Upgrade? to LED Tail Lights
 

Has anyone installed and used the Dakota Digital LED tail-lights or any other type of LED type tail-lights?

For safety, I am interested in making the back-end stand out more when the tail-lights or brakes are on.

Thanks!

Ive sen a couple of them here. Both are friends of mine. ONe on a 66 where the plastic louvers are replaced with smoothed plastic LED lights into the tail panel.

The other retained the stock 67 tail lights bezels and simply replaced the bulbs and lenses with an LED unit.

Both look very nice and unfortunately I have no pics of these cars.

I've also been thinking about them, and you can find a large variety of 1156 and 1157 LED bulbs on the internet. They typically sell for $15-$25 each, so I have not tested one. Would like to see what people say about them. I'd prefer the bulbs that simply replace the existing bulb, without making any mods to the tail panel. Ideally they are brighter and cooler.

Thought I remembered seeing a few posts on this before.

Check these:

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...ight=LED+light

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...ight=LED+light

And there is some good info here:
http://superbrightleds.com/carbulb-notes.htm

Sounds like the jury is still out, and it's an expensive experiment.

Dave

I wanted brighter bulbs in the rear also, but never liked how LEDs turned on and off so fast when compared to filament bulbs. LEDs looked too much like a sign flashing on and off. I found Brite Bulbs from Ron Franciis Wiring. These are filament bulbs but the difference from standard filament bulbs is amazing! Even with the 66 "eyebrows" covering the tail lights, they light up like a new car. I have been using them on all my musclecars and have many friends who have converted after seeing them.

You do need to get a heavy duty flasher, but these are cheap and available at any Autozone, NAPA etc.

If anyone is interested, here's the website:

http://www.ronfrancis.com/departments.asp?dept=24

Jim

These sound great Jim. Do you have to worry about the bulbs being hotter or are the tail light lenses far enough away that they won't be affected? I talked to the folks at Ron Francis and they don't believe you need a heavy duty flasher--do you know the ratings of the stock flashers?

No problems with heat using them on multiple musclecars and hot rods. I do not use them in the front turn signal lamps on the GTO due to the closeness of the cone that surrounds the bulb. Not sure if it would be a problem but saw no reason to take a chance as the yellow color stands out enough when using the front turn signals. I was more concerned about the tail lights, rear turn signals and brake lights.

I had two musclecars that had very slooooowwwww blinkers after installing the Ron Francis Brite lights. Purchased the Tridon Stant EL12 12 volt 2 terminal electronic flasher for $7. This fixed the problem. The only difference from stock bulbs and stock flasher is that the clicker is a little louder with the EL12. These are available at any autoparts store. They usually are used when you add a trailer hitch light harness to your car.

Jim

Great tip on the Brite Bulbs! Combine that with a sequential turn signal mechanism and you'd have something there that stands out for safety! Something that makes you long for turning, even if just driving in circles around the block at 5mph :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOOdyEr4VE8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH3S8purv8M

Only about a $300 upgrade, all-in-all...

From what I gather from my off-road friends and their trucks, avoid LED conversions completely. Old vehicles don't have the reflectors new cars have in their houings, which are crucial for an wide, bright light patern. Led bulbs in old-skool housings give a dimmer and beamy light that is only visible head on, and poorly seen from even slight angles in retrofits.

Jim and Socrates, thanks for the info. I was seriously thinking about LED lights but I'll definitely go with the Brite Bulbs, less expensive and they work! Good tips on the parking lights and flashers too.

Dave

Calling ron, first thing in the morning, stay tuned!!

They sre the bulbs I will use when the time comes. What do you prefer for headlight bulbs?

I still like my T-3's. I know they suck, but when I look at the front end and see four of them, I like it.

I gotta agree with Paul on that one. Plus they go over well with judges at the shows. Kinda blows their minds seeing a car using T-3s.

I have some T-3s but am not sure if they are "correct". What marking should they have?

T-3's in the low beam sockets GE #4537 Aircraft Landing lights in the high beams........psssst Don't tell the Cops.

I ran that config. back in the 70s but I have not found the Landing lights that i used. I cant remember if i had changed the socket to accept the lights or what, I copyed it from a Lemans owner when i lived in Vegas
Any help ?

if you have issues with headlamps being dim, you may want to look into some headlight relays. you'd be surprised how bright they are with 14.5 volts going to them! try pulling a headlamp and put a multimeter on it and see how low yours is. my camaro was at 10.8 volts. huge difference!!!