LED Question

Has anyone purchased some LED bulbs for turn signals or back-up lights and had good luck with them? I would like to buy some clear(white) for my back-up lights, but the ones I have tried are not very bright. In fact they seem dimmer than the stock bulbs. Also, what about the "194" bulbs in the LED? any experience with these?

Thanks for any info,
Michael

 

[Hartman]

They all suck, except for the industrial brand that point the LEDs in all directions and are really bright. They are $60-70 per bulb.

 

[EliteConcept]

its most likely because led's are directional if you take 1 led and point it stright the light it puts out is going to go stright and not light up much area (however it is bright). if you point a bulb in the same direction you get much more area lit because its not directional.

 

[Alec]

Yup.

When I put LEDs on my custom rear tire carrier to supplement the brake and turn signals it partially blocked, I angled them slightly to get more range of view.

 

[mdriggan]

Yeah, I realize that the LEDs are directional, but even when I squat down to their level, the LEDs just do not seem to be very bright at all. They are noticable, but not bright to light up the area behind the vehical. They do give off a cool blue tint color , but the brightness is what Im after.

Michael

 

[EliteConcept]

this is because they are directional man.
The light is going stright back. Your not getting any "area" lit up behind your truck because the light is not going down its going stright back.
led bulb beam -----
incadescent bulb beam <<<<
you have virtually no angle of beam travel with the led...olny what reflects in your tail light which isn't alot.

 

[mdriggan]

What about the Ultra/Super white light bulbs from clearlights.com? Not the LED bulbs, but the APC regular style bulbs, $12 for 2. Are these any brighter than stock and still give off a bright white light? As you can tell, Im looking for something different...

Michael

 

[EliteConcept]

i doubt they will be brighter, they will probably be rated at the same wattage which means they will most likely give off the same amount of light.

if your looking for bright light i had some 50w (i think) reverse lights that i got from autozone VERY BRIGHT, but same color as stock. But they lit up everything!!! i believe there were about $5 each at autozone

 

[Rob Slade]

Two things, most LED lights that are white look slightly blue from a distance. It is weird, but when you get right up on them with your hand or something, they are white, but the farther away you step back they get blue/purple looking.

The second thing is if you get those 50 watt backup lights, be careful you don't leave them on too long. They will melt the housing of your tailights because of the extra heat you are putting through them.