Brighter tail lights

[SkipB]

Have any of you Backdraft dealers/owners put in brighter tail lights. I have been told mine are not very visible. I know there are LED types out there, but don't know the details. What is the type to get, where to get them, and do they work?

Skip B

[ROUSHAC]

Skip,

http://www.clubcobra.com/showthread.php?t=67438

Hope this helps!

Cheers!
Dave

[Tony Aprile]

Granted I don't have a BDR but my SPF with the rectangular tail lights have similar low illumination.

I tried Luxeon 3 watt LED bulbs to replace the standard 1156 and 1157, much brighter.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/specs/115x-xLX3.htm

[RedBarchetta]

Remove the steel/aluminum housings and paint the insides white. It will reflect better than the dull sheet that they hammer the housings from.

[1985 CCX]

Try ERA,

Look at their website in 427 car under options. They offer a polished rear plate that will focus light back out the lense. I have considered this upgrade myself.

Jeff

[era556]

Give Ron Francis Wire Works a call 1-800-292-1940. They have bulbs called Brite Lights that are very bright and will replace your standard #1157 bulb with out any socket mods. They have a large assortment of Brite Lights.

Bob.

[STCinc]

I've got the same lamps as Tony A. They work great! Also, they now have them in Amber for the front.

Sean #1676

[Chilibit]

I came up the Interstate in the dark the other morning with an eye on my mirrors and knowing full well that rear lighting on my SPF is marginal. IMHO.

So I looked at LEDs. The ones mentioned above seem totally different that the ones sourced from motorcycle houses. The rectangular lens on the SPFs are well under two inches in interior width. That rules out the 1.85 inch wide clusters of LEDs. But this one looks like one large LED. They have impressive drawings but how do they compare to typical 25-40 LED arrays? Was there a technology jump I missed? I see the wattage is way up, but how do they really perform? Compared to 1157s or arrays of smaller LEDs.

Is it still true that a red LED through a red lens works better than a white LED through a red lens? I think the red LEDs concentrate all their output into the non-filtered domain so there is less loss.

Are these overly directional? Or maybe the rear lens diffuses the light regardless.

I have read a fair number of "searched" threads. So if this is repetitive, my apologies. Point me please.


Chilibit

[SkipB]

Guys,

Thanks for the replies. I just wonder if Backdrafts have the same bulbs as you are all mentioning? I'll have to pull one and see. It would be nice if a Backdraft owner that has made the switch to brighter bulbs would respond! I am somewhat concerned about the electrical system and the new bulbs. More than likely no problem, but I don't want to be the first to find out it won't work to switch to another kind of bulb. I am a BMW owner also, and they are very sensitive to bulb types and capacities. Also, don't forget, Backdrafts have two round bulbs and not a rectangle as mentioned.

SkipB

[era556]

Skip the Ron Francis Brite Lites do not draw any more current than your standard bulbs , but the are almost twice as bright as your stock bulbs I switched mine over on my ERA and have been very pleased. leave the L.E.D's to the trailers they really dont match the look of the car.

Bob.

[Dwight]

I replaced the four in the back with LEDs and kept the 1157 bulbs in the front. I could not get the turn signal to work with six LEDs. So I bought an electronic flasher and replaced the 2 front LEDs with standard 1157 bulbs. Everything works as it should. You have to buy the correct color LEDs to match the color of your lense. RED for RED and White for White or Yellow for Yellow. LEDs burn cooler.
Dwight

Go to Ebay and seach LED 1157

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1157-...QQcmdZViewItem