Led Tail Lights
- Thread starter Davedacarpainter
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smokin joe
Founding Member
You can get led taillights on ebay, but they don't look right in a foxbody IMO. I believe cj pony parts have leds that fit the stock housing.
definitley recommend stock lights, they look so much better than anything else out there
You can buy replacement LED light bulbs that fit your existing 1156/57 bulb sockets. You'll get three things from that.
A significantly brighter bulb.
You'll maintain your stock appearance.
They'll cost you 3-4 times the price over a regular 1157.
I ordered my front replacement bulbs as LEDs. They'll fit my stock 1157 sockets.
They cost 15.00.......ea. I need four.
But, my bulbs tic-tick between white and Amber. ( because I chose them that way). When used as running lights, they will be white. When the TS is activated they'll flash Amber and white, as opposed to Amber and dark like a stocker does.
There are a bunch of things LEDs can do, including last just about forever, but they are pricey. You do not have to buy the current crop of aftermarket tails for a fix to get the benefit of the bulbs though.
A significantly brighter bulb.
You'll maintain your stock appearance.
They'll cost you 3-4 times the price over a regular 1157.
I ordered my front replacement bulbs as LEDs. They'll fit my stock 1157 sockets.
They cost 15.00.......ea. I need four.
But, my bulbs tic-tick between white and Amber. ( because I chose them that way). When used as running lights, they will be white. When the TS is activated they'll flash Amber and white, as opposed to Amber and dark like a stocker does.
There are a bunch of things LEDs can do, including last just about forever, but they are pricey. You do not have to buy the current crop of aftermarket tails for a fix to get the benefit of the bulbs though.
You have to be careful when choosing who to take your advice from here.
I won't point any fingers, but there are certain blue hairs from Canada that aren't as "in the know" about simple things like replacement bulbs.
You have to excuse them,...stuff doesn't get to them as quickly as other parts of the free world. Most of Canada just upgraded their telecommunications to "wireless" just last year, when the commonwealth issued all of the residents one of these.
Hey @madmike1157 Can you provide your source? Not of the Michael J. Fox Canadian you know but of the L.E.D's that you have
Bahaahaahaa!You have to be careful when choosing who to take your advice from here.
I won't point any fingers, but there are certain blue hairs from Canada that aren't as "in the know" about simple things like replacement bulbs.
You have to excuse them,...stuff doesn't get to them as quickly as other parts of the free world. Most of Canada just upgraded their telecommunications to "wireless" just last year, when the commonwealth issued all of the residents one of these.
Replacement LED bulbs in reflector housings do not work well. That's just not the proper application of LED lighting. LED lights need to be direct projected, and not reflected. They also don't work well behind a diffuser lens. The truth is, despite claims that LED's are brighter, is that you need a 
load of LED's to equal the lumens of one halogen bulb. Packing them into the area of bulb, when you really need the area of a dinner plate and then reflecting the light (therefore losing some light that is reflected to areas not usable) really isn't a good design.
Look at any OEM style LED taillight out there and you'll see what I mean. All the LED's project outwards, and behind a clear lens.
Putting an LED bulb in the stock taillight is not proper engineering form. I'd almost say it's BETTER to buy the aftermarket LED taillights vs putting bulbs in because of the design. You want other drivers to see your brake lights after all.
And might as well share my opinion on it. These are 30 year old cars. Leave the LED stuff to the modern vehicles and keep Fox mustangs true to original form.
load of LED's to equal the lumens of one halogen bulb. Packing them into the area of bulb, when you really need the area of a dinner plate and then reflecting the light (therefore losing some light that is reflected to areas not usable) really isn't a good design.Look at any OEM style LED taillight out there and you'll see what I mean. All the LED's project outwards, and behind a clear lens.
Putting an LED bulb in the stock taillight is not proper engineering form. I'd almost say it's BETTER to buy the aftermarket LED taillights vs putting bulbs in because of the design. You want other drivers to see your brake lights after all.
And might as well share my opinion on it. These are 30 year old cars. Leave the LED stuff to the modern vehicles and keep Fox mustangs true to original form.
In other words,.... Keep your old car poorly lit, underpowered, and uncomfortable.
