After reading Pondmans thread about his new reverse light bulbs i decided to buy some others and see how they performed.
Firstly stop tail bulbs, i had previously been using led cluster bulbs behind smoked lenses. Not easy to see on a bright day, after swapping them with a set of these the difference is amazing, they are so much brighter, possibly even brighter than traditional bulbs. I'll get some pics up over the weekend if anyones interested.
Secondly side lights, wow! I have tried just about every different led sidelight bulb available and these make them all look pathetic. I am pretty confident i could drive at night just using them. They are to normal led's what HID's are to normal lights.

Before


After


Just one


Both


Just waiting for my H1 cree foglight bulbs to arrive from china!

You sure they will fit. I got some led fog lights but they wouldn't fit through the hole. It's bulb shaped.....

Cree led really are ***BRILLIANT*** I have had two led lenser torches and a headlamp, for about two years now!
They make all the other torches look as bright as Toc h lamp.

Pretty sure, I tried and failed in the past with led bulbs for the fogs but these look like they will fit and if not I have a spare set of side light/ fog/ indicator lights to experiment with if need be.

If they fit I will have to get some. My side lights are led and it makes my fogs look yellow.

looks good Jame5 but you can't beat hid's in the fog lights

Hmmmmm, hids are cheap now. Might go that way instead.....

They DO look good, and in the fog at the moment they would be more than useful. The number of idjits driving sans illumination today was astounding; Chelsea tractors on the school run in an absolute pea-souper around the Bluebell Hill area in Kent. Time for another thread...

Those aren't my fog lights Iain, they are my side lights! Fog lights are in the post from china, probably won't be as good as HID's but will save some fiddly wiring and trying to find space for the ballasts.

very true

Have placed the side lights in my watch list

Hi James,
Thanks for the acknoledgement I've just bought the same LED sides, they look just right for getting back at those Audi/Merc drivers
I'd be interested to see you brake lights in action, please post pics mate.

Silly question but I am assuming you have to take these out MOT time?

W

I don't see why you would have to, they are no worse than the aforementioned Audi and Merc daytime running lights. Also there shouldn't be a directional beam to dazzle on coming drivers.

Cool, I've taken the plunge and bought a pair. Cheers for teh idea James!

Looks like I'm going to get some too Are these the bad boys I need?

Jame5, get the brake lights up as well.

Just ordered some

Yep those are the ones, will get pics of the brakes up today if I get time.

Let us know how you get on with the LED H1 fogs James...be interested to know if they fit in the light unit OK before I order some

Ok, got my cree fog lights today, not an easy job but....




The bulbs are too big to simply replace the originals, luckily i had a spare set of side light clusters to play with. Basically i drilled out the holes and removed the metal cup from inside, i can write up a 'how to' with pics if anyone needs it.

Before


After


One of each


Pics at night


Side lights only


Sides and fogs


Sides, fogs and dipped (HID)


Sides, fogs and main beam (HID)

Pics as requested of cree brake lights

Normal (non LED) bulb


Cree LED


One of each


Both Cree


Crees and Led rings

you have taken the crown for led king James

Lol

James, your car looks immaculate

Thanks! It's a product of my ocd, all i see is rust and stone chips

me too

And me!!

Never Mind lights
More pics of under bonnet

I think we've known that for a long time, just think about his interior LED's

Jame5, when are you going to LED up the high level brake light? You've got a dead bulb on one, so you might as well do the rest of them

Ha! They are already LEDs! Only white ones though and obviously a dodgy one as well. I have already ordered some nice new red ones from china, should be delivered soon. Next on the list is giving the dash a second try and then the centre consol.

Spotted that too James What bulbs are in the high level brake light? LED's in that + standard stop & tails would be a good combo. It's a pretty easy to get the rear parcel shelf brake light out. From memory it unscrews from inside the boot.

That will be interesting, looking forward to that

Replaced my clear lens side repeaters with these. They are flatter and completely sealed units. My clear ones were not very water tight.
They flashed fine without any other work to be done.
Sorry the car is filthy at the moment! Link

I really like them dblongstaff, I take it they were just a push fit?

Yes, a push fit.
I tried them on the original wings to size it up. I fitted the rubber grommet first (obviously with wire running through it) then pushed the lamp through, you can't push it in if the grommet is around the lamp. It's a nice snug fit so get the *orientation correct then push in.

*as in, which way you want the lines in the lens to sit for neatness

Does this mean that they require no resistors or other wiring mods and that they are plug & play

Yes. For me.

I did remove the lamp and tested the indicator to see/witness a bulb missing. But it did not make any difference. So wether it's down to the quirks of my car or the side repeaters don't show an error?
Maybe ask the seller. It was polarity sensitive.
I'm very happy with them.

I switch my side repeaters for LEDs and did not need any resistors, the front indicators did need them however.

