The CX-5 LED Lighting Thread

Not everyone uses tower bulbs...

Who has copied CREE's design? Company names? I thought the Chinese bought reels of authentic CREE diodes.
 
You do know that there is a lot of fake LEDs out there... or 'similar' enough but not actually CREE... There's always a lot of knockoffs in China.

If I was to upgrade my car's interior or exterior with LEDs, I would only go with reliable companies such as V-LEDS, TRS, Philips, OSRAM/Sylvania, and others.
 
There's a thing called "binning". All LEDs are tested after manufacture and sorted into many different groups (bins) according to how well they perform. So there are CREE LEDs that are excellent, ones that are good (at many levels) and ones that are poor and ones that are rejected. All are CREE.
 
This thread has obviously wandered away from practicality and into the land of theoretics and supposition. I see sentences and no data.

All fine points. The original still stands, though. Gas filled bulbs' days are numbered, in nearly any application one can think of. And in contrasting value vs. boutique at this point, gap will only get smaller. And the proof thereof lies in the subjectivity of an ever-growing number of people who actually bother to test the latest products and report their results on forums such as these, instead of bantering back and forth about it.

Is anyone ever going to gather a line of seven CX-5s, each with a different LED setup and ask people to tell the difference? No. And could everyone tell the difference? No.

In the end, there really is no right or wrong. And certainly, a few sentences of "argument" without any kind of formal presentation to go along with them doesn't cut it. Some people just take a little too much pride in emptying their wallets. It's your money!
 
In the first video all I noticed was baggy pants and poor editing. ;) And there's no optical difference I can see. With little or no increase in brightness, and not being switchbacks, why spend 30 times the price of an incandescent for rear signals? In the second vid, the bike turn signal doesn't appear to use 360 degree projection either, which is the OP's fault.

Everyone has made fine points but money talks. Cheap alternatives are what people who drive economy cars look for, unless their priorities are severely mixed up.
 
The optics are built into the bulb itself. The fact you don't see any real difference as far as optics go from the output means it actually works. That's what a proper SINGLE diode can do. That single diode outshines every single multi-diode bulb except the Tritons. You want a comparison for switchbacks and the Tritons directly? Here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17rEJyLnS4M

Cheap and safety don't usually go together. It's the people who cheap out that put themselves and others in danger on the road. It's simple, you gotta pay to play. If you can't afford to do it right the first time, don't do it. Exactly the same as building a car. Cheap, Fast, Reliable....You can only pick two.
 
Well, after waiting long enough I finally gave in and ordered some V-LED Triton's. 5K switchbacks for the front and regular amber for the rear turn signals. There's so much debate over it. Yes, it is more expensive than other solutions but from personal experience, I don't like wire-tapping resistor's and I've had bad luck with resistors burning out. Hoping for good weather tomorrow to install them and report back.

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I could justify Tritons up front but definitely not in the rear.

What there's really no cure for is people not using signals when, where, and how they should. And often it's either all of those three or nothing. The problem is that people put their thoughts and own sense of self-importance above the task of driving, and often becomes the critical path to an accident.

And moreover, even as a "safe" driver, a huge mistake would be departing in a vehicle assuming ANYONE else on the road actually pays attention to your use of turn signals.
 
It has been a while since my last horrible experience with led replacements for my DRL's but I want to give it another try, just not anything from ijdm toy or whatever they call themselves these days. I have the tech package. Sounds like Superbrightleds.com would be a good source but when I put in my model with HID they say no replacements are available. Oh well.
 
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I could justify Tritons up front but definitely not in the rear.

For me it came to: do I want brighter turn signals or dimmer ones, and the 20% coupon code helped me make the plunge as well. So far, the Triton's have exceeded my expectations, as long as they continue to function without any issues, I might consider buying another set for my brake lights the next time they offer a coupon code.
 
V-LEDS is having a sale, 20% off. However, it isn't that great as they raised their prices though I doubt the prices will drop back to before...

Sale is for 15% off, not 20%? I dunno because perhaps I'm a new customer w/V-LED. Took advantage of the sale to get (4) 29mm 6K festoons for the interior lighting and some 6K 194-type for the license plate bulbs. Also got the 6K vanity lights (which I'll likely never use) and for the trunk light and finally, a pair of 5K H-11s for the fog lights.

I have a brand-spankin' new Grand Touring with the HID Tech Package. The halogen fogs look pretty dingy compared to the 4300K HIDs. I can't see any illumination difference when I turn on the halogen fogs and don't expect any improvement with the LEDs but at least the color temp should match a bit better.

I did get the Memorial Day sale price on the car...
 
Sale is for 15% off, not 20%? I dunno because perhaps I'm a new customer w/V-LED. Took advantage of the sale to get (4) 29mm 6K festoons for the interior lighting and some 6K 194-type for the license plate bulbs. Also got the 6K vanity lights (which I'll likely never use) and for the trunk light and finally, a pair of 5K H-11s for the fog lights.

I have a brand-spankin' new Grand Touring with the HID Tech Package. The halogen fogs look pretty dingy compared to the 4300K HIDs. I can't see any illumination difference when I turn on the halogen fogs and don't expect any improvement with the LEDs but at least the color temp should match a bit better.

I did get the Memorial Day sale price on the car...

The 20% was during Easter. Memorial Day sales is only 15%. I'm waiting for July 4th sale.. hoping it's 20% or 25%...

Should have got the V3 Tritons also ;) for the turn signal :p
 
The 20% was during Easter. Memorial Day sales is only 15%. I'm waiting for July 4th sale.. hoping it's 20% or 25%...

Should have got the V3 Tritons also ;) for the turn signal :p

I couldn't resist, I bought a RED set to round out every Triton-replaceable light possible, also got a set of side firing red LED's and radials for the rear (I hate how some white light creeps through the edge of the tail-light lenses). I'll update my Triton thread with pics when everything is installed.
 
Found something a bit funky... I contacted the manufacturer, and they should be released within a month. Price is around $300 for a pair. I certainly hope it looks more refined and less orange for final production units...


For_MAZDA_CX_5_LED_Tail_Lamp.jpg
 
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Looks similar to 2009ish Audi A4 tail-lights. Hopefully they'll be rolling out with more unique parts for the CX-5, just as long as they don't try to bring back the Altezza style...
 
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