switching to led lights wanting some input

giantsfan10 said:

looking to put some more upgrades into the car this winter, along with that will come some new tail lights, projector headlights w/ some hids. also will be changing the interior/trunk lighting to led. if im going aftermarket tail and head lights is it worth while changing those bulbs to led? was thinking just licence plate and the front bumper marker lights to led.

i know diode dynamics is a vendor on here, and have no question in the quality, but is there really much of a difference between their product and say superbrightleds, etc?

Click to expand...

I can't imagine there'd be much of a difference in the quality. I've had a great experience with Diode Dynamics in the past and would recommend them.

Moving on to your lighting, I personally wouldn't bother with the front bumper marker lights. The difference from the stock incandescent bulb to an LED bulb in there would be almost nothing (excluding the life of the bulb of course, in which case you could then upgrade to LEDs once the stock incandescent bulb dies). As for interior, trunk license plate and even the trunk interior light to LEDs, I definitely recommend. I upgraded all of them to crisp white LEDs and it looks fantastic (I'll try and get some pictures tomorrow night and post them here). The interior lights still fade in and out like the factory incandescent bulbs but it's a much cleaner looking light and brighter.

As for aftermarket headlights and taillights, I can't provide much input there. I have all stock in those areas. I did try putting LED bulbs into my factory taillights. Unfortunately the bulbs I ended up purchasing were slightly dimmer than the factory incandescent and it didn't meet my expectations. One thing I have read about though, mainly here on CruzeTalk, for aftermarket headlights is premature fading/scratching/yellowing of the lens. Also moisture build-up can be more likely as they may not be as well sealed as OEM headlights. Just something to keep in mind.

Note that Diode Dyamics is running a 20% off Black Friday special.

Yes, interior and licensee place is a good start. However, I ended up with a Sylvania SilverStar incandescent for the front dome light. I didn't like the way the LEDs reacted to the fade. But the SilverStar dims normally and is a good match for the "warm white" LEDs. You can't tell the difference. It's cooler than the stock bulbs, but the "cold white" LED are definitely "blue"/"cold" and I didn't like the results. The "warm white" seems more like a true white.

I still have the LEDs for the center dome light and map lights. The center light does a quicker "fade up" when opening the door. The front dome cushions the abrupt fade out of the LED.

I'm about to pull the trigger on LED brake lights. The instant on is hard to beat, and probably backup lights. But I'll keep the stock turn signals. No room for improvement. I may find some W5W and replace the sidelights - those are stock 194 bulbs and the W5W is the same base but brighter.