LEDs - Why NOT?

[meezy]

Hi everybody.

 

I'm having my car painted and my body guy asked me something I'd never really considered before - "upgrading" to LEDs. Are there any cons to doing this that I'm not considering? Seems like a no-brainer. I don't drive in the dark much and I didn't mind my warm, yellow old lights... but this is actually a safety issue. Are there any reasons NOT to do it besides an allegiance to probably pointless sentimentality?

[knuckleharley]

I have chemo brain,so may well be wrong,but I THINK I remember reading about how LED lights could send some people into trances or otherwise disrupt their reasoning ability.

 

When you consider it is inevitable that sooner or later SOME of these people would be your fellow drivers,it doesn't sound like such a good idea.

 

Like I wrote above,I could be wrong about this.

[BobT-47P15]

I think they have both 6 volt and 12 volt LEDs, depending upon your car's system.   Not sure what changes would be needed to operate

a complete LED system.  I have LED 6 volt tail lights, but have only one particular flasher unit that will operate the lights/turn signal function correctly.  

 

I'm sure others here know much more than me.

[Sniper]

I am running GE NIghthawk LED headlights.

 

Excellent lights, they are a far cry from the OE style.  They are 12v and stick out about 3/4" more than stock, but other than that they worked fine.

 

 

 

[Sam Buchanan]

7 hours ago, knuckleharley said:

I have chemo brain,so may well be wrong,but I THINK I remember reading about how LED lights could send some people into trances or otherwise disrupt their reasoning ability.

 

When you consider it is inevitable that sooner or later SOME of these people would be your fellow drivers,it doesn't sound like such a good idea.

 

Like I wrote above,I could be wrong about this.

 

Oh..ok...now that explains the crazy driving I see every day. Nearly all cars manufactured in the last few years have LED signal and brake/tail lights so there are a lot of folks out there on the road with disrupted reasoning ability.    ?

 

Drivers of the world....UNITE! Bring back incandescent bulbs....return sanity to the world!   ?

[Plymouthy Adams]

Knuckle...when reading, be sure to turn off the walking dead program on TV....actually the ability for a LED to mimic sunlight and also not flicker as the fluorescent tubes often do (headaches and seizure for some folks afflicted in said manner) ...LED  is the lighting of choice in todays market.  Because of the lead (soldering and circuit board) and other elements such as arsenic for one and other such to control LED color.....don't eat these when they go bad.  Damaged bulbs should be handled in a manner as a broken fluorescent tube with glove and mask to not breath in the mercury.   I have not had a bad tube to recycle.  Only been a few years in use and not had a failure.

 

Not to say that there is no risk to LED, direct laser light to the eye for one, but it seems the most is with high exposure to the LEDs that emit colors, red with the arsenic and emitted concentrated blues waves disrupting sleep etc.  

 

I think the LED is here to stay...and if anything is discovered the industry will address them with a filter (covering) of some sort to control these

[knuckleharley]

13 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

Knuckle...when reading, be sure to turn off the walking dead program on TV....actually the ability for a LED to mimic sunlight and also not flicker as the fluorescent tubes often do (headaches and seizure for some folks afflicted in said manner) ...LED  is the lighting of choice in todays market.  Because of the lead (soldering and circuit board) and other elements such as arsenic for one and other such to control LED color.....don't eat these when they go bad.  Damaged bulbs should be handled in a manner as a broken fluorescent tube with glove and mask to not breath in the mercury.   I have not had a bad tube to recycle.  Only been a few years in use and not had a failure.

 

Not to say that there is no risk to LED, direct laser light to the eye for one, but it seems the most is with high exposure to the LEDs that emit colors, red with the arsenic and emitted concentrated blues waves disrupting sleep etc.  

 

I think the LED is here to stay...and if anything is discovered the industry will address them with a filter (covering) of some sort to control these

But I LIKE The Walking Dead!

 

It reminds me of some of my relatives.

[chrysler1941]

I have 6v LED bulbs in my Bullseye headlamps. Paid extra for flicker-free.  They where too bright (white). Covered bulb with yellow cellophane that came with bulbs. 

They shine ok but nowhere the output of H4 Halogen bulbs. 

 

Only drawback, Amp needle seldom moves

[Plymouthy Adams]

were the LEDs in  place for the MOT?  Curious to their position on the enhanced lighting.

[chrysler1941]

1 minute ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

were the LEDs in  place for the MOT?  Curious to their position on the enhanced lighting.

Yes. But since it did not give asymmetrical beam as required, they where not checked with headlight tester. 

My opinion LED lighting is not enhanced if only one center bulb is used on older headlamps.

Modern LED headlamps use several LED with different reflections and are computer controlled. 

[Plymouthy Adams]

yes and that is why a lot of aftermarket bulbs and lighting systems are illegal for use in US.....the fitting of these to housings not so designed for the new beams allow light where light should not be.  Big fine for using these....sellers also are at risk for selling...but there is no teeth in this law it seems.  These lights are a nuisance on the highway.  At most  few folks have been written up for their use and removal usually settles the infraction.    

[Sniper]

Good LED headlights are not cheap, cheap LED headlights are not good.

 

 

[allbizz49]

I personally can't stand how they look on old cars, especially muscle cars. Just looks like a cheesy attempt to over modernize an old car. If you don't drive at night, what's the benefit? Just my opinion of course. 

[Plymouthy Adams]

oh yeah, a fellow follower of our boy Lucas....he stated that: A gentleman never motors at night..!  Your are right, many things are upgraded and look totally out of place and actually are detractors to the look and style they think they are achieving.   Keeps the retail coffers full and everyone happy...after all, what else do you have to spend that stimulus money on but ole Betsy?

[Conn47D24]

LED 6v bulbs everywhere,  except the headlights on my Dodge. 

