny day. What looks cool and adequate at night or on a cloudy day can be completely washed out on a bright, sunny day.