MINI2

EBMCS03 · Apr 21st, 2004, 09:52 PM

did u take any pics? of like one side LED and one side regular? how much brighter are they and are they just as see-able from the side?

WEll I've ordered my set from myroadster.net and they were shipped out monday so i should be getting them soon. where did you order yours from?

Apr 21st, 2004, 10:02 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by stellardude

Just got in from fitting the LED tails...

I put the bulbs in, they worked great, instant on/off. The thing i noticed though after i shut the car off was kind of interesting though. The LED's were barely lit, but they were on still. The polarities are correct cause you can only put the bulb in one way.

No idea what is going on here. Does your car do that Atomic80?

Thanks for any info.

No, mine doesn't do that....I have no idea why yours is doing that.

stellardude · Apr 22nd, 2004, 07:03 AM

Well i took the bulbs out when i noticed it. I may put them in again though in a few days.

I've been mainly concerned about learning to drive it. This is the first manual transmission car i've driven

I'll try putting them back in on Friday and do a comparison for you all.

stellardude · Apr 24th, 2004, 08:17 AM

took a few pictures tonight. I couldn't get the passenger side loose but it may be better to show the comparison that way.

Stock:

White LED (it looks more blue in the pic than it really is)

Amber LED

EBMCS03 · Apr 24th, 2004, 08:19 PM

Cool... I received my LED bulbs today and I'll put them in later and take some pics also...

EBMCS03 · Apr 25th, 2004, 09:53 PM

Alright I installed my LED Bulbs yesterday and here's my input on them. They are not brighter than the stock Incandescent bulbs, they are about the same brightness (believe me, it looks dimmer on pics but they arn't)... but they are more RED... its actually quite a bit MORE RED... It looks good... I dont think it shows up that well on camera prob cause the cameras picks up wavelengths of light differently than the human eye but they are both about equal birghtness. With both of them side by side it makes the stock incandescent bulbs look pink... ya pink...

So is it worth it you ask? for $12 a bulb its alright, I like it as it definetly turns on and off faster and you can see the individual little LEDs even though the lens... which makes the Car look more modern... almost like the new luxury cars now, like the LEDs on BMW and Lexus and Infiniti. I thought they would be brighter but they arnt and I guess its a good thing because they are already quite bright... My dad said if they were any brighter they would blind the person behind LOL

So to summarize:
LEDs are equally as bright as the incandescent bulbs, not brighter
LEDs are More rich in REDNESS to the eye (I like that)
LEDs Turn On and Off faster
LEDs look a bit "cooler" have the "Ah" factor

Enough said here are the Pics and Vids...

==Link Taken out==

Edit: ARGH!! Hold up... cheap Yahoo wont let others view the vid w/out me having premium service... Let me go upload them to my premium account. BLAH!

Edit 2: ok Yahoo is really (plural of peeing) me off... first they wont let me upload more then 5megs at a time on the free account so i uploaded 4 times there then find out they dont share videos with the free account so going to the premium account and uploading everything then THEY ARE MISSING!!! not there... OMG! forget yahoo...

Left Incandescent + Right LED

LED Parking Lamp

LED Brake + LED Rear Fog

Incandescent Parking Lamp

Incandescent Brake + Incandescent Rear Fog

ALL LEDs

Vid: Left Side Incandescents + Right Side LEDs

Vid: ALL LEDs01

Vid: ALL LEDs02

EBMCS03 · Apr 25th, 2004, 11:06 PM

There we GO! all up.

pbui2 · Apr 26th, 2004, 11:42 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by EBMCS03

There we GO! all up.

Nice work!! You guys convinced me to get some LEDs too

Some quick questions:

1. Are those LEDs in the brake light on top of the rear window?
2. Some people say fog lamps (front and rear) are yellow for a reason. Does that mean you will need to use yellow LEDS instead of white ones for them to be useful in foggy weather?
3. What about LEDs for the side markers?
4. I'm thinking of painting the rear tail covers all red. Do I have to buy orange LEDs to meet legal requirements?
5. Where do I go to buy them?

Thanks!

Ibb · Apr 27th, 2004, 04:24 AM

Nice, its looking good

EBMCS03 · Apr 27th, 2004, 09:08 AM

Some quick questions:

1. Are those LEDs in the brake light on top of the rear window?
I don't know... they are the stock bulbs from the factory... I think they are not LEDs but I'm not sure... they look good enough... they match the LEDs well I think so I'm not going to bother with them.

2. Some people say fog lamps (front and rear) are yellow for a reason. Does that mean you will need to use yellow LEDS instead of white ones for them to be useful in foggy weather?

