Ridiculously bright LED tail light bulbs.

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 11:57 am

I know this was done on an off-topic bike, but I figure 1157 brake light bulbs are 1157 brake light bulbs, no matter the make or model of the bike.

I got some new LEDs off Ebay for my brake lights. Now, these things aren't for those looking for power savings, as they claim to be 15W units. (EDIT: I guess that is somewhat less wattage than the standard 1157) But DAMN are they bright.

For comparison, the new LED is on the left and the old LED unit is on the right. The old LEDs compared as equivalent in brightness to a standard 1157 bulb. (I didn't have one handy to put in, but I have looked at them side-by-side previously)

Left is new. Running light brightness.

Brake light.

And with the lens cover.

As running lights, they are now as bright, or brighter than what they were when the brake was applied previously. When you hit the brakes, HOLY SHIT!!! (Yes, NE Ride folks, the Imperial Battle Cruiser is getting lighting upgrades!)

When I left for work last night, I used the brake light to light my way as I backed up out of the garage.

No affiliation with the seller, etc. But here's the link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/251647357131?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&sPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I'm anxiously awaiting the amber bulbs I ordered to replace the front turn signals, and I'm going to get a set of 1156 versions for my rear turn signals.

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 12:05 pm

And on sale for the next 18 hours for $10.00 for two, free delivery.

I tried some other LED bulbs, but they aren't as bright as stock bulbs, so here goes $10 out of my paypal!!

Thanks for the link!

Steve

Hawk Joined: Jan 10, 2012 Posts: 439 Location: Chicago

At that price I bought a few sets.....

E

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 12:28 pm

ME TOO. THANKS FOR THE TIP!!!

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 12:52 pm

Unfortunately, does not ship to Austtralia Sad

I purchased some LED brake lights for my 900 restoration. Gave them a trial run last weekend as I had cleaned out the rear brake light housing and lens. The running light brightness was acceptable, but when you applied the brake, it was only marginally brighter. These lights shown by outback jon look much better.

Not sure about the US model, but the Australian model has a clear section on the bottom of the brake light lens to illuminate the number plate. Since LED brake light is red, the number plate illumination is red, not white. I am not sure this meets our local regulations, so may have to go back to regular incandescent bulbs...

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 1:06 pm

SteveG wrote:

And on sale for the next 18 hours for $10.00 for two, free delivery.

I tried some other LED bulbs, but they aren't as bright as stock bulbs, so here goes $10 out of my paypal!!

Thanks for the link!

Steve

were do you see free delivery ???

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 1:18 pm

Bone wrote:

Unfortunately, does not ship to Austtralia Sad

I purchased some LED brake lights for my 900 restoration. Gave them a trial run last weekend as I had cleaned out the rear brake light housing and lens. The running light brightness was acceptable, but when you applied the brake, it was only marginally brighter. These lights shown by outback jon look much better.

Not sure about the US model, but the Australian model has a clear section on the bottom of the brake light lens to illuminate the number plate. Since LED brake light is red, the number plate illumination is red, not white. I am not sure this meets our local regulations, so may have to go back to regular incandescent bulbs...

Try searching Ebay for "15w 1157 LED white". Those might work for giving the proper color illumination. And you might find someone that will ship to Australia. (I forgot that the F bikes use the tail light to illuminate the license plate)

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 1:28 pm

Bought a couple of sets. Ricardo, watch the post.

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 1:43 pm

I got 2 also. On a sililiar note, I got some of these, and they really are bright and more importantly a much cooler light. It's my car not a vendor shot.

JDM ASTAR Extremely Bright 5730 SMD 194 168 175 2825 W5W T10 LED Bulbs,Xenon White(Brightest T10 Bulb in the market)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JIEX722/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 3:19 pm

Ordered 2. Thanks for the link!

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 4:16 pm

Jon, thanks for the link. Ordered a set for my GoldWing. Do you have a link for the ambers? When I search his store, I can't seem to find an 1157 Amber or 1156 Amber.

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 4:58 pm

Get an extra 5% off for buying more than one set too.

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 6:12 pm

Bone wrote:

Unfortunately, does not ship to Austtralia Sad

I purchased some LED brake lights for my 900 restoration. Gave them a trial run last weekend as I had cleaned out the rear brake light housing and lens. The running light brightness was acceptable, but when you applied the brake, it was only marginally brighter. These lights shown by outback jon look much better.

Not sure about the US model, but the Australian model has a clear section on the bottom of the brake light lens to illuminate the number plate. Since LED brake light is red, the number plate illumination is red, not white. I am not sure this meets our local regulations, so may have to go back to regular incandescent bulbs...

Maybe you can wire up a few of the these for the license plate illumination.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-White-Waterproof-5M-3528-Led-SMD-600-Lights-Flexible-Strip-Light-DC-12V-/141215745695?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20e11d469f

Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 11:40 pm

They make license plate bolts that illuminate, which are simply white LEDs.

Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 12:52 am

BlueThunder wrote:

Jon, thanks for the link. Ordered a set for my GoldWing. Do you have a link for the ambers? When I search his store, I can't seem to find an 1157 Amber or 1156 Amber.

Didn't look specifically for that vendor, but I found these:

1157: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-PCS-1157-2835-High-Power-15W-Turn-Signal-Blinker-BAY15D-Amber-Yellow-LED-Light-/291282680906?hash=item43d1ccfc4a&vxp=mtr

1156: http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x-Amber-Yellow-15W-1156-BA15S-High-Power-RV-Camper-Trailer-LED-Light-1141-7506-/251726561194?hash=item3a9c127faa&vxp=mtr

Search for "1156 amber LED 15w"

Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 12:58 am

CB1100F wrote:

I got 2 also. On a sililiar note, I got some of these, and they really are bright and more importantly a much cooler light. It's my car not a vendor shot.

