So I ordered four stealth bulbs from autolumination and like many, they're not a perfect fit. Can someone explain to me how to trim the plastic so that they fit properly? Pics would be greatly appreciated.

honestly you should not have to trip them

I ordered and returned all the lights I got from them

email himm. and see if he would send you new ones. You really shouldnt be shaving them. the bulbs arent like the best quality, but their freaking cheap.

mine fit fine, with a little force of course.

My 7440s were loose. I had to bend the contacts out to make them not slip loose when they got jostled. It was a real pain in the ass for a few weeks until I decided to do that. Then it was all better. I just stuck a small flat head screw driver under the contact on the bulb and bent it around it so it came away from the housing a little. If that makes any sense...

As far as them being too big... I didn't have that problem.

I had to trim bulbs I bought off ebay. They look great now, but I had to take them down with a grinder/etching tool. All I did was take the OEM bulb and look at it closely next to the aftermarket bulb, then shaved off what I needed to until it looked almost identical to the thickness of the OEM. They fit good after that. Have fun installing the front turning bulbs if that is what your replacing, I had to be PlasticMan for a 1/2 hour to get those in and out!

That sounds all around "ghetto". I guess you get what you pay for.
Doesn't somebody make some that fit?

Stealth Auto (http://store.stealthauto.com/stealthbulbs.html) does - but they are friggin' expensive. $40 for a pair of 7440 bulbs... :eek:

That sounds like a lot of work but you get what you paid for, I guess. Are these 7440 stealth bulbs bright enough and have good solid colors (amber specifically) to be worth the effort?

In retrospect, I'd get something with LEDs that are clear when not lit instead of the stealth bulbs. They just aren't that bright.

But then you'd have to deal with those load balancers... I don't really want to cut wires and such.

I took a single edged razor blade and sliced off the notch that was preventing them from going into the socket. If you compare to OEM it is easy to see what is different. Afterwards they went right in with little effort and are quite secure.

3 swipes with sandpaper EASY

That sounds like a lot of work but you get what you paid for, I guess. Are these 7440 stealth bulbs bright enough and have good solid colors (amber specifically) to be worth the effort?
Their new 15 LED array lamp is so bright, it is brighter than the stock incadescent. Plus, they look clear and do not have any color until they are lit.

As far as shaving the lamp goes, it has these little ears at the bottom that you can see from the sides that need to come off. Real simple, you could use a razor knife or a bit of sand paper to do this with.

As far as the load resistors go, there is absolutely no cutting of the wire what so ever, these have a clamp style connector that just bites into the existing wire puncturing a small hole. If ever you want to go back to stock, all you have to do is unclip this connector and there is just a small hole to tape over which you probably don't really even need to do this to.

These may be inexpensive lamps but, IMO, are worth it. I have never had any failure with any of the lamps I have bought from autoilumination. I have a number of them installed on my RX-8. They offer fast delivery and decent quality. Those who charge $40 for a pair of 7740 LEDs are definitely gouging the consumer.

Those who charge $40 for a pair of 7740 LEDs are definitely gouging the consumer.
Amen to that. Especially considering that those are not even LED lamps but incandescents.

Amen to that. Especially considering that those are not even LED lamps but incandescents.


I would have to disagree with that based on the safety issues associated with some of those LEDs bulbs, especially as a turn signal.

The reason? They have almost no visibility from an angle compared to incandescent bulbs. So when someone doesn't see your signal and decides to move into your lane or make a turn in front of you....ack.

I would have to disagree with that based on the safety issues associated with some of those LEDs bulbs, especially as a turn signal.

The reason? They have almost no visibility from an angle compared to incandescent bulbs. So when someone doesn't see your signal and decides to move into your lane or make a turn in front of you....ack.
Look at this (http://autolumination.com/7443_7440.htm) page. Tell me if you still think this way in case a 15-LED "wedge matrix" bulb is used.

I would have to disagree with that based on the safety issues associated with some of those LEDs bulbs, especially as a turn signal.

The reason? They have almost no visibility from an angle compared to incandescent bulbs. So when someone doesn't see your signal and decides to move into your lane or make a turn in front of you....ack.

Ummm, DUH! Have you seen two things? One, the turn signal housings have a mirrored surface so as to reflect any light to the sides. And two, the 15 Lamp array is not a lamp that has LEDs pointing straight back, they are in a 270 degree array. Behind the original 9 facing to the rear, there are 6 pointing to the sides encircling the entire lamp housing. I have the 7443 15 array reds already for the tail/brake lights and the 7440 15 array whites for the back up lamps. These are brighter than the incadescent stock lamps by far. My rear windows are tinted to 20% and I can see to back up when it's dark. I will eventually be getting the amber 15 array LEDs for the trun signals even if I have to get the load resistors.

