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Well after lurking in the shadows for a few months I have decided to start my first thread. So first up is a hello to all you acuraziners!
Okay, onto why I started the thread: I got switchbacks with my custom headlights from Bruce (which are awesome and look great!) but I'm wanting to get some more high powered ones. I have these iJDMToy which are just 30 white and 30 amber. I found the other ones on ebay and they are 60-60 but only have 60 leds so each led does both colors I'm a little unsure about that...? Are they any good? Is there a better 60-60 option I just haven't come across yet? The price also kinda scares me away as they are 29.99 which seems cheap for good leds.
iJDMToy uses fairly good LED chips - My bigger concern with them thus far (I have iJDMToy Cree "6000k" (more like 5.5) DRLs and fogs) is the quality and fitment of the housing construction. There is to me at least, too much play in the parts where moisture can get in - What I decided to do was use typical plastic "waterproofing" glue, and go to town on the LEDs - While it doesn't look pretty, its pretty much completely eliminated any play and its definitely watertight now.
My brother has a 09 camry and recently had problems with his VLED switchbacks. He's past the 1 year warranty so we had no choice but to buy new ones. He originally had the $80 VLED switchbacks.
I found these $40 alternative sold by TheRetrofitSource and told him to try them out. TRS afterall is a pretty high quality reputable aftermarket brand when it comes to lighting.
The $80 VLED ones are very bright. They are brighter than any 120-120 switchback bulbs you will ever find. The price reflects that.
The only downside about the $40 TRS switchbacks is that they don't really illuminate light in all directions so they don't fully utilize the reflectors inside the turn signal housing. However they will still be brighter than those 120-120 switchback bulbs.
The lumen ratings doesn't really tell the whole story.
VLEDS says their $80 bulb is 360LM in white.
TRS says their $40 bulb is 500LM in white.
It's more like the other way around. The VLED bulb is brighter. The TRS one isn't too far behind. I would say its about 70% of the brightness of the VLEDs.
Now if you want the holy grail when it comes to switchback bulbs and have deep pockets than nothing beats the V3 Tritons from VLEDs. They are $150.
I previously had those in my TL and swapped them over to my G37. I've had them for almost 2 years now and no problems. Limited lifetime warranty also. I have the Gen 2. The newest ones are Gen 2.5
I used to associate pricing with brightness.
Boy was I wrong when I found out the $10 LEDs my friend bought is similar in brightness to my $50 LEDs.
I also don't like to compare LEDs without seeing them in person.
So here's my comparison of the 120 SMD switchbacks.
When I plugged them in, it was crazy bright, I was very surprised.
I had 120 SMD amber LEDs (not switchback!) at the time and these were brighter, only using 60 SMD.
To put things into perspective, my 120 SMD amber LEDs are slightly brighter than Putco's Plasma LEDs, the one rockstar143 uses. Which brings me to another point, brightness looks way different in pictures. In his shots, they looked crazy bright I bought them instantly off Amazon. When they arrived, I tried them out for a couple days and returned them. Don't get me wrong, I would have settled with them if they were my first LEDs and I didn't have anything to compare with.
Quang is absolutely right with the lumen ratings. Don't trust those.
I have some pictures of the 120 SMD bulbs, if you're interested OP, but again, don't expect anything from pictures
I'm not sure about reliabiliy, I havn't contacted the owner of the TLs in a while actually.
If you want the brightest, try out the Triton bulbs.
Please try out the Morimoto XB switchbacks Quang linked, I've been eyeing them
Last edited by guitarplayer16; Nov 26, 2015 at 07:50 PM.
iJDMToy uses fairly good LED chips - My bigger concern with them thus far (I have iJDMToy Cree "6000k" (more like 5.5) DRLs and fogs) is the quality and fitment of the housing construction. There is to me at least, too much play in the parts where moisture can get in - What I decided to do was use typical plastic "waterproofing" glue, and go to town on the LEDs - While it doesn't look pretty, its pretty much completely eliminated any play and its definitely watertight now.
Are you saying you just put glue all over the leds themselves? that doesn't mess up the output?
@vietxquangstah those retrofit leds are interesting.. and at 40 that's not bad. Not sure if I can justify spending 150 on switchbacks
@guitarplayer16 It's hard not to associate price with brightness because I feel like brightness is associated with quality and you get what you pay for. If you've got some pictures handy I'd like to see
I used to associate pricing with brightness.
Boy was I wrong when I found out the $10 LEDs my friend bought is similar in brightness to my $50 LEDs.
I also don't like to compare LEDs without seeing them in person.
So here's my comparison of the 120 SMD switchbacks.
When I plugged them in, it was crazy bright, I was very surprised.
I had 120 SMD amber LEDs (not switchback!) at the time and these were brighter, only using 60 SMD.
To put things into perspective, my 120 SMD amber LEDs are slightly brighter than Putco's Plasma LEDs, the one rockstar143 uses. Which brings me to another point, brightness looks way different in pictures. In his shots, they looked crazy bright I bought them instantly off Amazon. When they arrived, I tried them out for a couple days and returned them. Don't get me wrong, I would have settled with them if they were my first LEDs and I didn't have anything to compare with.
Quang is absolutely right with the lumen ratings. Don't trust those.
I have some pictures of the 120 SMD bulbs, if you're interested OP, but again, don't expect anything from pictures
I'm not sure about reliabiliy, I havn't contacted the owner of the TLs in a while actually.
If you want the brightest, try out the Triton bulbs.
Please try out the Morimoto XB switchbacks Quang linked, I've been eyeing them
I agree with you. Pictures aren't good to show brightness and sometimes even color. Then there's lumen rating (which might not even be exact) and perceived brightness. The human eye is easy to trick.
hey i saw the thread on switchbacks, figured i would offer my .02 I am using the Diode Dynamics HP24 7443 Switchback, only issue i had, when I installed the first set, the passenger side bulb went out like 3 days in, so I claimed the warranty, and they sent me a out a new one the next day, obtaining the warranty claim was super easy, i have been running them now, since May with no other issues.
stock halogen bulb on passenger side, LED on the driver side
inside the garage
they work good for me, figured I would just relay the info Diode Dynamics has great customer service, I am also using their modded flasher relay, so i can avoid hyperflashing, and it works with any combination of standard or led bulbs.
) but I'm wanting to get some more high powered ones. I have these iJDMToy which are just 30 white and 30 amber. I found the other ones on ebay and they are 60-60 but only have 60 leds so each led does both colors I'm a little unsure about that...? Are they any good? Is there a better 60-60 option I just haven't come across yet? The price also kinda scares me away as they are 29.99 which seems cheap for good leds. 
