I am curious if any of you have installed this type of LED tail light bulb:



I have done a search and see some people saying the LED bulb itself is a complete waste, but this new CREE LED variant seems to be the real deal. Here is a quick clip of another C4 owner who has installed these same ones. I like the instant on/off feature and it is much brighter than stock.


I know most people recommend this style:



But I honestly don't care for any of the styles offered for the C4. The placement of the diodes is always in a rectangle, which I don't think looks that great, it takes away from the round tail light. I also can't help but think that in the near future a few of the diodes will burn out and then you will have these new expensive LED tail light housings with a few burnt out diodes. These are only $20 a pair vs. $175+ for the four LED tail light housings. It would be nice to have a factory style plug and play LED bulb, I am just curious if any forum members have pulled the trigger on these and are overall happy with them?

Thanks,

Patrick

 

I have never replaced an exterior bulb with an LED piece but have heard the same as you have - some say they are not bright enough yet others have said that the LED bulbs are just great, so perhaps it might depend on the bulb itself.

Again, have only heard but apparently it is best to get LED tail bulbs which are red in color since the red lens itself will filter all the light wavelength except red which in turn makes the LED's not so bright. Hopefully others with more experience and a better understanding will chime in.

I have replaced a few of the 1141 interior bulbs in my RV with some online ElCheapo's - less than $2.00 each - directly from China and they are not very bright. They also cast a very white light which is unpleasent.

 

I get my led lights from superbriteleds.com. They are bright

 

Red LEDs are a lot more efficient than other colors. That means they put out a lot more light for the same current.

In general, LEDs last a VERY long time. The exception is when you drive a TON of current through them to make them bright, which a lot of vendors do.

I have SuperBrightLEDs in my car (all of the interior lamps plus the under hood lights). One thing to watch out for on their site is that they list replacements for various bulb numbers but the number of LEDs varies. I always go for the maximum number of LEDs. One nice thing about most of their LEDs is that the current limiting resistor is built in and most of them have a full wave diode bridge in them so the polarity doesn't matter (LEDs are polarized -- if you put them in backwards they will not light).

Here's a fun fact: most of the high output white LEDs are actually ultra violet and have a fluorescent coating internally that produces the white light.

Just for reference, CREE is one of the largest producers of high brightness LEDs.

 

If they can't spell "brake" I wouldn't do business with them.

I've got SuperBright brake bulbs in my Pathfinder boat-tower and my Camry
daily driver. They are just fine. Do go with the bulbs with the most
LEDs.

I haven't done the 'vette because it's such a pain, and I don't drive it much at all.

Chuc

 

I did these as they are not as square as some.. the top and bottom rows have one less LED each..

 

Thanks for the input guys.

Chuck, that is very true. I guess I'll pass on these particular bulbs.

Jeff, where did you get those and how much? How long have you had them? Hard to install?

 

I got them on eBay believe it or not.. They were plug in and bolt on, so simple enough

they are similar to the clear ones on eBay now but I got red.. I got a few years back for under $200

 

I have leds very similar or maybe the same in my 96. I put them in last summer. I put the leds on one side and left the stock bulbs on the other to see if there were any difference in light. The difference is very noticeable with the led bulbs being much brighter. The other thing you will need to do is put a electronic flasher in to replace the stock mechanical one so you don't have to use resistors.

T

 

Don't forget red leds for red lens, amber leds for amber lens and white leds for white or clear lens.

T

 

Thanks Jeff!

BigT2- which direct replacement LEDs did you get? Did you go through super bright leds or ebay?

 

I went through ebay. They actually came from China and it took about two weeks to get them. I was in no hurry and the price was much better then paying the price the US suppliers were charging for the same ones they got from China.

T

 

Hey guys, just wanted to follow up.

I decided I wanted to keep the stock appearance and make this installation simple. I did a ton of research on which was the best plug and play bulb and arrived at the 1157-R45-T from Super Bright LEDs. They are LED Tower bulbs with 45 individual SMD LEDs. A lot of the motorcycle forums and replica Cobra forums recommended these bulbs. As Jake Corvette said in this thread, make sure you get the same color of LED bulb as the lens it will be behind. In this case, I got all Red bulbs to fit behind my stock red lenses.



I used the 1157-R45-T for the tail lights, and the 1156-R45-T for the center third brake light.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/morei...ed-tower-/814/


The results are great. They fit no problems, they are certainly brighter, the instant on/off feature is awesome, and it looks completely factory. All 5 lights took about 20 minutes to install. Can't beat that. Here is a quick low quality video I shot real quick with my phone with the hazards on. LED is on the left, stock 2057 is on right. At night the difference is even more noticeable.


Here were my costs:

Tridon Electronic Flasher from Advanced Auto- $12
1156-R45-T--$25
1157-R45-T--4x$25= $100
Total=$137

Total I would have spent with LED panel tail lights like those you would find on Jeff's car, or at Corvette HID

4 LED Panel tail lights- $150-$250
LED Third Brake Light- $110
Total=$260-$360

As you can see, you end up with pretty much the same result while spending a lot less. Nothing is wrong with either way, its pretty much personal preference. After seeing a few examples and videos with these bulbs I was sold.

Thanks for all the help and advice everyone!