L.E.D Lights, are they advantageous ?

[warauto]

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[ericcastro]

your LED math is wrong.
It depends on what kind of LED they are.
But they will have built in resistors I imagine that will do that for you.
The only real benifit is longer life span and possably brighter output.

plus its a cheap upgrade if your bored.

[slider2828]

Those Pep boys LED things suck. I have some for my 180sx position lights, can't see jack on them.... don't do it not worth it...

[Ceepo]

just stick with the normal lights, not worth it man... unless you do a full on conversion along the lines Clearcorners.com does....

[warauto]

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[warauto]

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[NINJASPY]

led's burn less current in general, high watt leds are on the expensive side.

led's have narrow beam pattern, sometimes 60degrees or less, so from the side they wont light up as well.

led's sometimes need resistors or they won't turn on or will just pop immediately.

power saved is next to nothing, 10bulbs x 2-3watts saved, 30watts... turn off your radio and save 30watts.

I wouldnt say its a cheap upgrade... 10-15bucks for two bulbs, 5sets needed, 50-75bucks for LIGHTS.... might as well get a hid kit too....

[warauto]

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[s13dan]

led's burn less current in general, high watt leds are on the expensive side.

led's have narrow beam pattern, sometimes 60degrees or less, so from the side they wont light up as well.

led's sometimes need resistors or they won't turn on or will just pop immediately.

power saved is next to nothing, 10bulbs x 2-3watts saved, 30watts... turn off your radio and save 30watts.

I wouldnt say its a cheap upgrade... 10-15bucks for two bulbs, 5sets needed, 50-75bucks for LIGHTS.... might as well get a hid kit too....

werd son.

Couldnt have been said better. Its overall it is more effcient but i would go all or nothing.

[ericcastro]

there are LED forums that go way into depth and will show you how to make custom LED tail lights.
Its more work than just buying a bulb replacment, but less expensive then clearcorners.
or just save and get clearcorners.

[warauto]

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[drift freaq]

LED lights done right are a great upgrade but done right are not cheap. There is a reason most new car tail lights are LED.

The garbage you buy at pep boys is just that garbage. In cars like ours unless you're baller or buy already built LED tails just dismiss the idea.

Used overrall though LED's can bring about a major cost savings in Home lighting. Cars? Its really not a big deal on the energy side because your car has a alternator. I.E. it generates its on electricity.
In cars they are used for more effective illumination. Though like I said earlier the cheap stuff? Does not cut it.

Oh I should add even though Clear Corners is not un expensive they are they highest level of quality out there in LED's. The time and effort Mike puts into his lighting is nothing short of amazing.

[slider2828]

Yeah we were researching into a project to convert 3rd brake light and we have done it.... Plug and play... We were thinking about $40 bux... with very high luminosity and angle of light... I will post pictures here, but its plug and play.....

[warauto]

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[ericcastro]

For the sake of the thread, I am not contemplating anything else but the advantages of LEDS, based on the decreased energy usage. I shouldn't have gotten into the brightness of the lights. Just sticking to energy consumption...

You are asking if decreased energy usage will.
get you better gas milage?
lower your RPM?
give you more power?
give you stronger spark?

Im sure it would, but probably nothing noticable.

[onehundredoctane]

if anyone is interested I have a box of L.E.D.s already on boards, they fit rather well into the "third brake light" on a coupe, pm me if your interested, I can e-mail pics.

[warauto]

[quote=ericcastro;3165302]You are asking if decreased energy usage will.
get you better gas milage?
lower your RPM?
give you more power?
give you stronger spark?
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[ericcastro]

if your engine doesnt have to create so much power, then it doesnt have to run so high.

I think all those things are not even measurable though.
such a small amount of savings.
pennys a year probably.
If you want strong spark, got one of those MSD ignition things.

[94_240sx]

I know some people use these on s13 and output is pretty damn good.
You want "HIGH POWER" LEDs, not the regular ones.

2pcs 1157 13W High Power LED (Red) Stop/Tail Bulb :eBay Motors (item 190353190086 end time Dec-03-09 21:07:10 PST) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2pcs-1157-13W-High-Power-LED-Red-Stop-Tail-Bulb_W0QQitemZ190353190086QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotor s_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item2c51ef2cc6)

[warauto]

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[silviaboy89]

pepboys leds suck look on ebay for multi led bulbs. i use them in my dash and look great.

[projectRDM]

pepboys leds suck look on ebay for multi led bulbs. i use them in my dash and look great.

In your dash and outside the car are two completely different things. Inside, you don't need much light output to see the gauges. Outside, those shitty LED bulbs that 99% of people buy are too dim, narrow angle, and useless. The only time I've ever seen an LED bulb be useful is in the rear of an S14, for the sidemarker. Only because that's the one bulb that's more difficult (not that it's hard, it's just more steps) to change so making it last longer saves the hassle. Nearly every S14 I see at night have those are burned out. Anywhere else you're asking to be rearended.

[g6civcx]

It's like copper vs. platinum spark plugs. Copper performs better but platinum lasts longer.

[Otto347]

Go look around on this site, lots of leds and custom stuff if you need it.

SUPER BRIGHT LEDS home (http://www.superbrightleds.com)

[R33E8]

I know some people use these on s13 and output is pretty damn good.
You want "HIGH POWER" LEDs, not the regular ones.

2pcs 1157 13W High Power LED (Red) Stop/Tail Bulb :eBay Motors (item 190353190086 end time Dec-03-09 21:07:10 PST) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2pcs-1157-13W-High-Power-LED-Red-Stop-Tail-Bulb_W0QQitemZ190353190086QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotor s_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item2c51ef2cc6)

That's an insult to high powered LEDS.. I'm sure that's barely pushing 3 watts.. People need to get over this "SMT" technology and find out what the real stuff is.. ANY led pushing over 1 watt will need a heatsink, ESPECIALLY if it is in an enclosed environment like a tail light.. There is only 1 brand that makes a decent PNP led replacement and it's a company called elefi or something like that in Asia.. If you want good results, do it yourself using name brand stuff (aka NOT 500000000k MCD LED's that come in packs of 100 on ebay...)

[MdaddyS]

LEDs also come on (and go out) a fraction quicker which is always nice on a brake light... Can you measure what that MIGHT save you?

[Otto347]

Can you measure what that MIGHT save you?
Considering LED lights power up to full brightness .2 to .5 seconds faster than regular bulbs, at 80mph that would give the person behind you 20 to 50 extra feet to react or stop. Normal driving around a car length or two.