Interior LED swap

Has anyone done a complete interior bulb swap from halogen to LED? I just did a full swap of all interior bulbs (vanity mirrors, map lights, dome light, and my own trunk LED strip) and the difference is huge. So much brighter than stock making them actually useful at night.

...and then I came across reports online about LED bulbs causing BIU issues and that turning into a costly replacement. Something about the LEDs draw less current than the BIU is expecting and then it tries to compensate and fries itself. There was a thread on ClubWRX about someone who did a LED bulb swap and that was the story the SoA rep and the dealer gave him.

http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/everyday-impreza-talk/134511258-biu-bad-15-wrx.html

 

Map & dome lights are ruby red led. No issue except can't see when there on.

 

I swapped out for LEDs on everything in my bugeye. Dome lights, cluster, climate control, trunk. No issues and they work very nicely, aside from the color being a bit washed out now in the cluster (blue LEDs).

 

I have a 2017 Limited. Seems the issue in that thread is with a 2015 Premium. I'm hoping whatever the issue was got remedied with the 2017 models and that mine has LED headlamps and tail lights might mean LED bulbs should be fine.

 

I've had LED bulbs in my 2009 WRX for years. No issues. They are even cheap bulbs, I've only replaced one I think.

 

I've had the full interior swap from Diode Dynamics in my '14 FXT and have had zero issue (~2 years installed).

 

I'm running LED in pretty much everything in my 2016 WRX Limited. One thing I will caution on though, is that a lot of the cheap LEDs are very, very poorly designed, and can't actually dissapate enough heat from their drivers, especially in limited spaces. They get hot, burn out and could even be a fire hazard. I used to have some pictures of some that toasted themselves.

Go with the Diode Dynamics sets, made in the USA by people who are also automotive enthusiasts (and rally friends of mine).

 

Do you mind me asking which LEDs you got? Been wanting to do this for a little while now but am hesitant to pull the trigger... Haven't done enough research.

 

Is OLM decent? Those are the brand LEDs I installed.

 

Man, I really don't remember. I did it 4 or 5 years ago and I got the LEDs as a kit from a company that I want to say was based in Australia. I would probably go with either Superbright LEDs or Diode Dynamics. Honestly though, if you're looking to change colors the best way to go about it is how @tangledupinblu 's is done. If I'm not mistaken he has white LEDs and blue/red gel on the gauge faces. I like the blue in mine but I'd like it more if it didn't make *everything* blue.

 

OLM is Subispeed's "house brand" for products they buy wholesale and and resell (as opposed to stuff they design and have made for them). So, who knows? Any given product might be made by an entirely different supplier. Some seem to be well received and some get trashed as failure prone.

If you dig carefully, you can probably find the exact same products sold under different names on eBay, AliExpress and even Amazon for less.

A similar example is OPT7 LED headlights. They're actually a pretty good product, and a set generally retails for about $100. But I've held their product side by side with the MICTUNING brand, and they are absolutely identical with the single exception of the color of the anodizing. And the MICTUNING are like $40-45.

For various internal and external small bulbs, you can always go with Philips. They're expensive, and generally not as bright as a lot of the other options, but they're well engineered and built to the same specs as and OEM light, so they'll last and not do anything awful.

On the super cheap-end, the "JDM ASTAR" bulbs sold through Amazon are generally decent. The "Cutequeen" brand always pop up in searches, but they're absolute ****.

 

Map and dome LEDs I put in my Legacy were a disappointment. Light output did not match the incandescents they replaced. Only upside was the color temp. LED replacements for the plate lights would not stay in the sockets. When I would slam the trunk lid they would fall out. Pain in the a$$ to fish them out of the light body. Went back to the OEM bulbs. Back-up lights...poor output, but left them in. LED trunk light and third brake light were purchased from forum members on LegacyGT.com that made them. Both of those were stellar. Based on this past experience, I doubt I would go through the hassle to do this again on another car.

 

Thanks, Vector. I ordered them from SubiSpeed, so that makes sense. On closer inspection, the dome like is the OLM Sixx by Morimoto according to their website. Supposedly brighter than the regular OLM LEDs. I'm hoping that being Morimoto made, they are higher quality.

I actually like the stock incandescent color temp, just not how dim they are. I generally dislike the harsh blueish-white light given off by the "daylight" bulbs for indoor use at home and prefer the soft white which I think is around 3000k temp. For headlights, the pure white of Hid or LED is nice for what seems like improved clarity, at least in my eyes.

I also replaced my reverse lights with LED. These are noticeably brighter than the stock bulbs and it really helps with seeing in the back-up camera at night. Definitely a worthy safety upgrade.