For the front FOGs you shouldnt mess with those bulbs... unless you are getting whiter FOGs but the REAR fogs... the top set of lights that light up... they are just regular bulbs... you can tell when you tell when you take it out. so it doesnt matter. The Rear fogs SHOULDN'T be yellow actually... they are RED... they are there to allow others to see you from the back and not run into you. but I wired them as extra brake lights because where I live theres not a great deal of fog for me to worry about. So since they are Brake lights now also I also replaced the stock incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs.

3. What about LEDs for the side markers?

What sidemarker? the ones on the wheel arch or do you mean the turn signals? you can get those too... they have them but I didnt change the turn signal ones because they require an extra load equalizers (which are an extra $7 each) to prevent them from blinking too fast like if the bulb was out. the LED draw much less current than the standard incandescent bulbs.

4. I'm thinking of painting the rear tail covers all red. Do I have to buy orange LEDs to meet legal requirements?
you mean red all red including the turn signal part? ya you would get the amber colored LED... but make sure they still show up as amber color if you want to meed legal requirements...

5. Where do I go to buy them?
I got them at http://www.myroadster.net/led.asp

Oh BTW... all the LEDs that I got are RED itself... they are not White LEDs...

The Parts are #1156-RED and #1157-RED 1156 are the single intensity that fit the rear fogs and #1157 are the dual intensity parking light and brake light

Apr 27th, 2004, 04:08 PM

Nice job, Eric....I see you're just as happy with them as I am.

FYI, I never thought that they were brighter than stock. They just appear to be because they come on at a much faster rate which gives people the illusion that they're brighter. Another phenomen is that if you look directly at the LED diodes then they do appear brighter. Go figure.

When I first bought them, they were $9 each! Prices have gone up since then. This is still very cheap especially considering the fact that these are lifetime bulbs.

As for the third brake light on the top of the hatchback. Those are all LED bulbs as far as I can tell.

Overall a good upgrade for the MINI.

stellardude · Apr 28th, 2004, 03:18 AM

to answer the queston on the top (high mount) light. Yes, they are led.

to answer the question on the side marker blinker lights (on the gills)
you can put led's in them without the use of an equalizer. I had them in my car and the lights don't blink fast as long as you don't change over the front and rear blinkers to led.

ecl3x · May 3rd, 2004, 04:10 AM

wow they are looked great..how are the brightness in full sunlight (same brightness as stock)? do they light up the housing in daylight or can you make out the light shape of the bulb?

GJR · May 3rd, 2004, 04:19 AM

ecl3x- funny you should ask. I just installed mine today on the rear brake and fog lights. I was a bit disappointed in the daytime effect- the housing doesn't completely light up. You just see the little LED bulbs lighting up. I haven't had a chance to view them at night, but I'm going to put one stock bulb back in tomorrow and see if that works any better in the daytime...anyone else have thoughts on this?

EBMCS03 · May 4th, 2004, 07:35 AM

I just checked the daylight lighting today and I'm not sure... I dont remember how they look now with stock bulbs... hhahhaha they light up but like said above... maybe not the whole casing as much... but heres a pic anyways...

GJR.. would you mind taking some pics of half stock bulbs and half LED in the day time?

EBMCS03 · May 4th, 2004, 07:47 AM

Oh heres a better shot in FULL direct sunlight with the sun shinning right at the tail... notice my shadow... I dont think it can get worse than this... it was HOT today... 105 degrees and sun BLASTING...

But Now u guys got me worried that ppl cant see me stop!!

can you even make out which pic has the brake lights on?

I guess I'll do a compro with half side LED and half Incandescent tomorrow and report back. Stay Tuned...

GJR · May 4th, 2004, 01:54 PM

EBMCS03- Thanks for the effort. I wish I could help you out more on my side, but I don't even own a digital camera yet (I know, pretty sad). I'll stay tuned.

stellardude · May 4th, 2004, 04:21 PM

whoa yeah. The lights aren't too bright in direct sun.
It was somewhat similar to the output i had with my civic, except on the civic, it had a diffused lens, so you couldn't see the bulbs directly like you can with this car. Being a diffused lens almost seemed to help with the light distribution...

EBMCS03 · May 5th, 2004, 12:56 AM

Well I did the same run... about the same time when the sun is REALLY shining at the rear of the car. Its as bright as it can get out there today again wiht this heat wave in LA. And from what I found the Stock bulbs arn't any good in direct sunlight either...

With the LEDs you get a spot of light where you can make out the bulb with the stock incandescent you cant make out the bulb but can kinda see like a lighted area where the brakes are... both are just as viewable or just as not viewable...

