Has anyone tried the Luxeon LEDs either in 1157 or 1156? They are 3 watt bulbs that feature a super wide 130 degree viewing angle and supposedly the brightest LEDs available. I was thinking of switching out the 1156 OEM bulbs for these. I have a 2002 Cooper that has the brake light mod/rear fogs. Here is a link (you'll have to scroll down to find them): http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...gi?product=CAR

 

For the turn signals, you will need to add the "load resistor" so the bulb draws the equivilent power of an incadescent lamp, or else the MINI will blink really fast to tell you the bulbs are not working.

I used regular 18 LED lamps for my brake light mod, to keep the power draw down. There was no issue with that, but the lamps just did not do the trick from a brigthness and viewing angle standpoint in the day time. They were acceptable from directly behind at night. Let us know how the Luxeon's do.

John

 

I wasn't planning on replacing the turn signal bulbs, only the fog lights. I thought these bulbs might be perfect for the brake light mod in the 2002-2004 models. The draw would be 3 watts versus the 21 watts of the incandescent bulb. They are brighter than the 30 LED bulb and in some applications may be brighter than stock, depending on the size and shape of the bulb housing and reflector. So what do you think, should I go for it?

 

I tried the white version of the 1156 Luxeon LED for the reverse light in my 05/06 rear fog mega mod. It is bright but still throws out a somewhat focused light with a center "hot spot" (although wider angle beam than most LEDs). The Luxeon did perform well, just not as well as orignal incandescent, and I ultimately decided to stay with the original bulb.

The problem with using LEDs on our MINIs is that the light housing reflectors and lenses were optimized for the 360 degree light pattern of the OEM incandescent bulbs. For your '02 brake light mod, personally I would first try the tower style LED bulbs such as here and on eBay that use high flux side-firing LEDs for the housing reflector (unless this was the type that Jdewey reported on).

 

So the more side firing, the better? The ebay ones are the cheapest. Have people been pleased with these?

I do wonder if the "hot spot" of the luxeons might be best for the "instant on" especially in the daytime to warn drivers immediately behind during braking.

 

It's a tough call to predict which LED bulb would work better. It depends on how each bulb interacts with the housing reflector and lens. For the reflectors in the taillights, the most similar performance to an incandescent would be the tower style like in your first attachment. Look for the highest number of side firing LEDs, using the squarish high flux type of elements. However, I can also understand the benefit of simply trying to throw out a bright light straight back.

 

Make sure you get one that will fit in the opening in the tail light. Some of the bigger LED style won't.

J D