Jeff77789

do you guys know if there is a mod out there that lets you have 100% led tail lamps?

i was just wondering since i would prefer to have an actual flashing light rather than a pulsing glow from a lightbulb

paimon.soror

iTrader: (15)

wut

Jeff77789

an LED flash seems instantaneous

a light bulb takes an instant to heat up and to cool off and you can see it "pulsing" or glowing



compare:

mustang
Mustang One-Touch Turn Signal Kit (10-13 All) Review - YouTube

mercedes s-class
Mercedes Benz S-Class W221 Facelift Headlight Retrofit - YouTube


i think LED's give a much cleaner look

monchie

I think LED tail lights will look cool! Not sure if there is LED tail lights for the rx8...

monchie

04-11 Mazda SE RX-8 Products


Is this the one your talking about?

Grace_Excel

iTrader: (5)

A quick search would show you that the Series II does

monchie

Did you see my second post?

Jeff77789

those are some expensive lights..

Bladecutter

You're doing something seriously wrong if you can see your tail lights while you're driving.

I have a mental image of you getting out of your car at every stop sign and red light, and asking your passenger to hit your brake pedal with a broom handle, while you feel queasy at the bulb filament slowly heating up, and then slowly cooling off after he releases the brake pedal. Every time the turn signal flashes, you dry heave.

Such a strange thing to be concerned about in life.

BC.

jasonrxeight

on the S2 the 3rd brake light is incandescent and I can tell it lights up slower than the LED ones if theres a big truck behind me with big chrome grill.

scorcherjf

Yea the LED tail lights on S2's do light up quicker. Even the 2011 RX-8 brochure has a snippet about it:

"The RX-8's LED taillights light up quicker than incandescent bulbs to provide added visibility and safety."

I don't think S2 tail lights fit the S1 though...correct me if I'm wrong.

paimon.soror

iTrader: (15)

Source: http://www.designingwithleds.com/201...g-performance/

just gunna leave this here....

Grace_Excel

iTrader: (5)

Yeah, if you're dumb enough, you'll buy into the two grand taillights. Which one did you miss when I mentioned the Series II?

scorcherjf

That may be true for household lighting or a controlled test environment but for automotive lighting it's easily verifiable even by the naked eye that LED tail lights light up quicker. I can record a video of the S2 RX8 later (since the middle light is incandescent versus the two main tail lights which are LED). But in the meantime, this thread has a video illustrating similar effects (in this case the two main tail lights are incandescent and the middle upper light is LED).

LED vs. Incandescent tail lights

Also note page 3 of this paper: http://chemistry.beloit.edu/BlueLigh...p/an1155-3.pdf

paimon.soror

iTrader: (15)

oh dont get me wrong, there is no denying that an LED's turnon is quicker than a more resistive filament bulb, but surely not enough to warrant investing in a (more than likely) costly solution to remedy something that only is recognized by people behind you that are driving around and looking to see who's taillights turn on in symmetry

Jeff77789

totally worth the trouble of installing if it only cost $40

not $2000...

monchie

Don't worry about it, and i will just stick with regular oem taillights.

Grace_Excel

iTrader: (5)

Yeah, I thought so.

paimon.soror

iTrader: (15)

...

monchie

Same to you...

Razz1

really? I'll take your 40 bucks.

shakeyourbrakes

iTrader: (4)

Follow the DIY I made for LED tail lights similar to the S2.

markcanderwich

this might help u...
go with ...Mercedes Benz S-Class W221 Facelift Headlight Retrofit - YouTube

Jeff77789

what? isn't that the video i posted as an example?

Chibana

I remember Car & Driver doing a technical article on LED brake lights. They came to the conclusion that at higher speeds, at least, the difference in light-up speed can be significant in an emergency braking scenario (probably only if the driver behind isn't keeping adequate distance, but most drivers don't). Now, having said that, I wouldn't spend a ton of money converting my car to them if it didn't already have them, either.