S4 LED Taillights Finished - Worlds First?

[My5ABaby]

Originally Posted by Phoenix7

Ok, a few important questions:

1. What's the output per LED?

2. How much current are you running to them?

3. What's the light spread look like?

I wanna see a wall lit up by the lights please!

1. I'm using Lumileds (Phillips) Superflux Red-Orange LEDs. They're around 4 lumens per LED at a conservative operating current. Datasheet: http://www.philipslumileds.com/pdfs/DS05.pdf.

I'm running roughly 120 per side and 16 in the 3rd brake light. As such, we'll say 500 lumens per side (if we split the 3rd light into two equal portions). A 1157 bulb is about 400 lumens.

2. 50mA each. They're rated at 70mA but since they may be on for an extended period of time I run them under current to ensure a long life with no heat issues (not that there really is much of a heat issue with the Superfluxes).

At ~50mA each, the ~250 LEDs are pulling 1.25A. A typical 1157 bulb pulls 2.1A, of which 4 are needed.

3. The spread is pretty good. I'd have to look at the data sheet, but I believe they're 70 degree wide angle. With the pillowing of the lenses it really doesn't matter too much. My next step is to make the boards reflective (with tape or chrome paint) to harness as much of the light as possible.

I don't have another board with 60 LEDs installed, but I could hook something up with a few to give a decent idea. I'll try to get something next week. I may also be able to compare a stock bulb on one side to my LEDs on the other. I'd have to reassemble a housing to do that though (ugh I hate that glue crap Mazda put on).

The downside, of course, is price. The LEDs are roughly $.35 each. Given that I used roughly 250 of them, it gets expensive. That's not counting the turn signals, reverse lights (not installed yet), wiring, PWMs, and so on.

As for the reverse lights, they'll be Cree P4's (same design, different manufacturer) that are rated for 30mA and output 7 lumens at that amperage. However, due to the short duration of use I'll be running them at around 70mA, which puts out about 10-11 lumens according to the datasheet. As said in an above post, I'll start with 60 per side and may work up to 100. I want them to be brighter than stock as a benefit to myself, but nothing distracting, blinding, or dangerous to anyone behind me.

Great job on the mod for sure, it look less like an EG from behind!

Thanks.

It's not for some people, but I like it and it's unique. The good part about the DIY aspect and not putting in premade boards is that you can put in whatever design you want. I could have done a checkerboard type pattern, vertical lines, evenly spaced, wrote "RX-7", etc.

EG as in Integra?

[Boostmaniac]

Originally Posted by N.RotaryTech

Imagine that in S5 tail lights. :drool:

+1

[My5ABaby]

Originally Posted by N.RotaryTech

Imagine that in S5 tail lights. :drool:

Are you meaning LEDs in general or my 3 line design with the non-diffused plastic?

[Phoenix7]

how awesome, thanks for the info...definitely make the back up lights brighter (i can't see mine through the tinted hatch).

A friend of mine is gonna help me with my S5 lights soon (he likes to mess around with LEDs and I'm partly blind to prove it)....I'm thinking of doing rotors in the S5 circle lights.

[DJMOJO]

not a huge fan of s4 lights myself BUT i must give props on creativity and workmanship, the only thing i have to say is i really hope you end up cleaning up the rats nest of wires but other than that it looks clean! good job!

[N.RotaryTech]

Originally Posted by My5ABaby

Are you meaning LEDs in general or my 3 line design with the non-diffused plastic?

LED's in general I guess.
Phoenix has a great idea about the rotor shapes.

I would go with any pattern of lines or circles just as long as it still resembles S5 circle lights.

[My5ABaby]

Originally Posted by N.RotaryTech

LED's in general I guess.
Phoenix has a great idea about the rotor shapes.

I would go with any pattern of lines or circles just as long as it still resembles S5 circle lights.

Here's some S5 tails done with LEDs. Like I said, everyone basically does the same thing.

http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.ph...LED%2A+tail%2A

I personally have a good idea that will probably be my next project. Considering I don't particularly like the S5 lights, I'll probably sell them after modifying. For now it's a secret though.

Originally Posted by DJMOJO

not a huge fan of s4 lights myself BUT i must give props on creativity and workmanship, the only thing i have to say is i really hope you end up cleaning up the rats nest of wires but other than that it looks clean! good job!

I've already cleaned it up some by putting both PWMs into a Radio Shack enclosure. In general though there's only so much I can do. I could, and likely will wrap them once I make sure everything is working correctly. But until then, you can't tell they're there with the carpet up.

[Phoenix7]

DJMOJO, please resize your gigantic signature.

yeah, I saw it in an rx7 magazine back in 2004 and thought nothing of it....the LED look has been around for a while I just doubt too many people did it right, like My5Ababy.

[My5ABaby]

Originally Posted by Phoenix7

DJMOJO, please resize your gigantic signature.

yeah, I saw it in an rx7 magazine back in 2004 and thought nothing of it....the LED look has been around for a while I just doubt too many people did it right, like My5Ababy.

I've seen a few custom S5 ones. However, the round semi LED tail lights are becoming more common because they're essentially plug and play.

[My5ABaby]

Here's a daytime shot. It was taken with the sun almost directly behind me and shining onto the lights. In person they're a bit brighter, but I may end up making some changes since I'd like them to be brighter. Along with it are a couple comparison shots with my brother's Mazda 6. As you can see, the LEDs equal, if not surpass the output of the 6. However, both are very hard to see.

I also plan on making the boards reflective which should help noticably. I also need to disable/fix/whatever the "Stop" warning light.

P.S. Gotta love how my comparison shot involves my car being broken...

[My5ABaby]

I finished wiring up my reverse light boards. They entail about 110 white LEDs putting out ~10 lumens each. The throw of each LED is 90 degrees so it should be a nice wide spread. If they're as bright as I think they'll be after installation I may have to actually dim them some or they'll be blinding at night.

While working on them I had 4 incandescent bulbs on at various points around me. I turned those off and turned the 2 boards on and the 2 boards were brighter than the 4 bulbs combined. Granted, the light was more focused, but it doesn't matter if it's for reverse lights.

I'll have pictures as soon as possible.

[classicauto]

You da man Rob!

Looks awesome. Practice up real good and then I'll send you mine

Nice job!

[My5ABaby]

Originally Posted by classicauto

You da man Rob!

Looks awesome. Practice up real good and then I'll send you mine

Nice job!

Thanks.

I'm considering doing some more since I'm getting faster/better at it, but if I do it's not going to be cheap. The LEDs are .30 to .40 each. I'm ~450 of them, wiring, resistors, boards, voltage regulators, etc.

The problem with S4 lights (something I'm working on remedying) is the plastic is diffused and that eats a lot of light, which influenced my design. I wanted the three rows, but including that many LEDs was part looks part necessity.

On the other hand, S5 lights would likely be easier and much cheaper to do. Unfortunately I don't have a set to play with and they're expensive to buy even a crappy set.

I'm also working on another design (applicable to both S4 and S5) that would be dramatically easier to make (I think, still in the planning phase), much cheaper, and put out a lot of light.

However, at this point most everything is on hold except my project. I just graduated and am working on getting a full-time job (as opposed to my current 20 hr week graduate assistantship). As such, funds are a bit tight.

[vex]

Originally Posted by My5ABaby

At first I was thinking "How and why in the hell did he space that picture just right..." and then I saw the tire.

[My5ABaby]

Originally Posted by vex

At first I was thinking "How and why in the hell did he space that picture just right..." and then I saw the tire.

The tires should be back on this weekend and I'll be able to drive it for the first time in months. I think I've put on less than 200 miles this past year.