So my conclusion... the LEDs are just as good or just as bad as the incandescent bulbs in bright sunlight but I like the LEDs at night, more redness and faster instant "ON". so over all I guess theres no loss with the LEDs. I'm Happy.

*Phew* SAFE!

P.S. The LEDs has a little bit more color to it then can be seen here on pics... again the camera doesnt pick up the redness of the LEDs as well as the human eye.

GJR · May 5th, 2004, 01:07 AM

Thanks for your investigative work. NO THANKS to the idiot owner of "myroadster.net." When I noticed this issue I emailed him to see if I could possibly return the bulbs, since it states on his opening page:

"You can buy with confidence from MyRoadster.Net. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, return it undamaged for a 100% refund."

He sent back a messsage which simply said, "No- try Ebay." BUYER BEWARE!

Apr 21st, 2004, 09:52 PM	#21
EBMCS03 M5 Extraordinare! Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: So Cal Local Time: 04:38 PM Posts: 6,768 Offline	did u take any pics? of like one side LED and one side regular? how much brighter are they and are they just as see-able from the side? WEll I've ordered my set from myroadster.net and they were shipped out monday so i should be getting them soon. where did you order yours from? EB/W MCS Arrived (3/26/03) SOLD 4/25/06

Apr 24th, 2004, 08:19 PM	#25 (permalink)
EBMCS03 M5 Extraordinare! Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: So Cal Local Time: 04:38 PM Posts: 6,768 Offline	Cool... I received my LED bulbs today and I'll put them in later and take some pics also... EB/W MCS Arrived (3/26/03) SOLD 4/25/06

Apr 25th, 2004, 09:53 PM	#26 (permalink)
EBMCS03 M5 Extraordinare! Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: So Cal Local Time: 04:38 PM Posts: 6,768 Offline	Alright I installed my LED Bulbs yesterday and here's my input on them. They are not brighter than the stock Incandescent bulbs, they are about the same brightness (believe me, it looks dimmer on pics but they arn't)... but they are more RED... its actually quite a bit MORE RED... It looks good... I dont think it shows up that well on camera prob cause the cameras picks up wavelengths of light differently than the human eye but they are both about equal birghtness. With both of them side by side it makes the stock incandescent bulbs look pink... ya pink... So is it worth it you ask? for $12 a bulb its alright, I like it as it definetly turns on and off faster and you can see the individual little LEDs even though the lens... which makes the Car look more modern... almost like the new luxury cars now, like the LEDs on BMW and Lexus and Infiniti. I thought they would be brighter but they arnt and I guess its a good thing because they are already quite bright... My dad said if they were any brighter they would blind the person behind LOL So to summarize: LEDs are equally as bright as the incandescent bulbs, not brighter LEDs are More rich in REDNESS to the eye (I like that) LEDs Turn On and Off faster LEDs look a bit "cooler" have the "Ah" factor Enough said here are the Pics and Vids... ==Link Taken out== Edit: ARGH!! Hold up... cheap Yahoo wont let others view the vid w/out me having premium service... Let me go upload them to my premium account. BLAH! Edit 2: ok Yahoo is really (plural of peeing) me off... first they wont let me upload more then 5megs at a time on the free account so i uploaded 4 times there then find out they dont share videos with the free account so going to the premium account and uploading everything then THEY ARE MISSING!!! not there... OMG! forget yahoo... Left Incandescent + Right LED LED Parking Lamp LED Brake + LED Rear Fog Incandescent Parking Lamp Incandescent Brake + Incandescent Rear Fog ALL LEDs Vid: Left Side Incandescents + Right Side LEDs Vid: ALL LEDs01 Vid: ALL LEDs02 EB/W MCS Arrived (3/26/03) SOLD 4/25/06 Last edited by EBMCS03 : Apr 25th, 2004 at 11:08 PM.

Apr 25th, 2004, 11:06 PM	#27 (permalink)
EBMCS03 M5 Extraordinare! Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: So Cal Local Time: 04:38 PM Posts: 6,768 Offline	There we GO! all up. EB/W MCS Arrived (3/26/03) SOLD 4/25/06

