Blue Dashboard Gauges?

[Wiglaf]

I remembered that this is why police lights were chosen as red/blue so I did a quick search:

http://www.whackerusa.com/emergencyvehiclelighting.htm

Research has shown when flashing lights, twice the amount of blue light energy is needed in daylight to be perceived as bright as red. At night, the situation is reversed.[1] Blue is specific to emergency vehicles only, while red is very common in traffic, in traffic lights, brake lights etc.

That isn't worded quite right, blue was shown to stand out quite well in night conditions.. but I suppose the fact that everything else in sight is red is sort of a double-whammy there.

[gearheadE30]

Well, red is actually the longest wavelength of visible light, and amber is pretty close to red. The shorter the wavelength, the more energy the wave has. At night, you want the least energy in the light for a given brightness so that you can see without having your pupils contract.

By the way, BMW still uses amber lighting on all of their cars except for the M models.

[ieatpeople]

in MD, the maryland state police have red and blue L.E.D. light bars, and at night the blue is blinding (its my favorite color), its almost like a bug light in that it draws you in.

the red l.e.d.'s aren't as noticable when compared to brake lights, but still draw your attention.

i would say, its YOUR car, go with whatever color YOU like. if you can see it fine, forget what everyone else thinks.

[JasonC]

Too bad someone couldn't make some lighting for these like the new Mustangs have. IIRC it has around 100+ different colors to chose from.

I always kind of liked the green lighting myself.

[Mastrcruse]

Stay away from blue or get a blue that can be dimmed WAY down. My 08 civic has blue (the Si's have red), its annoying as shit at night but gladly enough they dim WAY down but keep the digital speedo at a good brightness.

[smonkbmw]

By the way, BMW still uses amber lighting on all of their cars except for the M models.

odd, i sat in a 08 X5 and 750il that both had white gauges. perhaps the rest of the dash is orange, but unless they change color at night, the new cars all have white/silverish gauges.

edit: i stand corrected, http://www.billswebspace.com/BoostGa...s/image066.jpg

[Fidhle007]

I didn't change mine for any other reason than I wanted a change and I'd had bad luck with bulbs blowing. I had some blue LEDs and through them in to see how they'd look and they worked very nicely. I tried white first but that just looks pink because of the reflections off the orange plastic piece that transfers light to the front of the cluster. When someone can mold that out of clear or another color, the possibilities will be endless.

[BeirBrennerE30]

Somewhere in Germany, some old engineer at VDO spilled his coffee the second this thread was posted and he has no idea why...

[GeneParmesan]

on orange


blue is dope and will match my blue led windshield washers

[Fidhle007]

on orange


blue is dope and will match my blue led windshield washers

[Uber E30]

There are replacement LED bulbs all over the web: http://www.superbrightleds.com/mini-wedge.html

Now I wonderabout amber LEDs...

would you use 168's or 2721s?

[Beastolizer]

thanks for all the suggestions and opinions but i decided long ago to go for a set of us ellipse instead. maybe oneday, if white gauges can be possible in an e30, i will do that.

[Kerrath]

Higher energy light has a more significant effect on your eyes than not. Both the color and luminosity determine this. Blue and purple are at the high end of the spectrum, where red and yellow (amber) are pretty low. Ever wondered why brake lights aren't purple?

but the way i understand it, the red light uses different parts of the eye so when you look at the dark blue/purple sky, you dont have to readjust your eyes. Or something along those lines.

What the fuck? So when you look straight ahead you only see purple, and red is at the peripherals of your vision? So you're like a hippy from birth, seeing the world as a rainbow.

[norcalE30]

^^ i think he meant when you look away from a red light at night you can still see, whereas if you look away from a white light, you have a big green blob in your eye

and brake lights arent purple because red = stop and purple = homo