Changed Interior Bulbs To LED

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I have to say that I have always hated the yellow tint of incandescent/halogen bulbs. Changed the front and rear dome lights to LEDs today and WOW what a difference. I did not take before and after photos, but they are amazing.

I used these Yorkim 2835 16-SMDs for the rears and these Yorkim T10 Wedge 5-SMDs for the front. I will be changing the rear cargo lights as well.
 
Love the LED interior lights too! I didn't mind the warm incandescent color, I more so disliked the super blue tint to some white LEDs. I went with some warm LED modules from eBay and have been very happy, I'd estimate they're in the 3000K range. Brighter than stock, and a fraction of the power draw. Can't go wrong.
 
I've been meaning to do this in the Subie, since it turns on all of the interior lights as you approach the vehicle and leaves them on when the hatch or a door is open. The draw may not be much as-is, but when I'm in and out while cleaning or packing for a trip, such as I'm doing right now, I always need to remember to turn all of the lights OFF or risk depleting the battery.

I actually had all of the replacement LED's in my cart for one of the Forester forum sponsors, but their check-out process wasn't working. I gave up after several attempts, including online help, and when they asked for all of my information over the phone.

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To the OP: I know of some younger people who like the BRIGHT white or bluish-white look, but I think it's gaudy and terrible for visibility. When I get into one of my buddy's car, I feel like I'm being abducted by aliens it's so harsh and bright (a bit of an exaggeration, of course.) Even still, I'm not sure I'd say I hate it. It looks cool from afar, but, IMO, serves no practical purpose.

3k K is just about perfect, IMO. I've also considered red for the map lights, but I'm worried it will also look gaudy and ridiculous, not practical and appropriate. Maybe worth the money to give it a shot, just so I can post up the experience for others.
 
I prefer dimmable lights. Out on the open road, away from the city, I like to dim the dashboard so there is less contrast with the dark road.

It's tough enough to see at night with tinted windows.
 
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
To the OP: I know of some younger people who like the BRIGHT white or bluish-white look, but I think it's gaudy and terrible for visibility. When I get into one of my buddy's car, I feel like I'm being abducted by aliens it's so harsh and bright (a bit of an exaggeration, of course.) Even still, I'm not sure I'd say I hate it. It looks cool from afar, but, IMO, serves no practical purpose. 3k K is just about perfect, IMO. I've also considered red for the map lights, but I'm worried it will also look gaudy and ridiculous, not practical and appropriate. Maybe worth the money to give it a shot, just so I can post up the experience for others.

The lights I installed are about 4-5K and are not bluish--in fact the light is white and soft--just perfect. 3K light would be fairly yellow; e.g. the OEMs I just removed. I hate the 6K+ HIDs running around and the more blue the light, the harder it is on your eyes and makes them tired much faster than with whiter light.

ColorTemperatureChart.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
I prefer dimmable lights. Out on the open road, away from the city, I like to dim the dashboard so there is less contrast with the dark road.

It's tough enough to see at night with tinted windows.


+1, and most of these lights are intermittent use enough that there's truly no payoff. Ive not personally ever burned out an internal lamp.

But if someone wants more illumination or a different color/turn on time/etc., then good for them.
 
I use LED "festoon lamps" for dome lights. Looks good, I get more light without the heat, the slow dim feature still works and they can run for a week without draining the battery.
 
I've thought about doing this in my Silverado, how do the LEDs react when they are slowly dimmed? My Sivlerado dims the interior lights after 20 seconds.
 
Originally Posted By: stchman
I've thought about doing this in my Silverado, how do the LEDs react when they are slowly dimmed? My Sivlerado dims the interior lights after 20 seconds.
My F250 does the same and the LEDs dim the same as the OEMs.
 
I put leds all around my Kia Optima ... the best move I did was an LED strip light in the trunk ..when I open it it lights up like the Ark of the Covanant //looks amazing
 
I did the LED thing inside our vehicles several years ago. Wasn't happy overall. They LOOK brighter but seems like you don't see as much. Say for instance you drop something on the floor, trying to find it. The bright white LED light just didn't seem to light up the inside as well as the regular bulbs. I didn't know you could get a warm color LED. That might be better. Maybe it was just weird contrast or something, I'm not sure.
 
An LED does not emit light that covers the entire color spectrum, that's why things may look odd. It may have a low CRI.

An incandescent wire emits full spectrum, even if it's at a different color temps it looks natural to the human eye and has a 100CRI.
 
I am not sure, is the following what CRI means? The higher color temperature lights seem to lack penetration. I think high intensity, and like raytseng said, just regular old incandescents, even though they easily lose the posted lumen battle, seem to 'light better' somehow.


Kind of like my new computer I got one day. Lets say I was used to a 750mb hard processor and the new one was a dual core 2.2 gig or whatever the terminology. I was thinking surfing the internet would being up pages in the blink of an eye instant. Well, it seems alot of the MORE POWER was used to run itself. Like, man next year's model has 50 more horsepower. Well, what you couldnt see in the fine print was that you lost 30lb-ft of torque from 2000-5000rpms, the 50 more is only in certain conditions and at redline, and the car is 500lbs heavier.
 
CRI is color rendering index. 100% means it approaches the full spectrum from a black-body radiation, meaning something glowing like an incandescent light.
Temperature is a different metric than CRI. It means how hot it glows.

If you want to make an analogy to your computer, it's best to compare to your monitor. Some monitors can't display all the colors, that's what a poor CRI is like no matter how bright it is.
Google or wikipedia if you want more info
 
Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
I am not sure, is the following what CRI means? The higher color temperature lights seem to lack penetration. I think high intensity, and like raytseng said, just regular old incandescents, even though they easily lose the posted lumen battle, seem to 'light better' somehow.


Kind of like my new computer I got one day. Lets say I was used to a 750mb hard processor and the new one was a dual core 2.2 gig or whatever the terminology. I was thinking surfing the internet would being up pages in the blink of an eye instant. Well, it seems alot of the MORE POWER was used to run itself. Like, man next year's model has 50 more horsepower. Well, what you couldnt see in the fine print was that you lost 30lb-ft of torque from 2000-5000rpms, the 50 more is only in certain conditions and at redline, and the car is 500lbs heavier. I bet Google could have told you.
 
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