LED's all around

[Wiglaf]

i thought about doing it the hard way.. but honestly those 5W led's are pure brightness. It ain't worth trying to buy those and do it the hard way.
For the lower-power part it might be worth doing.. I'll get to compare between the ones that are directional vs the ones that try to emulate a bulb by pointing the light in several directions.

[namsayin]

definitely subscribing to this as i have wanted to convert all my lighting to LEDs as well.

[newman]

i see nothing

damn hotlinking...

here:

[bimmerpirate]

no, no, no.... like this

[newman]

I know what you were talking about, I was simply suggesting those as a drop in replacement. ^ that looks bad.

[everlast]

That foldable design is kind of neat. Do you have any experience with it, or just saw it on the site?

I've been looking for a good 1157 replacement for years, never found one. I finally just got a second taillight for my bike and am planning on building an LED board, inspired a while ago by that E30 with the led board install.

Anyway, back to OT. Subscribed.

[newman]

The foldable one is called a spider light and runs about 20 bucks each. I may try them in my car...

[everlast]

If you remember, it'd be awesome to post in here and let us know how well they work, Newman. It's somewhat on topic. ;)

[newman]

I'll see what I can do.

[87e30]

I'll see what I can do.

I've always wanted to try these but they've never been a priority on my shopping list. Seeing them in your (awesome) car would be cool.

[bzboardz]

i was also interested in upgrading several lights to LED curious how this works out for you.

I've already figured out the license plate lights and how to disable that much of it.

interested in this. if you could PM me how you did this unless someone else wants to know. thanks

[Wiglaf]

UPDATE

here we go..


First off, I ordered the wrong shit for the side markers and dash.

Quantity: 4
Product: T1.5-xHP Instrument LED bulb $ 2.79 (each)
Options: Blue T1.5-BHP

Quantity: 4
Product: BA9s-x-x-12V Wide Angle Bulb $ 0.98 (each)
Options: 120 Degree Red BA9s-R-x-12V

Quantity: 4
Product: BA9s-x-x-12V Wide Angle Bulb $ 0.98 (each)
Options: 120 Degree Amber BA9s-A-x-12V

Also I received the wrong bulb,
Quantity: 2
Product: BA15 5Watt LED bulb $ 22.95 (each)
Options: Red 1156-RLX5

What they gave me was the 3W version.

Between these two glitches there will be a delay on those results.. looking up the proper bulbs and emailing sales now..


Quantity: 1
Product: Spotlight Rechargeable LED Light $ 19.95 (each)
Options: Black

Result: Performs as advertised. At first I was going to fail it but after bending the tabs in my cigarette lighter socket out a bit it fits snug and snaps-in to charge. There is a red charging LED which I really hope goes out after a few hours. Output is bright, very handy.
The cigarette lighter has a larger diameter which leaves a bit of a gap where this light is, almost to where it would fit great if you gutted the button out of the lighter and used the outer piece as trim. I might do this.


Quantity: 2
Product: BA15 3Watt LED bulb $ 12.95 (each)
Options: Amber 1157-ALX3

STOCK:


LED:



Result: I got this for the front turn signal. It is too directional for the job, only 1/2 of the housing was lit very well. The contrast between low and high for the blinker left some to be desired.
I will return these for something else. The next one down on my list would have been great but it is only single brightness.


STOCK REAR:


Quantity: 2
Product: BA15 18 High Power LED Tower bulb $ 17.95 (each)
Options: Amber 1156-A18-T
Result: This is for rear turn signals. I am very happy with this. Full housing is lit (minimal spotlight effect), brighter than stock, crisper yellow color.

Note: you guys are right about the blinker speed.

Quantity: 2
Product: BA15 24-LED bulb $ 7.49 (each)
Options: Wide Red 1156-R24
Result: This is for the tail light (not brake light). I'm happy with this, was a good choice for the purpose. The housing is lit well, minimal spot-lighting. It is bright enough to be seen but certainly won't be confused as brake lights, about stock brightness.

Quantity: 2
Product: BA15 19-LED bulb $ 6.99 (each)
Options: Wide White 1156-W19 3.00
Result: These are the reverse lights. yeah I'm an ass. I like em though, cold white looks fresh out of there.

Quantity: 6
Product: 3610-x4 LED Festoon bulb $ 1.89 (each)
Options: Cool White 3610-CW4 0.95
Result: Got this for trunk lights and plate lights. They are bright enough, crisp cold white in color. I would recommend getting slightly larger though, these are 36mm long. I had to bend the clips a little bit, 39mm might have been a better choice. The 4-led is plenty for the plate but the trunk it wouldn't hurt to amp it up some.


Product: 1156-RLX3 3W RED
Result: Just cause they were not the 5W I ordered doesn't mean I won't try em. They are at least as bright as stock, and really not too much spot-light effect. I don't know if these have a nice wide output or the housings deal with them well, or both, but this really is not a bad way to go. The 5W might be overkill but with tentative plans of cleaning the 3rd brakelight off the trunk I would rather make sure I have people's attention when they kick on.

and the results...




(for comparison and sheer laziness, the 3rd brakelight was not changed)

edit:
already had these for the dome lights:
UAL-x12 (the festoon bulb kit, bought from bav)
These are nice and bright. There seem to be more options now but i'm not about to re-buy since I'm happy with these.

[E30Nova]

You on a Mac or PC? Either way, something should automatically open to import the photos from the phone. On my Mac, iPhoto opens. On the pc, I get a little dialog box with a few different options asking me what I want to do.

Matt

[Wiglaf]

figured it out, stay tuned.

btw the T1.5-BHP is the right size for the smaller cluster indicator lights (like for blinkers and oil light and stuff), just not the 2 main illumination lights for the cluster.

[everlast]

I know I'm late to ask this, but how about side by side shots of each? IE, the left taillight fully LED and the right fully incandescent? Otherwise its really hard to judge since the camera adjusts for the differing light levels. :(