Gauging Interest: Skyline R32-R34 DIY LED Taillight Kit

[apkarian100]

Hi guys,

My name is Chris. I've been approached by a couple Skyline owners to make a LED taillight kit for the Nissan Skyline. This kit will be a DIY installed kit. I will make all the modules and wiring and you, the owner, will install the kit, using my detailed instruction. Here are a couple pics of the R32 prototype I have started on:

Comparison of stock lighting vs. LED lighting:





Final product pics:









Let me know your thoughts guys.

Thank You

[Brando13]

When where and how much?

[apkarian100]

Production will start up early May, basically when I get out of school for the semester. As for where, I live in the US. Price, I'm thinking the R32 kit will cost $400 shipped, and the R33 kit will be $450 shipped. I think the price is reasonable, seeing this is pretty tedious work to make the kits by hand. The price though it significantly cheaper than say Clear Corners, who charges $2000 for a setup like this.

When where and how much?

[NismoS-tune]

I've seen similar setups in Japan/australia for much cheaper than that
I like the idea, but I'd rather spend $400 on something else and doing it myself with $30-50 worth of LEDs and material

[archaeic_bloke]

the "wah wah" motion that happens to the light amplitude level... is that just from the iris of your digital camera re-adjusting? or is there a surge and balance issue with your wiring?

(id be interested possibly, they seem very bright though)

[apkarian100]

No, it's my camera's fault. It is not as bright as it seems on the video. It is a great improvement over stock, but not blinding bright.

the "wah wah" motion that happens to the light amplitude level... is that just from the iris of your digital camera re-adjusting? or is there a surge and balance issue with your wiring?

(id be interested possibly, they seem very bright though)

[Boyscout]

you can buy LED tails from the US or overseas for $250-$300, and that includes the light housing. your product looks great, but the price is a bit steep IMO

[apkarian100]

Thank you for the complements. I understand you can buy, what looks like, the same product as I am making, but in my opinion, the quality isn't there compared to mine. I strive to use the best LEDs on the market along with the best voltage regulators and LED dimming controllers. I also custom cut and fit each kit I make on an actual set of OEM housings of whatever style taillight I am using. Saying that, the best parts aren't cheap, but I am making the price as reasonable as I can without losing money in the process.

you can buy LED tails from the US or overseas for $250-$300, and that includes the light housing. your product looks great, but the price is a bit steep IMO

[cobrAA]

My opinion,

1) try to borrow a better camera and take pictures from 10-15 meter aways. Just take the picture at night outside.

2) Please show us your work ( the led ring itself) so we can judge if it's worth 400$.I did many audio install with ''cheap ebay'' LED and they are still perfect after 2 years. I didn't even knew you could buy ''High quality'' LED.

[apkarian100]

The LEDs used are Philips Lumileds superflux LEDs. These LEDs are used by major automotive companies, like Toyota, Nissan, Cadillac, etc.

http://www.philipslumileds.com/pdfs/DS05.pdf

These LEDs beat cheap Chinese imitation superflux LEDs and can safely run twice as high currents as the imitations can. Usually the Ebay LEDs are rated at 30mA for current, while the ones I use are rated at 70mA. Although they can run safely up to 70mA of power, I never run them that high.

My opinion,

1) try to borrow a better camera and take pictures from 10-15 meter aways. Just take the picture at night outside.

2) Please show us your work ( the led ring itself) so we can judge if it's worth 400$.I did many audio install with ''cheap ebay'' LED and they are still perfect after 2 years. I didn't even knew you could buy ''High quality'' LED.

[NismoS-tune]

I can't see how building that cost so much how could you lose money selling this for $400+ if respectable companies sell similar with warranty for 1/2. I'll do some shopping around first. What's the total wattage?

[apkarian100]

The LEDs go for around $0.63 each, so it gets pricey.

http://www.futureelectronics.com/en/Search.aspx?dsNav=Ntk:PartNumberSearch|hpwt%2f-dh00|1|,Ny:True,Nea:True

Also, doing this is tedious work, so I need to charge for labor. I mean, sure you can go and buy the parts yourself, research on how to do it, and put a whole lot of hours into it, and call it a day. The thing is, I'm offering a simple kit for owners to install, and I'm trying to use it to pay for college. I'm not trying to scam customers, I just want to have a cool part time job that pays a little bit better than working at a grocery store. I also take pride in the fact I use the best parts out there, so they last.

I can't see how building that cost so much how could you lose money selling this for $400+ if respectable companies sell similar with warranty for 1/2. I'll do some shopping around first. What's the total wattage?

[srguy13]

dude if i had tha money i would totaly pick some up1!!! they look sick bro!

[cobrAA]

It look clean!! In order to cut a bit the price and labour, F**k the yellow side marker, I mean seriously, you only see it when you are turning for 3 seconds lol!

And,

Do you think you could smaller led? I wanted to do the same but with 3mm led instead of bigger led. Your prototype is between the small Genuine R34 nismo taillight and the fake chromed ugly 8 led r32 tailight.

[swirly]

Don't forget that placing LEDs in turn signals will throw off their timing unless balanced with an appropriate resistor.