[Joel Koontz]

If someone finds a replacement 1157 LED Bulb that is TOO BRIGHT, please let me know the exact brand/model/source for such bulbs. If they are too bright I will find a way to dim them if needed.

I have read a lot of reviews on Amazon etc. and found very few reviews that indicate the LEDs are brighter.

If you have used 1157 LED replacement bulbs that you are happy with, please provide brand/model/source info.

[JC455]

Originally Posted by First Bird

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.

Yup!! I am sort of guilty of this too- came up on a Toyota w/ a non-functioning RH-side brake light. When the guy hit the brakes, his old, crusty LH brake and HMTBL barely made a difference vs. running lights. A lot of new cars are using LED's... they work well! Come up on a new Charger when it brakes, you'll NOTICE his lights.

[Don 79 TA]

the bulbs i used in the TA to help increase some brightness were the silverstar ultras i think they were called
they aren't led, but they are a little brighter that the standard type bulbs i replaced, however i think they may have stopped making them, i have a few spares on hand
i changed all my bulbs interior/exterior and much better, the 194's i know are hard to find

i myself don't care to much for the LEDs, or dealing with additional wiring to make them work, etc.., plus i'm kindda stuck in the time theme with the car anyway
if i want modern stuff, i'll just drive the Accord

but on the other hand.... safety is paramount as well

[1967Tempest]

Originally Posted by Big Injun

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.

Not true. I have RED led's in my 67 Tempest Wagon and they are great! Bright, but not too bright to make people behind me ticked off.

You need amber for amber and red for red. That said, I use the DIGITAL flasher. Dont waste your money on load resistors or the special flasher. Get the one with 3 prongs. Install the flasher correctly on the original two prongs and then add a ground. Never have an issue and you can keep OE wiring.

You WILL get a white spot with white led's. I will try to take a night picture of the car but it is covered in 3 feet of snow right now.



That said, look at the interior LED's that I put in and you will switch!




Here is the difference between a bulb and the LED. The LED looks dimmer in the picture, but I can assure you that it is not.

[pggto]

Originally Posted by mchell

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......

I do sort of agree with you, but when those bright LED tail lights hit the brakes, you know there on the brakes. I'm worried that the stock tail lights just are not bright enough, I would rather have someone a 1/2 a mile away know I'm on the brakes than get hit. I think the stock tail lights are ok at night but during the day not so much. That and the tail lights are kind of low compared to the newer cars. There are way to many distractions for all the knuckle heads out there these days, I want there attention when I'm braking.

I like the idea of painting the inside area white.

I'm familiar with the 2057 bulbs, but was under the impression that they generated a lot of heat and might damage the lens.


I'm also going to switch the interior lights to LED in the rear arm rests, the convertible arm rests have that little cover that discolors from the heat of the bulb, putting an LED in there might work perfect.

Thanks, for the input guys.

[goatwgn]

Originally Posted by 1967Tempest

Not true. I have RED led's in my 67 Tempest Wagon and they are great! Bright, but not too bright to make people behind me ticked off.

You need amber for amber and red for red. That said, I use the DIGITAL flasher. Dont waste your money on load resistors or the special flasher. Get the one with 3 prongs. Install the flasher correctly on the original two prongs and then add a ground. Never have an issue and you can keep OE wiring.

You WILL get a white spot with white led's. I will try to take a night picture of the car but it is covered in 3 feet of snow right now.



That said, look at the interior LED's that I put in and you will switch!




Here is the difference between a bulb and the LED. The LED looks dimmer in the picture, but I can assure you that it is not.

Do you have a picture of the bulbs you used in the dash? I wasnt aware they made LEDs that fit in there. Where did you get them?

[1967Tempest]

Originally Posted by goatwgn

Do you have a picture of the bulbs you used in the dash? I wasnt aware they made LEDs that fit in there. Where did you get them?

I got the ones for the dash at http://www.superbrightleds.com/ . The bulbs I used are not cheap but they DO make a difference. The ones I used for the gauges are cheaper.

Dash LED's
http://www.superbrightleds.com/morei...9-led-tower/9/

Gauge LED's
http://www.superbrightleds.com/morei...-wide-angle/3/

[goatwgn]

Thanks 1967 Tempest. Did you use yellow or clear? Did you ever get the photo of the wagon with the brake lights lit up? I would like to see those. I think it would add a measure of safety to alert people of your presence that dont seem to be paying attention on the road.

[1967Tempest]

Originally Posted by goatwgn

Thanks 1967 Tempest. Did you use yellow or clear? Did you ever get the photo of the wagon with the brake lights lit up? I would like to see those. I think it would add a measure of safety to alert people of your presence that dont seem to be paying attention on the road.

I went with the clear or white.

I dug the car out this weekend and drove it around to get the rest of the snow off of him. I will take a video/picture tonight

[Overkillphil]

Are the gauge LED's able to be dimmed? I checked the link but couldn't find any reference either way.

[1967Tempest]

Darn light sockets!!!!! I will fix you soon!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zstx...ature=youtu.be

[goatwgn]

Nice and bright 1967 Tempest. I replaced my original socket some years ago myself. make sure they have a good ground against the sides. What brand L.E.D did you use? was it from the same place as the dash lights? Did they fit in the housing like stock 1157 bulbs? Thanks again.

[pfilean]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Are the gauge LED's able to be dimmed? I checked the link but couldn't find any reference either way.

The site given for the superbrightleds had a note somewhere that said they were dimmable. Came under a additional info tab or someplace like that.

[1967Tempest]

Yup dash lights ARE dim able. The taillight a are from the same place. Yup fit into 1157 socket. The tail lights aren't cheap though. I paid 20 a piece!

[1967Tempest]

https://www.superbrightleds.com/more...ed-tower-/814/


Tail lights I have

[pggto]

Well I did a little test on my 76 Mercury Twister snowmobile. I bought some LED lights off ebay, they were not very bright, didn't look at the brightness rating when I bought them , but they were only $6. I painted the inside of the tail light housing white as suggested by one other poster, this was a big improvement even with the 1157, the original housing was black. The best set up I had for the parts I have was a 2057 bulb with the inside of the housing painted white behind the red lens. Nice bright red tail light, looks great. I will have to try this on the car when it comes out of it's frozen sleep later this year.

[Radman]

Two pictures, one using the flash on the camera, the other with no flash. These are the tail lights only. The brake/turn signal lights are much brighter.

[pggto]

Originally Posted by Radman

Two pictures, one using the flash on the camera, the other with no flash. These are the tail lights only. The brake/turn signal lights are much brighter.

Those are nice and bright, but that's a custom set up correct? Did you try any purchase type bulbs? They do make some other LED bulbs but I will have to do a little more research to make sure I get a brighter bulb. But the white paint and the 2057 bulb made a huge difference. Thanks for the pics.

[Radman]

Originally Posted by pggto

Those are nice and bright, but that's a custom set up correct? Did you try any purchase type bulbs? They do make some other LED bulbs but I will have to do a little more research to make sure I get a brighter bulb. But the white paint and the 2057 bulb made a huge difference. Thanks for the pics.

Yes, it is a custom setup. I used 5 of the LED bulbs in each tail light. All 5 are tail light, the outside 2 are turn signal/brake light, and the inside 3 are always brake light. I used a dremal tool and took the bulbs off of their base, then made a circuit board to hold them inside the lights.
The bulb that I used is from Jamstrait, their 1157 replacement is a 1157R.

[1978 T/A]

Want to bump this thread up. A 3496 bulb is interchangeable and the brightest bulb I have seen for those who don't want to have LED's.

3496 bulbs on the left and 2057 bulbs on the right.