Cool cool... looin forward to seeing pics.. so do a lot of soldiering? have to soldier a resister to every LED? fun fun!

 

Brandon... you have NO idea, bro!! If you read that post in the 4th gen forum about how Tony did HIS tail lights and said how it wouldn't be worth it to try and make 'em for someone else?? I agree with him 150%!!

There wouldn't be enuff money in someone's bank account (unless you're internetautomar - then it's ok.. ) to justify repeating what I've been working on. I'm just doing it to see if it can be done, with a spare set of tails I had bought.

And yeah... resistor to each and every LED!

 

hahaha, you dont have to have a resistor on each and every LED... just need to experiment

 

I was gonna actually wire them in series, with a resistor every 4th or 5th one. But for me, it was too much of a mathematical headache. So, this was slightly easier on my end - if a bit time consuming.

 

I can't wait to see how it turns out!! I may want to try this myself cause i do have some patience.. PICS PICS Please!! So you used 200 LEDs for each!? It is necessary for so many cause it looks that on the G35 they have some kind of deflector caps on each bulb to make the light disperse more making seem the bulbs are less densely packed.. How much did it cost for all the LEDs?

 

 

MY problem, was that I initially bought my LED's waaay too small. (pkg of 100 with my choice of resistors for @ $20 on Ebay) Just an FYI, but if you decide to do this, PLEASE get 5mm, NOT the 3mm ones. That's why I ended up putting so many LED's in there.

But that was my FIRST effort (keep in mind, I've been working on this since August or September).

I've re-did them since then, with 5mm bulbs. Didn't use as many, and it still isn't coming out half bad. I'm just about done with them and will post at least one or two pics. My problem, now, is that it's cold as SugarHoneyIceTea here, so I'm not trying to do much outside work.

by the fact that I live in an apartment!

internetautomar ---> <--- nubiannupe
(oh, don't think I forgot about ya... LOL)

 

:

 

nubiannupe, I'm going to be gent and back down on this one - I didn't know you we're doing custom soldering. I just meant replacing my bulbs with standard, wide angle 12 LED bulbs. derr...

I look forward to seeing your more ambitious project -g'luck

 

so are you wiring em in parrelell or series? and also how are you differentiating between brakes and parking lights? just more lights goin on or a different output..

just wonderin how your goin abotu it, ive always considered the led thing but i never wanted to spend themoney, but this duud on ebya is so cheap i just got 100 LEDS and resisters for like 12 bucks..

 

Sounds like you're getting a better deal than I did. All told, I spent a little over $100 for the LED's (3mm "mistakes", and the 5mm) and resistors. Most of the other stuff (plexi to mount the bulbs, paint, and assorted adhesives and sealers) I had lying around already.

But to answer your question, I've been experimenting with wiring some of the bulbs to the brake light and some to the parking light. They were in series at first, but I've since gone parallel with a few on a test 'board' just to see if there was a difference. Talk about your logistical nightmare!

 

why dont you start selling a kit for the front bumper and tails <-(when your done with them). if you start selling them i'll buy a set

 

Actually, with this second 'effort', the thought of putting together some kind of 'kit' (at least for the tails) WOULD be slightly appealing, except cost would be a BIG issue...

 

ok so how about a write up and parts list

 

That is some really good work.

 

How do you deal with the legal side of LED's in the tails? I don't know what the regs are in the US but wouldn't you have to clearly see the tail lights from acute angles? Knowing that LED's are very directional (about 15 degrees is the most), surely you'd have to then mount them on a convex piece of plexi & remove the diffuser to ensure visibility & legality?
In NZ we follow Australian Design Rules (ADR) & I'm certain that a straight conversion would get failed because you couldn't see them from off-angles. Still think LED's look cool & are the future, so if those bad boys are legal, bring it on

 

Add a few LEDs to the wrap around part of the lens

 

resistor calculator:
http://www.inadad.com/resistor.shtml

 

That looks nice man. Nice wish i had done that to my old 91

 

For a hefty price, these are available.

https://www.netdisty.net/ds/aut1157ri/default.asp

BMW and Caddy taillights aren't readily visible from a side view, but they manage to meet DOT approval. Even with the maxima tailights, there is still a sidemarker on the outside of the taillight. Leave it or swap it with four leds.

You also can broaden the viewing angle simply by using wide angle leds. One thing to remember, the wider the angle, the dimmer the led. And vice versa.

A capacitor would work better than many resistors.