Originally Posted By: JustinH
I'm thinking of switching all the stop lights, and turn signals, and license plate lights to LED on my saturn ion.
The benefits is they are instant on, and throw a brighter light. I'm interested in a brighter light for the reverse lights especially.
Also, they generate no heat and use less electricity.
Has anyone else made the switch?
I've made the switch on my Honda CRX. I'm pleased with the results (and the electrical savings has made a small but noticeable improvement in fuel economy). But that's the good news, and there is also "bad news" with LEDs as well.
First off, you really do have to pay attention to WHICH modules you get, and how you are going to use them! Brightness (lumens), beam angle, and color spectrum of the "bulb" are all important considerations above and beyond the obvious (does it physically fit in the same mounting as the stock bulb). And don't forget that "flashing bulbs" (turn signals, etc) often won't work properly with LED modules UNLESS you either add a loading resister OR swap out your stock flasher unit with an "electronic flasher" (I went with the flasher swap, as you lose the power saving advantage of LEDs if you go with the resister approach).
And many people have rightfully criticized poorly made LED replacements as being inferior to the stock bulbs. But my personal experience is that it is more of a YMMV thing. Get a good LED module for the task, and the "bulb" is often BRIGHTER than stock incandescent bulbs (while still having a wide enough beam to still look like a stock bulb behind the car bulb lens). But many of the LED modules on the market seem to be more geared toward cheap costs to make, than being the "best bulb" for the task. There are in fact many LED modules that are significantly inferior (in light output, and beam angle) to incandescent bulbs. But my experience has also been that the better (higher end) LED modules can often not only hold their own against stock bulbs, they can actually do better (brighter light, for example). But if you want a LED module that works better than stock, you really have to be very careful about which one you purchase! And you might even have to buy one or two of a given module to "try out", and only get additional modules if/when your "test module" works well in the given task.
And FWIW that's pretty much how I did things. While I did look at specs (and carefully bought brighter, but more costly, modules in a given LED module line), I still ended up getting my LEDs over time (often only getting one or two of a given module, until I had a chance to try it out, and then only getting more if/when I liked that module). And yes, I have actually removed some modules (and replaced them with brighter more costly modules), when I found that the modules I selected weren't IMHO sufficient for the task I was using them for. As just one example of where "trial and error" was needed, I've had three different style LED modules in my front facing white "running lights" (which sit next to my normal halogen headlights on the car), before I found modules that I really liked in that application. The final modules I went with (for that application) had 6 super bright "warm white" (3300K spectrum) LEDs, so the module is very bright AND close to the tint of an incandescent bulb (so the light blends well with my headlights). And even better, that module (unlike most LED modules) really was designed to have a full 360 degree beam (by having its 6 LEDs point in different directions), so it does a very good job of avoiding the LED problem of "you can't see it from the side". But again, that was my 3rd attempt at a LED module for that application, before I finally found a module I really like. So sometimes "trial and error" is the only way to go with these LED modules...
NOTE:
If you can at all help it, only go with "white" LEDs if/when you are using them in an application that really needs "white light" (for example, my "running lights", above). However, when you have a light behind a colored plastic "lens", try to match the LED color to the color of the lens (even if/when the incandescent bulb you were replacing was originally "white"). The reason for this, is that converting white light to colored (red, amber, etc) light wastes a lot of potential light. While that wasted light is unavoidable with incandescent bulbs (because "white" is the natural color of incandescents), LEDs can easily produce colored light from the get-go. So by having your LED modules produce light in the proper color, you effectively get a much "brighter light" than you would otherwise have, because you have avoided the light loss intrinsic in converting white light into colored light.
i.e. Put a red LED module behind a red car lens (for example a brake/tail light), and it will be very significantly BRIGHTER than the equivalent (made to the same standards) "white LED" module. And the reason for this, is that you aren't wasting potential light brightness, trying to convert the white light to red (instead you are just producing red light, and virtually all of it is going out the red car lens). And the same principal also applies to any other "colored light" that you might want. If at all possible, have the LED modules generate the light in the correct color to begin with, and you avoid the huge (sometimes 2/3 or more) loss of light needed to convert "white light" into colored light (thereby getting much more effective brightness out of your car LEDs)...
