Thanks for the
link, Marcos.
This appears to
be a replacement for the 3157 bulb – it looks promising, but the 3157
requires the new style bulb socket – this bulb is not a plug in
replacement for the 1157, I don’t think. Did you find a way to
convert your car to the new style socket (or is yours a late enough car that it
already had them – I don’t know what year they came out, but my ‘81
still has the old style sockets).
From:
mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Marcos del Castillo
Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008
7:09 AM
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: IML: LED lights
This link should take you to the
vendor's page with the lights I ordered:
http://www.v-leds.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/vpid/4481051/vpcsid/0/SFV/32481
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: IML: LED lights
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 08:26:16 -0500
From: gkitterma@xxxxxxx
Who is the vendor mentioned in your last paragraph, and what is the part
number?
Gary Kitterman
'56 C-73 "Babe"
-----Original Message-----
From: Marcos del Castillo <the_dusster@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 6:40 am
Subject: RE: IML: LED lights
I think I'd only previously
purchased bulbs from Superbrightleds.com. My lebaron uses 2
dual-filament bulbs (stacked vertically) in each brake/tail/turn lamp, 2
tail lamps in the trunk lid, and 2 in the CHMSL. All my experimenting
took place over about the past 4 years. The things I was looking for
with this mod were adequate fill of the reflector, a noticeable difference
between the dim and the bright setting, and clear visibility of the brake
lights when viewed in sunlight.
I originally puchased enough LED bulbs to replace all of these. These
were the original design, with only axially-mounted LEDs. I was not
pleased at all. None of my main requirements were met. You got
basically "points" of light that looked like a firefly stuck in the
taillamp. So I switched back.
Later, I was researching other vendors, and I came accross one that may have
been the one mentioned earlier by another IML member. These looked more
promising, as they incorporated some radially-mounted LEDs to provide some
fill. Unfortunately, they were $60 apeice, so it would have cost $240 just
to do the 4 main lamps, and even $60 to try one out was too much.
Then later, Superbright LEDs put out a wedge-based bulb that incorporated a
single high-flux (luxeon?) emitter, that even though it was axially mounted,
promised illumination in 180*. I decided to purchase one and try it
out. It was brighter, and provided somewhat better fill, but still not
good enough in my opinion, still had the firefly impression. I felt that
it would have been better designed with a shorter base, to move the emitter
further back into the reflector. Also, there were issues with the
dual-brightness feature not working correctly.
Even later, they introduced a design that was similar to the originals I
purchased, but included 6 radially-mounted LEDs for fill. I purchased a
pair of these to test them out. Again, better fill than the originals,
but still not good enough, still too dim in bright sunlight, and not enough
difference between bright and dim. At least the flasher worked properly.
Lastly, the discussion was started on Allpar, so I chimed in and someone
mentioned the vendor I posted earlier. The vendor offers many different
designs for the same bulb type, so I emailed him about which ones would be best
for my application and my reqirements. He recommended one type, but was
also up front about cautioning me that they may not illuminate as well as
standard bulbs. I ordered a pair to test them out, and found that they
were more than satisfactory in meeting all 3 of my requirements, and performed
as well as incandescents, while providing the nice deep red color, and more
distinct flash of LEDs. So I purchased 2 more of the dual-brightness
bulbs, and 2 bulbs for my CHMSL. I've decided to leave the trunk lamps as
they are for now. I've had these bulbs for over 6 months and am very
happy with them.
> Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:35:35 -0800
> From: dansgarage@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: RE: IML: LED lights
> CC: the_dusster@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Hi MArcos!...I also have been checking into the use of LED's as
replacments on my Imperial ('66 LeBaron) anda I an VERY curious as to WHICH suppliers/websites
you have tried andthe reason's WHY you said you were not particularly
"satisfied" with the designs you have so far tried. This could save
me (and other IML'rs) lots of time/aggrivation in looking for that
"perfect" LED replacement!
> thanks for any info you can share!!!
> Dan Melnik
>
>
> ---- Marcos del Castillo <the_dusster@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
>
> =============
>
> I've tried out many different designs of drop-in replacement LED bulbs for
the rear of my '89 Lebaron coupe and was not satisfied with any of them,
including any of the ones sold by superbrightleds.com, until I saw this thread
over at Allpar:
>
> http://www.allpar.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=95312&st=0
>
> where this vendor was mentioned: http://frickinbrite.com/catalog/index.php
>
> I tried some from them and was very pleased. You can see photos of the
results on the second page of the Allpar thread. Very bright, and with
excellent fill. The color in person is a very nice, intense red. If you switch
to LEDs in any lights that flash, you will want to replace your thermal flasher
with an electronic one.
>
>
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