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So after some extensive searches on S2ki, I've found a number of unsuccessful attempts at getting LEDs to properly light up the rear brake lights. This is yet another attempt. I'll try to share as much about what I'm doing as possible in case anyone else is interested (if it should work).
Here are some pics of the bulbs I ordered:
1156 Amber bulbs
These bulbs seem like they should do a good job. They are very densely packed and there are LEDs that point outward around the circumference of the bulb. There are 24 LEDs in total.
7440/7443 Backup & Tail/Brake lights
These bulbs may not be bright enough. They are not as densely packed and only feature 15 LEDs in total.
I will try and get these in tonight to test how they look in the dark. I will keep everyone updated.
Tail/Brake Lights
The LED taillights are in. I can't comment on how bright they are during the day until tomorrow, but I can tell that there's no problem with them at night. The LED taillight is brighter than the incandescent taillight, however, it appears that the incandescent brakelight is brighter than the LED.
I took pictures, but you can't really see the difference . The LED side is a deeper red than the incandescent. That's about it. It does have that fast on/off effect, which is nice. I'll post of shots later.
Turn Signals
Despite reading posts that others have been able to successfully get 1156 LED bulbs to work, I haven't been that lucky. As mentioned many times, 1156 and 1156A bulbs have two little stubs on the base. The problem is 1156 bulbs have stubs that are 180
the turns signals didn't work out too well, but I have video of the tail/brake lights thought. they look awesome! im uploading the video right now to my website. ill post links later today. im going to snap some daylight video of them too to see if they are bright enough to see during the day.
I've tried these LED bulbs on several of my cars. These bulbs will not be brighter than the halogen bulbs on your stock tailight housing. That's because the stock tailight houisng is designed for the halogen bulbs to throw light at the back reflectors to get more lighting. The LED bulbs have zero light toward the reflectors and hence they will not be as bright.