Lights and fuel conservation seem like completely different topics... but hear me out. If you convert your daytime running lights, license plate lights, turn signals etc. (basically any lights that are used often) to LEDs it seems that it would theoretically save power consumption putting less strain on the alternator. So would the alternator use less fuel doing it's job if it needed to create less energy overall for the electrical parts of the car therefore increasing MPGs? I realize the gains may be very minimal but I want to know if the theory is sound. Can anyone who knows more about cars than me (basically 99.99% of the population) chime in?

Also, this is assuming the LED conversion takes place without load resistors just burning off the excess energy we're trying to save by doing this. The efficiency of LEDs is about 80% compared to incandescent which is 20% (80% of the energy used to light them up is turned to heat and wasted). That said, when installing the LED bulbs by a company like Lumen does the bulb actually consume less energy or does it accept the same amount and burn off the rest with a load resistor?

 

 

Can you see Air?

 

^depends which way the wind is blowing.

 

This is a case for PayPal...

 

uhhh.... what?

 

^he said this is a case for PayPal. so if i were you, i'd give them a call and see if they can answer your question.

 

Simply no, it doesn't any fuel.

 

 

Thanks guys. Really. Sorry if I'm an idiot for seeking knowledge and not being afraid to ask questions but keep your inside jokes to yourselves. I was only seeking relevant responses and wasn't coming here to be mocked or be the expense of some joke I don't even understand. I was really hoping things would be a little grown up here being that we're discussing cars - which are major investments - which are usually made by adults. It's not like I didn't preface the question by pointing out it was kind of a stretch to begin with and I don't have a lot of car knowledge. Why make me feel stupid for trying? This is something I'd expect on 4chan - not here.

That said, I'm still very appreciative of all the car knowledge (especially about our beloved TL's) that this forum provides and it's already helped me a ton with lot's of little issues.

 

This is the interwebs, need thick skin to participate. The simple answer to your question is no.

 

Yeah man I get it... Just had to throw their 2 cents back at em. Not always gonna sit quiet and take it. But yeah, it's true that life goes on and there are more important things to worry about

 

sit quiet and take what? were just joking around bud.

 

okok Maybe it's the blizzard putting me in a mood NOT for fun and games. but seriously I thought an alternator only drains power from the engine respective from the draw needed from it. So if I'm using the battery less the alternator won't be charging it as much. So if I were to make lot's of power saving mods it wouldn't tax the battery so much therefore there'd be less consumption overall. Example: if you run your A/C you lose mpgs. So we can try to avoid running it to save gas. The light conversion was merely an example to demonstrate the concept I was wrestling with, but not understanding alternators and cars too well I brought the question here

 

Hey OP since you're fresh here, watch out for justnspace, SharksBreath, and Undying Dreams. Just look at their activity percentage. They get bored so they gotta do something.

 

Full green bar = high sarcasm.

 

Wow guys. To give a real answer to the OP's question, yes, theoretically LEDs would save you fuel. The amount of fuel saved would probably be so small that it would take forever to offset the cost of the LEDs though. That's also assuming you could find quality LED replacements for all your incandescent bulbs and you ran them all without load resistors, which is probably easier said than done.

Replacing the DRLs with LEDs would easily save the most power over time, since TLs with DRLs use 55w 9005 incandescent bulbs operated at half voltage, which is massively inefficient (and quite idiotic on Acura's part IMO). Unfortunately, all of the LED replacement setups I've seen use somewhat cheesy tower style bulbs and load resistors, which would make an LED conversion for the sake of saving energy pretty much pointless.

TL;DR summary. Converting all you stuff to LEDs probably won't save you much of anything.

 

guys- let's be nice to the new guy mmmkkkk?

 

 

sig worthy material right here. i have a desk job...what can i say?

thanks for the laff.

 

Alright all's well I've let it go. I can appreciate sarcasm, just wasn't in the mood I suppose. Now I'm all

Thanks Splew that makes a lot of sense. the load issue was the problem I figured I'd run into anyway. Now to find a way around it... I have read you can get ~5% better mpg with enough conversions and decent driving habits. Now, I'm not going to take the fun out of this car in the least... I will drive it spiritedly as often as I darn well please! buuuuuut finding other ways to be fuel efficient can't hurt... especially with the gov't starting to push 15% ethanol mixtures on us >

 

Hi AppleScrappler,

If you're interested in getting better mpg, why not put your car on the TL diet? It'll probably have a bigger impact than changing out your bulbs to LEDs. That being said, I'm pretty sure those who have done the LED interior/exterior conversions did it for aesthetics more than for fuel efficiency.