Good to know side repeaters are not resistance sensitive
James, high level brake light bulbs? Which ones did you go for

I knew I'd be bored waiting for my daughter to get some bits and pieces from the supermarket today, so took the new led's with me to fit

Pouring with rain, but better than waiting around in a steamed up Coupe

Before and after:

I got my front cree LEDs in today as well, they are a fantastic match for the colour of my HIDs. Just need to work out what to do with the front fogs now as they are looking a bit kak!

Fitted mine today too, great match for my HIDs, I'm not too bothered about my fogs but would like to match the main beam to the HIDs.
I've got Osram Nightbreakers in but they're not a great match, does anyone have any suggestions? (I don't really want HIDs on the main)

Halfords now stock bulbs that look like hids. Might be worth a try.

Got mine today as well, Haven't fitted them yet as I need to swim to the car.

Looking good T. Got mine today too. Weather too foul down here to bother. Got a set for my sleeping beauty + the Forester. Should look like pretty good DTRL's

Weather is bad here too, although don't have to swimto the car just yet

Takes two minutes to swap the bulbs over, so no excuses, regardless of weather

I concur, coupe a piece of cake the Forester is a grill & headlight out job though that's the one that's outside.

I went for these in the end, they are the same as the white ones i currently have in there, because they have square SMLEDs the holes they fit through need widening slightly, 8mm if i remember correctly. The bulbs are also the same fitting for the dash bulbs.

Thanks James, do you think they are brighter than the standard filament type for the high level brake light? What wattage are the originals? I've tried Google, but it came back with my Q. On here

Yes, they were a fair bit brighter than the originals. The original bulbs I presume are the same as the dash bulbs which from memory are 2w. I think it is in the FAQ section under 'useful 20vt info' with all the other bulb sizes.

Has anyone tried these? any other suggestions for a main beam bulb to match HIDs? cheers!

Looking James

Fitted mine and they are great, excellent upgrade for little money

Yeah they are superb upgrade for the outlay, doubly so as they are back up to full price now!

Any plans to fit these in the dash james ? or do you think the light may be too 'focused' for the instruments ?.....

The ones in the high level brake light now are the ones i tried in the dash, some parts of the dials were super bright and others were hardly lit at all. I'm looking for some different styles of bulb to experiment with, currently looking at these or these

Those 2nd ones you've linked to are quite good jame5, but still a tad 'directional'. I've got them fitted to the clocks on 2 of my motorbikes.

Yeah, they have got to be frosted, and have as wide angle light span as pos....like a regular bulb.

Something like these may offer an improvement over the standard 2w bulbs...

Im sure these have been mentioned on here before...

just seen these too....even brighter

Those are what i put back in the dash after i took out the leds, they are an improvement but not as bright as i hoped. Might have a go at sanding the bulbs on the second ones.

James,

Followed your lead and bought some of the Crees. What a difference from the 27 LED W5W's I bought a couple of years ago! Thanks for the tip!

I have now bought (and now waiting for the slow boat from China!) for some 7W versions, will be interesting to see if there is any increase in brightness. I shall use them on the 159 Sportwagon if no real gain.

James, how are you finding the sidelights after using them for awhile? does anyone flash you? (keep it clean!)

No, not been flashed yet and followed a police car the other day with no complaints. The fogs might be a different matter but I am only planning on using them when it's actually foggy.

^ me neither, there are so many bright lights out there, both OE and conversions,(have you noticed how yellow old school lights look now?) not to mention all the trucks dressed up like christmas trees.

Bad news re the 7W versions just received, they are 16mm diameter and therefore don't fit in the side light hole on the coupe (or indeed the 159 for that matter!).They are bright though!! Although I've got no use for them, luckily they were not that much to buy.

Can I just check that these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CREE-5W-Q5-x-2...=item3ccfd1c4b7
are suitable replacements for my rear lights/brake lights?

Anyone!?

They look like they may not be the twin terminal type that you need for brake and tail lights. I haven't looked on eBay for a Cree version but have a 27 SMD lamp which does light up 20 LEDs on tail and the other 7 on stop.

I had those and ended up with the Centre brake lights illuminated all the time. Gone back to standard bulbs now

Well I ordered some Cree sidelights a while back, they turned up, went to fit them and they don't fit through the hole Jame5 sent me the link and it's not his fault but wonder if there is a slight difference in the front lights between 16v and 20v's or does anybody know where to order some that are slightly smaller?

I just bought some and they fit fine > eBay link

Cheers for that patch, I'll get some ordered up. I showed Jame5 the ones I got and they are larger than the ones he ordered from the same place.

Those are the kiddies, fit just fine with a wriggle and a push

Bought these for the rear -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261214059327?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Can anyone tell me why my lights look bloody pink now!? And not even that bright in all fairness

And that they did

Liquid,

I can only think the 'pink' is due to the clear LED bulb- these red ones work a treat and are very bright!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160985716738?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Nice one. Will send these ones back and order from your link