Apr 27th, 2004, 09:08 AM	#30 (permalink)
EBMCS03 M5 Extraordinare! Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: So Cal Local Time: 04:38 PM Posts: 6,768 Offline	Some quick questions: 1. Are those LEDs in the brake light on top of the rear window? I don't know... they are the stock bulbs from the factory... I think they are not LEDs but I'm not sure... they look good enough... they match the LEDs well I think so I'm not going to bother with them. 2. Some people say fog lamps (front and rear) are yellow for a reason. Does that mean you will need to use yellow LEDS instead of white ones for them to be useful in foggy weather? For the front FOGs you shouldnt mess with those bulbs... unless you are getting whiter FOGs but the REAR fogs... the top set of lights that light up... they are just regular bulbs... you can tell when you tell when you take it out. so it doesnt matter. The Rear fogs SHOULDN'T be yellow actually... they are RED... they are there to allow others to see you from the back and not run into you. but I wired them as extra brake lights because where I live theres not a great deal of fog for me to worry about. So since they are Brake lights now also I also replaced the stock incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs. 3. What about LEDs for the side markers? What sidemarker? the ones on the wheel arch or do you mean the turn signals? you can get those too... they have them but I didnt change the turn signal ones because they require an extra load equalizers (which are an extra $7 each) to prevent them from blinking too fast like if the bulb was out. the LED draw much less current than the standard incandescent bulbs. 4. I'm thinking of painting the rear tail covers all red. Do I have to buy orange LEDs to meet legal requirements? you mean red all red including the turn signal part? ya you would get the amber colored LED... but make sure they still show up as amber color if you want to meed legal requirements... 5. Where do I go to buy them? I got them at http://www.myroadster.net/led.asp Oh BTW... all the LEDs that I got are RED itself... they are not White LEDs... The Parts are #1156-RED and #1157-RED 1156 are the single intensity that fit the rear fogs and #1157 are the dual intensity parking light and brake light EB/W MCS Arrived (3/26/03) SOLD 4/25/06

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Apr 21st, 2004, 10:02 PM	#22 (permalink)
atomic80 Posts: n/a	Quote: Originally Posted by stellardude Just got in from fitting the LED tails... I put the bulbs in, they worked great, instant on/off. The thing i noticed though after i shut the car off was kind of interesting though. The LED's were barely lit, but they were on still. The polarities are correct cause you can only put the bulb in one way. No idea what is going on here. Does your car do that Atomic80? Thanks for any info. No, mine doesn't do that....I have no idea why yours is doing that.

Apr 22nd, 2004, 07:03 AM	#23 (permalink)
stellardude i'm the dude! Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn Park, MN Local Time: 05:38 PM Posts: 55 Offline	Well i took the bulbs out when i noticed it. I may put them in again though in a few days. I've been mainly concerned about learning to drive it. This is the first manual transmission car i've driven I'll try putting them back in on Friday and do a comparison for you all.

Apr 24th, 2004, 08:17 AM	#24 (permalink)
stellardude i'm the dude! Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn Park, MN Local Time: 05:38 PM Posts: 55 Offline	took a few pictures tonight. I couldn't get the passenger side loose but it may be better to show the comparison that way. Stock: White LED (it looks more blue in the pic than it really is) Amber LED

Apr 26th, 2004, 11:42 PM	#28 (permalink)
pbui2 MINI2 Newbie Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Long Beach Local Time: 11:38 PM Posts: 32 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by EBMCS03 There we GO! all up. Nice work!! You guys convinced me to get some LEDs too Some quick questions: 1. Are those LEDs in the brake light on top of the rear window? 2. Some people say fog lamps (front and rear) are yellow for a reason. Does that mean you will need to use yellow LEDS instead of white ones for them to be useful in foggy weather? 3. What about LEDs for the side markers? 4. I'm thinking of painting the rear tail covers all red. Do I have to buy orange LEDs to meet legal requirements? 5. Where do I go to buy them? Thanks!

Apr 27th, 2004, 04:24 AM	#29 (permalink)
Ibb MINI2 Master BLASTER!!!!! Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Bristol Local Time: 12:38 AM Posts: 1,618 Offline	Nice, its looking good

Apr 27th, 2004, 04:08 PM	#31 (permalink)
atomic80 Posts: n/a	Nice job, Eric....I see you're just as happy with them as I am. FYI, I never thought that they were brighter than stock. They just appear to be because they come on at a much faster rate which gives people the illusion that they're brighter. Another phenomen is that if you look directly at the LED diodes then they do appear brighter. Go figure. When I first bought them, they were $9 each! Prices have gone up since then. This is still very cheap especially considering the fact that these are lifetime bulbs. As for the third brake light on the top of the hatchback. Those are all LED bulbs as far as I can tell. Overall a good upgrade for the MINI.

Apr 28th, 2004, 03:18 AM	#32 (permalink)
stellardude i'm the dude! Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn Park, MN Local Time: 05:38 PM Posts: 55 Offline	to answer the queston on the top (high mount) light. Yes, they are led. to answer the question on the side marker blinker lights (on the gills) you can put led's in them without the use of an equalizer. I had them in my car and the lights don't blink fast as long as you don't change over the front and rear blinkers to led.

