Seventh Mod: LED Reverse Lights
10-27-10, 08:15 PM
#1
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Seventh Mod: LED Reverse Lights
most people would probably go with the 921 LEDs from vleds for their reverse lights:
http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED/P...-p7526829.html
but the price is pretty steep just for a pair of reverse lights that not many people will see since the time the car is in reverse is very minimal
so i went the cheap route and looked for something similar on ebay and came across this:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/1-Pcs-T10-168-194...#ht_2957wt_906
i thought "can't go wrong with $4 for a pair!", and went ahead and bought them
and ofcourse, the v-leds being 8W, these ebay LEDs aren't nearly as bright as the v-leds
first i wanted to see if these ebay 28 LEDs were brighter than my v-leds 13 LEDs so i mounted one as a parking light
(http://www.v-leds.com/Interior-LED/G...-p6638587.html)
left: ebay 28 SMT LED
right: v-led 6000K 13 SMT LED
the ebay LEDs are ONLY just as bright as the v-leds despite that it has 15 more LEDs mounted!
the ebay LEDs were noticeably more blue than my already 6000K v-leds and did not match my lows and fogs, so on we go with installing them as reverse lights
ebay 28 SMT LEDs
v-led 6000K 13 SMT LEDs
similar to a lot of other LED installations, these ebay LEDs will loose contact when you push them all the way into the input. i had to pull them out a little until they made contact with the plates and made sure they stayed in place. so i had to ask my brother to sit in the driver's seat and put the car on reverse, made sure the LED stayed in place, opened and closed the trunk a few times to make sure the motion does not kick the LED out of place, which it did a few times. finally i was able to get the LEDs to stay still, and yes, it will be a pain if you're installing these on your own.
if anyone has experience with the v-led 8W reverse lights, please let us know if you had to do the same or the v-led LEDs were able to make contact when pushed all the way in.
stock:
ebay LED:
stock:
ebay LED:
and as we all could have guessed, installing LEDs that are just as bright as parking lights will not be bright enough. so right now, i have the LEDs installed just for the sake of getting rid of all the stock halogen yellow bulbs in my IS, but i SHOULD invest on brighter reverse lights so i can actually have an improved view over the stock reverse lights.
so i'd recommend skipping the cheap ebay LEDs, no matter how many LEDs they have mounted on, and go with the 8W v-leds if you are going for brightness
on the other hand, the ebay LEDs i got would be a very good alternative for the v-leds parking lights if you're for a blue tint as they have the exact brightness but are ~$10 cheaper
http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED/P...-p7526829.html
but the price is pretty steep just for a pair of reverse lights that not many people will see since the time the car is in reverse is very minimal
so i went the cheap route and looked for something similar on ebay and came across this:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/1-Pcs-T10-168-194...#ht_2957wt_906
i thought "can't go wrong with $4 for a pair!", and went ahead and bought them
and ofcourse, the v-leds being 8W, these ebay LEDs aren't nearly as bright as the v-leds
first i wanted to see if these ebay 28 LEDs were brighter than my v-leds 13 LEDs so i mounted one as a parking light
(http://www.v-leds.com/Interior-LED/G...-p6638587.html)
left: ebay 28 SMT LED
right: v-led 6000K 13 SMT LED
the ebay LEDs are ONLY just as bright as the v-leds despite that it has 15 more LEDs mounted!
the ebay LEDs were noticeably more blue than my already 6000K v-leds and did not match my lows and fogs, so on we go with installing them as reverse lights
ebay 28 SMT LEDs
v-led 6000K 13 SMT LEDs
similar to a lot of other LED installations, these ebay LEDs will loose contact when you push them all the way into the input. i had to pull them out a little until they made contact with the plates and made sure they stayed in place. so i had to ask my brother to sit in the driver's seat and put the car on reverse, made sure the LED stayed in place, opened and closed the trunk a few times to make sure the motion does not kick the LED out of place, which it did a few times. finally i was able to get the LEDs to stay still, and yes, it will be a pain if you're installing these on your own.
if anyone has experience with the v-led 8W reverse lights, please let us know if you had to do the same or the v-led LEDs were able to make contact when pushed all the way in.
