Real reverse lights
 

EDIT: An update on my original setup, after about a month it became apparent I couldn't use these most of the time I wanted more light, other drivers were around, I disabled them. I looked for a bit for real aux reverse lights, similar to fog lights with a flat upper cutoff, but nothing would easily integrate into the rear of this car. So there you have it, $100+ later I would have been better off leaving stock alone and not putting an illegal setup on my car, yes illegal. All exterior lights are regulated for output, directional intensity is VERY important and my setup overpowered a light with a proper cutoff with a massive blinding flood light.

EDIT: TL,DR don't waste your money like I did, stock is as good as it gets without a real custom setup to mount real aux reverse lights.
My setup was without question illegal and was removed about a month after install, being an illegal setup I chose to remove the how-to. It's not a hard setup, but I'm not interested in giving a how-to on an illegal setup.

Real reverse lights
 

Edit: deleted

Thats interesting

Where'd you purchase the switchback's from? Link. :)

Real reverse lights
 

Edit: delete

Wouldn't you be able to just tap the wire which produces the white leds to go on into the wire that sends the signal to your stock reverse lights? That way they go into white mode when you're in reverse?

This is a better option. I actually made a small harness at work to do this but I decided not to and instead bought super bright lights

Real reverse lights
 

Edit: too bright, illegal etc

great idea

Thanks for the right up!:w00t:

Considering they're switchbacks and used as DRL's normally, I'm under te impression they'd be very bright but shouldn't be blinding, otherwise they'd be a hazard if installed as their intended use..?

True, they are used in the front as parking lights but for me after tieing directly to the reverse lights I thought they were too much and needed a switch. Just test them with a test lead before hacking up your factory harness if you have any question about it.

I love this idea. But I am completely incompetent when it comes to wiring >.<

Is this as easy as tapping into the hot for the reverse lights, and sending that to the power for the LEDs? I really know nothing on the subject of wiring and whatnot, but my driveway is impossible to negotiate in the dark and this would be a huge help.

Did you tint your reverse lights at all?

Very cool, I thought about doing this but then tinted the tails all red.

I was considering it so that I could replace the bottom of the bumper with a proper diffuser, but decided against all that anyway.

Real reverse lights
 

Edit:

Diode dynamics Stage 3 reverse lights
 

I think Stage 3 LED reverse lights and bright LED plate lights from Diode Dynamics would have achieved the same result without all that unnecessary wiring and voiding your warranty. Changing OEM bulbs don't void your warranty. it has a forward-facing projector lens LED chip so you can probably adjust the angle so the lights focus more up and center then towards the ground or maybe one point towards ground and one up and center.

Stage 3: 50W LED. Each of the four sides of this bulb contains two 5W-rated CREE chips, and the top is fitted with two more under a projector lens. Housed in an aluminum casing with textured finish for maximum heatsinking properties.

http://www.diodedynamics.com/store/l...leds-pair.html

@psuoh
There is a little something called exposure. Those lights aren't THAT bright. I didn't get my reverse lights form DD, but an equivalent quality vendor on the forum and they still suck.

Real reverse lights
 

Edited

Not all LEDs are created equal. The circuitry and effective brightness of a bulb can vary wildly based on the design. Just because it looks the same while off does not mean it looks the same while on.

While yes, that picture specifically is high-exposure, our bulbs provide a measurable increase in total lumen output - a high quality 18w 921 bulb produces, at maximum, 300 lumens. Most generic ones like those supplied OEM only output closer to 250 and cheap ones can only output as low as 200.

Our stage 2 LED bulb produces 300 lumens, and stage 3 produces over 500. We have made a big investment in scientific equipment at our location to test this kind of thing, unlike most other suppliers here.

Our general advertising pictures are shot individually with varying levels of exposure. In contrast, our comparison pictures are professionally shot (by that I mean professionally-trained, degree-holding photographers, not amateurs) with the exact same settings to provide a direct comparison of the difference in brightness. See comparison of stock 921 18W, stage 1 (SMD) and stage 2 (hi-power) here:http://diodedynamics.com/images/glob...comparison.jpg

Stage 3 is brand new, we'll be re-shooting a direct comparison in the next few weeks. This is not a "sales pitch," we have a lot of people here at Diode who know what they're doing, so please don't immediately assume you're getting "equivalent quality" from a different vendor.

Now, all that said, this is still a great idea and we'll be providing an easy-to-install kit to achieve the same effect soon.

Thanks,
Paul

Not to take away from the work that @fuzzymachinist put down, I've loved this idea since I first saw this post. However, I'm not very confident in reading wire schematics and wiring in general. I would b very interested in a plug and play type option @diodedynamics.

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bump @Diode Dynamics! whats up with the kit? im going downstairs to start building something i came up with...

So, @Diode Dynamics, if you could potentially make a switch back work in the sense that, when it receives the reverse signal it would turn on the white LEDs how much would that run? It would also need to have a different plug so that you could add the reverse signal wire from the original spot to the signals. Did any of that make sense?

We'll be releasing our nearly plug-and-play kit at the end of this month.

Stay tuned!

As always you guys are awesome! I "completed" my setup last night. Still need to do some testing and cleanup the wiring a bit. Not sure if I'm getting enough power to run 4 high power led bulb assemblies from just the green lead running to reverse lights in trunk....

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Here's my mod. Still looking forward to @Diode Dynamics though.
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74163

Just found it. Thanks.

The clock is ticking.......

Tick tock

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3 days left fellas ;)

We actually changed it up and it's much better than the original idea, you guys are going to love it!

Well, the day has arrived. Time to annihilate the F5 key....

So excite!

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In for group buy!

+1 for the group buy!

Plus moar for group buy!







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Aaaaaannddd

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DD must've meant before the end of October?:brokenheart:

Oh, it's ready fellas :)

http://www.diodedynamics.com/images/...allbackon1.jpg

http://www.diodedynamics.com/images/...rn_packed1.jpg

Awesome! Now where do I buy?

Looks promising, how does it work?

Plug and play?

Price?

Group buy?