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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Easy tail light bulb mod for instant improvement.
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Message started by sauvage on 07/04/16 at 02:23:58

Title: Easy tail light bulb mod for instant improvement.
Post by sauvage on 07/04/16 at 02:23:58

I researched this for my gs500 which has a pair of 1157 bulbs, and I see that the S40 has a single 1157 so this is the easiest sure fire bulb upgrade there is.

The standard bulb in the GS is a 32/3CP that's the ratio of the brake light to the tail light as you can see it's about 10:1. My GS had the original Stanley 32-3CP bulbs which are probably the best standard 21/5W 12V 1157 bulb, I compared them to the GE Nighthawk 21/5W 12V 1157 which they claim are 20% brighter than standard bulb. My finding was there there was no difference to the standard Stanley 32/3CP bulb.

However Stanley also make a 43/3CP bulb that is 21/5W 1157, the CP stands for candle power. So you can see the ratio is more than 14:1 the running light is the same at 3CP but the brake light is stronger which is what I wanted. It took me a while to get them but when I put them in they were indeed brighter when the brake is pressed in.

These are the bulbs http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/272047902846 so if you want the brightest incandescent 1157 brake light these are the ones to get.

As an aside I also tried the Philips 1157 P21/5W Red X-tremeVision LED to see what that was like, it's a single point LED with two leds in the holder. This will behave as close to an incandescent point light source as you'll get at the moment. It worked very well, but I rejected it because although the brake light was as bright as the Stanley 43-3CP, the running light was way brighter than the standard incandescent, and I rejected it because there was not enough difference between the running light and the brake light, but for people who mainly ride in the day, this may be a good option but you do not get the difference between the running and brake lights, so bear that in mind. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Philips-1157-P21-5W-Red-X-tremeVision-LED-Exterior-light-Pack-of-2-New-/311398874264

Title: Re: Easy tail light bulb mod for instant improveme
Post by ero4444 on 07/05/16 at 13:32:23

ahhhh I'm gonna have to print that out and read it slow with a highlighter.

But THANKS - I am definitely interested. I just got an LED 1157 and the difference between running light and braking light is too subtle, I bet it's a 21/5CP (which is a parameter I have not see documented elsewhere!).

The small inline flasher modules seems like a good a good idea and real cheap.

Title: Re: Easy tail light bulb mod for instant improveme
Post by sauvage on 07/05/16 at 17:21:46

I should have added a TL;DR. which is basically get the Honda (car) OEM bulb. Same running brightness brighter brake brightness.

note: the 5/21W is watts, which is a power draw, the 32-3CP and the 43-3CP are both still 5/21W

Honda Part No.: 34906-SL0-A01
http://www.hondapartsnow.com/genuine/honda~bulb~34906-SL0-A01.html

this is what it looks like it must be this shape to be the right one...

http://https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51clKSwLyxL._SL1011_.jpg

Title: Re: Easy tail light bulb mod for instant improveme
Post by Kris01 on 07/05/16 at 18:31:21

From the owner's manual:

Title: Re: Easy tail light bulb mod for instant improveme
Post by LANCER on 07/05/16 at 21:54:32

I went to a truckstop and picked up a stop light off the rack; about $20-30; it will light up your world. They come in a round or elongated shape, and they have about a dozen LED's in them.
Easy hookup.

Title: Re: Easy tail light bulb mod for instant improveme
Post by sauvage on 07/06/16 at 02:36:01

437A617B3839080 wrote:

From the owner's manual:

Yes the honda bulb I am talking about IS a 21/5W 12V, I've got two of them in my GS. They are made especially for Honda, if no one told you you'd never guess it's a standard 1157 21/5W 12V bulb with a much brighter brake light which is what we all want. The running light though is the same as a standard bulb so there is a greater difference between the two.

Title: Re: Easy tail light bulb mod for instant improveme
Post by verslagen1 on 07/06/16 at 07:12:35

All these have the same base...

1034 Low = 8.3w High = 23.0w
1157 Low = 8.3w High = 26.8w
2057 Low = 6.7w High = 26.8w
2357 Low = 8.3w High = 28.2w

2357 is rated for 400 hours.
1157 is 1200
1034 is only 200