stock:
ebay LED:
stock:
ebay LED:
and as we all could have guessed, installing LEDs that are just as bright as parking lights will not be bright enough. so right now, i have the LEDs installed just for the sake of getting rid of all the stock halogen yellow bulbs in my IS, but i SHOULD invest on brighter reverse lights so i can actually have an improved view over the stock reverse lights.
so i'd recommend skipping the cheap ebay LEDs, no matter how many LEDs they have mounted on, and go with the 8W v-leds if you are going for brightness
on the other hand, the ebay LEDs i got would be a very good alternative for the v-leds parking lights if you're for a blue tint as they have the exact brightness but are ~$10 cheaper
Last edited by SilentWish; 10-27-10 at 08:30 PM.
10-27-10, 08:42 PM
#3
Pole Position
Thread Starter
haha thanks bro
at first i was thinking not to post a thread just for this little mod that probably no one cares about lol
but since i did some comparisons, i thought it may help some members out a bit
yea you should go ahead and do it!
i'm still struggling if i should get the v-led reverse lights cause i think they really are a lot brighter.. but for that much more
at first i was thinking not to post a thread just for this little mod that probably no one cares about lol
but since i did some comparisons, i thought it may help some members out a bit
yea you should go ahead and do it!
i'm still struggling if i should get the v-led reverse lights cause i think they really are a lot brighter.. but for that much more
10-27-10, 08:59 PM
#7
Pole Position
Thread Starter
@big - nice! haha it's always good to look forward to the next mod! sigh.. i think this may be the last of my mods (man it stings my heart by just saying this) as any other mod i'd have to take the car into the garage.. and those mods would cost too much for me 
i'd love to install the F-sport sway bar.. and get coils and spacers
but then my car's a lease.. and when i return the car.. i'll loose all those expensive mods to the dealership
i mean.. i can take them back.. but that's another cost right there to take them back out
@ScKcBc - do you remember if you had any hassles installing the v-leds? as in.. did they loose contact when you pushed them all the way in and had to pull them out a bit for contact?
@SPNinjA - thanks man! unfortunately i don't have the backup camera but you're right! if i did i would be able to tell right away if these give off better lighting! but i doubt they do tho.. i think for better lighting we'd definitely have to go with the v-led 8W LEDs!
i'd love to install the F-sport sway bar.. and get coils and spacers
but then my car's a lease.. and when i return the car.. i'll loose all those expensive mods to the dealership
i mean.. i can take them back.. but that's another cost right there to take them back out
@ScKcBc - do you remember if you had any hassles installing the v-leds? as in.. did they loose contact when you pushed them all the way in and had to pull them out a bit for contact?
@SPNinjA - thanks man! unfortunately i don't have the backup camera
but you're right! if i did i would be able to tell right away if these give off better lighting! but i doubt they do tho.. i think for better lighting we'd definitely have to go with the v-led 8W LEDs!
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10-27-10, 09:06 PM
#9
Pole Position
Thread Starter
but it still adds up to be a bit over $50 for me after shipping
but i know i'd hate myself if all of a sudden i wanna buy it after the sale and have to pay full price then
ahhhhhh the mod bug is really eating up my wallet
10-27-10, 09:59 PM
#11
@silentwish
I hear ya man, but with me the car is paid off and its mine to keep. I wouldve have done alot of the mods years ago but i got into a another hobby that cut into the budget.
And to be honest man, i suggest u do some of the mods cuz its fun and most off u got something to look forward to
I hear ya man, but with me the car is paid off and its mine to keep. I wouldve have done alot of the mods years ago but i got into a another hobby that cut into the budget.
And to be honest man, i suggest u do some of the mods cuz its fun and most off u got something to look forward to
10-27-10, 10:25 PM
#14
Pole Position
I have the Vleds as my backup lights and it does looks cool, but the useable light is not more than the stock bulb. Just the outputcolor has been changed. Therefore, A 6000k ledbulb will lose some usefull light compared to the stock +/- 3000k bulbs.
10-27-10, 10:39 PM
#15
it becomes a hundred bucks...http://www.v-leds.com/Vehicle-Specif...-p9184857.html
