do you have a pic of them? (i may steal your set-up) TIA

 

thats f'ing insane!! Looks crazy. Props on the install. What hid setup you have for that?

 

my HIDs for my reverse bruahahahahahaha!!!

soon ill b blindin kats who luv 2 tailgate

 

Has anyone does the DRL upgrade from the VLED's people?

Its here - http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/P...2745/SFV/32481

 

im interested how the HIDs were made to work for the reverse lights. thats freaking amazing!

 

Whoever car that is Crazy... Look at the crowd of people around it ...

Call me OverKill-Rod...

 

The best reverse light I have used is the V-LEDS HID WHITE 14 M-SMT HIGH POWER Bulb. These are the brightest that I've found. Haven't found a brighter bulb that fits
the reverse housing on our TL's. (other than HID's....)

When you go the the V-LEDS website it gives you the Total Luminous Intensity of each bulb they sell. This bulb is rated @ 200lm!!! This is one of the brightest SMT bulbs they sell. I bought a pair because I was curious of the output it claimed. I love em. It was kinda hard forking out 50 dollars for these. But I dont regret it.

As far as License plate lights, the CCFL upgrade would be the brightest by far. But if you just want a bit more light & and a cooler color v-leds has some nice bulbs for you too.
You will want leds/smts that fire forward since our light holders have the license plate bulb facing down. So you want a bulb that fires forward from the top. This will give you
more light output. Ex: HID WHITE HIGH POWER LICENSE PLATE LED BULBS from v-leds.
Also ebay and other suppliers sell other bulbs too. I was using v-leds just as an example since I've purchased lights from them before.

 

As great as that looks, HID ballasts will fail and/or HID bulbs will discolor quickly if used in a reverse application (meaning if you have it literally tapped into your reverse power and ground wires to turn on with the reverse lights). HID systems need to fully ignite and then stay on for a little while before turning them off. For example, if you switch them on and 2 seconds later switch them off, you will damage your ballast or discolor your bulb. I did this with my very first aftermarket HID kit over 4 years ago (when 10000K or 12000K cost more than 8000K for absolutely no reason beside lack of knowledge of what Kelvin ratings meant). A few times might not hurt the system, but 10 times will.

If you're talking about the actual bulb, like the first 4 on this link, http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/f...m/1/menu_num/3, then yes. I've installed a pair of 4114 (aka 3157) DRLs on my friend's 06 GMC Sierra. They look amazing, just like a non-DRL 3157 turn signal bulb. V-leds has been pretty much the leader on keeping up with using the correct resistors and brightest leds.

 

God, that is awesome though. After I put a 2nd set on my truck and got the nickname HID Rob, a few friends asked when I was doing reverse HID. I just turned down the idea for fear of ruining more ballasts. This is the first picture that I've seen of it actually done.

Now that I have inspiration , putting HID bulbs in the reverse housing can work, just using a hardwired switch to engage instead of the reverse. That way, small LED bulbs can be the actual reverse lights for when I use the shifter to drive in reverse, and flipping a switch would be for when I want to blind, I mean, see people behind me.

 

And this is why i love technology, it's constantly improving. The link I provided has high quality and durable HID kits that use digital ballasts. Several guys have them, and it's worked for a while without problems.

Now if you want to flick on and off a dozen times, that wouldn't be a good idea obviously...

 

In the picture above of the HID in the Reverse ... that's me...

I've had them installed in my car for about a year and a half already... with no problems...

You brought up valid points... I ran power from the battery into a relay... and only activated the relay with the reverse light output... Additionally... since I have an automatic... I put a 2.5 second delay on the reverse light circuit into my relay... cause I didn't want the flicker affect everytime I put the car into drive...

 

Thanks Rob. I'll have to try it in the DRL's and see how it looks.

 

Dam Rodney.. ur insane! I'm still in shock!

 

The DRL upgrade doesn't work properly with our DRLs. Jptl04 and I have both tried it.

 

Here you go.

OEM left, V-leds right


Both V-leds

 

I've only installed one kit in a Trans Am with digital ballasts. So far there have not been any problems but I've trained the driver on how to use them, on/off times, ect.
Personally, I don't like them because of the relay box that isn't so easy to mount and only extends about 8 or 9 inches away from the thin ballast. The ballast is convenient though.

If they do work better with the quick on, quick off user error issue, the bulbs can still be damaged with discoloration. I've discolored BRAND NEW bulbs within 4 minutes (due to another issue). The point is HID systems are sensitive to power or lack of power. It is good that the company (in the link you provided) warranties their ballasts for life. Most sellers I've used send me new ballasts as soon as I email with a problem but only for 1 year (good thing I order a kit about every 2 months or so ).

I kind of put it together that it was your's but I can't PM yet for questions.
The automatic trans was one of the first issues that I thought off. What did you use to establish the 2 second delay (and where did you get it.....link?

I still see it as a problem for reverse though. I average less than 5 seconds in reverse, sometimes 2 seconds. That's not nearly enough time for the salts to fully ignite....which from what I understand, either will damage the ballast by the power going backwards, or discolor the bulb from the power being cut off.

I don't know. Which kit did you use? Just seems like you've been real lucky with it.

