New DRL's Installed - V-LED.com 5000k P13W

[Ph4r]

We go to local car shows, and attend meetings for our local 5th Gen Camaro Club [Detroit], so we see what other people have and that helps us generate a list of what we do and don't like... We don't like the Stock DRL Color, at all! My wife said they have to go and we need something that matches at least somewhat, the Stock looks old and ugly to us. We saw some people have the second Gen AAC Plasma bulbs (with the LED Driver, without the 4W Front LED) and they are very very Blue. We wanted to add third Gen AAC Plasma bulbs (with the LED Driver and the 4W Front LED), but after what we saw from the last gen, we decided that we weren't going to buy those until we saw them in person. Then I stumbled upon V-Leds, who previously had the SMD-Style P13W LED Bulbs which I don't find aesthetically pleasing. They now carry a set of Plasma options, the set part there is very important. AAC claims that their Plasma's are 6000k-8000k equivalent and there are not batch promises, with the best of their Plasma's still easily visible as Blue. V-Leds offer two batches, one at 5000k, and another at 6000k. The Stock RS HID's are 4300k, and 5000k is much closer to it than 6000k (at best). So I took a plunge, and boy did it pay off!! To start, they are half the price of AAC's option, and to make things better they look GREAT!

Stock

Stock on Left, LED on Right

Both LED

After Self-Made Harness (1N4001 Diode) Install & Remounted Stock Bulb on Left for Reality Check Again, LOL, yes the new bulbs look that much better!!

All ON, and looking Great!

I can't lie, these do have a slight tinge of Blue to them when viewed at night, but it is very unnoticeable. The camera really exaggerates the effect, but they still look marvelous!
OMG We LOVE how close of a Color Match these are, we are glad we waited and stumbled upon such a great find!

We found these great lamps here, they were affordable, great to deal with, and they shipped FAST!

[ctk1]

Thanks for the link. I've been looking to do the same but couldn't convince myself to pay $100 for AACs bulbs. I might be able to talk myself into these. Did you get the harness from the same supplier that lets you run the DRLs with the headlights?

[NewDivide]

Looks good. I am more concerned w/ all the AAC problems/complaints I've read than the color. I also thought AAC was the only game in town on these. Good to see an option.

[Ph4r]

Originally Posted by ctk1

Thanks for the link. I've been looking to do the same but couldn't convince myself to pay $100 for AACs bulbs. I might be able to talk myself into these. Did you get the harness from the same supplier that lets you run the DRLs with the headlights?

It's not so much of a harness as just a piece of wire I soldered to a diode and then attached to two wires. I used the idea of the AAC "Harness" $10 wire they offer, but I added a $1.50 diode into the wiring so that the Front Side Markers aren't turned on during the day (without the rears). This makes the DRL's Always ON, and if I want the Halo's on, I turn the knob one spot to Parking and then I have Halo's, DRL's, All Side Markers, and Afterburner effect on my Technostalgia LED Tails all on. One more click to headlamps and it turns on the HID's with everything else on also. This also enables me to have the DRL's on still with the High Beams too!

DRL (Blue) -> Diode -> Front Side Marker + Wire
Put the Bar or Line side of the Diode to the DRL Wire.

1N4001 Diode's were used - here is a Radio Shack Link for a pair (just what you need)!

[Ph4r]

By the way, this is in no means meant to bash AAC, I think they likely have good quality customer service and decent parts to compliment them. When they arrive, I will be installing AAC SideMarkers and I won a set of AAC Reverse Lamp LED's that will get installed at the same time!

[JCO2185]

NICE FIND

[Sharkycsi]

I did exactly the same thing you did. I originally purchased AAC's Plasma LEDS and found them to have a purplish hue to them that did not match the headlights. Purchased VLED'S 5000K bulbs and have been very happy with them.

[nebchevy]

Buying now and yes aac sucks!!

[erk5000]

They even make them for 5202 fog lights for us Non-RS camaro's! Nice!
http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED-B...viewsTabAnchor

[Klepton]

I bought these exact same P13W LEDs from V-leds for the exact same reason...because of the closer match to the stock Halos/HIDs than the bluer AAC P13W LEDs. However, I found out two things:

1) They are actually a closer match to the stock HIDs, since they also have a slight blue hue, than to the stock Halos which look more like super white with no noticeable blue hue.

2) They don't fit snugly to the stock DRL housing. They were loose enough to probably come out of the housing after enough road vibration while driving. I ended up making my own contraption with zip ties to make sure it stayed on the housing snugly with little to no vibration.

[Ph4r]

Originally Posted by Klepton

I bought these exact same P13W LEDs from V-leds for the exact same reason...because of the closer match to the stock Halos/HIDs than the bluer AAC P13W LEDs. However, I found out two things:

1) They are actually a closer match to the stock HIDs, since they also have a slight blue hue, than to the stock Halos which look more like super white with no noticeable blue hue.

2) They don't fit snugly to the stock DRL housing. They were loose enough to probably come out of the housing after enough road vibration while driving. I ended up making my own contraption with zip ties to make sure it stayed on the housing snugly with little to no vibration.

I'm no lighting expert, but here is what I think about #1, perhaps it is a diffusion thing as the Halo Ring diffuses that LED, and the Projector Diffuses the HID's. Off-Axis Color does seem to be a noticeable blue, like if you look at the ground directly below the lamps, I can sometimes see some Blue Light coming out. I might try some clear shower privacy vinyl and see if it makes a difference?

As for #2, if yours is loose to the housing, I'd suggest doubling up the O-Rings. As in remove the O-Ring from the stock bulb and roll it all the way down to the base of the new bulb. I will say that with these bulbs the plugs did not snap in all the way, but they were very snug fitting on the socket.

[orangeonwhite]

AAC just depends on first time buyers who are not smart enough to read about all the problems, complaints with there inferior products and crappy service. Then they depend on those who get their defective products to just sweep it under the rug and not say anything for fear of looking stupid. And finally they depend on the forum moderators to delete any harsh critisium from the people inclined to speak up, since they are a gold sponsor.

this is a great forum, just be very careful before buying stuff from certain vendors like AAC who have an extensive documented history on the forum of problems.....compare this to the top vendors, like emblem pro, gary's, river city, RPI, DSV who have so much positive history.

[Carriccp]

I've purchased several things from AAC and never had a problem (knock on wood) and Jonathan has always answered my questions quickly. However, I have purchased from RPI (that you list in the "good" category) and waited 2 weeks without an order even shipping before I cancelled it. Just my experience.

[Ph4r]

Again, let's not make this a bash AAC thread. My opinion is that they offer a product in this same space, but it does not fit my need. This product fit my need better and I wanted to make the community aware of it.