** Oh double snap, Carson Toyota/Lexus Parts JP Style Tail lights are in **
04-03-06, 02:35 PM
#93
Originally Posted by garbage85
im not sure if this issue has come up yet, but if i put hyper white bulbs in the signal, will the blue bulb be visible from outside?
Originally Posted by Hameed
Yes, I realize that the resistors are required. However I was trying to make a point that they could have gone the extra mile and did all that work already.
I guess the main reason might be that the resistor could not be installed in a safe enough place (for the heat dissipation) within the light unit itself.
I guess the main reason might be that the resistor could not be installed in a safe enough place (for the heat dissipation) within the light unit itself.
Originally Posted by RMMGS4
Steve,
of the top of my head,we can simulate the current draw of a standard incandescant bulb, however since we are dealing with LEDs several other factors come into play.
1. If the LEDs are wired in parallel, you will have to have all the LEDs die before the light sensor gets triggered. Most likely you will have someone tell you about some of the LEDs going out before they all go out.
2. If the LEDs are wired in series, then when one bulb goes out, then they all go out. This is the Cheap Xmas tree light syndrome. Not sure if I can figure out how they are wired since I can't get at the circuit board.
3. We can surely just wire up a resistive load to trick the light out indicator. Problem is, if the lights ever do go out, the simulator will still tell the sensor that the lights are good.
4. I will think about this more, but if a simulated resistance fakes out the indicator bulb, you might as well just take the warning bulb out of the dash console.
My thoughts are with 3 brake lights, left center & right, they are unlikely to all go out at once. To me this is a minimal safety concern to disable the light out indicator. It is in actuality a luxury item at best, since most cars don't have this feature.
of the top of my head,we can simulate the current draw of a standard incandescant bulb, however since we are dealing with LEDs several other factors come into play.
1. If the LEDs are wired in parallel, you will have to have all the LEDs die before the light sensor gets triggered. Most likely you will have someone tell you about some of the LEDs going out before they all go out.
2. If the LEDs are wired in series, then when one bulb goes out, then they all go out. This is the Cheap Xmas tree light syndrome. Not sure if I can figure out how they are wired since I can't get at the circuit board.
3. We can surely just wire up a resistive load to trick the light out indicator. Problem is, if the lights ever do go out, the simulator will still tell the sensor that the lights are good.
4. I will think about this more, but if a simulated resistance fakes out the indicator bulb, you might as well just take the warning bulb out of the dash console.
My thoughts are with 3 brake lights, left center & right, they are unlikely to all go out at once. To me this is a minimal safety concern to disable the light out indicator. It is in actuality a luxury item at best, since most cars don't have this feature.
04-03-06, 09:09 PM
#96
Review Part 2: LED review
Well I was only able to grab a small peeek of the LEDs through the socket holes. The construction and type of LED used was very good.
The first thing I can note is that these ARE NOT your everyday cheapo LEDs.
The T3 LED's most people know about have thru hole leads. When these leads are soldered to a circuit board, you have a chance for the lead to break due to continued vibration of the car. These LEDs are typically mounted where the bulbs are literally hanging from these leads. The #1 way that these bulbs go out is not due to a burned out filament, but due to a broken lead that stress cracks over time.
The LEDs used in these tails do not look like bulbs at all. They are flat and square and have 4 surface mount pads to solder to the board. This is many times stronger and a more robust solder connection, than a thru hole LED.
I cannot get at the actual bulbs to really know the manufacturer, but let's just say in general, that the surface mount LEDs are not only superior in design and performance, I would like to think that no manufacturer would make a low bulb life version. It's like saying you want to make a forced induction engine, but want it to be a cheap low dollar version. It just doesn't make sense.
That said, I wil ask that people put a little trust in these bulbs. A typical SMT bulb will not die for 100K + hours..
Here is a picture of the type of bulb they are using:
I will also copy typical specs found for bulbs like these. All I can say is these are high performance bulbs.
"4-PIN Super Flux White LED Lamp: 5,000 mcd
7.4mm x 7.4mm water clear package. High performance led lamps, suitable for high pulse operation of up to 20mA. Unique conical radiaton pattern, wide surface area distribution. Ideal for backlighting outdoor signs, moving message boards, displays. Color: InGaN white. Intensity: 5.0 cd (If=20mA). Total angle: 70 Deg. "
I wish I could identify exactly what brand these are. Unfortunately all I can do is tell you my confidence level in these bulbs.
As far as replaceable bulbs. Sorry folks, LED's in a lot of devices now a days are usually not individually replaceable. It would make sense to just change the entire cluster than change a single bulb. Cost is extremely low for these bulbs so cost is not a factor.
Final assessment. Well, I cannot promise that the bulbs will not burn out, but from my obeservations and my best shot at studying the design of these bulbs, we should be fairly confident that we will not have to worry about replacement for the life of ownership. I have not found any areas in the entire light assembly that indicated the manufacturer took short cuts, or went the low road with designing and assembling these tails. That should offer some credibility to the overall quality of these lights.
For those that want additional peace of mind, I'd say wait a while and see how the early adopters do. If there is an infant mortality issue with these tails, I would say we should see a problem within the first 6 months of ownership.
