Laydown tail light melted!
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,327
Likes: 0
From: S.E.PA
RE: Laydown tail light melted!
ORIGINAL: Speedkingnick
One thing about LED's:
It is the angle of the LED's you have to worry about. The side angle. Most LED's are either 30, 60 or 120 degree cones. You typically will not get enough off axis light - others may not notice your brake light coming on if they are at a 45 degree or higher angle.
Sure LED's are bright as hell if you look at them directly, but it is the side angles......this is where the optical engineering comes into play.
Look for SAE endorsements on LED's you buy for turn signals/brake lights. If no endorsement - leave them alone. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen.
I'd be happy to test any light you have.
I work in an Optical laboratory for automotive vehicles.
One thing about LED's:
It is the angle of the LED's you have to worry about. The side angle. Most LED's are either 30, 60 or 120 degree cones. You typically will not get enough off axis light - others may not notice your brake light coming on if they are at a 45 degree or higher angle.
Sure LED's are bright as hell if you look at them directly, but it is the side angles......this is where the optical engineering comes into play.
Look for SAE endorsements on LED's you buy for turn signals/brake lights. If no endorsement - leave them alone. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen.
I'd be happy to test any light you have.
I work in an Optical laboratory for automotive vehicles.
I know about the angle of the dangle, I know about the light fall off, I been down the road with LED’s ever since I brought a single LED bulb in a 2 AA cell flashlight in 1999, when I first saw a tractor trailer with them in 2000, I started to look for M/C lights (run/turn/brake), it took almost 2 years, these units have the brightness and are epoxy for vibration, my turns and brake haven’t given me one problem since install in ’02, (the first unit was a light bar over the lic. plate in ’01) these are the best in the business end of story, IMO.I don’t think they are SAE endorse, does that make them bad ? or is it, the owners put the money into the product instead of the pockets of SAE inc.
Yeah, you need SAE when someone makes a car, truck m/c to sell, but after market is a whole other story.
Thanks for the offer to check them out, but they work fine and I won’t take them off my ride for anything, not even for a SAE rating.
Ride Safe and Bright,
cj
got to go eat, later
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,108
Likes: 9
From: Lincolnton, NC
RE: Laydown tail light melted!
Of all the suppliers selling laydown lenses, J&P is the only one to let you know you need to use a "3157 wedge-type bulb". In their catalog, it looks like some type of LED bulb and it's shorter than a standard 3157 bulb. Don't ask me how I know this.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 28,514
Likes: 3,951
From: Vermont
RE: Laydown tail light melted!
I had bought a laydown smoked lens from http://www.waltersworkshop.comand it came with an LED bulb. The bulb was cheap and could not be seen in the daytime. I bought a 3157 and put it in. I melted the lens. After contacting Walters, they advised that they had a special laydown lens that was to be used with the stock 3157 bulbs that I should've ordered. They were so kind as to send me the new lens and a new bulb for free. I have yet to melt this lens. This company is great to deal with and their products are great.
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,327
Likes: 0
From: S.E.PA
RE: Laydown tail light melted!
ORIGINAL: dawg
I had bought a laydown smoked lens from http://www.waltersworkshop.comand it came with an LED bulb. The bulb was cheap and could not be seen in the daytime. I bought a 3157 and put it in. I melted the lens. After contacting Walters, they advised that they had a special laydown lens that was to be used with the stock 3157 bulbs that I should've ordered. They were so kind as to send me the new lens and a new bulb for free. I have yet to melt this lens. This company is great to deal with and their products are great.
I had bought a laydown smoked lens from http://www.waltersworkshop.comand it came with an LED bulb. The bulb was cheap and could not be seen in the daytime. I bought a 3157 and put it in. I melted the lens. After contacting Walters, they advised that they had a special laydown lens that was to be used with the stock 3157 bulbs that I should've ordered. They were so kind as to send me the new lens and a new bulb for free. I have yet to melt this lens. This company is great to deal with and their products are great.
You did the right thing by tossing the cheap LED bulb, I would rather run an incandescent than a cheap LED any day.
On smoked lens I never thought much about them until I was in back of a buddy riding up rt 9N in the lake george area about two years ago, when we stopped at a light I look at my buddy next to me and up front at the road king with an LED, kuryakyn set up, I said to him, pretty dim huh? He said he almost couldn’t tell when he hit the brake (it was sunny), when we all stop for eats, I let him know, dude it’s ok if we or other bikers are on your tail, but I am telling you those LED’s are pretty weak, so he pulled up along side me, had his wife tap the front brake while I hit my brake, he couldn’t believe it, then he said, damn cj you got clear lens, no shil yours are brighter ! take off your lens, he couldn’t believe the difference, yes the smoke lens doesn’t let out near the light as clear, but red doesn’t block anywhere near as much as smoked, as my other buddy took off his red lens and held it over my red led’s, seeing is believing.
Yeah, it almost was like a m/c vendor doing a demo on LED’s (in this parking lot
we drew a small crowd of bikers around us, man you know what happens when few bikers want to prove their point : - )))Glad to see you made out with your laydown set-up, and looks like a good company to do business with.
Ride Safe,
cj
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