I have spent enough time on the clearance LED bulbs (168/192) that I think I should write a small review on them.

First up, PIAAs

1) PIAA Extreme LED (US Spec) 2 medium LEDs, narrow beam, medium brightness. Good visibility and color temperature. Not the brightest but very good.

2) PIAA Quattro LED (JDM Spec) 4 small LEDs, wide angle beam, medium-low brightness. Good visibility but short range. Color is slightly blue. Not worth the hype after seeing it in person. Definitely NOT as bright as the PIAA Extreme LED (US Spec) above. Not worth the money ~$24 USD)

3) PIAA Super Bright LED (JDM Spec) Similar as Quattro. except with 6 small LEDs this time. Wide angle, medium brightness. It has a strange purple hue for some reason (aging bulb?) Brighter than Quattro, but IMO only nearly as bright as the PIAA Extreme 2 LEDs bulb but cost much more. ~$35 USD.

4) PIAA Dimple LED (JDM Spec) 1 large LED? LED bulb has a strange multi-dimpled lense covering. It does a decent job scattering the light. Wide angle, good range and good color temperature. Actually looks brighter than the original PIAA Extreme 2 LEDs bulb. It's wide angled as well. Cost around ~$30 USD. Worth the money if you want scattered LED light.

5) PIAA Tera LED (JDM Spec) 1 Luxeon Star 1 Watt bulb. By far the brightest LED of them all. Comes with a custom heat sink and diffusing lense. This is noticeably brighter than any other LED bulb out there. Trouble is that it requires wiring an extra voltage regulator for whatever reason. Takes alittle more time to install but worth the effort. This LED is much brighter than even a regular non-LED bulb. ~$45



Secondly the economic generic LED bulbs

6) Generic 1 LED wide angle bulb. Cost around $2 each, inverted cone lense. Next to completely useless when it comes to true brightness. Not worth the money even at $0.50

6) Generic 4 LED narrow angle bulb. Cost around $2 each, exposed LED bulb. Color temperature has very slight blue/ultra violet hue when matched with the stock clearance optics. (but looks pure white without the lense) Brightness is only acceptable, but definitely not as bright as the PIAA 2 LED or standard non-LED bulb.

7) Generic 6 LED narrow angle bulb. Cost around $3 each. Similar as above, but 50% brighter as you can imagine. This is about the same brightness as the PIAA, but getting close. Pretty good for most people, and very economic.

8) Generic 9 LED narrow angle bulb. Cost around $4.50 each. Similar to above except now even brighter. The 9LEDs bulb is brighter than the PIAA Extreme and PIAA Dimple. It is also brighter than standance non-LED bulbs. This bulb is currently what I am running on my coupe. Worth the money and effort. For the money this is the best choice, and the only thing brighter is the $45 PIAA Tera.


General rule of thumb seems to be - higher power usage = higher brightness. More number of SAME SIZE bulbs = brighter. Those tiny wideangle flat LEDs on the PIAA 4/6 LEDs are pretty worthless. Tera rules the day but it come with extra work and high power consumption. (3 Watt with the regulator) Hope that helps.

 

Thanks for the write-up. You said you have the generic 9 LED ...where did you get them? Online or at a local store?

Also, what does the 9 LED look like (White / Blue / Purple).


Also, have you checked any of these LED's on the corner lens? Thanks again

Jason

 

Where do you get them?

 

You can order these LEDs from various online shops. I got my off an automobile supply store in Taiwan. You can order them from www.superbrightleds.com for around $3.50 a apiece.

Much cheaper than PIAA products and they are brighter. (I had the chance to compared all of them* side by side at the same time.) *with the exception of the PIAA Tera, which I used my 1 watt Luxeon flashlight as a reference.

Here are a couple of pictures showing the color and brightness of the 9LED light on my car.

 

what fits on our car?

 

All of the above will fit in the clearance stripe. The 9LED bulb is the largest, but it will go into the housing no problem.