Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

"Not bright" is not the proper terminology, but what you're seeing is true... It appears I have failed to manage your expectations. It's very difficlut to capture light output in photgraphs... at least with my crappy camera. but...

I addressed this in #141 of this thread:

Post #141
These #5's are, at best, as bright as the stock bulbs... and are by far the brightest "LED" option out there. These are upgrades in that you get good color, lower/cooler power draw, and the longevity of LED.

If you want headlights for reverse lights you'll need higher wattage bulbs, there's nothing out there in the LED world yet that can do that. Higher wattage bulbs also place your wiring at risk of overheating.

kappa821

i put the 5's in the reverse this weekend and they seem to get the job done have no real complaints yet

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

I personally think they're more than enough... but my requirements are different. I have 35% tint, and the TL has a big ass. Using the rearview is almost useless, even with the brightest lights.

I have a reverse camera AND parking sensors. I was having problems with the camera at night as there wasn't enough reverse with the smaller zero leds. Now the camera has the light it needs to help me out.

Tonywp75

Just got my Leds today and installed them. I love how the #4 look like in the plate light. The #5 in the trunk light look spread out or light more of the trunk then the oem bulb, maybe a little dimmer.

The #5 in the reverse lights doesnt fit as snug on one of the side. If i move it a little.. the light will go out. I havent gotten any silicone stuff yet, but will put some on for reassurance.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

Tony,
Bend the metal wire contacts on the leds a bit "outboard" and that going out issue will go away. The contacts are just losing contact with metal clips inside the connector. It's just an alignment thing.

Tonywp75

Thanks..Kennedy.

I decided to take some vid clips of the lights, since i had to fix the leds connector contact.

I didnt have an extra hand and wanted to see how the #5 Leds in action in the reverse...so the handy camera came into action.

Click---> #5 Leds in Action

After, that i decided what the heck and did one with the oem bulbs.

Click---> OEM Bulbs in Action

The oem seem to be much brighter and spread out compare to the #5 leds.

After looking the the vid clips, i decided to keep the oem bulbs. Oh yeah, I love the #4 leds on the plate light.

pimpin-tl

Yea the OEMs are way brighter it seems than the LEDs you found. Thank you for saving me a lot of money before I was about to purchase those LEDs for my car and the RL.

Tonywp75

No problem. Forgot to mention you can see the #4 Leds on the plate light in action in the OEM bulbs vid clip. You can see the 2 blinks on the plate lights...when i unlocked my car...in the begining.

trancemission

That video is way deceiving. I have the #5's, just installed them the other day.

I back out of my driveway every morning for work at 5am, dark as hell outside.

I have limo (5%) tint on my back windows. These #5's are waaaayyyyy better then the stock bulbs. Just this morning I stopped halfway down, normally I couldnt see the trash can across the alley, now I see it. I can make way more out than I could before.

and just FYI Tony, you do not have to start your car to get your reverse lights to come on.

trancemission

They're alot brighter than you think they are Russ... I held one socket in one hand with the OEM and one socket in the other hand with the LED, the LED is by far brighter..

Tonywp75

interesting....

Maybe from a differnt angle they might be brighter or focused..and the Leds might extend the light further, then oem bulbs. My vid clips was just a side angle...cause that was the only place i could put the camera.

I have to test them again, when i get the chance.

darn...have to take the trunk lining off again.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

Stop bitchin... I haven't put mine back on since December.

Tonywp75

How do you do that?

thanks

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

Turn key to "on", place car in reverse... lights come on.

lusid

yah car start in closed garage, dont get sleepy now

pimpin-tl

My guess is due to the fact the LEDs are more directional light than spread like the OEM it shots the light where you need it the most. The OEMs use the full reflector and spread the light all over compared to the LEDs shining mostly straight out and at the angles. I would have really liked a video of the ground and surround areas instead of the back of the car or the garage door.

pimpin-tl

I definitely trust your opinion Ethan. So I will continue to purchase these next month once I get paid again.

pimpin-tl

I don't see him bitchin at all. I see him doing a comparison and taking his time to do one as well. It's always great to get multiple people reviewing these LEDs so we just don't have one persons opinion.

Once I get some, I will definitely compare them as well, but I also have a SLR camera that can take some awesome night shots.

yohan81718

So I decided to upload a video as well.
I do have NBP, so the white-ness sorta gets trapped in.. if you have WDP, the lights would seem more disbursed I would say...
#4 LED on Licence plate



#5 LED on BackUP light

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

The #5s are defintely brighter than any LED setup out there. When testing them out it did nearly blind me. But even with all those wide angle LEDs in 4 directions it can't compare with the true even 360 degree radiation of light from a regular bulb. The reflector is designed specifically for those bulbs.

If you have ever seen the Cadillac DTS in reverse, it uses white LEDs as OEM so those backups work great because the lenses were designed for them.

