LED replacement lights on cars

[Lamont in NC]

Follow up on my request for folks experiences.

I bought a pair of Sylvania Zevo 3157 bulbs to put in the daytime running lights on my 2001 GMC Sierra. Sylvania is a well know name and they seem to think highly of their Zevo bulbs. I put one in the
passenger side first leaving the incandescent in the drivers side and then put the truck in gear and went out 40 feet or so and looked at the front of the truck. Frankly I was not impressed. I could see
the drivers side light was on in the bright afternoon sun but the passenger side DRL just looked like part of the chrome grill shining in the sun. The incandescent being yellowish stook out while the zevo
being 6000 kelvin just blended in. I'm not sure if that's what I want from as safety aspect but I guess if the truck was in a shadow it would be visible. Next, to judge light output I then tried after
dark--I had to trick the ambient light sensor with a flashlight to get them to come on after dark. The Zevo appeared IMHO to be not quite as bright as the incandescent--certainly no brighter. I went ahead
and put the other one in and I'll live with them a bit as they surely run cooler and those housings are beginning to look bad. Still I'd hoped for better.

I did do a bit of research and found one trick that helps a little. As you probably know in 2 filament bulbs like the 3157, and 4114 one is for bright use (brakes/turn lights) and the other for dim use
(tail/marker lights). The Zevo actually has a bright and a dim led on it and in DRL and reverse light applications only the bright one is used. But by moving the pin from the dim filament over to overlap
the bright pin you can make them both come on at the same time in these single filament applications. It adds a bit of light though not really that noticeable. For example how much brighter does your brake
lights look when you also have the tail lights on vs when you don't?--not much but as both filaments are on it has to be a bit brighter. I went ahead and did this to the Zevos I put in the DRLs to make up
for my perceiving them to be not as bright as the old incandescent bulbs--can't hurt. I then did this to the incandescent bulbs in my reverse lights--again, it can't hurt and I can always use more light.

 

[Janicholson]

The cutoff height might be different between the two. standing as close as 40 feet might be above their intended bright level (I am thinking out loud here, and have no evidence.) Jim

 

[4play]

The Zevo bulbs need good reflectors to work the best, I doubt the DRL reflectors are good even when new. If the reflector is cloudy and discolored like most are now, they won't look very bright. There are plenty of LED bulbs that illuminate brighter, or at least cast their light forward instead of the side or rearward.

 

[Lamont in NC]

Any recommended brands?

There are tons out there and everyone says theirs is the best. Many reviews I've read say those with LED all around them are junk and that the key is getting the LEDs in
the same spot as the filament in the incandescent bulbs--which is what the Zevo is attempting to do. And yes the Zevo then needs the reflector which probably isn't great
in the DRL housing any more. I also notice Sylvania has another line of LED bulbs that have the LEDs all around them--they sell for a bit less and are marketed as not as
good as the Zevo. Still that style might work better for me. I might also switch to amber LEDs if I decide to try another set. I've noticed a lot of newer cars have
amber DRLs and they might stand out better in the daylight.

 

[Lamont in NC]

You could be right, that could have something to do with it.

 

[showcrop]

Those driving lights have a very narrow focused beam. If your eyes are not in that beam you will not be seeing the brightest light.

 

[Crazy Horse]

Question for you Lamont ...... do USA cars and trucks still have the driver lights from the factory of being on or off at the driver's option? Up here, everything is driver lights on all the time and has been for some time. When anyone from up here buys a new car or truck south of the border and brings it back up north, I remember the dealer having to install a kit to make it legal up here. Not sure if that is still the case or what the rules are down there anymore.

 

[rustyfarmall]

(quoted from post at 10:34:58 02/04/19) Question for you Lamont ...... do USA cars and trucks still have the driver lights from the factory of being on or off at the driver's option? Up here, everything is driver lights on all the time and has been for some time. When anyone from up here buys a new car or truck south of the border and brings it back up north, I remember the dealer having to install a kit to make it legal up here. Not sure if that is still the case or what the rules are down there anymore.

My 2001 Silverado has the option of disabling the daytime running lights, but defaults back to on all the time when the ignition is turned off. Our 2012 Silverado does not have that option.

 

[Lamont in NC]

Well, first the newest vehicle I've been in is a 2005 Chevy Colorado so, I'm a bit behind the times. In my 2001 Sierra the headlight switch is auto or manual on (no off). However if I wish to turn off the auto feature I can push the dome lamp button 4 times within like 3 seconds then I'll hear a ding and the auto feature is disabled making the auto position effectively off--this gets reset back to auto whenever I turn the key off so, essentially I'd say the truck is auto or manual on IMHO. The 2005 Colorado nicely includes off, on, and auto settings on the light switch--it's not my truck--I assume that works as it says. I also owned for a few years a 2002 Honda Civic which was completely manual on and off. Everything else I've driven or frankly ridden in has predated these and was manual on and off.