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Third Brake Light (cheap easy bright)


cygnusx1

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My car is back from paint jail after being rear ended at a red light on July 5th. You may heve seen my "Audi Eat Your Heart Out" thread.

 

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=149652&highlight=audi+eat+heart

 

 

I used the same lights, but in red. I simply peeled the backing and stuck it to the inside of the rear hatch seal after cleaning with alcohol. They run on 12volts directly so I will wire them right to the brake lights. The lights light up MUCH faster than the original lights. They are definitely eye-catching....although the kid that hit me didn't even see the red traffic light.

 

641496988_BLJT5-XL.jpg

 

641497125_ftU5K-XL.jpg

 

641497491_yiid6-XL.jpg

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It's about what you see in the photo. Of course the tails are over exposed in the camera. It's not as bright at the mains but better than nothing. It is certainly visible against the tail lights. For comparison, the LED strip is about as bright as the regular driving tail lights. For the price and cleanliness of install, it was worth it. One thing that you don't see, is that these light up instantly compared to the other lights. The lag in the incandescents is very noticable when you step on the pedal.

 

You could just as easily do a double row of these, or get a longer strip.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is a great idea, especially for folks with shaved rear ends! Nobody wants that ’68 Chevy pickup behind you plowing into your rear end because he didn’t see your brake lights.

I put a similar system on my car as Cygnus’, but used these LED lights from Harbor Freight vs the PC lights he used. Got the lights at my local store on sale for $7.99 each:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=98408

They definitely make the car more visible when braking, and add a little bling at the same time. Enjoy, and happy motoring.

Drax-

If you use the PC lights, I wouldn’t recommend bending them double…..but it would be easy to mount two strips side-by-side to create a double row (same goes for the Harbor Freight lights I used).

John

LEDs installed_thumb.jpg

brake light on_thumb.jpg

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Yeah I've been looking at double rows or longer strips as an option, which is why I ask. Could you do a longer strip and bend it back tightly on itself to create a double row, or is the LED strip not flexible enough to do that?

 

 

You will be better off using two rows wired together. The minimum bend radius on these strips is about 1/4" but it's like a "ribbon" so half of the lights would be on the wrong side.

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