 

Yeah I've looked into that too and am considering some of the options outlined in that thread. I've made it a point not to put a lot of extra stuff in the car and have been lost 20lbs myself over the last few months (now being 5' 11" and about 150 and probably shouldn't go any lower). I've considered taking the spare from the trunk and lightening things up back there because there's evidence of rear tire wear on the inside of the treads and I'm worried about the weight affecting the camber. wheels are aligned right now but I will have it checked again when I get new tires - hopefully in the next couple months. gonna try the Continentals everyone is raving about

 

lighter wheels would be my first step if i was trying to save on fuel. that and change my driving habits. Like what was said, LEDs would save you something in the long run, but its effect is miniscule at best.

 

That said it's a luxury car, meaning not really meant to be super fuel efficient. Using more gas for confort.

 

The weight you gain from your double big mac will offset the fuel savings. Fuck it just accelerate.

 

I'm a whopper enthusiast myself

 

you should just polish & wax your car more.

the lowered cd therefore less air resistance.

it will save save more gas than LEDs

 

Wendys Big Juicy

 

^ can't argue with that choice either

 

AppleScrapper, welcome to Acurazine. Where is Waynesville?

 

Doesn't work like that. It will put less strain on the alternator, but it won't do anything to improve the efficiency of the engine. You're better off losing weight yourself or losing weight on the TL.

 

Smack dab in the middle of nowhere! It's a town that services Fort Leonard Wood. Pretty much in the center of the state but slightly south of dead center. Old Route 66 and the I44 run through it

 

That's only true if you use ultra-low-voltage blinker fluid.

 

Noob question + Azine = win.

Did anyone call paypal?

 

Isn't "Converting to LED's. Will it conserve battery?"
..when it comes to electric???

 

answered, Meko.

 

I'm not a physicist but we crunched a few number like this in physics class back in my college days. Yes, doing this would put a little less strain on the alternator and thus a little less drag on the engine. But we're talking very little. Just to throw some numbers out -

If you switched all your exterior lights to LED's you'd probably be looking at a 200W max savings between headlights, DRL, fog's, sidemarkers and taillights. That's probably a higher number than reality since the headlights use 70W total (35W x 2) and are by far the largest consumer of electrical power of the bunch.

200 watts / 14.4 volts (when alternator is spinning) = about 14 amps.

(again, not completely true since mechanical drag isn't included, but good enough for our estimates)

Amps x Volts = Watts
Watts / 745.7 (one HP) = Electrical HP Produced by the Alternator
HP x 15% Efficiency Loss = HP Loss
HP + HP Loss = Total HP Used


Our Example:
14 Amps x 14.4 volts = about 200 watts
200 Watts / 745.7 = .27 HP
0.27 HP x 15% = 0.04 HP
0.27 + 0.04 = .31 HP Total (theoretical)

Now take weight - Every 10lbs. or so it around equivalent to about 1hp. So go to the bathroom that morning and take a book out of the trunk and you've got 0.31hp right there

I'm all for efficiency mods so I think your train of thought is good. But the cost/benefit ratio is very very crappy. As was already said - if you do it, do it for aesthetics because the performance difference (in power anyway) isn't worth it.

 

^^^Now there's some math I can work with. Thanks losiglow. You just verified my findings on other websites and forums. For the most part everyone agrees that the theory is sound but the savings are negligible (at most 1/10 mpg). From my findings, the one benefit that is measurably significant is battery charge life. In situations where the engine is not running the LED's consume WAY less energy than incandescent bulbs and your battery will not die anywhere near as fast. Beneficial for sure, but not fuel/money saving if you're being realistic.

I still may convert my lights (except for he headlights - Love those HID) for all the other benefits like faster turn on time and better brightness etc. I got this car because it's the one I've wanted for a loooong time and full well knew it wasn't exactly the most fuel efficient beast out there. I'm not too worried either as I get about 32 mpg on the highway as is - much better than my previous car. I just wanted clarification on the how the electrical system works and what possible benefit changing to LED's may have had. Besides, if we can enjoy the same performance and consume less fuel doing so it's a win/win so everything is worth exploring

 

It might make more sense in terms of extended life of the bulbs over that of cxonventional bulbs. Also, if alternator energy reduction is enough it may aloow you to go wtih an underdrive pulley and increaase the engine HP.