I don't think HID's would fry the wiring either, even if you do have to go with a larger fuse. HID's just take more current for a couple seconds when the ballast kicks them off. After they are lit, they should draw less current per lumen of visible light than any conventional bulb.

 

honestly this is a dumb idea. HIDs take warm up time before being useful. are you really going to be backing up for that long? also, they burn relatively hot, so the paint/reflector/lens of your tail light might peel/crack if you have them on for a long time to illuminate something.

 

Hmm, my HIDs used to flicker when I didn't have a relay. I thought it was because it was too much draw. Don't quote me on that though.

 

Flickering would probably be the result of a flakey connection. When you use under-sized wiring, you are basically just using the wira as a fuse. If you draw more current than the wire can handle, it overheats and burns up, like when a fuse blows.

 

Ahh, Gotcha.

 

i have some LEDs in my reverse lights, they light up way better than the stock ones, i dont remember how much those bulbs specifically were, but i paid ~ $110 for trunk, map light, turn signal, 2 relays, and reverse lights

 

Val, I need to look at your car one day then.

 

ordered the lights from DDM tuning! (thanks for the info about this company) I'll let you guys know how they are + how the HIDs are. shipping straight up sucked to hawaii...

Bought a H3 due to the overall size of real H3 bulbs being similar to the OEM reverse lights. Going to have to make a bracket OR glue these HIDs on....we'll see which route I go.. hehe
--edit--

sorry for the wrong info,

I meant H3, not H7...edited so as not to mislead people :B

also, THE HIDs SHIPPED! waiting on DDM..

I was sort of scared when I read the problems with DDM on the BImmerfreaks forum, but I may have lucked out...shipped within 3 days of my ordering. Hope everything works and works well.

Have been planning a little...going to run the ballasts in the spare tire well, as I gutted it out previously. Im going to take a book out of the guys running amps in there and cutting a plywood board to mount the ballasts on.

will update with a new thread once I get it...with pics!

 

thats awesome ikeyballz, can't wait to see how it turns out!

 

while i think reverse HIDS are a bit obnoxious, I wouldn't mind having more light in reverse. When I'm backing up with no streetlights, this reverse lights actually make a huge difference especially when it comes to seeing other cars parked next to/ behind you.

I will probably end up buying or fabricating a rear license plate frame that incorporates several high power leds in it and wire it to the stock reverse wiring. Thats about your only easy and effective way to get more reverse lighting.

The stock tail lights have a pretty thick diffuser which limits the amount of light that will actually project onto other things. You cant effectively throw light. Also, I doubt the stock housing has any type of reflector in it to aid in light output.

And yes halogens will pretty much always be brighter than LEDS within a sane price range. much more output per dollar spent