Lately, while recovering headliners, I’ve noticed that an increasing number of my customers are switching the bulbs in their dome lights from standard incandescent to LED. Curious about the difference, I figured I’d give it a try too.
After doing a bit of research, I ordered a pack of 10 LED bulbs off of Amazon.com for around $10. Because my dome light has plenty of room to accommodate a larger bulb, I opted for the 16 SMD, which features 16 individual lights.
Just like any other bulb, the LED installed in a matter of seconds. However, its advantages were immediately noticeable. The LED shines white, not yellow, and is much brighter than traditional bulbs — which makes it easier to see the fine details of a custom interior, especially in photographs.
I don’t yet see any drawbacks — but it’s only been a week. I’m particularly interested to see how long the new bulb lasts. One of the biggest selling points of LEDs is that they supposedly last longer than incandescent bulbs. The ones I bought boast a lifespan of 50,000-lit hours. Time will tell…
In the meantime, I’m curious if anyone else in The Hog Ring community has made the switch. And, if so, what are some of the pros and cons you’ve noticed?
We started installing LED’s years ago. Some are hit and miss. The cheap ones like you find in the autoparts stores are not very reliable. If you buy from a reputable manufacture, like Oznium (not a solicitation, just experience) you’ll find you get a much longer lasting light. We’ve found, that if you put that 16 unit in, about a year later you will lose half of them. Still much less draw, and still a whiter light, but…the customer will definately complain. But I would still convert…I just hide my lights more now.
I’ve been using LEDs in my vehicles for over 10 years now. I’m surprised how long it is Taki g most of the industry to make the switch. The only draw back I see is like the previous person said, if you buy cheap ones they won’t work long or won’t be bright enough. I love the fact that they run so much cooler temperature wise. I also love that colors are so much more bright and vivid as it is actually emitting the color you choose and not just colored glass over a standard colored light.
Not to mention how much better they are to use for accent or show lighting. They are very much easier to hide and much more durable to use outside of vehicles, especially in strip form. There are just so many more possibilities that are much easier to obtain than with standard bulbs.