 

Can you elaborate a little on that?
I haven't tried it on a TL.....yet. They aren't too cheap so I'd appreciate input on how or what doesn't work with them.

Thanks.

 

^These actually turn on pretty quick for HIDs.

The tower leds can clearly be seen through the panel, which looks imo

 

YOu guys have to remember our reverse lights are set up almost like headlights. You can't use a small angle LED and expect to see anything. You need something that reflects off of those mirrors. Notice how the OEM is big and lights up near 360 degrees. We have to use something that hits off of the back mirrors so we can light up objects around the car.

 

ehhh....I got mixed reviews when I had them on my F-150. The way the turn signal assembly was designed hid half of the bulb while exposing the other half. Most of the time people were just like, "what in the world is that thing?" Then I'd turn it on and they'd offer me money for it.

 

See the thread below. Jptl04 and I posted pics showing why the DRL upgrade didn't work.


https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/drl-upgrade-kit-v-leds-696284/

 

Hmmm. I didn't use a module or load resistors for the GMC DRLs. They work perfectly and have equal brightness.

I'll toy with it when I eventually buy a TL. Hopefully next week!

I have so many bulbs in different styles and sizes from experimenting over the last 6 years - hids, leds, and halogens.
I ordered from V-Leds back when he first started on eBay as Velocity Leds. His feedback was under 2500 at the time. Maybe even less than that. I remember because I had just started eBay and would frantically read every seller feedback page to see if I should trust them.

Anyway, DRLs are tricky due to the systems voltage output and low voltage draw from leds. It might take a few burnt bulbs to get a good fix.

What are you using now?

 

Which lights are these off of V-LEDS?

 

i just ordered the 36 M-SMT bulbs off of V-LED's i think they should be really bright

 

I went with the HB3/9005 Nokya 2500 Hyper Yellow bulbs, they are a nice bright yellow with good contrast, in comparison to OEM halogen junk, for only ~$20 on ebay.

I believe the GMC DRLs deliver voltage differently. For whatever reason, Toyota and Honda decrease the voltage output to the DRLs so when you try and plug in any LED substitute that requires a full 12 volts or whatever, they don't light up properly (one being MUCH brighter than the other). Jake at V-leds designed the "DRL fix" modules to work for his IS 350, but it doesn't work with the TL. I guess the low voltage draw is split differently than the Lexus.

Having said all that, I gave up on trying to get LEDs into my DRLs until someone comes out with a working module for our TLs or low voltage LED DRLs. I've asked Jake, but he's not able to get his hands on an 07-08 TL to design a proper "DRL fix module" at this time.

 

You might wanna try a smart relay and 15-25 ohm resistor combo.... this is what I'm using for my HID DRL on my 04. As far as wiring goes, I can't really expain that since: 1) My module isn't OEM 2) Had someone else install it for me

 

ta-da! http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/P...33246239236245

 

Just ordered the two license plate LEDs from VLEDS. Figure I'll try them out, what the hell. I used superbrightleds for my interior and so far, no problems.

 

921 is the backup bulb for the TL right?
If so, I see two VLEDS that would work. Can anyone tell me which one is the brighter of the two? One is 14 leds for $49.99 or the 36 led version for $34.99 . How can the 36 led version be cheaper?

OK, I gotta say it. Can someone shed some light on this!

 

the 14M-SMT that is $49.99 is a 5 Watt bulb (BRIGHT!!!!) where the HID 36 M-SMT that is $34.99 is 140 mA (not near as bright)

 

I've been looking into brighter reverse lights also. Especially when I can't see a thing at night with the limo tint. I was originally going to go the LED route but just for $15 more I could get a set of HIDs in the url you posted. What kind of HID bulbs are you running for it to it to fit in the housing? Any advice before I start?

Also, for those of you that are running the LEDs, can you get a shot of you backing up while in the car and the actual light output on the street. Just looking straight at the lights does not provide enough information on amount of added light output for me to make a decision.

Thanks acuraziners

 

Yes

Backup light: 921
License plate light: 168

 

License plate: 194 168 (same bulbs)

 

Hrm I wanna try those 5W 14M-SMTs now. They sound much brighter than the 36 M-SMTs.

 

It's Rodney car, all I know is that it's the H3 style bulb.

 

would these be better for thereverse lights?

http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/P...47234249248241#

 

I think so. I don't think they had them when I purchased my reverse lights. I'm going to be ordering some in the near future. They're 200 lumens vs. ~60 lumens of the older SMT leds.

 

IMO Yes. I have these & they are very bright.
The 36 smt bulb will not be as bright just like someone said earlier.
If you need more light output then what you get with the 14 smt
bulb then you need some HID's.

 

Awesome! Well, not for most people. I didn't know the DRLs were 9005. I have spare 3000K yellow HID bulbs that just happen to be 9005. I don't like DRLs anyway. I'll just take the bulbs out, tape the socket ends, and hardwire the HIDs in that spot. Ha, this works out even better than I expected. (I need my TL soooon!)

Do you know if the factory DRLs are unplugged (bulbless) if any indicators beep or light up? That would not be awesome.

 

Will they be as bright, on a 2gen TL ? And where do i get them. Plus im sorry if im doing sumthing wrong, because im new, and i have no idea what im doing xD lol