To be able to use the mirrored surface that is created for signal bulbs, you have to get enough light on them.

The "Matrix bulb" :
With only 6 out of 24 LEDs facing in the correct direction to even use the mirrored surface, safetywise I'll take my chances with an incandescent bulb that emits light in every direction with the same intensity.

To be able to use the mirrored surface that is created for signal bulbs, you have to get enough light on them.

The "Matrix bulb" :
With only 6 out of 24 LEDs facing in the correct direction to even use the mirrored surface, safetywise I'll take my chances with an incandescent bulb that emits light in every direction with the same intensity. :rolleyes:

Okay, okay, lets just settle it with a picture - got one of the matrix LED on one side and the stock incandescent on the other?

Daytime or night time shot? From the side, right? What angle? DOT regulations say that the side view must be able to be seen at by at least 45 degrees off center or something to that effect.

I will have to get the shots. I, however, do not have the amber lamps in yet as they are on order and being shipped today. I have one that I can install for the pic though it will have to go in the reverse to show since the reverse is not blinking and without the load capacitors or resistors, they blink like crazy as if there is a burnt out lamp in the system. I could try taking a picture of it and hope that one of the many in a series would catch it as it's blinking.

If you really want to see a light defficient lamp, check out any of the silvered lamps such as the stealth or silver vision lamps. I have these and they are really only effective at night or from straight on back.

one last shot before I take some this weekend of the white reverse lamp vs. the silver vision reverse lamp. The difference is very clear. Here is the photo of the matrix LED tail lights and the reverse lamp on the left, the silver vision lamp on the right. http://www.rx8club.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=24494

Go to the acutal thread to see some close ups of them in action.

That is certainly a noticeable difference. Do you have any that are regular orange flashing?

Are those the cheapy silver bulbs from autoillumination.com? I didn't think Philips makes a Silvervision bulb in the 7440 size. Are they the stealthauto bulbs?

I think I am going to get some but I certainly don't want those....

The lamps that autoilumination sells are the Phillips Silvervision bulbs taht are purchased in bulk by them. That silvervision lamp is the one from there. I haven't had the chance to take any pics of the car with the amber lamps as of yet since I have been very busy making strakes and designing oil cooler screens and front strakes. I will be getting the lamps from them that I ordered today, most likely so I should be able to get a photo of yellow blinkers soon.

I hate to burst your bubble, but all Philips bulbs have "Philips" stamped on them.

Those, as the price implies, are cheap rip-offs.

No bubble bursted, I only reported what I had heard before. I did check on their site and saw that they changed their name to Chrome. They did have the SilverVision name on them before when I purchesed them a while back. You are correct, they have no name stamped on them so they cannot be the Phillips. I am sure they get these from a Chinese supplier as in former searches, I have come across such at unreadalbe (by me) web sites. Then again, what's not made in China now days? I should be getting a chance soon to put the amber LEDs in to take the pics I said I was going to. I will post them to show the difference no matter if they are less bright or more bright so as to report as to which is the brightest.

D,

Definitely looking forward to the pictures of the amber LEDs.
(BTW, do they look clear when off or are the LEDs amber?)
Lastly, being quite stuck on going with "silver/chrome" incandescent turn signals, have you any experience with any other sellers (besides the autoillumination.com people) that you can advise upon?

I just tried a set of 194 LEDs for the front side markers. Very disapointed with how little light they produced. About 1/16 th of the light that the OEM bulbs produce. They are clear when off. One benefit I did notice was they do not throw any noticable heat like the stock bulbs do. If you notice the cars that use LEDs tend to stack them in rows so they produce enough light and are backed up by the others in case one goes out you still have some for signaling. Not good for illuminating a side marker. IMHO

I will say after looking back in the post I am thinking about the replacement bulbs for the brake; reverse and turn signals. I will wait for confirmation on the picture proof of Lumens produced by the LED vs OEM.

The efficiency of LED's compared to the stock bulbs is incredible. No where near the same amount of heat (or wasted energy) that the stock bulbs produce.

I got some 7440's from ebay and they were a perfect fit, $15 for the pair. And about another $20 to ship to UK!

I only put them in the front, as the clear corners in the UK are turn signals, so the reduced light from the chromed bulbs is compensated by having the clear corners. At the back I left the stock ones as they could have been dangerous.