Okay I might sound like a jackass here but I bought some black smoked out tailights and they didn't give new reverse bulbs. I can't see **** when I back up at night cause the reverse bulbs aren't bright enough. Any suggestions for a new reverse bulbs? 2011 f150 platinum

Thanks

 

I have a set of 5k hids in mine. They do sell some really nice back up light bulbs on eBay. If you want to go that route.

 

Well you did buy lights with tint on them what did you expect.
Best bet is off road lights mounted under the bumper. But have heard decent thing about the $150 led reverse lights. Cheap LEDs won't net you crap.

 

Just a word of caution. There's an awful lot of junk LED lighting advertised as "awesome" on eBay. I'll second the motion for a set of under the bumper lights.

 

I retract my eBay statement. I understand that some arnt as good as they seem.
But my set of hids that I have work really well. Nice and bright. I didn't buy them from eBay.

 

I too agree with going the route of under bumper LED lights.

 

JDM ASTAR 800 lumens Extremely Bright Error Free 921 912 PX Chipsets LED Bulbs For Backup Reverse Lights, Xenon White
by JDM ASTAR
Link: http://amzn.com/B00K3GBRQ2

This one has all 5 star reviews by 58 people!

 

I have to disagree with the bash on "cheap" LED's. I have bought quite a few different "no name" LED bulbs for various applications and have had better results than expected. After a lot of research I found that the best bang for the buck are bulbs with CREE 5050 LED diodes on them. They are often paired with a small "projector" lense that focuses the light put out by the LED's. While the old saying "you get what you pay for" is usually true that doesn't mean you have to overpay. How many companies out there offer "premium" LED bulbs at a premium price but the product is still "Made in China". I'll bet you that a lot of the bulbs made come from the same factories and end up in different boxes with different stickers and price tags.

I just ordered a set of these yesterday for my reverse bulbs (in stock housings):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/311338680408?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
I also have these in my 2013 Explorer rear turn signals:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-Super-Bright-Brilliant-Red-T20-7440-7443-CREE-Q5-12-SMD-5050-LED-Light-Bulb-/290784945970?hash=item43b4222732
I cannot be more impressed with those turn signal bulbs! They are bright as hell! With the addition of the projection lense with the LED it uses the light output in a more effective way. It's all about how the light is used. It doesn't matter if you have a blown Hemi if you have bald Civic tires on your ride, you won't be able to effectively use the power. Same goes for this new era of LED's. They have come a long way in the past couple of years. The output has gone way up, power consumption has gone down, and production styles have gotten more efficient. You may not want to knock these "cheap" bulbs till you try them. Heck the reverse bulbs I ordered are only $7 with free shipping, why don't you get yourself a set and see what they are all about. When I get mine I'll be more than happy to put up a comparison picture!

 

Interested in how those CREE backup 3157 LED's turn out. Please post a review!

I agree with you about Chinese products, I have seen many times where the "name brand" stuff is just made in china anyway(American company just puts there logo on it). The Chinese company then sells the SAME THING for 1/5 the price on ebay.

I just ordered a set of Spyder LED taillights and the backup light section is smoked and uses the stock bulb; if it's not bright enough I may have to get some LED replacements like the one you posted.

Another LED 3157 I found that got good reviews on Amazon I am considering:


235 reviews, 4.5 star average..........


Brian

 

I highly doubt those are 800 lumens. If they are they may only be a little brighter than stock. A bulb like that that emits light in every which direction may produce 800 lumens but once you put that in a housing you will lose a lot. The ones with the "projector" lense actually focus the light and throw the light farther, with less lumens. I guess it all really comes down to preference and what you are trying to accomplish. My bulbs should be here tomorrow and I'll put up a review on them.

 

true.

Our stock taillight housing have the 3157 bulb in a reflector housing so it's supposed to take all that emitted light(a regular incandescent shoots light all over the place to) and reflect it to a more concentrated area........

That being said, I would think the projector would perform better, but the reflector is supposed to work as well.

 

I just bought those JDM bulbs a few days ago and put them in Monday. They certainly look a little brighter compared to Silverstar replacements (as a bystander), though it could be I'm noticing the color difference more than the brightness. I can't tell much difference at all from inside the truck or from the backup camera.

Here's some photos:


Silverstar on the Left, LED on the Right

 

My bulbs didn't come today unfortunately, but when they do I'll put up pics.

 

Mletchworth,

Thanks for the pics, I am considering those. They do look nice, and I like the color temp of them.

Were you able to check them out at night yet? I specifically mean backing up and looking out your rearview/side mirrors to see if there was an improvement over stock bulbs?

 

I'm interested in LED back up bulbs also...

I replaced my back-up lights with Silver Star's..they didn't help any...I can't see behind me when backing up at night...

I replaced my map lights with the Bully bulbs sold at o'reilley's and really like them...my son ordered a led dome off the interweb and it's good...I replaced the license lights with Sylvania LED's and they are good...

I was going to get the Bully's for back-up, and give them a whirl...