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Crappy interior LED conversion (with pics) from ECS. Is Suncoast's any better?
Interior LED kit from ECS Tuning.
Good:
-"Only" $95 shipped (vs $165 shipped from Suncoast)
-Overall look of the LED is clear, white, and very modern
-Installtion is relatively straightforward
Bad:
-One of the bulbs was defective (didn't work at all)
-Center dome light is too bright at night (although I suspect this may be the case with any LED kit so I don't fault ECS for this)
-SUPER WEIRD AND GOOFY PURPLE SPOTS FROM ALL THE LEDs THAT DID WORK!! ��
Has anyone had a similar, purple polka dot experience with Suncoast's or any other LED kits?? I'm definitely returning this set, I just can't decide whether to try another brand (if ECS is using lame bulbs) or forego the whole project (if all LEDs will do this)!
BTW, this is not a knock against ECS per se. In fact, I've never had anything other than excellent products and customer service from them over several years among several cars (Porsche, BMW, MB, etc), which is why I'm baffled that this kit came out so lame. Had it been just one bulb, I would attribute it to a bad egg in the bunch, but as you can see, it's every damn one of them!
What's the point of swapping out the interior lights for LEDs? Too much current draw from existing lamps or not bright enough? Seems to me to be a pointless mod.
What's the point of swapping out the interior lights for LEDs? Too much current draw from existing lamps or not bright enough? Seems to me to be a pointless mod.
The merits of this mod have been beat to death elsewhere on this forum so that was not the intention of this post. But since you asked...
All mods are subjective. As an HPDE driver, I could argue that anything done to a non-track car is "pointless". A club racer could argue that anything done to a non-race car is "pointless". A pro driver could argue that anything done to an amateur race car is "pointless". An F1 driver could argue that anything done to a race car that isn't paying him millions of dollars is "pointless". And most of our wives would probably argue that ALL mods are "pointless"...luckily for me, my wife tracks her very own 997 so I'm in the fortunate minority that doesn't suffer from this last one
In the end, it's a relatively inexpensive, easy-to-install, and fairly dramatic update which modernizes a 10 year old car. Does it serve any purpose on the track? No, but neither do my LED taillights, tint, powder-coated wheels, spacers, or bluetooth. If my X51 and coilovers are the shirt and pants, this other stuff is the watch and clufflinks.
Never seen purple dots from LEDs ever. Even in my daily car, I did a full interior LED swap and don't have that problem, only that the LED's are too powerful/bright.
I also thought the dome trifecta of lights was too bright after converting to LEDs. I turned off the 'door-on' feature of both L&R map lights in the overhead dome. Only the center lights up and that's plenty of light.
You'll get those 'purple spots' on any PCB based LED setup. Suncoast sells the same setup. They will fade a bit but never disappear. You'll learn to live with it. I didn't even notice them until a few weeks after install when I was crawling around the cabin.
ECS should replace the bulb at no charge. Alternatively, you can pick these up on amazon for a couple bucks. In fact, you can swap the entire car to LED for about $20 if you source these on Amazon. Same lights as Suncoast and ECS. All they do is package them for you.
Any suggestions on LEDs for rear license plate light @nwGTS? I got some 5k white leds from vleds.com but they are a tiny bit too bright - 100 lumens. I'm looking for something more along the lines of the stock 991 rear license plate LED lights
I started with the Amazon bulbs in the stock housings and they were burning out after just a month or two. I suspect heat dissipation is poor since they are a housing within a housing.
The rear plate lights are the only ones I eventually bought directly from Suncoast. They are a sealed unit instead of a bulb. So they should last the life of the car. They are a nice white light instead of a higher K of some LEDs. And I've had no problems since.
I also thought the dome trifecta of lights was too bright after converting to LEDs. I turned off the 'door-on' feature of both L&R map lights in the overhead dome. Only the center lights up and that's plenty of light.
You'll get those 'purple spots' on any PCB based LED setup. Suncoast sells the same setup. They will fade a bit but never disappear. You'll learn to live with it. I didn't even notice them until a few weeks after install when I was crawling around the cabin.
ECS should replace the bulb at no charge. Alternatively, you can pick these up on amazon for a couple bucks. In fact, you can swap the entire car to LED for about $20 if you source these on Amazon. Same lights as Suncoast and ECS. All they do is package them for you.
+1 I haven't noticed the purple spots. LED's appear brighter in the interior. I sourced my bulbs from eBay and Amazon. I've had two bulbs burn out or stop working which hasn't been a big deal. Total cost has been ~$20-$30 which includes the frunk and engine bay and rear license plate.
Never seen purple dots from LEDs ever. Even in my daily car, I did a full interior LED swap and don't have that problem, only that the LED's are too powerful/bright.
Which kit did you use and/or where'd you get it?
Originally Posted by nwGTS
You'll get those 'purple spots' on any PCB based LED setup.
I've never heard of "PCB" so I did a quick google search and it looks like it stands for "printed circuit board" which explains those little nubbins of light on the bulb. If that's an inherent problem with this type of bulb, what kind of bulbs should I be looking for and where would I find them? But if PCB the only retrofit option for this application, why do some ppl not have this problem?
I can take pics of my LEDs installed in my 2007 997s. They are suncoast. Just off my recollection they look similar to me as your pics for the color but I have no purple spots. I did it to get rid of the stock yellow lighting.
Only issue is the drivers/passenger footwell bulb comes loose. The actual LED bulb gets loose inside and needs to be reseated. I bent the fins to grip the bulb better and been fine so far.
I went with suncoast bulbs just for ease of use and guaranteed fit.
I have never seen purple dots from interier leds. Do they do the same thing with the lens covers off? Seems like a bad optic reflection of light or something.
Just look up the bulb type for whatever your replacing. Find a reputable led place that has multiple option per bulb type. That way you can pick the size, color and brightness you want.
I have had good success with vleds.com but it has been a while since I have used them.
The reason you see these is because your PCB is facing down. That is, the LEDs are on the same side that is facing the floor. If you rotate the bulb 90 degrees it will face towards the reflective housing. You'll still get the same light output but it will be indirect and, hence, no purple spots.
The reason you see these is because your PCB is facing down. That is, the LEDs are on the same side that is facing the floor. If you rotate the bulb 90 degrees it will face towards the reflective housing. You'll still get the same light output but it will be indirect and, hence, no purple spots.
That's a good thought but my bulbs look like this. So the PCB is on each side of the bulb.
12-13-2016, 01:41 PM
Crappy interior LED conversion (with pics) from ECS. Is Suncoast's any better?