For some only time will tell.
The first thing I can note is that these ARE NOT your everyday cheapo LEDs.
The T3 LED's most people know about have thru hole leads. When these leads are soldered to a circuit board, you have a chance for the lead to break due to continued vibration of the car. These LEDs are typically mounted where the bulbs are literally hanging from these leads. The #1 way that these bulbs go out is not due to a burned out filament, but due to a broken lead that stress cracks over time.
The LEDs used in these tails do not look like bulbs at all. They are flat and square and have 4 surface mount pads to solder to the board. This is many times stronger and a more robust solder connection, than a thru hole LED.
I cannot get at the actual bulbs to really know the manufacturer, but let's just say in general, that the surface mount LEDs are not only superior in design and performance, I would like to think that no manufacturer would make a low bulb life version. It's like saying you want to make a forced induction engine, but want it to be a cheap low dollar version. It just doesn't make sense.
That said, I wil ask that people put a little trust in these bulbs. A typical SMT bulb will not die for 100K + hours..
Here is a picture of the type of bulb they are using:
I will also copy typical specs found for bulbs like these. All I can say is these are high performance bulbs.
"4-PIN Super Flux White LED Lamp: 5,000 mcd
7.4mm x 7.4mm water clear package. High performance led lamps, suitable for high pulse operation of up to 20mA. Unique conical radiaton pattern, wide surface area distribution. Ideal for backlighting outdoor signs, moving message boards, displays. Color: InGaN white. Intensity: 5.0 cd (If=20mA). Total angle: 70 Deg. "
I wish I could identify exactly what brand these are. Unfortunately all I can do is tell you my confidence level in these bulbs.
As far as replaceable bulbs. Sorry folks, LED's in a lot of devices now a days are usually not individually replaceable. It would make sense to just change the entire cluster than change a single bulb. Cost is extremely low for these bulbs so cost is not a factor.
Final assessment. Well, I cannot promise that the bulbs will not burn out, but from my obeservations and my best shot at studying the design of these bulbs, we should be fairly confident that we will not have to worry about replacement for the life of ownership. I have not found any areas in the entire light assembly that indicated the manufacturer took short cuts, or went the low road with designing and assembling these tails. That should offer some credibility to the overall quality of these lights.
For those that want additional peace of mind, I'd say wait a while and see how the early adopters do. If there is an infant mortality issue with these tails, I would say we should see a problem within the first 6 months of ownership.
For some only time will tell.
04-03-06, 09:20 PM
#97
Diy Jp Look
OK,
so I am going to post the first DIY for these WISE tails.
What I have are two ways to do the same thing.
The first method is to use red lense repair tape to color the area chosen. I will do this here as I am not sure how it will look or if I will like it.
I can drive around with the tape job for a while let people see it, then remove it and then see how people react and how I like it as well.
When I have made a final decision, I will go the more permanent rout and use Transparent Red paint to outline the same area I did with the tape.
Here's the Tape and paint I choose.
The first step is to take some blue painters tape and cut it to about a 1/4 inch width so that it will curve easily.
This just takes a steady hand. You can always pull it up and do it over till you get it right. The area I marked off is the part I want to be in red.
The next step is to stretxh the red film over the edges. You can see I stretched it to go around the corner tightly.
Next, I took a razor blade and cut along the blue tape ege, using the tape as a guide and cutting just deep enough to go through the film. It does take a steady hand and patience to do this critical part.
Might wanna practice first on a plastic chopping board, etc.
Here's a close up of the film cut and excess removed. I ran out of tape on the end, so I just added a small piece.
Here's a pic of the completed job. Total time less than 10 minutes.
Here it is finally installed on the car.
Overall on my silver car, I like the look. I will leave the tape job for a while. Eventually I will use the transparent red paint to make the job permanent. The paint wiill also have a lot more gloss to it making the mod almost un noticable from the original.
so I am going to post the first DIY for these WISE tails.
What I have are two ways to do the same thing.
The first method is to use red lense repair tape to color the area chosen. I will do this here as I am not sure how it will look or if I will like it.
I can drive around with the tape job for a while let people see it, then remove it and then see how people react and how I like it as well.
When I have made a final decision, I will go the more permanent rout and use Transparent Red paint to outline the same area I did with the tape.
Here's the Tape and paint I choose.
The first step is to take some blue painters tape and cut it to about a 1/4 inch width so that it will curve easily.
This just takes a steady hand. You can always pull it up and do it over till you get it right. The area I marked off is the part I want to be in red.
The next step is to stretxh the red film over the edges. You can see I stretched it to go around the corner tightly.
Next, I took a razor blade and cut along the blue tape ege, using the tape as a guide and cutting just deep enough to go through the film. It does take a steady hand and patience to do this critical part.
Might wanna practice first on a plastic chopping board, etc.
Here's a close up of the film cut and excess removed. I ran out of tape on the end, so I just added a small piece.
Here's a pic of the completed job. Total time less than 10 minutes.
Here it is finally installed on the car.
