Wondering -- is switching to LED bulbs net a real difference in brightness and amp draw?
I was considering swapping mine out, especially in the back, for more brightness from the tail lights/ stop lights......PILOT makes an 1157 I was considering.....but damn....$20 for one bulb......
That said, if it works, and is really brighter, great....but do you have to, then, change EVERY bulb on the car (tails, signals, sidemarkers) out for LED?
I think I started this post last year....sorry I didn't update here sooner. Here's an update.....I switched the polarity on my new electronic turn signal flasher and now the turn signals work great. The entire project involved a variation of the MAD electric modification, new alternator, ALT to BAT direct 6 AWG charge wire, and relays for the low beams, high beams, and fog lamps, and ammeter to voltmeter modification. I was going to change the head lamps to quality E code lamps, but I decided to delay that project for a while....the relays made a significant difference.
ALL my lamps, except the head lights were changed to LEDs....tail lights, parking lights, side markers, dash lights....everything. The dash lighting upgrade was HUGE as far as illumination goes. If someone needs more specific info, I'll try to help.
LED lamps are brighter than our original factory lamps....at least they appear to be brighter and more visible. The wavelengths and means of measuring brightness are different for LEDs. The bottom line is yes, they are slightly brighter. It helps significantly to match the factory lens color to the LED color. It will make for a richer color and often will be brighter. I see a lot of our cars running around with a "pinkish" tint to the taillights because the owner put in white lamps instead of red.
As far as electrical draw is concerned, well, it's huge. An 1157 LED will draw 1/8th - 1/10th what an incandescent 1157 will draw.
It's important to purchase quality LEDs. All 1157 LED equivalents are not all the same. Quality and illumination will vary considerably. I purchased all my LEDs from Superbrightleds.com and there was a fair amount of trial and error to get things the way I wanted...especially with the dash. I have several LED lamps left over from trying different ones in an attempt to optimize illumination and still keep the factory look.
No, you do not have to change all the lamps to LEDs....you can just change your tail lights and leave everything else original if you want....but you won't.
