Anyone replaced all tail bulbs with LED?

[lucky_topher]

I'm about to get clear tails... i've replaced all my interior lighting, my license plate lighting, and my front/rear trunk lighting with LED and LOVE them... was thinking about going to all LED's in teh tail lights...

anyone done this yet? opinions?

[Padawan]

Current plug-in LED's simply do not work as well as the original incandescents at illuminating the reflector and lens. Though you'd be gaining the benefit of quicker illumination time and longer bulb life, you'd be losing quite a bit of overall light output, and sacrificing safety and visibility as a result.

[lucky_topher]

Originally Posted by Padawan

Current plug-in LED's simply do not work as well as the original incandescents at illuminating the reflector and lens. Though you'd be gaining the benefit of quicker illumination time and longer bulb life, you'd be losing quite a bit of overall light output, and sacrificing safety and visibility as a result.

i would agree normally.. based on the older LED items.. but now with multi-LED bulbs like these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1156-Super-Red-24-LED-Light-Bulb-BA15S-5007-7506-7527_W0QQitemZ200200312329QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item 200200312329

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-x-1156-Super-Amber-45-LED-Light-Bulb-Turn-7506-7527_W0QQitemZ190199073135QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item 190199073135

... i think the "light output" argument is outdated..

[Jeph]

Originally Posted by lucky_topher

... i think the "light output" argument is outdated..

Nope. The omni-directional aftermarket LEDs "bulbs" still can't compete with the output of an incandescent. They just cram more, smaller LEDs on those things. They just don't work well with the reflectors in taillights. The only way to do it right is to get a car that has them from the factory.

Try the LED 3rd brake light! That's effective.

[Padawan]

Originally Posted by lucky_topher

... i think the "light output" argument is outdated..

No, it isn't. I've seen numerous comparisons and reviews of even the newest designs in multi-directional LED bulbs, and none has demonstrated illumination equal to or greater than the traditional incandescent it's replacing.

[lucky_topher]

this link:

http://www.ledtronics.com/ds/aut1157/

sells LED tail bulbs that output 100lumens in red...

this link:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3012/is_2_184/ai_113602893

On top of that a typical rear stop function an incandescent bulb needs to generate about 400 Lumens of energy to net 75 lumens of energy by the time it gets through the red lens. A red LED only needs to generate 75 lumens because you don't need the red lens.



not saying anyone is wrong, just trying to get clarification...

when someone says it won't perform as well/efficient... HOW much difference? 10%? 75%?

[Jeph]

Originally Posted by lucky_topher

http://www.ledtronics.com/ds/aut1157/

sells LED tail bulbs that output 100lumens in red...

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3012/is_2_184/ai_113602893

when someone says it won't perform as well/efficient... HOW much difference? 10%? 75%?

After looking at the first link, I can tell you ledtronics.com is a joke. Those bulbs do NOT put out 100 lumens. That is very misleading. I imagine that they are coming up with this number by saying each of the 24 LEDs is 4 lumens, so in total, it's 100. That would seem viable.

The second link/article is talking about where the LED is directly exposed through the rear -aimed directly to the rear... like most factory LED taillights are. You can't really compare those to the LED-styled bulbs. Plus, your Boxster's lights have a lens.

I've tried the LED route (not in my Boxster). In daylight with a chaser car behind me, they were unable to tell that I had my blinker on. At night time, it's easy to see the blinker, that is until you turn on your parking lights. Granted, every car's lighting set up is different, but the overall result is garbage, and NOT safe. That's the biggest issue I have with it. Not so much for blinkers, but definitely for brake lights.

One other thing, you may have to install a regulator so the thing doesn't blink too fast. It's not hard, but you'll have to be comfortable with splicing wires on the Boxster.