LED Taillights, Custom Made for the 914 Options

[Harpo]

Very interested. Count me in

David

[Spoke]

Here's the test fixture that I've used to evaluate the LEDs.

These LEDs are bright as hell but still not bright enough for this application.

[Spoke]

Here's the comparison with the existing brake light @ 13.6V vs the LED. Keep in mind that these are only 1/2 of the LEDs that would be used for the brake lights.

[Spoke]

The standard backup light is 25W which is slightly more power than the brake light at 21W.

Here the difference is not so obvious. The next LEDs that I am looking at are about 1.5x brighter.

[gothspeed]

I am in for LEDs, will they replace the entire assemblies or plug into the existing bulb sockets?

I have tried those plug in LED bulbs from FLAPS and the brake light is barely noticeable. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

So I am thinking these custom versions would be better, right (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) ?

These will fit in the existing enclosure with the original lens. It will replace the reflectors/bulb sockets. The goal is to not have to cut any plastic or change flashers to install.

Cool! Thanks for the reponse. Looking at the pictures above, it appears these are gonna turn out very nice. Also in my opinion, the brighter the brake lights the better (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Another great thing about this upgrade, is the lower current draw of the LEDs should allow more current for ignition and stereo components .... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[HarveyH]

You might consider doing your testing with red LED's. The white LED's produce light in many wavelenghts. The red lens filters out all of the light except for the red wavelengths. If you start with an LED of a given wattage a specific color LED you should get more light in the wavelengths you need.

From the Superbriteleds page:



Harvey

[7TPorsh]

You might consider doing your testing with red LED's. The white LED's produce light in many wavelenghts. The red lens filters out all of the light except for the red wavelengths. If you start with an LED of a given wattage a specific color LED you should get more light in the wavelengths you need.

From the Superbriteleds page:



Harvey

Always wondered about this. Does this mean the same when using regular bulbs?

If I use red incandescent bulbs; are they better than clear?

[zymurgist]

Does that mean two different specs, one for US lenses and one for Euro lenses?

[HarveyH]

7TPorsh:

Always wondered about this. Does this mean the same when using regular bulbs? If I use red incandescent bulbs; are they better than clear?

I would think that most standard incandescent bulbs produce a wide range of wavelenghts and the red envelope does the filtering to remove unwanted colors producing the red light. While the red lens will pass most of the red light, there will still be some additional filtering losses so you would probably be better using a clear bulb and do all of the filtering with the lens. I don't believe most LED's are truly monochromatic (like a laser), but rather they produce a variety of wavelengths within a fairly narrow band. {red(ish) or blue(ish) or.....} Anybody know about this???

Zymurgist:

Does that mean two different specs, one for US lenses and one for Euro lenses?

From what I think you're asking: optimally you would use white LED's for the backup light portion of the taillights and red LED's for the red portion. For the Euro lenses you would also need amber LED's for that specific portion of the lens. Also, amber LED's for the US spec front lenses and marker lights.

Harvey

[Madswede]

7TPorsh:

Always wondered about this. Does this mean the same when using regular bulbs? If I use red incandescent bulbs; are they better than clear?

I would think that most standard incandescent bulbs produce a wide range of wavelenghts and the red envelope does the filtering to remove unwanted colors producing the red light. While the red lens will pass most of the red light, there will still be some additional filtering losses so you would probably be better using a clear bulb and do all of the filtering with the lens. I don't believe most LED's are truly monochromatic (like a laser), but rather they produce a variety of wavelengths within a fairly narrow band. {red(ish) or blue(ish) or.....} Anybody know about this???

Oddly enough I was just researching LEDs a bit ago. Wiki has a decent summary on the technology behind how LEDs work, and to summarize it all up, it would seem you're exactly correct in saying that LEDs emit light in a relatively narrow range of wavelengths (colors). It seems they may or may not be totally monochromatic depending on the semiconductor material and doping materials used (there is such a thing as a diode laser, apparently). I'm certain you're also correct about incandescent bulbs emitting a wide range (more or less white light) of wavelengths.

In contrast, LEDs typically emit light in a certain color (i.e. not white) due to how the light comes about from the electrons' behavior in the diode's doped semiconducting material. Hence, LEDs do not typically use filters at all unless for some special application or circumstance. It's tricky to get white light from an LED and while it is of course possible, there are several ways of doing it (including using more than one actual LED in each "light" assembly).

[zymurgist]

From what I think you're asking: optimally you would use white LED's for the backup light portion of the taillights and red LED's for the red portion. For the Euro lenses you would also need amber LED's for that specific portion of the lens. Also, amber LED's for the US spec front lenses and marker lights.

Exactly!

[cconcepcion]

I'm interested in a set....

[Type 47]

interested

[Cairo94507]

This project is definitely heading in the right direction. I think this could be one of the most significant safety improvements one could make to their car to preserve it for the future.

[mrbubblehead]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

[PThompson509]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) +1

I've got a LED strip just under the roof, attached to the chrome - makes for a great 3rd brake light - easy to attach too.

Once this comes out I'm VERY interested in buying a set to replace the sad lights behind the plastic. Please count me in.

Cheers!

[StratPlayer]

Interested (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

[montoya 73 2.0]

Would be interested if the LED's are of the correct lens color & sequential turn signals.

[steuspeed]

For a long time blue LEDs did not exist, so it is not a matter of adding a color filter. Once blue was invented they started showing up on all kinds of products and enabled RGB combinations (pixels) to create a wide range of colors.

[Chris H.]

This project is definitely heading in the right direction. I think this could be one of the most significant safety improvements one could make to their car to preserve it for the future.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) most teeners get hit from behind these days. At least in the accidents where the other party is at fault. I remember a beautiful Irish Green '71 6er that I wanted to buy from the board...someone else bought it and got immediately HAMMERED in a rear-ender. Not his fault at all IIRC. We're too low not to have bright tail lights and a 3rd brake light any more. Thanks for the hard work on this.