Is it just me.....or does it seem that the tailights of today's cars are getting brighter as the years go by?

I mean it's getting so bad that I'm almost getting blinded by the super bright tailights and CHMSL's on the ever increasingly higher back-ends on many new cars today.

In addition, many states including mine have been converting their traffic signals to the new, state of the art, eyestrain producing LED type systems. Ugggh!

There's an excellent and comprehensive article on upgrading your headlights and related wiring on this site. However, I would like to get my tailights a little brighter also.

Is there anyway to upgrade the tailight bulbs to make them brighter? I believe you can upgrade to a point before you need thicker wiring. Right? I remember reading an article somewhere that most of the factory wiring can handle a conservative increase in bulb wattage over stock before you have to call the fire department. :^P

What bulbs are brighter than the stock ones for an '89 Firebird? Turn signal? Brake? Back-up? Etc.

Are there any web-sites that list bulb "types" and rated "wattage" for the various kinds out there? Many sites, mainly the corporate ones I've been to so far, don't list rated wattage for some reason or another.

Thanks.

-Mike

 

how about cleaning your tailights and putting new bulbs in?

it's amazing how bright lights become when they are restored to factory. they ones you see aren't any brighter, just clean.....now headlights that's a different story.

i can see it now; Mikos_89 brightens his tail lights to the point the person behind him is blinded and rear ends him.....

if the police find out you've done something to make your lights considerably brighter you'll be in a lot of trouble.

 

I used Blue coral plastic cleaner/polish and it worked WONDERS!!! I also installed White(blue) Xenon bulbs and had to tak'em out cuz they were too bright! IMO

I have noticed that our cars and similar time period cars have smooth reflective glass/mirror on the inside to reflect and it shines through a distorted red plastic tailight. Newer cars have a smooth red tailight and the distortion comes from the mirror on the inside of the housing. (new stangs for example). I think someone who came up with a color corect version of that for our cars would make some money!!!!

 

reinforce all ground wires. and read this:
The factory specifies the following bulbs for the following

Tail lamp 2057
Backup 2057
Front Cornering 2057
Front Park/Turn 2057NA

The super-bright krypton halogen 3496 bulb can be used to replace any of
the following bulbs:

Bulb hi/lo brightness (candlepower)
------------------------------------
2057 32/2
1034 32/3
1157 32/3
198 32/3
2397 40/2
2357 40/3

By comparison the 3496 is rated 43/3 cp, which is 34% brighter on the high
filament and 50% brighter on the low as compared to the stock 2057. Their
krypton halogen design allows them to produce this additional brightness
while drawing only about 2 more watts of power as well!
This means you could put them in the tail, backup, front cornering, and
I haven't found a 3496NA (Natural Amber), so for now I'd recommend a 2357NA
for the turn signals since that is the brightest amber bulb I have found. I
am investigating the use of APM Hexseal SiliKrome bulb covers (silicone bulb
condoms) to achieve an amber color for the 3496 in a turn signal
application.

 

Wow someone has been doing their homework! Thanks for the info.

 

lol, thanx but i can't take all the credit. this is info i collected of a lil time but it is the best i got. oh when you reinforce the ground also do the one that comes from the battery to the body is plenty small. i used 8ga power cable for mine really made a difference(spelling)

 

redcamaro83,

Thanks for the info! This is exactly what I needed. Maybe you should submit a small "tech" article on this? :^)

However, I do have two questions though.

First. Where do I purchase the halogen 3496 krypton bulb? Any major auto parts place?

Second. When you say "reinforce" the grounds, you mean to clean, tighten and secure the ground attachment points on the vehicle. Right?

Thanks.
-Mike

 

you hit the nail on the head. both times. also if possible any ground wires that are attached to the frame should be made thicker. and the thin one that is attachedto the body at the front should definitely be thicker. along with that the one that come from the alternator to charge the battery should be thicker. hey can't hurt to have a wire that carries more current