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Hey! New here and picked up a gently used 2014 RDX base FWD for our kid. Will probably spend some time on this forum while it's in our rotation.
Bought it with 120k miles. Complete service records and transmission services are up-to-date. Timing belt job was done at Acura dealer in late 2023 at 103k miles.
A couple questions:
1.) what bulb is used on the map lights. Is it the 3175? I'm probably going to upgrade all the interior lights to LED. Owner's manual sucks for interior bulb type.
2.) what low-beam replacement bulbs are people using to replace the H11's? They are the stock, 12-year-old bulbs and nighttime could be brighter.
3.) back up camera is a little grainy during the day, and pretty much black and white at night (almost unusable at night). Thought about buying an aftermarket plug and play and upgrading the license plate lights to LED's too. Any thoughts?
Oh, I forgot to mention. I'm up to speed on the VCM issues. Having owned several v6's with the VCM, I've been using the VCM Tuner II on all our Honda products including this RDX. Currently using VCM Tuner II on our 2014 RDX, 2017 Odyssey, and 2022 Pilot.
Wow, someone went so far as to replace the factory projector housings; that's intense. Really interesting to see up close the damage to the bowl's reflective surface, which matches the external observations I was seeing in my own OEM HID headlight housing's beam output.
It's a shame though, as if they went so far as to remove the factory bowls, they might as well replace the entire projector assembly with a BiXenon HID setup to transform the low beams into a Low/High combo.
I went the other-other route, which was to have an entire set of new OE Style housings reftofitted with a NHK BiLED projector.
Modern day LED projector units are damn bright and high quality now a days, and I've got the benefit of instant-on headlights that will never delaminate or burn again.
Considering the factory HIDs are ~35W, and these NHK BiLEDs are not only higher wattage (50/55W) but also higher efficiency with greater lumens-per-watt, I can comfortably say these new BiLEDs offer brighter output, with less heat generation, while still maintaining a clean DOT-compliant beam that keeps glare out of the eyes of oncoming traffic.
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As for reverse and map lights, I've got 3 recommendations.
When it comes to mini 194 sized bulbs (common size for licence plate lights, corner illumination, and many other locations. I'd stick with Philips Vision line of bulbs.
These things are absolute tanks, fit perfectly, and never-ever-ever-ever fail. I've had sets of them installed in all my cars, my friends' cars, and family cars, for 10+ years now, and have not had to touch them since.
The standard US box you get now under the Vision name are a perfect nutral 5000K white and are great. If you do some googling, you can also find a warm white "4000K" style and a cooler white (8000K, though really it's a 6000K) version sometimes sold under the international Ultinon branding, depending on your taste. And ohh wow, just found out they now have an
version, guess il be getting these for my front corners now.
One side note about using brighter licence plate lights, they do actually trick the reverse cameras exposure settings since the bright reflected light off the plate activates the reverse cameras exposure compensation, so it is a bit of a trade-off of exterior looks vs function lol.
Reverse lights, I've tried them all, from cheap drop-ins, to huge wompers with external heat syncs, and I can say with confidence this style I'm about to recommend is the best. These drop right in, have the LED's in just the right spot to be captured by the reflector, and will function perfectly for at least 5+ years. The cross opening in the middle helps a bit with dissipating heat, and since reverse lights are only on for say 15-30 seconds in normal use, you should be just fine with these.
If you really want extra-extra output, VLED's does have a licence plate frame-mounted mini light bar that you can use in addition to your factory reverse lights. These just tap into your existing wiring, and will offer the greatest output if your a serious reverse light junkie lol.
Had to replace one of my Chinese red running lights because it was acting finicky. Replaced them with those Red Philips Vision ones. They click into the socket much more securely and work like a champ. Finicky red running lights fixed.
Center red light both with Philips Vision Red 194 LEDs Outside brake lights are Sylvania Zevo 7443 LEDs
and since I was curious, I also grabbed a pair of those ambers for the front just for kicks.
they also do the job great, bright pure monochromatic amber so they cut right through the lenses and fill the corners great. A perfect be and done replacement for the life of your car.
Just a tiny bit taller than a factory 168/194. Should fit anywhere and not cause any focus problems. Stock bulb
Philips Vision Amber. If anything id say 25-50% brighter than stock. The factory 168 is a 4.9W bulb and brighter than a 194 3.8w. So since these are punching above the 168’s, I’d say that’s a win. In person they do a better job filling the whole corner evenly and bright.
