Full LED Conversion

[rhino]

I can't find any threads on this topic, so because I'll be undertaking the project in waves, I'll snap a couple pics along the way so anyone who wants the info can have it. This post will be updated as I do the rears, interior, and front (most likely in that order) lights of my EP... with as many LEDs as possible.

Let's begin...

Converting your car from using standard ol' filament bulbs to newfangled LED bulbs has a few distinct advantages and disadvantages, so your preference for this mod will vary greatly. By no means is this for everyone.

Let's go over some pros and cons for switching out your incandescent bulbs with LEDs.

Pros:
Less power consumption
Less heat
Snappier bulb response (think turn signal on/off)
Fancy new technology
+1 JDM point for every LED bulb

Cons:
Less power consumption (we'll talk about this in a second)
Can get pricey
More directional/less omnidirectional than standard bulbs

Let's handle these pros and cons in more detail...

As you've probably noticed, less power consumption is on both the pros and cons list. Why you ask? Well, because LED lights draw so much less current than conventional bulbs, the traditional flasher unit in our cars won't cause the turns signals to flash at the correct rate. Without compensating for the decreased power being pulled by the LEDs, your turn signals will flash faster than is psychologically tolerable. The best way to fix this problem is with electronic flashers. Because I haven't done this conversion yet I will not suggest any brands or explain how to replace these.

Heat:
Obviously, less heat is always a good thing... It's not called a cold air intake for nothing! Really, the heat produced from tradional or LED bulbs really is inconsequential, but it is a feature.

Snappier bulb response:
I think the best way to describe this is just for you to watch this video and understand.
See how the standard bulb takes a lot longer to brighten up and then dim down compared to the LED? Not so noticeable without a direct comparison, but once you see it, you can't unsee it!

Can get pricey:
If you search for LEDs and go off of first-page google results, you'll see a lot of superbrightelds.com. While it probably is the best looking website, it doesn't necessarily mean their products are better than amazon or eBay products. That and their lights are incredibly expensive, with pairs of their higher-end bulbs going for $40.

More directional/less omnidirectional:
Here's the one that's make or break for most people, so let's explain.

Your standard, filament-based light bulb does a pretty good job of pushing light out nearly 360° around itself. LEDs, on the other hand, are significantly more directional. The single diodes that you'll find in most LED's made for vehicles really only put out about 60° of light. The best solution for this is to find bulbs with lots and lots of individual diodes on them to light those reflectors on up. It isn't hard to find bulbs with lots of individual diodes, but the quality varies wildly so it's important to choose carefully.

Really, though, the bulbs we're concerned about people seeing are the turn signals and brake lights. Those are kind of important.

With all that in mind, I've still opted to go for LEDs. They seem to offer a clearer white, a cleaner light, and it's been something I've wanted to try for a while now.

Stay tuned for updates!

References:
http://www.superbrightleds.com/carbulb_notes.php

http://www.ephatch.com/forum/showthr...3-light-number

[rhino]

Trying to decide on a good place to post this in this thread and this seems like as good of a place as any.

As I diligently plot and research which bulbs to get/not to get I decided to pick up an LED compatible flasher relay and I can confirm 100% that this is the correct relay. Figuring this out took way too much effort but I'm happy to share this info with anyone who needs it now!

EL34 LED compatible flasher relay

I'll post up the DIY on this here soon. The relay is kind of a pain to get to but once you know where it is it's not that hard.

On with the rear end conversion!!

Rear End

So I got a fix-it ticket and decided to begin converting out of necessity. I bought a pair of Sylvania premium LED lights for the license plate lights.



For all of these posts from here on out, due to the varying nature of the size of some of the LEDs we'll be replacing, I'm going to be comparing the size of the old incandescent bulb and the new LED bulb, both to measure light output and make sure they fit. These LEDs are almost the exact same size as the 168s I pulled from the car.



Installed:



These are fcking bright. Recommend them 100%.

More to come...!

[rhino]

Reserved (interior)

[rhino]

Reserved (front)

[b33lz89]

nice.. this sounds interesting... cant wait to see the rest

[Mighty_Mouse_Ep]

I just got some cree LED's for my parking lights they are pretty bright

[Skylariam]

I used to own an ek and planned to do a whole LED setup on it, but only got as far as the license plate lights and dome light. lol I can't wait to get all the info you will be putting up. I didn't know that about the whole turn signal speed. Will you being putting up the parts needed to fix this?

[rhino]

Absolutely will! There are a few different threads around that have some of the info but I think doing the whole thing as thoroughly as possible will be beneficial so there's not a ton of guesswork. Should have some updates here in the next week or so!

[Ubeyo]

on ebay a little over a year ago i got the full led interior light package for like $30 there still all alive and work great! on the other hand.. exterior wise i only run my day time lights (i think thats what you call the ones that turn on with one click instead of 2 on the headlight switch) and they died after a good year of daily use xD and i just changed them lol

[Skylariam]

on ebay a little over a year ago i got the full led interior light package for like $30 there still all alive and work great! on the other hand.. exterior wise i only run my day time lights (i think thats what you call the ones that turn on with one click instead of 2 on the headlight switch) and they died after a good year of daily use xD and i just changed them lol

Love your car btw do you have a build thread?



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[Ubeyo]

Love your car btw do you have a build thread?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

thanks :D and yes i do it should be near the top in members ride threads

[obsoletearturo]

I have an issue where my depo headlights are yellowing and also I switched my rear turn signals to led but left the front on because it's too cold to take apart my bumper and install my replacement lights.

[obsoletearturo]

Also do we need an led flasher relay.

[rhino]

I have an issue where my depo headlights are yellowing and also I switched my rear turn signals to led but left the front on because it's too cold to take apart my bumper and install my replacement lights.

I'll be refinishing my 04/05 OEMs very soon, and I've heard that Sylvania makes a refinisher that actually seals in a UV coating as a last step or something like that. I'd try that; plastic has a tendency to yellow over time.

Also do we need an led flasher relay.

We absolutely do! I'll be posting more about that in the full DIY, sorry it's taken so long. Life and lack of funds have definitely gotten in the way of this DIY.

[Skylariam]

Any new updates?