 

** Special flasher can needed when making this switch over. 

[chrysler1941]

40 minutes ago, allbizz49 said:

I personally can't stand how they look on old cars, especially muscle cars. Just looks like a cheesy attempt to over modernize an old car. If you don't drive at night, what's the benefit? Just my opinion of course. 

Agree. Also big rims and low profile tires. 

Edited May 14, 2021 by chrysler1941

[Bob Riding]

I was able to retrofit LED bulbs into the taillights on my 1940 Plymouth wagon, and they work great! Definitely brighter than the stock bulbs. Last longer too. The benefits of rear LEDs :

• LED taillights provide higher visibility to cars at night, ensuring better safety in driving
•  LEDs are faster to come up to brightness than Incandescent bulbs - about 0.3 seconds faster for the LEDs to hit full brightness from when the brake pedal is touched.
• Assume you are driving 60 mph on the highway. There are 5,280 feet in a mile. 60 mph * 5,280 ft = 316,800 feet per hour
  There are 60 minutes in an hour, 316,800 feet per hour / 60 minutes = 5,280 feet per minute. There are 60 seconds in a minute. 5280/60 = 88 feet per second, 88 * 0.2 seconds = 17.6 feet
• So, an LED brake light could allow a person to stop 17.6 feet sooner than with Incandescent. An added advantage with our drum brakes.
  
  But there is more. I've noticed that folks react alot quicker to the instant on effect of an LED vs. the slow ramp up in brightness of an incandescent. What this equates to in reaction time is unknown to me, but it seems that LED taillights could save lives, if not sheetmetal.

[keithb7]

LEDs are available in different scales of white. 6000K is very white. I agree looks bad on an old car. 
 

I just ordered a pair of 6V 3,000K, warmer (yellow tinge) LED bulbs for my ‘38 Chrysler. There are lots of deer leaping about in my neighborhood. I often wheel home from a cruise or car meet, after sunset. Especially later in Aug & Sept. The equator keeps rolling  south. We get dark earlier up here in Canada, each passing day after June 21. Worth it to me to give it a try. 

Edited May 14, 2021 by keithb7

[chrysler1941]

I did something similar as Bob Riding. My taillights are square and one bulb wasn't sufficient for indicator lights on sunny days.

 

Took lid of a tin cookie jar and cut to fit. Bend sides for extra reflection for bulb. 2pcs 10W surface mounted red soldered directly on reflector for cooling.

Hole is for bulb. 

Led bulb in original socket for tail and the 2 LEDs for flashing. All 6 volts. Very bright.

Not pretty but done in 10 min.

10 surface mounted LED was also installed in top stop lamp

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by chrysler1941

[chrysler1941]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/224417614128?hash=item3440550930:g:K5EAAOSww4lgcBlh

 

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by chrysler1941

[Bob Riding]

1 hour ago, keithb7 said:

LEDs are available in different scales of white. 6000K is very white. I agree looks bad on an old car. 
 

I just ordered a pair of 6V 3,000K, warmer (yellow tinge) LED bulbs for my ‘38 Chrysler. There are lots of deer leaping about in my neighborhood. I often wheel home from a cruise or car meet, after sunset. Especially later in Aug & Sept. The equator keeps rolling  south. We get dark earlier up here in Canada, each passing day after June 21. Worth it to me to give it a try. 

Good post Keith. I used 3000K bulbs in my taillights. Headlights are still incandescent halogens (sealed beams, not separate bulb and reflector), which are brighter and whiter than standard incandescent sealed beams. I would guess about 4000k.

[HotRodTractor]

All of the lighting on the P15 with the exception of the hood ornament is updated. Headlights are Halogen with LED turn signal rings built in (also LED daytime running lights, except they are not wired in yet). All the tailights/ brake lights are all LED. The only thing I haven't done anything with yet are the marker lights on the grill - they will be LED marker/turn signal lights when finished. I find that you can't signal too many lights or have too many brake lights with todays drivers..... make yourself seen. 

Shortly after I got the P15 on the road I was over at a buddy's place helping him with something and it had gotten dark before I was getting ready to leave. We were BSing as I was packing up tools in the trunk and he made a smart comment about how it was going to suck to drive home in that car in the dark.... then I flipped on the lights.... the look in his face when it lit everything up like a modern car told me I had made the right decision. Life is too short to not have good quality lighting on something that you drive on the road. 

[Plymouthy Adams]

since when is .3 second a factor to the drunk driver tailgating you....and the emitted light is directly proportional to the cleanliness of the vehicle.....many people now travel at or beyond the speed of light with their life style meds....

 

 

I am all for updated lighting....I have a 55W halogen in the third light (center deck lid) and if you can't see that....well nothing you could do but stay home from there...

Edited May 14, 2021 by Plymouthy Adams

[LazyK]

first let me say Im still 6v positive ground.

I up dated the dash light to 6 volt no problem. rear tail lights same no problem. When I tried to use in the from parking/turn I ran in to a problem with a feed through voltage. Right turn, left parking light would also flash. left turn, right parking light would also flash. had to upgrade the flasher to electronic as well but that should not make a difference. cheap lamps??  any suggestions?

 

still looking for an acceptable LED head light conversion. Someone said maybe a motorcycle head lamp?

[Los_Control]

I personally would like to take my ham fist & beat the crap out of the face of those with led lights.

yeah I get it, you have great lighting .... the guy driving on the highway opposing you is blinded.

I just do not get it ... yes this is 2021 and we have great lighting ... same time we need some appreciation for the others on the road ... Not into a "my lights are brighter then your lights"

Some new models of cars on the road I would like to take a D9 cat & push them off the road.

 

So I get it, yeah led is the newest thing ... I really would not want to blind my fellow traveler with them.