Guys;

I recently bought a kbp 07 TL Type S and would like to do my first mod starting simple with some LEDs. I read the various threads here and noted some inconsistencies with listed bulb sizes. Sorry to start a new thread on LED's but I just can't seem to get the right info for what I need on the existing ones.

I would like to get LED’s that are at least as bright as my stock bulbs but are simple drop ins (no soldering or modifications needed). I would also like them to last as I read some of the really bright stuff burns out quickly. Here is a list of what I am about to order from V-leds.com. Please confirm the bulb sizes are correct and if I am making good choices. I want my doors to be red to match the Red dash but keep my dome lights white for easier readability.

For Front and Back Dome Lights White Size 194 (2 pairs of these)
http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/vpid/4481033/vpcsid/0/SFV/32481

For Front Doors Red Size 194 (1 pair)
http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/vpid/4481093/vpcsid/0/SFV/32481

Globe Box White Size 74 (1 pair)
http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/vpid/6298403/vpcsid/0/SFV/32481

For Trunk White (1 pair) I can’t find size 2825 bulbs on v-leds.com despite this being listed as the correct bulb size for the trunk on various threads here. Please advise???

I am afraid to change out the backup lights or license plate lighting b/c it seems to difficult to get at. I welcome suggestions here.

Thanks.

 

See my post here for what I ordered. Installed this weekend and couldn't be happier with the results.

As far as what you've got so far, here are my thoughts:

The front and rear domes you picked will work. But, I don't know if you'll be happy with the light output. I used those for the doors and vanity and they work well there. In the vanity they aren't real bright because the bulb points sideways but that's what I wanted. In the front domes, the bulb points towards the rear of the car so the flanks I ordered work well because they will shine down when installed. In the rear domes, the bulbs point straight down, so the flanks wouldn't be as good there which is why I went with the ones listed in the referenced post. The are the same, just different orientations so the light output is comparable front to back.

The doors you picked are fine. I actually may switch to red and will use either the ones you picked or a bulb that has multi-directional led's.

The glove box bulb should work also. Only thing I'm not sure about without looking into it more is the length of the bulb. Again, see my post for the ones I used. They don't give off a lot of light since they are only a single led but they are fine for the glove box. Also, you can use the other bulb (2 per set) in the center console.

For the trunk you can use a 194 bulb. Same size. I used the 30-led panel and it's perfect. one of the 4-led flanks should also work well there since the housing the horizontal.

Don't worry about the reverse and license plate lights being too difficult. Those are actually easy to replace (the vanities are the hardest).

Hope that clears things up for you. Let me (us) know if you have any more questions.

 

jweb thx so much. I will check this out.

Tomorrow I bring my 05 back to the dealer to turn in the lease. It will be a sad day for me as I loved her.

But I am also digging my 07 Type S right now too

 

The license plate LED's are really easy to do. I've done several. Here are a few threads on how to do it:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/rr-journals-replacing-license-plate-bulbs-3g-garage-g-052-a-566023/

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/licence-plate-light-back-up-light-3g-garage-g-052-a-584870/

Good luck and have fun........

 

Audio - Just to add to what I said. Keep in mind that there is no "one" bulb you should use in each location. Those I listed are just what I used for reference. As I'm sure you found out researching this, people don't all use the same bulbs in the same spots. The best advice I can give you is to actually pop some of the light covers on your car and look at the housings, bulb aim, etc. and you will get a feel for which bulbs will work well in which housings. In some locations a bulb that points in one direction will be fine but in others you may want a radially firing bulb.

 

Jweb;

Those bulbs you chose seem pretty powerful. Do they run hot? I heard that these power bulbs burn out quickly and can drain the battery if left on for extended periods of time. What's your experience been so far?

Also are they direct drop in or do they require some modifcation to the housing and/or electrical??

Sorry for all the questions, but I don't want to order the wrong stuff.

