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I'd like to do an LED replacement for the following and just want members to post which ones they got and WHERE they got them from. I want the brightest ones possible.
2014 RDX TECH
DRL (9005)
reverse and high mount brake lights (921)
rear outer tail light (7443)
rear inner tail light (168)
front Amber side marker (2827)
trying to avoid DRL error codes so let me know what experiences you've had with your LED DRLs with resistors/etc. (if required).
Depends on what are you looking for in switching the bulbs.
You want them to look cool and brighter (DRL/ high beam)..when looking at the car from outside the car, yes LED bulbs will do that for you.
Your lights should not cause glare to other drivers ... LED bulbs in halogen housing will scatter horribly and cause enormous glare to oncoming cars and others.
You want to have good vision when driving the car (I mean good high beams especially at night) ... Run away from LED replacements since they would essentially have no proper hotspot and scatter too much. You may have a bright foreground though.
You essentially drive in city only (always well lit roads) and practically have no use for high beams, (except for flash to pass), ...LED may be acceptable in this case.
You want to stay legal and avoid tickets.... LEDs in halogen housing are illegal and may land you with a ticket.
Many of these will apply to the other lights you have mentioned. Lights are essentially safety related equipments. Do not modify them unnecessarily.
Per you post, you already have a 2014 with tech package which comes with factory HIDs. Don't mess with something which ain't broke.
Good luck.
I'd like to do an LED replacement for the following and just want members to post which ones they got and WHERE they got them from. I want the brightest ones possible.
2014 RDX TECH
DRL (9005)
reverse and high mount brake lights (921)
rear outer tail light (7443)
rear inner tail light (168)
front Amber side marker (2827)
trying to avoid DRL error codes so let me know what experiences you've had with your LED DRLs with resistors/etc. (if required).
You ever driven behind a Jaguar, Range Rover or Audi that had the rear fogs on in clear weather? It is distracting and potentially dangerous because it is easy to confuse an overly bright taillight with a brake light. Most Center High Mounted Brake Lights are sealed units and the bulbs can't be changed.
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Specification (FMVSS) section 108 regulates lighting and sets the minimum and maximum brightness for exterior lighting. All manufacturers must comply with that reg for cars sold in the US (and Canada has adopted virtually identical rules).
Aside from getting ticketed like Comfy said, you also run the risk of being cited "at fault" for an accident because of improper lighting even if you would have normally not been at fault.
Finally, as Comfy alluded to, each housing is designed for a specific bulb type because of the way that the bulbs produce light. Let me give you an example - a halogen bulb has a filament that normally runs parallel to the front of the car. As that filament is heated it produces light which is then shaped by the housing. A HID bulb produces an arc of current which ignites gas (usually xenon in vehicle applications). That arc is perpendicular to the front of the car and requires a very differently designed housing to form the beam. Sticking an HID bulb (or LED) into a housing designed for halogens will produce unsatisfactory and non-conforming light patterns. Often, the light will create the illusion of being brighter because it creates more glare - both for the driver and oncoming (or following) traffic.
Personally I wouldn't swap any of those bulbs except the DRL's. The DRL's don't usually throw an error code and you can find just an LED bulb replacement. Resistors are mainly for LED turn signals or switchbacks to avoid hyper flashing. My recommendation: upgrade DRL, fog lights and license plate lights. For brightest output go with 5k white. You can get high quality bulbs through VLeds.com and ijdmtoys.com. If you still plan to swap the other lights mentioned, good luck.
as per the acurazine threads below, definitely willing to try this out...however, I will NOT be going with cheap ebay bulbs... getting them off a reputable supplier. We have a local supplier : autolismo.com
a definite concern is brake light brightness and will let you guys know how it goes. The LED DRL project is on hold until I further evaluate my 'high beam' requirements. **I really miss my TL bi-xenon!**
autolismo bulbs - going with the brightest ones they have as well as matching the tail light cover i.e. red bulb for red housing...but will test the brake light brightness before committing to them.
some members have already done it with decent results but no one has posted on how bright they would get when braking.
I picked up LEDs for my fog lights from VLEDs. Chose 5k color and 2800lm for a close match to oem HIDs. Pretty happy with them. They are brighter than stock halogen. Also replaced my rear license plate lights with VLED leds and happy with them too. Slightly brighter than oem but a nice crisp white color.
The only LED upgrade which I would consider acceptable (safe, legal, and cool) would be the Morimoto sealed LED unit (type S - I think, costs around $170) for the RDX fog lamps. It would be a direct bolt on replacement for your existing fog lamps. No messy retrofitting is needed.
Keep in mind that any replacement of lights with parts which are not recommended by Acura may result in voiding of warranty of that part and related electrical system should a problem arise.
Manufacturers certify that the product complies with DOT regs.
It is unlikely that this bulb meets the color or brightness specs required by the feds or by the Canadians but it is your wallet.
Incorrect. The Phillips were installed and they are just as bright as stock. Maybe about 10% brighter with instant on and off. Perfect. Now I gotta do the high mount to match it all up. This product is highly recommended.
Brightness isn't the only criteria by which brake / rear lights are measured, then again too much bright is also a potential problem. I think the DOT regulations also have to do with how the combined bulb /reflector / headlight housing projects the light and not just a bulb issue. (It will be different when you put an LED bulb in a housing designed for halogen bulb).
We are not discouraging you, but just reminding you what is "not right". Of course as ceb mentioned it is your dough.
I hope the lighting is even with no "cold spots".
The Phillips 7443 led is perfect. No gaps no holes no cold spots. Whatever they did to make and test the LEDs they did it right. I am absolutely impressed and they are exactly what I wanted for the outer tails. I won't touch the signals. Just the running / parking and high mount.
The Phillips are warranted and guaranteed to run 12yrs.
