Review: Morimoto X-VF Switchback Front Turn Signal Bulbs

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by catsspat

VLEDS site claims 170 "acculumens," whatever that means....

As maui86 mentioned, Red Rockets supposedly rated 272 lumens weren't much better than 75 lumens rated Philips, so.... If it's actually 170 lumens, that would be way too bright for brake lights, but then, the bulb design won't be able to utilize the reflector very effectively, so, who knows?

I think they measure it without an enclosure??? I know they only rate their 194 360* HVA bulb at 100 lumens, but they're extremely bright in the JDM clear side marker. I wouldn't be surprised if their 170 claim is real.

[catsspat]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

I think they measure it without an enclosure??? I know they only rate their 194 360* HVA bulb at 100 lumens, but they're extremely bright in the JDM clear side marker. I wouldn't be surprised if their 170 claim is real.

I got those 194 360-degree bulbs, too. In fact, your post made me do it.

They're indeed extremely bright as BRZ's front side markers, but the exact same bulbs aren't all that effective as Impreza's front side markers. These little enclosures don't have room for back reflectors, or the reflectors are literally the size of the bulb itself, so unless the bulb is translucent, like the incandescent bulbs, all we see is the LED chips that are pointing outwards. The ones pointing the other way don't contribute at all to what we see.

I also bought their red 194 and put them in the rear, and they're insanely visible in the Impreza, but just okay in the BRZ. The reflector design and the bulb orientation, or rather the location of the actual emitters, is paramount to these LEDs.

I tried to illustrate this by combining a bunch of photos I took with the cars parked side-by-side in my garage.



The rear side markers illustrate this best. On the Impreza, the entire housing is lighted, and it's bright no matter which direction I look from. I think at least 4 (out of 6) emitters are really contributing here, with the remaining 2 also contributing some. In the BRZ, maybe 3 are contributing somewhat, and their angles aren't ideal for the housing design.

I'm thinking even one emitter placed just right can be more effective in some cases over 6 emitters in a generic pattern. Unless they start making custom bulbs for individual cars, we'll just have to get by with what we get.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by catsspat

I got those 194 360-degree bulbs, too. In fact, your post made me do it.

They're indeed extremely bright as BRZ's front side markers, but the exact same bulbs aren't all that effective as Impreza's front side markers. These little enclosures don't have room for back reflectors, or the reflectors are literally the size of the bulb itself, so unless the bulb is translucent, like the incandescent bulbs, all we see is the LED chips that are pointing outwards. The ones pointing the other way don't contribute at all to what we see.

I also bought their red 194 and put them in the rear, and they're insanely visible in the Impreza, but just okay in the BRZ. The reflector design and the bulb orientation, or rather the location of the actual emitters, is paramount to these LEDs.

I tried to illustrate this by combining a bunch of photos I took with the cars parked side-by-side in my garage.



The rear side markers illustrate this best. On the Impreza, the entire housing is lighted, and it's bright no matter which direction I look from. I think at least 4 (out of 6) emitters are really contributing here, with the remaining 2 also contributing some. In the BRZ, maybe 3 are contributing somewhat, and their angles aren't ideal for the housing design.

I'm thinking even one emitter placed just right can be more effective in some cases over 6 emitters in a generic pattern. Unless they start making custom bulbs for individual cars, we'll just have to get by with what we get.

Wow, that's pretty crazy. Great post tho. I don't think anyone is ever going to make car specific bulbs. That R&D would make the bulbs super expensive. lol

[maui86]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

Maybe because the bulbs are just too difficult to get??? Lol.

heh, could be. Google around for the H3C bulbs; there's all kinds of oddball information about how these came about and some weird claims about the design of the bulb from years ago which I think has changed over the years.

At least it looks like TRS carries them so you could always stock up on a few sets

[maui86]

Originally Posted by catsspat

VLEDS site claims 170 "acculumens," whatever that means....

As maui86 mentioned, Red Rockets supposedly rated 272 lumens weren't much better than 75 lumens rated Philips, so.... If it's actually 170 lumens, that would be way too bright for brake lights, but then, the bulb design won't be able to utilize the reflector very effectively, so, who knows?

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

I think they measure it without an enclosure??? I know they only rate their 194 360* HVA bulb at 100 lumens, but they're extremely bright in the JDM clear side marker. I wouldn't be surprised if their 170 claim is real.

I've been toying with the idea of a high powered red brake light (i.e. Triton, Probright) Under some type of diffusion material (frosted vinyl overlay would be the "easy" first choice) - The trick would be to do it without breaking up the overall design of the original tail light housings . . .

[maui86]

Originally Posted by catsspat

I got those 194 360-degree bulbs, too. In fact, your post made me do it.

They're indeed extremely bright as BRZ's front side markers, but the exact same bulbs aren't all that effective as Impreza's front side markers. These little enclosures don't have room for back reflectors, or the reflectors are literally the size of the bulb itself, so unless the bulb is translucent, like the incandescent bulbs, all we see is the LED chips that are pointing outwards. The ones pointing the other way don't contribute at all to what we see.

I also bought their red 194 and put them in the rear, and they're insanely visible in the Impreza, but just okay in the BRZ. The reflector design and the bulb orientation, or rather the location of the actual emitters, is paramount to these LEDs.

I tried to illustrate this by combining a bunch of photos I took with the cars parked side-by-side in my garage.



The rear side markers illustrate this best. On the Impreza, the entire housing is lighted, and it's bright no matter which direction I look from. I think at least 4 (out of 6) emitters are really contributing here, with the remaining 2 also contributing some. In the BRZ, maybe 3 are contributing somewhat, and their angles aren't ideal for the housing design.

