Date:         Sun, 19 Dec 2010 16:27:23 -0800
Reply-To:     John Reynolds <transporterjr@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Reynolds <transporterjr@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: tail lights
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I was excited about the LED bulbs till I read this in the SuperBrightLEDS.com website.

"Brightness of LED Car Bulbs
LED bulbs are generally not as bright as standard incandescent bulbs, they have many advantages over filament bulbs (longer life, faster on/off times, lower power consumption, more vivid colors) but brightness is not one of them. They are generally not as bright but some of them with large numbers of LEDs, will appear brighter than filament bulbs. As an exception, our new 3 Watt and 5 Watt Luxeon LED car bulbs are as bright or brighter than most standard filament car bulbs. The light is distributed differently so they can appear brighter in some applications and not as bright in others, it depends on the size and shape of the bulb housing and reflector."

It appears to me after reading these and other posts, that brighter tail lights without melting/warping problems will require add-on lights elsewhere on the vehicle that can support brighter bulbs (like Don Hansons) but use of the unused (fog) socket can help and the someone said the P21 bulbs were helpful.

John