I found that the OEM bulbs on the TL do provide better overall lighting behind the car when I'm reversing but I still prefer the LEDs anyday. They're just bright enough and have a cool white color to them. As Kennedy said these are the best that are out there for now. I predict a breakthrough design with some kind of "curve" shaped LED one day that'll work with OEM housing reflectors If you are looking for BRIGHTER than OEM backup lights you'd have to look to halogen or HID.

voigt

When you look at the light reflecting back of the door on to the back of the car, the oem bulbs clearly light up the rear more effectivly. However with the #5s the brake lights seem to reflect of the door and light up the rear more than the lights. This is the same thing I was talking about in a previous post. I love the blue color, however I think I am going back to oem for the visibility. Just my oppinion.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

Lighten up...
I was poking fun at tony's complaint about having to remove the trunk cover again. I've had mine off so many time for so many tests I haven't bothered to put it back on. I think it's great others are reviewing these.

I think it's a little petty of you to LOOK for things to strike against me efforts after our license plate illumination confrontation, and that's what it seems like considering your last 3 post her ehave nothing but a negative tone (except your response to Ethan)...

It's just leds dude.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

The most important test that has yet to be mentioned, except slightly by Ethan, is the "backing up in reverse" test.

Videos taken from the side show how much light is cast to the side. To get an accurate assessement of how well these work, you need to compare the view of the light output from inside the car as you're backing up, becasue that's how you will "percieve" thier output when it matters.

As Tony noted from the video, there is not a lot "extraneous" light output with the LEDS, but that means the output is more focused, where you need it... behind you, which is what Ethan commented on from actual use.

pimpin-tl

Ummm okay.

Not sure how you can say I have a negative tone towards you. I mean you did tell someone to quit bitching without a face. I would say you are having a problem with others.

Yea its just lights, so you need to chill out man.

trancemission

I think Kennedy has done a great job in this thread posting up his research and results.

Please lets not get into the "is it worth it" debate. Based on the amount of information that has been put in front of you I think you have enough to make a decision whether or not you want to buy any of these.

Tonywp75

Lets all just get along....we are here to help each other out

pimpin-tl

I completely agree!

KBOM

Not trying to drag this thread out any more, but I thought someone may find this a good comparison. I have been using the PIAA xtreme white W2 bulbs, p/n 19224. I decided I didn't like looking at the blue hue these bulbs give the reverse lamps. I installed the 194 SMT Towers (#5) from Autolumination. Here are a few shots that show the comparison.

The first is from the rear of the car. You can see the PIAA's put out a "brighter" light.
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/559...omp1yv8.th.jpg

The second is the money shot. The PIAA's definitely put out more light.
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/137...omp2xe7.th.jpg

And here is what it looks like with both LED's installed.
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/9861/ledonlyxg8.th.jpg

As you can see, the PIAA's will give you the most light. If this is what your looking for, then you may not like the LED's. I am switching over to the LED's because I like the look. They are bright enough to do the job, and they don't make my reverse lights look blue during the day.

Hope this helps.
KBOM

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

Good post KBOM, perhaps you could PM a mod and have them fix those busted links.

KBOM

Doh! They changed ImageShack on me. Not sure what I'm doing wrong! At least they show as a link now.

KBOM

Sorry. One more try...

The first is from the rear of the car. You can see the PIAA's put out a "brighter" light.


The second is the money shot. The PIAA's definitely put out more light.


And here is what it looks like with both LED's installed.

KBOM

I give up. Let me know if you want to see them bigger. I'll e-mail the darn things.

KBOM

Think I have it now. Sorry.

The first is from the rear of the car. You can see the PIAA's put out a "brighter" light.


The second is the money shot. The PIAA's definitely put out more light.


And here is what it looks like with both LED's installed.


I feel like a complete idiot. Hopefully someone finds this useful.
Thanks for your efforts Kennedy.

KBOM

pimpin-tl

Are the PIAA's regular bulbs? Thank you for posting more pictures. I would really like to see the ground and area around the rear of the car at night. Like pictures of stuff that is sitting on the ground so we can see how much each bulb actually lights up each object. The way the PIAA lights up compared to the LED again is definitely obvious the PIAAs are brighter than the LEDs.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

The PIAA's are high wattage bulbs, most seem to be getting away from them due to the ricey blue film on the bulb.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ght=piaa+bulbs

trancemission

dayam those piaa's are bright. looking at the garage door it looks like that beam is more focused then the LEDs.

its the same PIAA p/n that I had for my CL fog lights..

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

I agree. If I wasn't such an LED nerd I'd be using these. The problem with the PIAA's is that they have this awful blue coating on them, which gives them the cool white look when illuminated.

The problem with that coating is that it also "reflects" all through the reflector during the day, giving your reverse lights a nasty "ricey" blue look to them when not in use.

If there was a nice 20W crystal white/silver 921 bulb out there, I'd try that too.
Those PIAA's overpriced as well, as they're $1.50 each here: (scroll down) .
http://autolumination.com/906.htm

I'm thinking about trying a set of those all silver bulbs just for shits and giggles. Look like I'm never getting my trunk liner reinstalled...

KBOM

You really want me to try and post more pictures?

I think I have it down now. I'm out of town this weekend so maybe I can do some next week. It's going to be hard capturing the true lighting output with my camera.




KBOM

pimpin-tl

Not a big deal if you can't.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

At 10 pages now... anyone think this thread should be nominated for Garage thread? I hate to see all this good input disappear in a few months.