Best LED Bulb for Tails

JunkProwler · 03-28-2010, 01:22 PM

Hey, I've been looking at superbrightleds.com for 3156/3157 bulbs for the tail lights. Anyone using these?
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...rake-turn.html
3156/3157 bulbs in the middle of the page.

They have 3 options: $8, $18 and $24 per bulb and each has a different light spread and intensity. My goal is to have bulbs that show through tinted lenses better than the OEM type. Ideally they'd be bright enough to prevent anyone blaming me if they rear end me. I was thinking the 315x ($24 ea) or the R-25 ($8) might be more visible since they point directly at drivers behind me, with the median option spreading more light to the sides. Would the $8 bulbs do the job, or should I pay double or triple the price for the other options?

cherrington17 · 03-28-2010, 01:27 PM

i'd probably go with the tower leds. the 315x looks decent.. but your removing the entire reflector's purpose.

your going to end up with one dot in the middle... kinda lame. OR get one of each, and see what works best. (expensive, but foolproof)

pimpalero2003 · 03-28-2010, 01:49 PM

Make your own out of superflux ones will be the brightest lol.

JunkProwler · 03-28-2010, 07:22 PM

I ordered the tower ones, and the blue dome light bulb I've needed for a while. I agree it would look bad with severe hotspots even if it is the most visible. Also going to sand off some of the tint next weekend when I clearcoat them. Only took two applications of nightshades to get them pretty dark; looked black today in gloomy conditions and not enough light shining through for my liking. Seems fine right now in the twilight, but its daytime I'm worried about, even with a lexan & LED third brake light.

jhubbz · 04-06-2010, 02:16 PM

I tried the R-25's hoping they would be really bright. All they do is look different. Not much difference in brightness. I also have about 4 shades of nightshades on. If you do find something that looks bright please let me know! I have used some cool white bulbs on the interior from this site and look pretty nice.

lonnie · 04-06-2010, 02:49 PM

I've had the 3156 & 3157 Wedge Base LED Bulbs in my car for three years now, and haven't had one led burn out. They work great for me, and are only like 8 bucks a piece. I run them in all of my tail lights.

whiterider00 · 04-07-2010, 01:14 AM

any chance you have some pics of them lit up? and our stock bulbs are 3057, would that mean the 3157 would be the ones to use? thanks

whiterider00 · 04-09-2010, 01:27 PM

pics...?

alerogls001 · 04-09-2010, 04:37 PM

These I took with my phone so u see a lot of brightness. In person, you can see the individual LEDs in the bulb....

JunkProwler · 04-09-2010, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superbrightleds.com

3157 - Dual Contact and Dual Intensity
3156 - Single Contact and Single Intensity

I ordered two of each, since the inner tails dont light up with the brakes.. right? If they are meant to, and the 2nd filament just happened to be burned out on both the inners when I got the car I might be pissed. I just assumed they were not meant to light/brighten with the brakes. Well regardless, the 3156 bulbs are not working in the inner tails. I put them in, stopped for dinner and just now tested them, flipped them around etc. and no light at all. I plan to fix it tomorrow, which may mean soldering.

The 3157 is working perfectly in the outer tails, running and brake lights. They look good, and bright too. The reflector lights up well, with a bright triangle of 3 leds in the center. For $18 each they better be bright. Pic tomorrow.

alerogls001 · 04-09-2010, 09:18 PM

Right- the inners do not serve as brake lights.

whiterider00 · 04-10-2010, 01:40 AM

looks good. thanks for the pics. as long as the leds can be seen seperatly, and dont look like a big blob. i still gotta figure out exactly what ones i need.

whiterider00 · 04-20-2010, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JunkProwler

I ordered two of each, since the inner tails dont light up with the brakes.. right? If they are meant to, and the 2nd filament just happened to be burned out on both the inners when I got the car I might be pissed. I just assumed they were not meant to light/brighten with the brakes. Well regardless, the 3156 bulbs are not working in the inner tails. I put them in, stopped for dinner and just now tested them, flipped them around etc. and no light at all. I plan to fix it tomorrow, which may mean soldering.

The 3157 is working perfectly in the outer tails, running and brake lights. They look good, and bright too. The reflector lights up well, with a bright triangle of 3 leds in the center. For $18 each they better be bright. Pic tomorrow.

ever get this fixed? im looking to replace all mine with the same bulbs you have, but im still fuzzy on how many of which ones to get. i know its the 3156 and 3157, but since you were ahving issues, maybe its the same bulb for all of them?

lonnie · 04-20-2010, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alerogls001

Right- the inners do not serve as brake lights.

I wired mine to serve as brake lights. I just like all of them lighting up when I hit the brakes.

whiterider00 · 05-11-2010, 02:15 AM

replaced all of my bulbs with leds a little while back. the good: headlights look great now because theres no yellow or amber bulbs reflecting in the housing, its all just clear bulbs. also, the taillights look exactly how i expected them too. the bad: crazy hyper blinker!(will eventually buy the module to fix it). also, i didnt really think when ordering the white leds for backup lights. there arent any radially mounted leds on those bulbs, so theres not really any light being projected into the housing, and therefore not much light behind me. also, having tinted tails doesnt help that. so i swapped back to stock bulbs for the reverse lights, but everything else looks great. only one pic for now, but ill get some more night time ones.
0510101351.jpg