Admittedly eBay is swamped with Cree 501 bulbs. Just be careful you don't get anything which is too wide or long. Problems will arise when it comes to fitting. The angle on these is probably not far off 180.
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Side light bulbs, what to buy and what not to buy!
- Thread starter The Seer
- Start date
Admittedly eBay is swamped with Cree 501 bulbs. Just be careful you don't get anything which is too wide or long. Problems will arise when it comes to fitting. The angle on these is probably not far off 180.
I always run with my sidelights on, even during the day. Modern cars are fitted with LED DRLs so what's wrong with my LED sidelights?
Avoid turning my headlights on until it's dark enough too, less strain on the alternator
Indeed it does help the alternator and increases the life of the dipped beam bulbs.
Please tell me you're joking?Avoid turning my headlights on until it's dark enough too, less strain on the alternator
Are the ones in the link the right size? I know it says sidelight bulbs but a few other listings I've found sometimes have longer/wider bulbs.
Better be worth the £11 haha
One of my standard yellow sidelight bulbs coincidentally gave up tonight.Are the ones in the link the right size? I know it says sidelight bulbs but a few other listings I've found sometimes have longer/wider bulbs.
Better be worth the £11 haha
You have to be careful that the diameter doesn't increase too much, no more than 2-3 mm with aftermarket 501 bulbs. The length and diameter is fine with the Cree bulbs that I'm using. You can adjust the angle slightly, if you like. But please don't stare into them for very long, they are very bright (but not to the point of dazzling other road users!!)
how are these Cree q5 bulbs holding up? They look more blue than white am i right? Im after some to match 5000K HID's.
im sure the purpose of sidelights are actually for parking rather than driving in dusk etc thats when you need headlights on.
how are the bulbs doing anyway?
i lost all faith in led bulbs a long time ago but these cree bulbs i keep hearing about seem to be a bulb that sound like they can handle bumps in the road without failing.
Sorry for the extemely late response! I would imangine they'll work well with 5000K HID's. However I'm not currently using HID's yet, but the colour of the cree side light bulbs is very close to a pure white.
Well, nearly four months on and they're still as good as the day they were fitted. I'm doing between 8 and 10K miles per year. The car is used on B roads, some of which are pretty bumpy and that's highlighted more so with the Cupra's uncompromising suspension set up!
I was very dissatified like yourself with regards to the reliability of LED bulbs. The previous set I used failed in two months with the LED's actually falling off. Not so with the cree's I'm pleased to report, but the design is very different. Maybe why the likes of mountain biker's rely on them and have done for few years now.
I once car shared with a Yorkshire man who only used the heater fan in very short bursts - idiot!! (sorry, old grumpy idiot)!
I don't quite understand why UK, and some parts of mainland Europe, insist with demanding that cars are supplied with switchable "side" lights. DRL I can understand, modern Europe with only front DRL I can't quite understand. Parking light function, yes, can be handy, but the number of people that drive with no lights or sidelights only because THEY can see where they are going - well that's a strange one. I'm sure if the police had enough time to stop them they would change their ways to avoid getting fines etc. Maybe a quick re-read of the highway code is needed, and if it is not in the current issue then it should be
Cree do seem to be way out in front as regards controlled light output and durability are concerned.
It seems that a lot of LED lighting in transport and other places - office/factory lighting, is still in the dark ages, a really good concept but horribly let down by poor implementation. Modern traffic signals (traffic lights) - rows of LEDs out, same for bus exterior lighting and sadly same for some lighting we have been trialling at work. It is not the LEDs that are fragile, it is the way they get connected together to make up the light arrays - cheap crap designed by idiots who really should know better!
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