Brighter Tail light bulbs

I hate to beat a dead horse here, I've been digging through old posts for an hour though.

I'm interested in slightly brighter tail light bulbs. I'm trying out a lightly tinted and heavily clear coated lens, I like the look and the visibility doesn't seem to be affected. That said, I might want to try a slightly brighter bulb.

It looks like the LED bulbs are complicated and not cost effective. I've been reading the camaro forums for info on the different 2057 equivalents. They say the 1157 is the same thing, but 30 percent brighter. The 2357 is brighter yet. I like this, but I don't want to convert the single function bulbs to these just out of concern for draw on the relay. A 1 watt increase should be about 1/12 amp, which would concern me more if the 90 did not run a relay for the tails. They also mention two other interchangeable bulbs. Has anyone played with these other bulbs? Is there a brighter bulb out there that will work? Heat doesn't concern me as much as circuit load and visibility. Thanks guys. I didn't want to spam the other current tail light thread with this topic.

if you're not worried about the extra heat (i would be), then go for it!

when i purchased my LEDS for my '99 Corvette a few years ago, i got them off of Ebay at a very decent price. there were no fitting/connection problems - other than some sizes had to be installed to correct positive/negative sides. (i think mainly they were some interior lights). if they didn't work, i just turned them around. also, as mentioned in the other thread, the turn signals (back then) needed a resistor - also available.

the biggest problem was sifting thru all the suppliers for ones in the USA - for faster delivery. i have purchased a few items from China if i was in no hurry. usually takes 3 to 6 weeks - never had a problem.

I'm not worried about the heat discoloring the plastic because they're already ugly. I doubt they would cause a fire. I'm looking at the wiring, but after doing the calculations, it only has to carry one more amp. I haven't observed the wiring heating up before. If I'm about to run head-on into a brick wall please let me know. Otherwise I'm going to try this.

Dude, is your rear lens that far gone? several here and over on the ROJ forum have cleaned theirs up quite a bit. i basically repaired mine with what is used for plastic headlight repairs - wet sanding, acrylic polish (or something like Plastix), buffing and wax to protect it. if it has cracks, etc. it'll still look better.

that may be enough to get more "brightness". if not, do what you want!

EDIT: oh, and don't forget about the upper 3rd brake light!

I put a different finish on my taillights that I don't talk about on these forums. They're not as dark as they look in my pic though. That's why I want to go brighter. I put light tinting on and a crap load of clear. They look fine. They're actually pretty visible. I just want to make them a tad brighter. Do you think it will damage the wiring Or visibly melt the lenses?

about melting: i'm just going from several earlier threads about rear lighting.

i DO know that LED's can go brighter with no heat.

this kind of reminds me of a friend that tinted his headlights in the 90's and couldn't see far after dark, even with the brights on... i know the front and back lights "darkened" look cool, but especially nowadays - with all the distractions (cel phone, console screens, etc.) - i'd rather go for safety and make sure the driver behind sees me!

That little 194 bulb has a lot less clearance to the plastic. I see your point though. I'm not sure what difference 1.4 watts per bulb will make as far as heat. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I think I'm going to try it.

A little off topic, I've owned 2 cars with truly black taillights, one did get rear ended but the other driver said "I never had trouble seeing your taillights, I wasn't looking at the road when I hit you." I even asked her if it was because of the taillights (she was a friend who had been following me the whole afternoon). She said she could see the lights clearly, but wasn't looking at the time.

The other car I had for 50k miles with black tails, never had any trouble, even asked a cop right when I got it if they were visible.

Obviously, to each his own. My other Reatta just got clear coat, and I really feel like the visibility of both with the lights on is about the same. If the brighter bulbs work without torching the cases, I might put them in the other Reatta also.

I would be more concerned about melting the rear portion of the tail lamp housing (the portion with the reflectors) by upping the bulbs. Keep in mind that each bulb latches into an opening surrounded by a parabolic reflector cavity. Extra heat will be concentrated around the base of the bulb and the shaped opening into which the socket inserts and locks.

