VW Vortex - Volkswagen Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Accent LEDs and color temperature......why blue?

Jump to Latest
1 - 20 of 29 Posts
M

MagnetoReluctance

· Registered
Joined
·
5,775 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
Do blue LEDs bother anyone else besides me? I just can't get past how cheap they look - every time I see a new Buick Enclave or any Hyundai model....it makes me cringe. Anyone else? It just makes me think they went with the cheapest possible LED supplier instead of finding someone who could supply quality LEDS in a warmer color......

Blue:
Image


Image


Image


Vs these:

Image


Image
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
Smigelski said:
I think blue LEDs are actually the most expensive. I'll have to do research.
Click to expand...

From what I understand, warmer whites are actually harder to produce. Just some quick googling:

http://www.ehow.com/about_6525917_blue-led-vs_-white-led.html

Because the manufacturing of white LEDs is based on blue LEDs, the process to make white LEDs requires more steps. The generation of white light, because it a combination of all the colors of light, requires the use of blue, red and green LEDs together or the use of a blue LED that is coated with a chemical compound.
Click to expand...
 
#6 ·
To me "bluish" LEDs screams Look at Me!! so manufacturers want to make sure they are communicating to customers an people that they are in that trend, in the other hand, warmer "whiter" color is not that flashy and can be confused with incandescent bulbs so no novelty to show off
 
#7 ·
FV-QR

In my experience, the default "white" for LEDs is that ~6500K blueish white. Warmer white LEDs in the ~3500K range where they would match a halogen are harder to source and more expensive.

I had a hell of a time finding some warm white 1156 LED bulbs for my trailer lighting. They weren't easy to find and when I did, they were a lot more expensive than the standard blue-purple-white.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
redshift said:
In my experience, the default "white" for LEDs is that ~6500K blueish white. Warmer white LEDs in the ~3500K range where they would match a halogen are harder to source and more expensive.

I had a hell of a time finding some warm white 1156 LED bulbs for my trailer lighting. They weren't easy to find and when I did, they were a lot more expensive than the standard blue-purple-white.
Click to expand...

I was the same way when buying LED bulbs to replace the incandescents in my house. Until the past year or two, warm white bulbs were a bitch to find....and if I did find them, they were more expensive than the cool blue varieties. I think manufacturers had a learning curve when it came to producing the right kind of bulb that most consumers would find acceptable.

That's why the first thought in my mind is "cheap" when I see blue LEDs in headlights - the Hyundai headlights look like they were sourced by a cheap chinese rope lighting manufacturer.
 
#10 · (Edited)
rbloedow said:
From what I understand, warmer whites are actually harder to produce. Just some quick googling:

http://www.ehow.com/about_6525917_blue-led-vs_-white-led.html
Click to expand...
THIS is the truth... it boils down to cost. You'll see the "white" Led's in HL's because they're of a different, and higher quality.



On a side note, for those looking for "white" led's on eBay for whatever application, try searching for "cool white" instead of "white". For the reasons posted above, the "white" led's will appear in the 6k+ kelvin range, and the cool whites will be between 3500k and 4100k; they appear more like halogens at their brightest.

EDIT: maybe closer to 3k for the cool white... my 194 led replacements look exactly like the bulbs do, in color.
 
#11 ·
.:Ryan said:
THIS is the truth... it boils down to cost. You'll see the "white" Led's in HL's because they're of a different, and higher quality.



On a side note, for those looking for "white" led's on eBay for whatever application, try searching for "cool white" instead of "white". For the reasons posted above, the "white" led's will appear in the 6k+ kelvin range, and the cool whites will be between 3500k and 4100k; they appear more like halogens at their brightest.
Click to expand...
3500k is still very white compared to halogen. You need 2700k for a good match to most household or period automotive lighting.

I actually like the white lighting on cars - one - it looks modern - and if they are going to use these gaudy headlight designs, the lighting should be modern to match. More importantly though is that these higher color temperatures tend to put out more light at a given rating, which makes these lights really easy to see during the day. I don't like DRL's historically, but new LED DRL's are VERY noticeable even on bright sunny days, without blinding oncoming traffic. Win/win.

What I don't like is all these dot-matrix LED rings surrounding new car headlights. That looks super-cheap and tacky. The few newer vehicles that have moved on to solid lighting looks WAY better.

Image


vs.

Image
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#13 ·
Simple answer: Some people just like the "blue" or "cool" look. I personally like the warm colors better. The cool light is just uncomfortable.

People will stop liking them when they've been around long enough for them to not be "different" anymore.
 
#15 ·
McBanagon said:
Why not any warmer colors?

Because state requirements. The only lights some states allow to project forward are white and amber. I'm surprised some of these blue hues haven't become a problem with some areas.
Click to expand...
Because it's not blue, it's white. 6500K white only looks blue if you've been trained to think 2700K "white" is the real shade white is supposed to be.

Image
 
#17 ·
redshift said:
^ I agree. The diffuse LEDs look classy. The lines made of individual dots just look tacky.
Click to expand...
Agreed.

I love the new trend of head and tail lights having their parking/running light being an outline of the housing.
 
#18 ·
AZGolf said:
Because it's not blue, it's white. 6500K white only looks blue if you've been trained to think 2700K "white" is the real shade white is supposed to be.

Image
Click to expand...
It's not so much "training" as the light color of every other white light source around it. 3500-4500K HID headlamps, 2700K halogens and street lamps, 4100K moonlight.
 
1 - 20 of 29 Posts
About this Discussion
28 Replies
23 Participants
Last post:
core5
VW Vortex - Volkswagen Forum
posts
85M
members
1.5M
Since
2001
A forum community dedicated to all Volkswagen owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, builds, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, new releases, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
The Car Lounge Golf IV & Jetta IV Golf III & Jetta III Golf II & Jetta II Golf IV/Jetta IV Parts