 

Don't worry about the questions, it's fine, assuming you've read through the info in the forums already. I did a good deal of research and found most of the answers to my questions, but not all. With led's, the technology seems to change so fast that the bulbs people have used in older threads/posts aren't even around anymore so it can be a little confusing.

LED's draw less power than a regular bulbs and, as far as I know, do not run very hot. Besides, the only bulbs that would be on for extended periods of time would be the license plates. The bulbs V-led sells have a heatsink on them which I assume is to account for this. Others here have run led's without a heatsink, like the 4-bulb flanks I used in my front domes, with no reported issues. Others have had bulbs burn out prematurely. It's kind of a crap shoot in that regard. I used the V-led license plate bulb because of the heatsink......it's not going to be as bright as other bulbs would be in this spot, but I didn't want anything overly bright in that area anyway, just good color.

Yes, the bulbs are plug and play. No modifying anything.

Like I said, even doing your research, there is still some trial and error involved to get the look you want. I just put these in a couple days ago so I can't speak to my experiences with them beyond the initial gratification.

 

Great info TLS-Guy and Jweb, thanks again.

I think I will be ordering today...

 

Jweb;

I am going with pretty much everything you ordered but Red for the door lights. The Trunk LED you chose appears to involve modifying the existing socket. I'd rather not mess with it. How difficult was it for you? I see a circuit board and a connector. thanks.

 

good info. thanks guys

 

There's no modifying anything to use the 30-led panel. That particular bulb just comes with various bases you can plug it into so it fits different housings. Basically, you have the panel with wire leads coming off of it that will plug into a 194 base (supplied) that is plugged into the socket. The only difference with using this type of bulb is that it isn't "self-supporting". By that I mean it will actually sit on the light cover when installed. But, that shouldn't be a problem since they don't get very hot and the trunk light isn't usually on for long periods of time anyway. It's a little tight fitting the panel and the few inches of wiring in the housing but it fits.

Some people, Trew for example, are using the 30-led panel in their dome lights. To do this you just have to use some double-sided tape to hold the panels in place. You can see pics Trew posted in the V-led discount thread. Looking at those, I'm not actually sure whether or not the bulbs I have in the domes aren't just as bright. I don't have as many individual led's in mine, but I think they are higher powered. I would think the 30-led's are still brighter, but hard to tell looking at pictures.

 

thanks Jweb. I decided on holding off on trunk, reverse/license, vanity, glove box and center console LED's for now as I tried my best to pry these off and it seemed too difficult. I am taking baby steps here.

I pretty much ordered everything you have except my doors will be in Red. At a later date, I will try to get my dealer to swap out my rear/license Lights as I really like the idea of the backup cam being brighter at night like you show.

 

^Dude the reverse/license plate area is a breeze. The vanity and trunk lights however are pretty darn hard to remove.

 

It's up to you obviously, but I think you'll regret not getting the rest of the bulbs too. Maybe not. Anyway, like Maharajamd said, the license and reverse bulbs are pretty easy. You can either take the trunk lid liner all the way out or just unclip part of it. I took it completely out just because I wanted to get a good view of what I was working with since it was the first time. It's simple to remove and reinstall.

The vanity covers are the worst. I dicked with one for at least 10 minutes and then I was about to walk away for awhile and somehow it pulled right out. Thought I figured it out but it still took some time to get the other side off. Search for scans that were posted on where you have to stick the screwdriver. For the trunk, stick a small screwdriver along the passenger side of the cover and you can pop that. That one can out a lot easier than expected.

You can always get these later if you decide you want them. By then, they may even have something newer and brighter.

 

^Yea I gave up on the vanities and trunk last night. I thought for a second I was going to rip the entire headliner down lolol :/

 

Well I actually plan on keeping this car for 8-10 years since I was forced to buy it cash as I couldn't get a decent loan. So, I have something to look forward to I guess. I would hate breaking something on a car I just took possession of only a few weeks ago.