I have a couple of spare front cornering lamp housings with bad heat damage to the rear reflector portion and these are of the same type of plastic as the rear lamp assembly. Admittedly, the front lamp assemblies are physically smaller and use halogen lamps in two places so there is a higher heat concentration to begin with.

The red portion of the assembly (inner lens) is also potentially at some risk, the outer smoked lens probably not so much. As to the increased load, sounds like it won't be much. But, remember that the Reatta has more rear bulbs to start than other vehicles of the E platform from which it is derived (the Riviera specifically). I suspect while there was some fudge factor built into the tail lamp circuit the Reatta may already have used much of the surplus load capacity of this circuit with the added bulbs not present on the Rivi with it's more typical 3 light (each) tail. So, some things to think about.

The 168 lamps are easily replaced with LED equivalent bulbs and due to the minimal clearance to the plastic I'd probably try not to use anything stronger in those two positions in terms of an incandescent bulb.

KDirk

I wonder about replacing the single function tail bulbs with LED to balance the circuit load? the wiring back there seems beefy enough to handle a minimal extra load, but I could err on the side of caution (I have to try doing that some time).

If running the brakes for an extended time does not damage the housings at 26 watts, I doubt going from 6 to 8 watts running lights will. I am more concerned about the implications of upping them from 26 to 28 watts on high function.

I think you're spot on about the fronts though. Less space and hotter bulbs if I remember right, I have a torched marker housing on the front.

I've been playing with 2357 bulbs, so far so good. I tested them for heat for several hours today, and though they get hot, the difference in heat between them and a 2057 Is not significant. I have pictures of the illumination difference, and it is subtle but an improvement.

Off the original topic a bit, the third brake light looks like a good candidate for bright LED due to its lack of multiple functions. Does anyone know off hand what LED might work there?

That little 194 bulb has a lot less clearance to the plastic. I see your point though. I'm not sure what difference 1.4 watts per bulb will make as far as heat. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I think I'm going to try it.

A little off topic, I've owned 2 cars with truly black taillights, one did get rear ended but the other driver said "I never had trouble seeing your taillights, I wasn't looking at the road when I hit you." I even asked her if it was because of the taillights (she was a friend who had been following me the whole afternoon). She said she could see the lights clearly, but wasn't looking at the time.

The other car I had for 50k miles with black tails, never had any trouble, even asked a cop right when I got it if they were visible.

Obviously, to each his own. My other Reatta just got clear coat, and I really feel like the visibility of both with the lights on is about the same. If the brighter bulbs work without torching the cases, I might put them in the other Reatta also.

Black tail lights are like driving with a death wish. Not a smart idea ! They are also illegal and insurance companies will not pay claims. Why would you possibly do that ?

Wayne

Mr. Capone, you're absolutely right. I slept on the idea, and woke up this afternoon and started stripping my lightly tinted tails to go over to a high gloss clear like I have on my other Reatta.

Stripped the coating off the top lense of my tails and re cleared them. I remember why I used a little tint before. There are tiny stress cracks all over one side, but some fine sanding took care of that More or less.

<a href="http://s1379.photobucket.com/user/pontiacdude210/media/90%20Reatta%20Coupe/20150317_195630_zps5rrwyvdv.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah128/pontiacdude210/90%20Reatta%20Coupe/20150317_195630_zps5rrwyvdv.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20150317_195630_zps5rrwyvdv.jpg"/></a>

Here's a comparison of the 2057 to the 2357. The brighter(left) is the 2357. I still haven't had any issues with heat after testing for a while.

<a href="http://s1379.photobucket.com/user/pontiacdude210/media/Another%2090%20Reatta%20Coupe/20150314_140725_zpseo8baxgi.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah128/pontiacdude210/Another%2090%20Reatta%20Coupe/20150314_140725_zpseo8baxgi.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20150314_140725_zpseo8baxgi.jpg"/></a>