LED bulbs for brake tail housing

[nene]

I have been looking for quite sometime for a set of LED bulbs that will fit the rear housing, and that will work in the driving lights and brake situation.
In the RS6, that is the bulb that is closer to bumper of course.

I have bought a few regular LED bulbs from local shops as well as the internet. Most of them in the $5USD to $15USD range. None of them worked for me. The main reason is that LED bulbs only seem to emit light facing forward, and the design of our housings is such that lights also need to emit from the walls, where it's mirrored.

So I turned to the folks at LEDTronics.com, and they had exactly what I needed.
The bulbs were $24.50USD each, but totally worth it.
The bulb part number is AUT1157-0ER-014V. The LED glass is clear, but the light that it emits is red. So, even if you have rear housings such as the smoked ones, you can still use these bulbs.
They emit light with the same intensity as the regular bulbs you currently have in the vehicle. I like the LED bulbs, simply because they are more 'instant on' type of behavior, especially when braking. The bulbs are expensive, no doubt about it. They fit perfectly, as there is no need for any other modifications.

You can get the bulbs from <a href="http://www.ledtronics.com/ds/aut1157/">LEDTronics.com</a>

Pictures of the bulb are:
<img src="http://www.ledtronics.com/ds/aut1157/Images/red.jpeg">
<img src="http://www.ledtronics.com/ds/aut1157/Images/137-dr.gif">

[nene]

Well, it seems that my search is over for now, but still not happy.

Strike 1
Having the LED bulbs in place somehow makes the car think that the bulb is out or missing. You know, that silly 'brake light' flashing icon in the instrument cluster goes off, and just keeps flashing. Very annoying. The bulb is there, but somehow, the sensor believes that it is not.

Strike 2
During the daylight, especially when it's sunny, the light visibility is not that great. It's not that I care that much, since I don't usually run my car with lights on during the day, but it does affect the light intensity when I brake the car during the day. I don't want someone smashing into my rear or anything.

Strike 3
I had done the turn signals with similar LEDs, and at night or at dusk/dawn it's all good. But when it's sunny outside, you can hardly see the light. It's visible, but not as visible. Not good when attempting to change lanes or make turns. I don't want anyone just smashing into me because they could not see my turn signal.

As it turns out, I'm going with the stock look, sans amber bulbs. I will get just regular yellow (halogen looking) bulbs as I've done on the 540i, and stick with it. My quest is over!!!

[calemany]

Interesting thing with the LED bulbs. I've used them at home for pathlighting and the problem of intensity is a constant one. I really wonder how much does the few milliseconds saved really matter on the road with human reaction times much longer. Anyway if it were me (and it was) I would just install the smoked tailights. They look absolutely awesome. Catch you later. C.

[audirs6sport]

i think the way led bulbs appear on the taillights of the rs6 seem to look a bit funny; as it wasn't designed to be flashed with led bulbs like how m3 new e-classes have the led lighting pattern. but that's just my opinion.

[audirs6sport]

u got a pic of how it looks nene? :addict: :addict: :addict: :addict: :addict: :addict:

[nene]

I have not taken the bulbs out yet. But before I do, I will take some pix and post.

[kreggin]

Well once again a thoughtful post on this forum saved me the trouble of finguring out for myself what you have discovered. My smoked rears are on order and I will just go with halogen replacement bulbs that have worked so well before. Perhaps some day the super bright LEDs will make it to the auto bulb aftermarket. Thanks nene.

[rs6_newyork]

hey kreggin are you getting them from speedtechnik ? I tried .. these tuners, I dunno, they aren't so good with email..! :)

[audirs6sport]

any luck with the pix?