LED Tail Lights
 

Has anyone tried out some of the new style LED tail lights? I was pursuing eBay and looking at all the different styles that are now available. I defiantly think the ones with the side LED's would be the way to go so they emit broader light and not so direct as the ones just on the end of the bulb, and hopefully light up the tail light better. I'm always worried about getting hit in the rear by another car because the old style bulbs just aren't bright enough. The bulbs are cheap enough now that maybe I'll try a few different ones. Was even thinking about trying them in my vintage snowmobiles so the headlights don't dim when you hit the brakes.

I haven't tried them yet, but I'm looking here:
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/l...-1060--441630/

I have used LED off-road lights on my golf cart and I love how they are super bright and don't dim like the standard ones did when accelerating.

It also looks like they have LED's for just about every light on the car, kind of expensive, but figure that they will probably last a lifetime in a average use car, and maybe more than that for a seldom used classic.

I put LED lights on my bus and love them.
I replaced the rear tail/stop/signal lights and all of the marker lights with LED's. This was easy on the bus because I replaced the complete light assembly.

The LED replacement BULBS that I tried for my truck several years ago didn't really have the brightness I wanted so I went back to the regular bulbs.


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I have put RED LED globes in the tail lights of my '66 Grand Prix. Lots of small LED's surrounding the globe and nice and bright but not too "glarey". They work really well with a deep rich red colour when looked at from the rear.

HOWEVER, I thought they were so good that I bought some to put into the tail lights and rear turn indicators on my 2000 Holden Caprice. NOT GOOD. Because they draw so little power, the car thinks it has multiple globes out. I believe you can fit resistors to eliminate that problem but I just figured I'd stay with the standard globes

Ian :ausflag::ausflag::ausflag:

I don't think that would be a problem in a 70 GTO as far as sensing a bulb out. You put the red LED in a red lens? I was going to try the bright white.

I ordered a pair of the 60 SMD bulbs, WTH they were only $7 shipped! I'll give it a try.

I am going to convert my 71 Firebird into full LED's, but if you want improved lighting on the rear of your car:
1) clean the inside and outside of the lenses.
2) Clean and repaint the inside of the lamp housings- Bright white of silver.
3) Convert from 1157 to 2057 bulbs- I found these accidentally. I noticed my 88 T/A was way brighter than my 76... different bulbs. I now use these on all my old cars.
4) Grounds- clean 'em, add extras, etc. GOTTA have good grounds!!

When I thought I'd try the LED globes, the guy selling them asked me for what car? He told me that the white globes would possibly create a white "spot" when the light was on because the LED globes are so much brighter than standard globes. He suggested using the RED ones. So I did.

One other thing I did was toss out the lousy GM bulb holders and replaced them with some out of an early 60's Ford Falcon. All solid brass and beautifully made. Fit perfectly.

I do have a pair of White ones to fit into the back up lights but I just haven't gotten round to that yet:rolleyes:

Ian:ausflag::ausflag::ausflag:

Here is my LED tail lights in the paint booth. I took the picture using the flash on the camera and you can still see the lights. The brake and turn part of the light is much brighter than the tail light. After Keith's car was rear-ended, I decided to make the back end of my modified car very bright. I used the 1157 LED replacement. I cut them off of the normal base and put them on a breadboard circuit board from Radio Shack. I have 5 bulbs in each taillight. All 5 taillights are on. If not using the turn signals all 5 brake lights light. If using the turn signal, the 2 bulbs on the outside blink, the 3 inside bulbs are still brake lights. One thing with the LED lights. You must get a low load flasher for the turn signal to work.

DON'T paint the reflectors (inside of taillight housing) silver. Been there, done that. White makes the light spread out more evenly, silver makes it much more directional so you get a bright spot where the bulb is but rather dim around it. White reflectors spread more light on the red lens.

personally ....I HATE LED's......I want to get out and beat someone when I pull up behind them at night and have to shade my eyes to protect my retinas from burning out.........

I thought bright lights were for the front of the car......

Spaghetti Engineering LEDs and an LED third brake light.

This +1

Bought new lenses, switched to the 2057 bulb and painted the housing bright white and it was a HUGE difference. I would try doing this and if you're still not happy look into changing the bulbs.

Yep. Had two different friends go through the trouble of painting one side silver and the other white to test the difference. White was the clear winner. They didn't mention anything about bright spots, but both said that the white painted reflector produced the brightest light to the rear.

I like the idea of usin LED's. I am for sure going to try. It out

I would like to try L.E.D. bulbs in the tail lights of my GT-37. The bulb housings were never a shiny chrome reflector and appear to be just a silver paint. Maybe just spraying some plastic chrome on the housings will make them brighter.:)

Be careful on which ones you buy.
I got a set of LED bulbs from a seller who apparently got them from China or was based out of China, they looked good, but you couldnt tell the difference between when the running/parking lights were on and to when the brakes/turn signal was on.

I tried to send them back and they told me nope

When I have replaced filament bulbs with one of the LEDs where there are a number of LED elements on a flat panel behind the lens I have liked hem. But when I replaced a 1034 or 1157 filament bulb with one of the red LED replacements behind a red lens I thought they were dim and went back to the filament. Of course most of the sockets for the filament bulbs are old and suspect now anyway.

I was told to NOT use RED lights for this exact reason. The red led is filtered by the red lense. Use white LEDs in tails.

Thank you.

...when there's no traffic in front.

What's with the boneheads that need four headlights...IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, IN TOWN?

I get mad at those cars with the wicked bright tail/brake lights too. Now I are one. LOL
I'll defend it. For 20 years I worried about getting rear-ended in my 1968 Firebird because the original tail lights are so narrow and dim. As new cars kept getting brighter and brighter tail lights, the possibility of some (probably young) driver slamming into my car increased. The dim tails just don't register as brake lights anymore. It's selfish maybe, but now I know people can see my car at night.