I'm thinking even one emitter placed just right can be more effective in some cases over 6 emitters in a generic pattern. Unless they start making custom bulbs for individual cars, we'll just have to get by with what we get.

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

Wow, that's pretty crazy. Great post tho. I don't think anyone is ever going to make car specific bulbs. That R&D would make the bulbs super expensive. lol

Nice comparison. My only concern with a vehicle specific bulb would be only OEM production/quality (,) and pricing () for them initially - and subsequent less than stellar "replicas."

i.e. Winjet headlights that are replicas of the OEM Toyota monogram/JDM headlights - From the outside they look great, but their stock h7 projectors are just "ok" and their LED "eyebrows" are way too under-powered compared to the genuine Toyota product. But for the price ($300 for a pair of Winjets vs. ~$800 PER SIDE for the Toyota's) the Winjets are hard to pass up.

On that note, the Valenti 9 LED side markers look like nice aftermarket alternatives, although a bit pricey ($100+) for a set . . .

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by maui86

I've been toying with the idea of a high powered red brake light (i.e. Triton, Probright) Under some type of diffusion material (frosted vinyl overlay would be the "easy" first choice) - The trick would be to do it without breaking up the overall design of the original tail light housings . . .

How would you add that to the twins' brake lights?

[Kaotic Lazagna]

So got around to installing the HVA bulbs in the rear turn signals on the Yaris. Have a look. OEM on the driver side, VLEDs HVA on the passenger.

[maui86]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

How would you add that to the twins' brake lights?

I've re-wired my brakes to be "quad" brake lights, with the stock tail lights set to blink when turn/hazards/lock are activated:



(This BTW is a crappy quick comparison - Red Rocket on the Left, Phillips Ultinon on the right. Almost identical, except for a bit more light spill with the red rocket.)

So it would be a matter of modifying the former turn signal now brake location with some type of optical diffuser.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by maui86

I've re-wired my brakes to be "quad" brake lights, with the stock tail lights set to blink when turn/hazards/lock are activated:



(This BTW is a crappy quick comparison - Red Rocket on the Left, Phillips Ultinon on the right. Almost identical, except for a bit more light spill with the red rocket.)

So it would be a matter of modifying the former turn signal now brake location with some type of optical diffuser.

So with more light spill, does that mean more light gets thrown onto the ground? Or does it just get lost in space?

[maui86]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

So got around to installing the HVA bulbs in the rear turn signals on the Yaris. Have a look. OEM on the driver side, VLEDs HVA on the passenger.

Nice. Those are diffused/fluted lenses they're behind, correct?

[maui86]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

So with more light spill, does that mean more light gets thrown onto the ground? Or does it just get lost in space?

It seemed to just spilled on my bumper in the first test run

I haven't had a chance to run them longer however as the bulb is difficult to seat (have to hold the bulb halfway in the housing, hope you don't drop it in by mistake, and snug it up into the socket) and not super secure either. Also leaves an ugly red reflection when off due to part of the base protruding past the reflector edge. When I get the time, I'll probably look at getting it all to fit properly, secure with a bit of electrical tape or something for security, and do a bit more testing.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by maui86

Nice. Those are diffused/fluted lenses they're behind, correct?

Originally Posted by maui86

It seemed to just spilled on my bumper in the first test run

I haven't had a chance to run them longer however as the bulb is difficult to seat (have to hold the bulb halfway in the housing, hope you don't drop it in by mistake, and snug it up into the socket) and not super secure either. Also leaves an ugly red reflection when off due to part of the base protruding past the reflector edge. When I get the time, I'll probably look at getting it all to fit properly, secure with a bit of electrical tape or something for security, and do a bit more testing.

Yup. The Yaris hatch has a weird frosted tail light lens. The JDM RS taillights are even worse. Lol. But I suppose they help in this case to diffuse the LEDs properly.

Haha, that's how I had to install the HVA bulbs as well. Actually dropped them in a couple times and had to use pliers to retrieve them. Did you really push the bulbs into the socket? I thought they weren't very secured until I pushed them in harder. Haha. Pretty secure after.

Eek, I don't want any colored reflection if possible, and if they're just shining the bumper, that's not good.

[maui86]

Originally Posted by Kaotic Lazagna

Yup. The Yaris hatch has a weird frosted tail light lens. The JDM RS taillights are even worse. Lol. But I suppose they help in this case to diffuse the LEDs properly.

Haha, that's how I had to install the HVA bulbs as well. Actually dropped them in a couple times and had to use pliers to retrieve them. Did you really push the bulbs into the socket? I thought they weren't very secured until I pushed them in harder. Haha. Pretty secure after.

Eek, I don't want any colored reflection if possible, and if they're just shining the bumper, that's not good.

I had to go look up the RS lights after you mentioned them and . . . wow . . . at least their design sort of matches the character of the car I suppose . . .

It's odd, I've had lots of "loose bulb" issues with the FRS, both front and rear. As usual, the best bulbs in terms of fit have been (surprise surprise) the Phillips Ultinons! The Ultinons are super secure, have a satisfying "click" to them, and don't leave any ugly reflections front or back. They're also small enough that I don't have to risk dropping it in the housing just to install them

At some point I might do a full comparison/test of the red rockets - In person they do seem just a bit brighter (hence the light spill/bleed on the bumper,) and the small, almost unnoticeable, amount of shadow left in the center of the reflector by the Ultinons is not apparent with the Red Rockets as they have a couple emitters on the top with a "projector" lens. The real test however would be to see how they do in direct sunlight, particularly as their use as brake lights makes all weather visibility even more important (another reason for the "diffused lens" idea.)

Or, if I can manage to find a set at the right (low) price, I may just decide to switch to TOM's tails at some point