**ive got much more to say other than my smart assed comment, but I refuse to peck all that out on a phone that keeps changing what I want to say.
What the hell,...... I'm on my lunch hour..it'll be hours before I'm back home, I'll just..... Peck.
The Led bulb I was referring to isn't intended to replace a "halogen" bulb, I was talking about a standard 1157 turn signal/tail light bulb. And those bulbs are incandescent. The same old assed bulbs that went into a car right after they stopped using fire.
When you look at an led replacement for a standard 1157, there are in fact dozens of them on one bulb. All interspersed in a pattern completely around the bulb to act the same way the old one was intended,..., to be reflected.
I just can't see how this would be any less bright than the one Fred Flintstone uses, and other than the brightness, nobody's gonna be the wiser.
The Led bulb I was referring to isn't intended to replace a "halogen" bulb, I was talking about a standard 1157 turn signal/tail light bulb. And those bulbs are incandescent. The same old assed bulbs that went into a car right after they stopped using fire.
When you look at an led replacement for a standard 1157, there are in fact dozens of them on one bulb. All interspersed in a pattern completely around the bulb to act the same way the old one was intended,..., to be reflected.
I just can't see how this would be any less bright than the one Fred Flintstone uses, and other than the brightness, nobody's gonna be the wiser.
The design of that LED bulb is it's shortcoming, and the picture of it lit shows exactly what I am talking about. It's attempting to replicate the wide dispersal pattern of your standard incandescent by using LED's which have narrow focus points. You can see the hot spots and dimmer areas on the lit bulb. The individual LED does not have the same intensity as your standard bulb, so manufacturers try to increase the number of LED's and point them all over the place. Problem is it's just not efficient when used in a reflector.
I equate dropping LED bulbs into reflector housings to sticking HID bulbs into reflector housings. It works, but it's not the proper application of the technology.
Are LED's getting better? Yes they are. Household LED's have come a long way and my entire house is filled with them. I'm just not convinced automotive LED's are there yet to produce a satisfying drop-in bulb that matches the old incandescent. I've messed with quite a few over the years. In the end, they go in the trash and the old bulbs end up making it back in the car. They looked awesome, and were nice and clean and white, but when I decided I actually wanted to see what was backing into, I put the stock bulbs back in.
I equate dropping LED bulbs into reflector housings to sticking HID bulbs into reflector housings. It works, but it's not the proper application of the technology.
Are LED's getting better? Yes they are. Household LED's have come a long way and my entire house is filled with them. I'm just not convinced automotive LED's are there yet to produce a satisfying drop-in bulb that matches the old incandescent. I've messed with quite a few over the years. In the end, they go in the trash and the old bulbs end up making it back in the car. They looked awesome, and were nice and clean and white, but when I decided I actually wanted to see what was backing into, I put the stock bulbs back in.
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That would look really nice with some chrome curb feelers, I think.Well..... There's always this:
mikestang63
SN Certified Technician
What the hell,...... I'm on my lunch hour..it'll be hours before I'm back home, I'll just..... Peck.
The Led bulb I was referring to isn't intended to replace a "halogen" bulb, I was talking about a standard 1157 turn signal/tail light bulb. And those bulbs are incandescent. The same old assed bulbs that went into a car right after they stopped using fire.
When you look at an led replacement for a standard 1157, there are in fact dozens of them on one bulb. All interspersed in a pattern completely around the bulb to act the same way the old one was intended,..., to be reflected.
I just can't see how this would be any less bright than the one Fred Flintstone uses, and other than the brightness, nobody's gonna be the wiser.
Mike- you have any pics of those bulbs in a fox tail light and what they look like when illuminated? I agree the aftermarket LED tail lights look horrble.
Not yet. it's my opinion that for the sake of the pic I furnished, the photo itself has been doctored to show all of the LEDs dimly illuminated........individually.
If it does in fact perform like it's supposed to I'd have to think all you'd see from a picture of a bulb illuminated will be just a bright assed light.
But,..I've got some coming for the front lenses, and I'll do that wiring today. And you gotta know that I'll be posting a pic of them as a testimonial to whether or not they suck.
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