Replacing Standard Taillights With Led's?

[wwest]

Well, first of all, ALL of the bulbs in the rear of my 2001 RX300 are LEDs.

Oops, the backup lights are each 50 watt halogen mounted in custom bulb fixtures.

LED bulbs come up to full illumination in about 100 nanoseconds and incandescents in less than 100,000,000 nanoseconds. But both are fast enough that the human eye cannot discern the difference.

And I really wish that the 3 watt Luxeon LEDs I am attempting to use for forward DRLs didn't waste any of the electrical energy in HEAT. That way I wouldn't need to bother with figuring out how large a heat sink to use within the mostly sealed headlamp assembly.

LEDs most definitely convert more of the electrical energy to light than do incandescents, but still no where near 100%

[LexKid630]

standard, the rx300 tail lights are bulbs, NOT Light emitting diodes!!! you can CLEARLY see the double filament in each of the bulbs if you look through the red lenses. If you knew what an LED looked like you would not have said that.

i'm not sure about the exact "units" but i know you can see the difference in time between the two...

Believe me you can't confuse LED's and bulbs if you see a car with them and without them side by side. Thre only cars that i'm aware of that use LED's as tail lights are some infiniti's, rx330, 400h, 06 GS, 04+ LS, some cars (like volvo) have LED's in 3rd brake light, and ALL third brake lights on spoilers. Maybe i missed a few cars but you get the picture....

All you need to do is follow a car that has LED's in the 3rd brake light and NOT in tail lights and you will see! The best car to do this is in is an Impala because the 3rd brake light is on the trunk..the first thing you will think is that they are not in sync, but it's only becuase of the delay that the bulbs have...

[LexKid630]

Here you can see what a regular bulb and an LED look like. The bulb is the one on the left...

they are totally different objects, and work totally differently from each other...

bulbs are NOT LED's....it's like saying, "my cat is my dog"..true they are both pets, and both smell, but they're different!

[jgr7]

Lex he changed his to LEDs. I too can tell the difference in the speed of leds vs regular bulbs, the bulbs also don't go off instantly due to the heat in the filament. They seem to stay on longer. We all know that electricity is very fast and reaches the led/bulb in( for our discussion) the same amount of time. With incandescent bulbs the speed with which we see the light depends on the thickness of the filament and the voltage applied to that filament. Thick filaments that will last along time in a 12 volt system would light up as quick, (again for our discussion) as the led if 120 volts was applied to the bulb.

Jeff

[LexKid630]

Lex he changed his to LEDs.

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I thought so, because i know that it's impossible to NOT be able to tell the difference..That's why i said "standard." I'm actually interested in changing the bulbs in the rx300 TOO LED's...

[katzjamr]

Here you can see what a regular bulb and an LED look like. The bulb is the one on the left...

they are totally different objects, and work totally differently from each other...You can't say that, " the bulbs in my rx300 are LED's" ...that makes NO sense LOL

bulbs are NOT LED's....it's like saying, "my cat is my dog"..true they are both pets, and both smell, but they're different!

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Common lex my dog doesnt smell, and when he saw this post here it hurt his feelings...

[LexKid630]

Here you can see what a regular bulb and an LED look like. The bulb is the one on the left...

they are totally different objects, and work totally differently from each other...You can't say that, " the bulbs in my rx300 are LED's" ...that makes NO sense LOL

bulbs are NOT LED's....it's like saying, "my cat is my dog"..true they are both pets, and both smell, but they're different!

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Common lex my dog doesnt smell, and when he saw this post here it hurt his feelings...

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LOL well i'm sorry for that :P i was just making a point LOL

[wwest]

Insofar as this discussion is concerned "bulb", of itself, is a generic term defining a shape, (flower bulb.....) not a device. So it's perfectly proper to use LED bulb.

So, do I say that I have bulb shaped LED lamps in my Lexus or can I still get by with LED bulbs.

[LexKid630]

Insofar as this discussion is concerned "bulb", of itself, is a generic term defining a shape, (flower bulb.....) not a device. So it's perfectly proper to use LED bulb.

So, do I say that I have bulb shaped LED lamps in my Lexus or can I still get by with LED bulbs.

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Sorry, i only said that because i didn't know (understand) that you changed them to LED's. I am sorry for the confusion.

That is cool though..How did you do the conversion to LED's? Does each plug have a few LED's on it etc? Could you tell me more i'm very interested in changing the bulbs in my rx300 to LED's Where did you get them? Thanks

[wwest]

Insofar as this discussion is concerned "bulb", of itself, is a generic term defining a shape, (flower bulb.....) not a device. So it's perfectly proper to use LED bulb.

So, do I say that I have bulb shaped LED lamps in my Lexus or can I still get by with LED bulbs.

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Sorry, i only said that because i didn't know (understand) that you changed them to LED's. I am sorry for the confusion.

That is cool though..How did you do the conversion to LED's? Does each plug have a few LED's on it etc? Could you tell me more i'm very interested in changing the bulbs in my rx300 to LED's Where did you get them? Thanks

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superbrightleds.com

[SW03ES]

So if no one can tell the difference, why did you upgrade to LEDs?

The NHTSA is also confused, because they reccomend LED lighting because it adds time to react for the drivers behind.

