I've been searching for LEDs to use in a tail light project and there are so many options. I was lookin at Golden86's thread and I noticed he used a 10mm LED. Is a 10mm LED the best overall size for this type of thing?
Also, when it comes to the brightness, I'm seeing anywhere between 4000 and 135000mcd. Is there such thing as too bright? I just need some good info or places to look about which LED is the 'right' LED. I don't want to blind anyone, but I don't want the things to be too dim either.
Is this too much for auto use? I know a typical LED is 19-21mA, this says 100mA. Also, at .5w, it won't take long before these use more power than the factory bulb. Better choice?
------------------ --1984 3800 Turbo / 5speed --518hp on a Dyno-dynamics --11.8 @ 126mph
[This message has been edited by Jncomutt (edited 02-01-2010).]
I can't say what size LED you should use... I would go for the ubiquitous 5mm ones, but that's just me. Depends how you want to mount them and whatever other considerations you may have, etc...
First, choose LEDs with the widest viewing angle you can find. You want the lamps to be visible to drivers not only directly behind you. i.e. you want floods, not narrow-beam spotlights.
That said, the mcd rating is pretty useless on its own. It is just a measure of the peak intensity, in the bright spot. You should be more concerned with total light power. This is measured in lumens, and you can find it (approximately) using the mcd rating and the viewing angle.
Given: F = Luminous flux in lumens I = Luminous intensity in candela (remember to convert from mcd to cd) A = Viewing angle
F = I × 2 x pi × (1 - cos(A/2))
Just so you can have an idea of how many LEDs you will need:
A SINGLE typical 2057 bulb, (2057 is stock for a notchback), puts out: Brake/turn filament: 400 Lumens Park filament: 25 Lumens
[This message has been edited by pmbrunelle (edited 02-01-2010).]
Found this thread when I was trying to find out how many 2057 and 1157 bulbs there are total on the Fiero so I knew how many LED replacements to Order!
I got wedge LEDs from http://www.Superbrightleds.com for the PONTIAC symbol and they worked great, so I'm in the process of buying their other bulb replacement units. Their website is a bit cumbersome (in my opinion), but great pieces.
Besides the "ready to plug in" bulbs, they also sell components, hope it helps you out!
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12:59 PM
masospaghetti Member
Posts: 2477 From: Charlotte, NC USA Registered: Dec 2009
This is just IMHO, but the factory taillights are awesome and have a lot of detail in them. If you're hell bent on LEDs its much easier to get a drop-in replacement from eBay, good ones usually run about $20 for a pair. Just search 1157 led and look for the ones that have SMD LEDs. They are all cheap chinese parts though and tend to be less reliable than regular bulbs.
The way that I am going to do LEDs only enhances the look of the stock tail light design... And plug and play LED 'bulbs' can and will only look horrible.
I have not seen good cheep eBay LEDs yet. I have used Superbrighleds.com before with good results. For me, I cannot use cheep plug in LEDs for the reasons mentioned above. Sure they might be bright when focused, but they are not bright and diffused enough for car use yet. For brake lights, I would use nothing less than 1+ watt leds. Anything less than that will be too dim.
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01:58 PM
masospaghetti Member
Posts: 2477 From: Charlotte, NC USA Registered: Dec 2009
The way that I am going to do LEDs only enhances the look of the stock tail light design... And plug and play LED 'bulbs' can and will only look horrible.
I don't know what your basis of this is, but the newer designs that have side-firing SMD LEDs do a good job filling the lens with light and are at least as bright as stock.
I'm talking about the ones with the IC-looking LEDs, not the traditional bullet-shaped LEDs.
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I have not seen good cheep eBay LEDs yet. I have used Superbrighleds.com before with good results. For me, I cannot use cheep plug in LEDs for the reasons mentioned above. Sure they might be bright when focused, but they are not bright and diffused enough for car use yet. For brake lights, I would use nothing less than 1+ watt leds. Anything less than that will be too dim.
A 1 watt LED that isn't directional usually works well to replace a 194-style bulb and will be considerably brighter. A guideline for the SMD-type LED bulbs is 6 SMD's = 1 watt, so a 24 LED SMD bulb would be approximately a 4-watt LED (which, by the way, would be appropriate for a stop/brake bulb).
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A SINGLE typical 2057 bulb, (2057 is stock for a notchback), puts out: Brake/turn filament: 400 Lumens
Are you sure about these numbers? 400 lumens is a lot. A 55 watt halogen headlight (9006-style) puts out about 1000 lumens, I find it hard to believe a 32 watt non-halogen could put out 400.
light bulb note... see cave, lighting section All OE and some alternate bulbs are in table in light bulb article
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
Originally posted by masospaghetti: Are you sure about these numbers? 400 lumens is a lot. A 55 watt halogen headlight (9006-style) puts out about 1000 lumens, I find it hard to believe a 32 watt non-halogen could put out 400.
Edit: I forgot to mention that,if you go with L.E.D. brake\Turn lights you will need an electronic turn flasher.L.E.D. lights with single purpose lighting, like the 3rd brake light,shouldnt need the electronic turn flasher.
[This message has been edited by James Bond 007 (edited 11-16-2010).]