May 3rd, 2004, 04:10 AM	#33 (permalink)
ecl3x MINI2 Newbie Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: washington dc Local Time: 06:38 PM Posts: 21 Offline	wow they are looked great..how are the brightness in full sunlight (same brightness as stock)? do they light up the housing in daylight or can you make out the light shape of the bulb?

May 3rd, 2004, 04:19 AM	#34 (permalink)
GJR MINI2 Newbie Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: PA, USA Local Time: 07:38 PM Posts: 13 Offline	ecl3x- funny you should ask. I just installed mine today on the rear brake and fog lights. I was a bit disappointed in the daytime effect- the housing doesn't completely light up. You just see the little LED bulbs lighting up. I haven't had a chance to view them at night, but I'm going to put one stock bulb back in tomorrow and see if that works any better in the daytime...anyone else have thoughts on this? Last edited by GJR : May 3rd, 2004 at 04:10 PM.

May 4th, 2004, 07:35 AM	#35 (permalink)
EBMCS03 M5 Extraordinare! Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: So Cal Local Time: 04:38 PM Posts: 6,768 Offline	I just checked the daylight lighting today and I'm not sure... I dont remember how they look now with stock bulbs... hhahhaha they light up but like said above... maybe not the whole casing as much... but heres a pic anyways... GJR.. would you mind taking some pics of half stock bulbs and half LED in the day time? Attached Thumbnails EB/W MCS Arrived (3/26/03) SOLD 4/25/06

May 4th, 2004, 07:47 AM	#36 (permalink)
EBMCS03 M5 Extraordinare! Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: So Cal Local Time: 04:38 PM Posts: 6,768 Offline	Oh heres a better shot in FULL direct sunlight with the sun shinning right at the tail... notice my shadow... I dont think it can get worse than this... it was HOT today... 105 degrees and sun BLASTING... But Now u guys got me worried that ppl cant see me stop!! can you even make out which pic has the brake lights on? I guess I'll do a compro with half side LED and half Incandescent tomorrow and report back. Stay Tuned... Attached Thumbnails EB/W MCS Arrived (3/26/03) SOLD 4/25/06

May 4th, 2004, 01:54 PM	#37 (permalink)
GJR MINI2 Newbie Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: PA, USA Local Time: 07:38 PM Posts: 13 Offline	EBMCS03- Thanks for the effort. I wish I could help you out more on my side, but I don't even own a digital camera yet (I know, pretty sad). I'll stay tuned.

May 4th, 2004, 04:21 PM	#38 (permalink)
stellardude i'm the dude! Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn Park, MN Local Time: 05:38 PM Posts: 55 Offline	whoa yeah. The lights aren't too bright in direct sun. It was somewhat similar to the output i had with my civic, except on the civic, it had a diffused lens, so you couldn't see the bulbs directly like you can with this car. Being a diffused lens almost seemed to help with the light distribution...

May 5th, 2004, 12:56 AM	#39 (permalink)
EBMCS03 M5 Extraordinare! Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: So Cal Local Time: 04:38 PM Posts: 6,768 Offline	Well I did the same run... about the same time when the sun is REALLY shining at the rear of the car. Its as bright as it can get out there today again wiht this heat wave in LA. And from what I found the Stock bulbs arn't any good in direct sunlight either... With the LEDs you get a spot of light where you can make out the bulb with the stock incandescent you cant make out the bulb but can kinda see like a lighted area where the brakes are... both are just as viewable or just as not viewable... So my conclusion... the LEDs are just as good or just as bad as the incandescent bulbs in bright sunlight but I like the LEDs at night, more redness and faster instant "ON". so over all I guess theres no loss with the LEDs. I'm Happy. Phew SAFE! P.S. The LEDs has a little bit more color to it then can be seen here on pics... again the camera doesnt pick up the redness of the LEDs as well as the human eye. Attached Thumbnails EB/W MCS Arrived (3/26/03) SOLD 4/25/06

May 5th, 2004, 01:07 AM	#40 (permalink)
GJR MINI2 Newbie Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: PA, USA Local Time: 07:38 PM Posts: 13 Offline	Thanks for your investigative work. NO THANKS to the idiot owner of "myroadster.net." When I noticed this issue I emailed him to see if I could possibly return the bulbs, since it states on his opening page: "You can buy with confidence from MyRoadster.Net. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, return it undamaged for a 100% refund." He sent back a messsage which simply said, "No- try Ebay." BUYER BEWARE!