Overall on my silver car, I like the look. I will leave the tape job for a while. Eventually I will use the transparent red paint to make the job permanent. The paint wiill also have a lot more gloss to it making the mod almost un noticable from the original.
Last edited by RMMGS4; 04-03-06 at 09:58 PM.
04-03-06, 10:19 PM
#98
Lexus Champion
Looks really good Glen. I dont mind the thicker clear like others do. I think the "mod" you did just gives it that complete look. Very nice and the paint will look even better. 
04-03-06, 10:22 PM
#99
Originally Posted by svt5150
Looks really good Glen. I dont mind the thicker clear like others do. I think the "mod" you did just gives it that complete look. Very nice and the paint will look even better.
and your tails go out tomorrow via FedEx. Sorry, got so busy writing up this report, ya know.
04-03-06, 10:28 PM
#100
Overall Appearance
Here's some notes I gathered that I thought would make good FAQ's.
1. The clear part is too thick.
A. Yes, but the red trim modification along the bottom, it helps make it look a little thinner and a more finished look. IMO
2. Even with the red trim it still looks thicker than the JP.
A. That is a fact it is. Even with the red trim along the edge, the clear part is still a full 1/2 inch thicker. It won't ever look exactly like the JP because of this. Whether you like the look or not is up to you.
3. I don't wan't that "bulb burned out" warning light flashing in my dash, because of the LED's.
A. Take the warning bulb out from behind the dash. People who add the OEM spoiler or LED third brake light have been doing this for years. IMO - It's pretty wimpy to get all hung up about losing this feature. A low tire pressure indicator is 10 times more important than a bulb out indicator and how many out there have that feature installed in their GS??
4. Can we get inner lights with LED's.
A. If people actually buy the tails instead of asking so many questions, Steve will have time to make that part happen I assure you.
5. Can I replace the LED's, YADA, YADA, YADA?
A. Please spend a few minutes and read my review of the tails throughout this thread !
I have answered almost every important question raised in the past week.
Here's the last photos for today. Pretty much self explanatory.
I didn't take any shots with the brake pedal pushed down.
Sorry Maybe next time.
LAST Comment.
After looking at these pictures I just posted, all I can say is that these LEDs have to be viewed in real life to be appreciated. Even when the bulbs are off I think the tails look really cool inside. When an inner set of LED tails are available, I think this set up will look pretty BADASS !
1. The clear part is too thick.
A. Yes, but the red trim modification along the bottom, it helps make it look a little thinner and a more finished look. IMO
2. Even with the red trim it still looks thicker than the JP.
A. That is a fact it is. Even with the red trim along the edge, the clear part is still a full 1/2 inch thicker. It won't ever look exactly like the JP because of this. Whether you like the look or not is up to you.
3. I don't wan't that "bulb burned out" warning light flashing in my dash, because of the LED's.
A. Take the warning bulb out from behind the dash. People who add the OEM spoiler or LED third brake light have been doing this for years. IMO - It's pretty wimpy to get all hung up about losing this feature. A low tire pressure indicator is 10 times more important than a bulb out indicator and how many out there have that feature installed in their GS??
4. Can we get inner lights with LED's.
A. If people actually buy the tails instead of asking so many questions, Steve will have time to make that part happen I assure you.
5. Can I replace the LED's, YADA, YADA, YADA?
A. Please spend a few minutes and read my review of the tails throughout this thread !
I have answered almost every important question raised in the past week.
Here's the last photos for today. Pretty much self explanatory.
I didn't take any shots with the brake pedal pushed down.
Sorry Maybe next time.
LAST Comment.
After looking at these pictures I just posted, all I can say is that these LEDs have to be viewed in real life to be appreciated. Even when the bulbs are off I think the tails look really cool inside. When an inner set of LED tails are available, I think this set up will look pretty BADASS !
Last edited by RMMGS4; 04-03-06 at 10:53 PM.
04-03-06, 11:54 PM
#101
Glen, thank you very much for taking time to do this. Your DYI write ups are nothing but top notch. You are a big help to this Lexus community.
Henry, I'm not leaving you out bro... Your reviews are very important to many people here. Anytime an aftermarket part passes your '**** inspection', I know for sure it's a good mod for the car...
Thanks GUYS...
Aloha from Hawaii
Henry, I'm not leaving you out bro... Your reviews are very important to many people here. Anytime an aftermarket part passes your '**** inspection', I know for sure it's a good mod for the car...
Thanks GUYS...
Aloha from Hawaii
04-04-06, 02:06 AM
#104
Originally Posted by RMMGS4
Having worked at UPS in a past life, I can say the box is good , just not bullet proof. The cardboard is a little small for the lenses. I would of wanted to see more padding and "crush" space.
I also would have preferred the lense to be encased in expandable foam . A little more expensive, but at the price of these lenses, I would justify the additional protection.
The packaging should be adequate in most cases, but I would not ship using these boxes unless I had insurance.
Overall I'd give the packaging an 8.5.
I also would have preferred the lense to be encased in expandable foam . A little more expensive, but at the price of these lenses, I would justify the additional protection.
The packaging should be adequate in most cases, but I would not ship using these boxes unless I had insurance.
Overall I'd give the packaging an 8.5.
