Where can I buy LED's for my car?

[spotaneagle]

I'd like a local store that sells them, so i can drive there and pick them up not a ordering online kind of guy, although i have found them on EBAY, but thats it, is there any good websites or local parts stores anyone can recommend?

[GasSavers_BEEF]

superbrightleds.com is one that others have cited before. i have no experience with them.

also of note is that sometimes the electrical draw isn't high enough and the car thinks that the bulb is blown so you have to put a load resistor with the diodes. this would negate any gains you might see. I think this is just with newer cars.

I would be weary of ebay unless it is an ebay store. there are too many people with a soldering iron and a digital camera that sell pure junk. definitely check feedback.

[dkjones96]

Where do you live? Autozone had them last time I looked but they may not have everything you are looking for.

+1 on the blinker note. You don't have to use a load resistor if a heavy duty flasher unit is installed in place of the stock one. They don't have the current sense stuff in them that makes your blinkers fast if a bulb is out so you don't need the load resistors.

This conversion is kinda like the home CFL comversion, you want to change out the lights that are used the most so blinkers aren't a good place to start anyways. Tail lights are a great place to start since a safety factor is also added when you go to LEDs(assuming they are as bright or brighter than the stock incandescent bulbs).

[Jay2TheRescue]

I agree. You need to switch your flasher modules over to Heavy Duty so resistors are not needed. Heavy Duty solid state flashers are probably what I would use with LED's. I have also read that the colored LED's are brighter than white. For example, a red unit behind a red tail light, an amber one behind a turn signal, etc.

[GasSavers_JoeBob]

I see them at most big chain autoparts stores (AutoZone, Kragen, Pep Boys), and I believe I've seen them at WalMart also.

[spotaneagle]

i already outfitted my house with LED's from walmart, onto my car i guess

[Jay2TheRescue]

I've never seen affordable LED bulbs for home use... I have replaced most bulbs at home with CFL's though. I replaced all the lightbulbs in the kitchen - reduced the draw from 420 watts to 77 watts, and its brighter in there than with 60W bulbs. Plus, the 60's seemed to be burning out a lot. I was replacing a burnt out bulb in the kitchen every 2 or 3 weeks. Since converting to CFL several months ago I have not replaced one bulb in there.

In my bedroom I have what can only be described as a lamp fetish. I have a set of antique dresser lamps that I had completely restored myself, a vintage TV lamp, the lamp on my nightstand is an art deco lamp that I had restored from the 30's. I could go on & on. Suffice to say in the bedroom I replaced over 500W of bulbs with just over 100W of flourescent bulbs + one regular 60W. There was only one bulb I did not convert. The lamp on the nightstand I had converted to a touch lamp. Because of the dimming feature of the touch lamp I am unable to use a CFL in that lamp.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

Because of the dimming feature of the touch lamp I am unable to use a CFL in that lamp.

There are CFLs made for use with incandescent dimmers, but they're a lot harder to find at reasonable prices. If you walk into an electric supply shop they might be $12-$20. I got lucky and found some at a discount store for $6 and stocked up, since my house (which was outfitted by a nut whose brother was an electrician) has at least 40 light sockets on dimmers (4 ceiling fans, 2 chandaliers, and a full track).

Anyway, I'm not sure if a touch lamp's dimmer system is much different from a normal analog or electronic dimmer, but it might be worth a try.

[Brontegirl]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

I've never seen affordable LED bulbs for home use... I have replaced most bulbs at home with CFL's though. I replaced all the lightbulbs in the kitchen - reduced the draw from 420 watts to 77 watts, and its brighter in there than with 60W bulbs. Plus, the 60's seemed to be burning out a lot. I was replacing a burnt out bulb in the kitchen every 2 or 3 weeks. Since converting to CFL several months ago I have not replaced one bulb in there.

In my bedroom I have what can only be described as a lamp fetish. I have a set of antique dresser lamps that I had completely restored myself, a vintage TV lamp, the lamp on my nightstand is an art deco lamp that I had restored from the 30's. I could go on & on. Suffice to say in the bedroom I replaced over 500W of bulbs with just over 100W of flourescent bulbs + one regular 60W. There was only one bulb I did not convert. The lamp on the nightstand I had converted to a touch lamp. Because of the dimming feature of the touch lamp I am unable to use a CFL in that lamp.

We are doing ours as well. CFLs have helped us with our ceiling lights. The fixture will hold max 60w. That makes it dim and I hated it. We needed more light there. Sure enough, a 26w CFL bulb won't overload the fixture but suits our needs. I'm thinking about removing the dimmer switch in our DR. I never really use it. It's on or off.

My kids used to have these reading lights with incandescent intermediate base spots. I replaced those with 20 watt equivalent spot LEDs and it is perfect for reading a bit before bed.

We've been replacing our bulbs as the technology of cfls and leds expands to fit the various sockets in our home.

[Brontegirl]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

I've never seen affordable LED bulbs for home use... I have replaced most bulbs at home with CFL's though. I replaced all the lightbulbs in the kitchen - reduced the draw from 420 watts to 77 watts, and its brighter in there than with 60W bulbs. Plus, the 60's seemed to be burning out a lot. I was replacing a burnt out bulb in the kitchen every 2 or 3 weeks. Since converting to CFL several months ago I have not replaced one bulb in there.

In my bedroom I have what can only be described as a lamp fetish. I have a set of antique dresser lamps that I had completely restored myself, a vintage TV lamp, the lamp on my nightstand is an art deco lamp that I had restored from the 30's. I could go on & on. Suffice to say in the bedroom I replaced over 500W of bulbs with just over 100W of flourescent bulbs + one regular 60W. There was only one bulb I did not convert. The lamp on the nightstand I had converted to a touch lamp. Because of the dimming feature of the touch lamp I am unable to use a CFL in that lamp.

We are doing ours as well. CFLs have helped us with our ceiling lights. The fixture will hold max 60w. That makes it dim and I hated it. We needed more light there. Sure enough, a 26w CFL bulb won't overload the fixture but suits our needs. I'm thinking about removing the dimmer switch in our DR. I never really use it. It's on or off.

My kids used to have these reading lights with incandescent intermediate base spots. I replaced those with 20 watt equivalent spot LEDs and it is perfect for reading a bit before bed.

We've been replacing our bulbs as the technology of cfls and leds expands to fit the various sockets in our home.