Now give me an amplifier or loudspeaker and I will rip it apart and put it back together again. I am just not that way with cars unfortunately....

 

^ I hear you. See how you like what you ordered and then go from there.

How about this, I'll install all your lights, you install an audio system in my car. Sounds fair

Good luck with the lights man.

 

Unfortunately I don't mess with car audio.

Home Audio is my bag though

see: http://www.audioholics.com/

 

Haha yeah I finally got mine thanks to the help of a azine member. It seems like you are going to rip it off but it doesn't. You need to get a flathead screwdriver and stick on the inside side so the screwdriver is pointing to the door. There is a plastic push tab you push that in and you can pull the plastic out from the metal retaining clip. When I was reinstalling them I took pliers and had to readjust the metal tab completely to get it to look exactly as it was before. Also I used double sided tape in mine to get the LEDs to align perfectly in the center since I used the 30 LED panels in my vanities. I placed my first order and then placed a second order for more LEDs lol

To the OP looks like you got some great advice from jweb. Like he said there is not one choice for these it really comes down to what you think looks good in there. My friend has some 5 or 6 LEDs in his vanity and I have the 30s. He has some 9 LEDs in his rear domes and I have 6 LEDs. For his doors he has some red ones and I got the 5 LED multidirection SMTs.

 

30LED for the vanity? My god man you're gonna get a tan just looking at yourself

 

Hahaa. I can't even imagine the 30-led panels in the vanities. That's ridiculous! Did you use those panels pretty much everywhere (domes, trunk, vanity)? Edit - just saw you used 6-led bulbs in the rear domes......I would think you would have done it the other way......30's in the back and the 6's in the vanity.

I never even open my vanities so changing them was kind of pointless but I couldn't have all the rest led and keep those stock.

 

So I noticed one of my rear dome M-SMT bulbs is out. I messed with it a little and got it to light again, but after a trip, when I shut down it doesn't come back on. Supposed to be dual polarity but I tried flipping the bulb and nothing. Switched it with the other rear dome and nothing, so I know it's not the housing (other bulb lit in the bad bulb's housing). Have an email in to v-leds, just waiting to see what they say.

 

Hmm I wonder if they didn't build in a resistor to current limit the LED and it wore out from being driven too hard over time. This is why I was a bit hesitant to replace my stock bulbs with LEDs. I will hold onto my stock stuff incase this happens.

 

^ Don't overreact. I think it's just a bad bulb, still have to look into it some more. It's not from being driven too hard.....the bulb has only been in for 2 days and it's the dome light so it's rarely on anyway.

Like I said, I switched the rear dome bulbs and the questionable bulb is still not lighting in the other housing so, right now, it appears to be the bulb itself.

Also, I'd hold on to your stock bulbs regardless. You never know what's going to happen down the road. I plan on keeping this car for a long time, but if I ever have to get rid of it, everything is going back to stock.......including the bulbs.

 

agreed jweb and good luck.

 

I had a couple bad bulbs from V-Leds that was bound to happen though I guess since I ordered like 20 different types.

Oh and I tried the 30 LEDs in the domes but they were too bright for my taste. I ended up with a 30 LED in the trunk and the 2 in the vanities and I still have 2 left over. I don't use the vanity but my fiance does and she likes how they are super bright so thats all that matters.

 

^ Did you get the bad bulbs replaced? If so, how did you go about getting it done? I emailed v-led through their website, just waiting for a response. Wondering if I need to call.

 

I upgraded mine to these and they are bright as hell:

 

It was only 2 of the 6 LED flanks and I have not got them replaced. They are sitting here I should probably get on it but they were only $10 for the pair.

So I just checked the website they have instructions for returning defective bulbs here:
http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/f...age/policies#3

 

All your LED pics are what got me started with this madness lol now I have spent close to $300 in LEDs

 

Thanks. Saw that after I posted. Anyway, v-led emailed saying they are shipping me a new bulb.

 

LOL ive spent probably at least that, maybe more, in the past three years