The Phillips are warranted and guaranteed to run 12yrs.
12 years based on what? Continuous operation? Flicking on and off every 5 seconds? 1-hr per day calculation? Is the product manufactured/assembled by Philips? Is it a re-branded Chinese product? Just a few questions off the top of my head since you eager to back this product.
12 years based on what? Continuous operation? Flicking on and off every 5 seconds? 1-hr per day calculation? Is the product manufactured/assembled by Philips? Is it a re-branded Chinese product? Just a few questions off the top of my head since you eager to back this product.
For 30 bux cdn it gives me the led effect I wanted. Fills the housing with red goodness and isn't over powering. This ain't no gypsy Kwan do product like those tower leds.
Read about these new Phillips vision LEDs. Designed to take advantage of the housing....they're not firing out ricey lasers. Do your research...I did and I'm quite pleased with them.
For 30 bux cdn it gives me the led effect I wanted. Fills the housing with red goodness and isn't over powering. This ain't no gypsy Kwan do product like those tower leds.
Read about these new Phillips vision LEDs. Designed to take advantage of the housing....they're not firing out ricey lasers. Do your research...I did and I'm quite pleased with them.
Were they plug and play, nothing else to add and no dash light error message? Thanks
12 years based on what? Continuous operation? Flicking on and off every 5 seconds? 1-hr per day calculation? Is the product manufactured/assembled by Philips? Is it a re-branded Chinese product? Just a few questions off the top of my head since you eager to back this product.
The quality of the packaging as shown on Amazon is reminiscent of imitation products. It was a bit hard to read the entire package but no manufacturer makes a red LED for the western markets that meets any sort of standards. The color "red" is strictly defined and posters even mention a color going into orange. The housing is designed to meet the red color requirements when paired with a white bulb. It CANNOT meet the same specification when paired with an orange (or even some shade of red) bulb.
Why would "instant on" be an advantage for taillights? I can see the advantages of instant on for turn or brake lights but - in theory - instant on for tail lights is either useless once they are on or potentially confusing if a following car mistakes the tails coming on for brake lights.
While the 12 year life span might be a good selling gimmick, truth is that very few of us will ever change the same conventional bulb more than once in the time that we own a car. In fact, most of us will never change any bulb on a modern car. The OP has now changed several bulbs now to get the LEDs in so the 12 year life span is really immaterial.
The biggest downside (aside from the possibility of getting a ticket or failing inspection) is that the car's electrical system expects to see a certain current draw. The system won't see that with LEDs.
While the OP may get luck and never get a ticket, fail inspection or have electrical issues, others might and every modder needs to ask themselves "is the possible risk outweighed by the benefits?" What unintended consequences might there be (a following driver mistaking the lights for brakes, a possible warranty repair denial on another part of the electrical system because of this mod and so forth) and are they mentally and fiscally prepared to assume responsibility for their mods.
I recall a Jetta owner a few years back who deleted his front sidemarkers by dipping the bulbs in silver paint - a pretty common mod at the time as removing the bulbs would have caused error messages. A few months later, he had issues with a bulb out message for his rear taillight (or maybe blinker, I don't remember) and the dealership spent days trying to find the problem. Long story short (pun intended), it turned out that the silver paint had melted, shorted the bulb holder which caused the CAN-BUS to fail, requiring a $2500 replacement of the main wiring harness.
Unfortunately, stories like these with unintended consequences are not rare in enthusiast communities.
I have no horse in this race; however, here's a link to the "official" Philips site for these bulbs and the packaging looks the same as the Amazon site. They make the 12 year claim and boast of the bulbs being "street legal", whatever that means. http://www.usa.philips.com/c-p/12835...erior-lighting
I have no horse in this race; however, here's a link to the "official" Philips site for these bulbs and the packaging looks the same as the Amazon site. They make the 12 year claim and boast of the bulbs being "street legal", whatever that means. Vision LED Exterior lighting 12835B2 | Philips
I have no horse in this race; however, here's a link to the "official" Philips site for these bulbs and the packaging looks the same as the Amazon site. They make the 12 year claim and boast of the bulbs being "street legal", whatever that means. Vision LED Exterior lighting 12835B2 | Philips
Interesting. I'll have to write them and find out how they managed to develop a red bulb that is compliant.
folks... just try it out... if you're looking to get the LED look for the outer tails, THIS is the bulb to do it! return it if you're not satisfied but I can tell ya...I'm blown away. I'll be adding an LED for the high mount tonight.
All I wanted to accomplish was instant on/off when the brakes are applied AND to make sure there is a large brightness difference between applied brakes and just running lights...that's it...and these Phillips bulbs did the trick perfectly!
lets face it... ACURA cheaped out on the 13-15 by not using LEDs...not even for the high mount for gods sakes... !
Since the OEM bulbs are clear, why would the replacement LED bulbs be red? Would they be compliant if they were "bright white" LED bulbs? Thanks
exactly. I don't see how they think this is compliant. I'll report back when I get a response. The red color that is required has a specific shade. Manufacturers need to match bulb color with the lens color color to get that color.
The LED rear project is complete. It looks absolutely fantastic at night. The red leds behind the red housing provide a more vivid light. Changed out the license plate bulbs to a different bulb that provides more plate coverage. Pic coming tonight when it's dark out.
Next :
Reverse LEDs
Cargo area LEDs
Rear cabin LED - brighter festoon led than what I have now.
exactly. I don't see how they think this is compliant. I'll report back when I get a response. The red color that is required has a specific shade. Manufacturers need to match bulb color with the lens color color to get that color.
I had seen a thread somewhere else on this site for a fix that put in a .06 ohm resistor directly onto the relay for 3G TL. I just have to find it again.
10-04-2015, 05:51 PM
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