I got similar results doing my car as well. White light with a nice increase in the brightness. Glenn's pic (and the vendor pics) don't lie.

Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 1:11 am

Got three, one for my ladies cycle..thanks for the post!

Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 4:12 am

Bone wrote:

Not sure about the US model, but the Australian model has a clear section on the bottom of the brake light lens to illuminate the number plate. Since LED brake light is red, the number plate illumination is red, not white. I am not sure this meets our local regulations, so may have to go back to regular incandescent bulbs...

Purchase the white version which will have the highest lumen output and give you a brighter brake light and also light the licence plate better than the incandescent 1157 bulbs ever could.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x-1157-High-Power-2835-Chip-1400LM-White-Turn-Signal-LED-Light-Bulbs-Resistors-/261503892374?hash=item3ce2d8bb96&vxp=mtr

Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 4:54 pm

cb1100fer wrote:

Bone wrote:

Not sure about the US model, but the Australian model has a clear section on the bottom of the brake light lens to illuminate the number plate. Since LED brake light is red, the number plate illumination is red, not white. I am not sure this meets our local regulations, so may have to go back to regular incandescent bulbs...

Purchase the white version which will have the highest lumen output and give you a brighter brake light and also light the licence plate better than the incandescent 1157 bulbs ever could.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x-1157-High-Power-2835-Chip-1400LM-White-Turn-Signal-LED-Light-Bulbs-Resistors-/261503892374?hash=item3ce2d8bb96&vxp=mtr

FWIW, it's best to use red LEDs behind a red filter as all of the light passes through it. A white LED contains 3 colors and everything but red is blocked, reducing its effectiveness. White LEDs often looks pink behind a red filter.

Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 7:15 pm

HOLY CRAP! Be careful. The link I posted has updated their price. These LEDs are now listed as $120.00/set! Shocked

Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 7:17 pm

While sellers do recommend matching the colour of the LED to the lens, I haven't compared the two to see which would actually be brighter. I was just trying to eliminate the plate illumination problem. Since the white version is 1400 lumens vs 750 for the red, I doubt there would be as much of a visible difference as you suggest.
Personally I replaced my LED's in the tail light a couple years ago to white 50W Cree 10 SMD LED's which I found to work the best and brightest. It's stupid bright! (and doesn't look pink) I've tried several other LED bulbs in the past and none worked like this one. Output is 1800 lumens.
Exactly like these.....http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x-Auto-Cars-Cree-1157-bay15d-White-10LED-50w-Projector-Beam-Brake-Lights-Bulbs-/391115528333?hash=item5b104d588d&vxp=mtr

BTW, the best price for the white light posted before is about $4 shipped ea.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-White-1157-2835-15W-BAY15D-High-Power-Tail-Brake-Turn-LED-Light-12V-/361259214868?hash=item541cba2814&vxp=mtr

Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 7:21 pm

Outback_Jon wrote:

HOLY CRAP! Be careful. The link I posted has updated their price. These LEDs are now listed as $120.00/set! Shocked

He must've ran out of them. Sometimes sellers will put a ridiculous price like that until they replenish their supply.

Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 1:31 am

Damn. Late again.

Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 2:10 am

All LED lights are not necessarily created equal, even if they are the same color temperature and luminosity. A big difference can be whether they have a decent voltage regulator. If they just rely on resistors for the voltage conversion, the lights will change brightness depending on the charging system/battery performance, and can even burn out if the voltage goes too high. It's really hard to know what you have until you get to test it with a variable power supply and such.

Posted: Sat May 09, 2015 11:57 pm

Arrived today, didn't go into a CBF but holy crap they are bright! That's NOT the brake light on the white Soul, just the running light.

I'll be watching for amber and white to finish the job.

Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 12:59 am

CB1100F wrote:

Arrived today, didn't go into a CBF but holy crap they are bright! That's NOT the brake light on the white Soul, just the running light.

I'll be watching for amber and white to finish the job.

Nice having two identical vehicles to compare them. Do those use 1157 bulbs? Or did you get the equivalent bulbs with the newer style base? Haven't seen 1157 bulbs in any newer cars lately.

I've got red and white one's coming for my Subaru. I think I have to find a replacement relay to keep the flashers from going crazy, so that's going to wait a bit. But it will have new markers, backup, and brake lights soon.

Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 1:07 am

Just put some in the 1100. They are bright and fill the reflectors well. I wonder if I will get in trouble for the license plate light being red.

Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 1:13 am

Outback_Jon wrote:

CB1100F wrote:

Arrived today, didn't go into a CBF but holy crap they are bright! That's NOT the brake light on the white Soul, just the running light.

I'll be watching for amber and white to finish the job.

Nice having two identical vehicles to compare them. Do those use 1157 bulbs? Or did you get the equivalent bulbs with the newer style base? Haven't seen 1157 bulbs in any newer cars lately.

I've got red and white one's coming for my Subaru. I think I have to find a replacement relay to keep the flashers from going crazy, so that's going to wait a bit. But it will have new markers, backup, and brake lights soon.

Yep, 1157 for running /brake 2010 and 2011 Souls.

I just ordered 1156 amber and white for turn/backup lights.

The difference is stunning. The pic really doesn't do it justice. Very satisfied.

Nobody better run my plates.

Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 1:23 am

You might get arrested for having too bright of tail lights.

Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 1:31 am

MinnesotaF wrote:

You might get arrested for having too bright of tail lights.

Or is that "detained"? Twisted Evil