im looking to upgrade my door lights/trunk light/plate lights/reverse lights/glove box light/the peanut lights in the headlights to LEDs i would be getting them from http://www.superbrightleds.com/ im just having a hard time finding the correct bulb sizes i dont wanna order the wrong ones and help on which ones to order? ive looked at some of the packs ive picked up from canadian tire but the bulb number doesnt match any on the site, thanks for the help
I have tried a BUNCH of different bulbs so I can give some direction here. The cheaper bulbs are a matrix of normal (non-surface mount) LEDs and they are generally lower quality and not worth what you save on them. Replacing filament bulbs with LEDs is a little tricky since the LEDs need to work on the 12v circuit, and surface mount type clusters work MUCH better and last a LOT longer, at least in my experience. I use bulbs from a combo of superbrightleds.com and autolumination.com since each site has slightly different types and thru trial and error I've figured out what I like. Here's what I have/had:
DOOR, GLOVEBOX, TRUNK, OVERHEAD
First I tried these below (superbrightleds) - the color is too blue, too dim, and I had to get replacements for all of them 3 times because they start flickering and go bad eventually...
Ended up with these below (superbrightleds) and I've VERY pleased. they are very bright white and they have lasted a while with no problems. Note you only need the ones with 3 LEDs at the top of the pic. Trust me they are plenty bright!
CITY LIGHTS (peanut lights as you call them )
I tried these below (superbrightleds) and was happy until I installed my HID foglight kit and new 6000K headlight bulbs. Now they look a little too yellow and dim compared to my new setup. With factory Xenons and fogs, these work great IMO.
I have since ordered these (autolumination - top of page) and since they are rated at 8000K I'm hoping they will match my specific setup better:
REVERSE LIGHTS
Had these to start (autolumination - 5th from top) but they eventually started flickering and went out. The middle LED wasn't white enough, and the radially-mounted ones were too purple:
I've tried a couple different types for the license plate just for kicks. Mainly I was looking for a wider beam pattern and a little brighter if possible.
I tried these below, but they are a little too long so I needed to modify them slightly to fit and the clear lens didn't *quite* screw in as snugly as I would have liked. They are about twice as bright as the ones just above and looked great, but one went out in about a week and the issues with fitting caused me to uninstall them.
I also JUST tried these below and while they are a great color and brightness, they are not going to fit at all without some modification. Oh well live and learn I guess.
Hope this makes some sense of this stuff. Next I'm gonna upgrade the vanity bulbs!!!
I haven't for a few reasons. I've read of issues with the LEDs taking a moment extra to illuminate; while I don't know if this is true, I'm not willing to test it with brake lights for safety reasons alone. Honestly I don't see the benefit outweighing the hassle for these. The SID is gonna think bulbs are out because of the lower resistance, so resistors would be needed to equalize that out. After I fix the issues so the SID is happy, the light *may* be brighter, but I doubt by much. Since it's behind a red reflector you MUST use a red LED cluster bulb as well BTW. If you use a white one the red lens will filter out most of the visible light and the brightness will actually be LESS than the normal filament bulb. In addition, the refractions on the factory lens really don't work well with LEDs anyway, and in an ideal world we would have available via aftermarket suppliers a replacement rear light assembly where the lenses had no refraction at all but had rows of leds. Alas, the market is so small for SAABs that we don't have that unfortunately, so I chose the most practical route to just replace the yellowish bulbs with superwhite LEDs and leave the turn signal bulbs and brake lights alone. There was a thread floating around here where some Russian company did some custom led clusters for the rear light assembly for a 9-5, but it was a one-off and not available for purchase
For the corner lights (I'm guessing you're referring to turn signal blinkers), I just didn't see a benefit. I have the Euro clear corners paired with a pair of chrome-coated regular filament bulbs from one of the sites mentioned in this thread. They blink flawlessly (in amber) without the need for resistors that generate heat, and they are invisible in the clear housing so I don't get that "fried egg" look.
I found this site for LED's http://www.dealextreme.com/c/car-led-light-bulbs-712?page=1&pagesize=52&pagesort=relevence just looking for some feed back off of it before i buy and was wondering which bulbs to order not sure what the difference is between some of them, im looking to do 4 door lights ,Trunk, glove box, reverse lights , little peanut lights that are in the headlights (city lights) and license plate lights , thank you and let me know if there are any other lights that would look good changed
I found this site for LED's http://www.dealextreme.com/c/car-led-light-bulbs-712?page=1&pagesize=52&pagesort=relevence just looking for some feed back off of it before i buy and was wondering which bulbs to order not sure what the difference is between some of them, im looking to do 4 door lights ,Trunk, glove box, reverse lights , little peanut lights that are in the headlights (city lights) and license plate lights , thank you and let me know if there are any other lights that would look good changed
I can't vouch for specific bulbs, but I've bought hundreds of dollars of stuff from dealextreme over the years and they've always been great. Excellent service - albeit slow from Hong Kong - and great prices. I've bought various LED flashlights and one LED MR16-replacement from them and all have been up to par. Always pay attention to reviews and threads for each product. If it's bad reviews or no reviews, don't buy. Stick with peer-reviewed stuff and go from there.
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