aux LED reverse lights or HIDs?

so i've been thinking of different ways to upgrade my reverse lights to help see better thru my rearview at night. i've tried both LEDs and LED projectors (which i'm using now) and they are both not good enough because of the stupid gen 1 housing. theres the option to get the v-leds license plate which seems to be a very good option but I will loose my TM3 plate and my backup cam which is mounted onto it. so my other idea is to buy LED strips and use those as reverse lights by taping into the reverse light wiring. Is this possible?

i'm looking to get these 18W high power projector strips from eBay (which have the same specs as the v-leds): http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2-Pieces-High...ht_5137wt_1111

i would use one strip and would mount it onto the bumper in the area between the trunk and license plate. what do u guys think?

i know the HID reverse lights are bright as hell but how are they on the gen 1 housing? anyone have them/got pics?

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to help see better thru my rearview at night

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Do you have dark tints on the back window? Good luck lol, you'll need to make it as bright as day behind you to see a damn thing

Looking at your sig you've got 17% tints the in rear. Must be damn hard to see at night. Whats the view like from your back up cam? Just adding the strips alone might not help as much

if you got the money, just go hid's. best in the market. if your cheaping out like me. then leds will do

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Originally Posted by eSS

Looking at your sig you've got 17% tints the in rear. Must be damn hard to see at night. Whats the view like from your back up cam? Just adding the strips alone might not help as much

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the cam is not very good at night as my reverse lights arent very bright. i'm thinking that if I get something like this it will help out alot (thats my hope anyway)

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Originally Posted by eSS

Looking at your sig you've got 17% tints the in rear. Must be damn hard to see at night. Whats the view like from your back up cam? Just adding the strips alone might not help as much

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yeah its a pia. i didnt think about it at the time about it and should have prob just gone 23% all-around like my fronts.

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Originally Posted by trulankan

the cam is not very good at night as my reverse lights arent very bright. i'm thinking that if I get something like this it will help out alot (thats my hope anyway)

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G16 had them for $60 so its not too much more than what these would cost me but im wondering if even that would be effective with the housing on the gen1 :/

At that rate HIDs may be the way to go

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Originally Posted by trulankan

G16 had them for $60 so its not too much more than what these would cost me but im wondering if even that would be effective with the housing on the gen1 :/

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It is too expensive. In general it should be close to $20

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Originally Posted by trulankan

G16 had them for $60 so its not too much more than what these would cost me but im wondering if even that would be effective with the housing on the gen1 :/

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That's pretty much the going rate for the reverse HIDs. Take a look at eBay etc. -- there are a number of kits out there. Some do a better job with the bulbs than others. Also, Garage 16 is using 35W ballasts.

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Originally Posted by Noisy Crow

That's pretty much the going rate for the reverse HIDs. Take a look at eBay etc. -- there are a number of kits out there. Some do a better job with the bulbs than others. Also, Garage 16 is using 35W ballasts.

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its actually more expensive on ebay lol: http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=7...0&LH_PrefLoc=3

so has anyone tried the HID reverse lights on a gen 1??

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Originally Posted by trulankan

so has anyone tried the HID reverse lights on a gen 1??

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Search is your friend............

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Originally Posted by Noisy Crow

Search is your friend............

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lol ok, I see your post on the 2nd page of the search results (i guess its a good idea to be persistent). nice write-up, i'm definately gonna get the HIDs now.

picked up the HID reverse lights from Rick today...now just to figure out how to install them lol

can u post up pictures of the bulb? i have 2 balasts here i can make a kit out of.

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Originally Posted by silverstarmazda

can u post up pictures of the bulb? i have 2 balasts here i can make a kit out of.

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Read through this thread:
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/sh...ght=backup+hid

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Originally Posted by Noisy Crow

Read through this thread:
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/sh...ght=backup+hid

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thanks!

i'm going to be returning the HID kit I bought from G16 as I dont wanna go through the trouble of installing a relay. The 35W bulbs/ballasts wont get enough power from the stock wiring to run properly and may cause the housing to melt. Instead, i'm thinking of getting a 15W HID kit like this one:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Universal-15W...ht_6520wt_1397

what do u guys think?

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Originally Posted by trulankan

i'm going to be returning the HID kit I bought from G16 as I dont wanna go through the trouble of installing a relay. The 35W bulbs/ballasts wont get enough power from the stock wiring to run properly and may cause the housing to melt. Instead, i'm thinking of getting a 15W HID kit like this one:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Universal-15W...ht_6520wt_1397

what do u guys think?

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You still could be running into problems such as flickering. Run the relay anyway its more safe. My hid are still in the trunk, I can run it but too lazy in winter so it's going back on and wired up in spring

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Originally Posted by Frankjenkins

It is too expensive. In general it should be close to $20

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If you think 60$ is "too expensive" then you should not be modding a car. I am sorry but when I got my HID kit in 05 I payed 300$ for it and that was considered "cheap"

To OP just do HID. Not to sure why you are worried about flickering though. The reverse lights should provide enough power to the ballasts. I have installed 2 sets and no problems as of yet

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Originally Posted by McGuyver_3

To OP just do HID. Not to sure why you are worried about flickering though. The reverse lights should provide enough power to the ballasts. I have installed 2 sets and no problems as of yet

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Tried it, doesn't work. Not enough juice to drive 2 35W ballasts. Bulbs don't light, or worse: madly buzzing ballast and flickering bulb. 2x15W will work no problem.

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Originally Posted by Noisy Crow

Tried it, doesn't work. Not enough juice to drive 2 35W ballasts. Bulbs don't light, or worse: madly buzzing ballast and flickering bulb. 2x15W will work no problem.

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D: havnt some people run the 35W balasts with no problem?

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Originally Posted by Noisy Crow

Tried it, doesn't work. Not enough juice to drive 2 35W ballasts. Bulbs don't light, or worse: madly buzzing ballast and flickering bulb. 2x15W will work no problem.

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According to the wiring diagram the PJB puts out 2 seperate wires for the reverse lights. They are connected by 1 10amp fuse though. 2 35W ballasts at full power would blow that fuse in seconds. Its all worked through the PJB. Maybe the ones I did were 15W ones. Running a relay in the trunk wouldn't be difficult but just tedious haha

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Originally Posted by McGuyver_3

According to the wiring diagram the PJB puts out 2 seperate wires for the reverse lights. They are connected by 1 10amp fuse though. 2 35W ballasts at full power would blow that fuse in seconds. Its all worked through the PJB. Maybe the ones I did were 15W ones. Running a relay in the trunk wouldn't be difficult but just tedious haha

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Wondering if I can hook the power towards the power feeding to my aftermarket amp?