[bartkat]

An attosecond is one quintillionth (10-18) of a second

[LexKid630]

Bottom line:

the human eye CAN determine the difference between the light of an LED and a bulb. If your eyes can't detect the difference you may want to have your eyes checked, or maybe you have insomnia.

If you choose to go on believing that an LED and Bulb, that work totally differently from each other, light up the same and at the same rate, then that's your problem!

[wwest]

Again, when you set in a movie theatre watching the screen your eyes do not detect the fact that the screen is being illuminated, on and off, at a 50 hz rate. Actually the image itself is only changing at a 25 hz rate, each image is exposed twice to fool your eyes.

100,000 "bulb" life and significantly reduced power consumption was reason enough for me to switch to LED bulbs.

There are a few people around that cannot really see, but are sensitive too, the 120 hz flicker of comon fluorescent lamps.

[SW03ES]

Super bulb life? Come on replacement bulbs cost $1 a piece. You bought them because you like the way they look.

As for being able to see the difference in the speed LEDs light up, its plain as day when comparing LEDs with standard turn or brake lights that the LEDs light up and shut off much more crisply. That again is why we're seeing them in new cars and why they're REQUIRED on tractor trailers.

[wwest]

$1 for 2....actually.

Apparently you have never replaced a bulb in the rear quarter panel of an early LS400. Or maybe the front or rear parking/street lamp in an RX300.

And I do really like the idea of getting 12 watts of light for 1 watt of input. My home and our office converted to CFLs years ago.

[SW03ES]

$1 for 2....actually.

Apparently you have never replaced a bulb in the rear quarter panel of an early LS400. Or maybe the front or rear parking/street lamp in an RX300.

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Okay, true enough lol.

How easy was it to switch to the LEDs anyways, did you have to put resistors in the line and how hard was that?

Also is the light spread as even as it is with the standard bulbs? I'd really like to do this...

[LexKid630]

Again, when you set in a movie theatre watching the screen your eyes do not detect the fact that the screen is being illuminated, on and off, at a 50 hz rate. Actually the image itself is only changing at a 25 hz rate, each image is exposed twice to fool your eyes.

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What you are talking about here ISN'T the same as what we are talking about with the time it takes for the light to be noticed by our eyes.

I have my Doctors and Masters in chem/physics i understand how light works...i'm not an idiot... i would not be posting in this topic if i didn't know what i was talking about.

The rate at which our eyes can detect light emitted from an LED is as fast as we'll ever see it. A light bulb does NOT work the same way! It creates light by using a different method. A light bulb creates light by heating up the metal so hot that the (e-)'s are moving so rapidly that they are bouncing off each other (this creates light in a bulb). An LED creates light by using a diode...which is a totally different method. it is "instant"...as soon as you flip the switch it's on full blast! A bulb takes longer to heat up so the electrons take longer to get moving.

I am tired of arguing about this subject! I'm right any you're wrong it's as simple as that. OUR EYES CAN DETECT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE LIGHT OF AN LED AND THE LIGHT OF A BULB in the means of how quickly 100% light is emitted. bulbs take longer to burn as hot to produce the same amount of light an LED can. They are TOTALLY different ways of producing light and do NOT emit light at the same rate. Our eyes are capable of detecting the difference.

I have no idea why you keep arguing with me on this. I wont question you about your job so don't question me on mine. I've been studying this shizz to long.

[indiasfinest]

wow lexkid is a genius :whistles:

[SW03ES]

wwest will argue any topic right into the ground Lex.

And thats not considered an insult, I'm like that too sometimes but it is a fact. He's the resident expert here ww.

[LexKid630]

wwest will argue any topic right into the ground Lex.

And thats not considered an insult, I'm like that too sometimes but it is a fact. He's the resident expert here ww.

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And the wood trim in the rx330 is totally fake LOL

[SW03ES]

It is LOL

Damn...its a real burden being this right all the time isn't it?

I feel sorry for us.

[luxury1]

Does anyone have pictures of the straight LED configuration on the RX330 (besides the hybrid 400h pictures)?

[LexKid630]

It is LOL

Damn...its a real burden being this right all the time isn't it?

I feel sorry for us.

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I find it somewhat funny LOL. It's very irritating when you know you are right and someone tells you are wrong. Especially when it's on a topic you've been studying for the past 25 years LOL

[wwest]

I have never denied that LEDs illuminate faster than incandescents and via an entirely different method. If you read my posts I have said that LEDs came up to full brightness in less than 100 nanoseconds, 0.0000001 seconds. Normal incandescents come up to HPP (half power point) in about 100 milliseconds, 0.1 seconds, halogens are quite a bit quicker.

Almost all incandescent filaments have a position temperature coefficient in that a cold filament has a fairly low resistance but that resistance rises rapidly and substantially with temperature. So incandescents, especially halogens, have a fairly HIGH initial surge current when voltage is first applied resulting in fairly quick production of LIGHT.

The european union has just approved a new brake lighting method wherein the brake light will flash on and off, more rapidly with high braking application.

The problem seems to be in getting the attention of the driver approaching from the rear, not so much the quickness, over incandescents, of brake light indications.

Watch that state trooper chasing you down on the freeway, would he get your attention as quickly if his headlights and beacon were on constantly?