3057 bulb question

[SmoothSteve3]

Hey everyone-

 

Can you use a 3157 bulb in a 3057 socket? I'm considereing giving LED bulbs a trail run, but they only come in 3157's. I know that a lot of people haven't been pleased with the results they get from LED's, but I wanna try just one or two anyways.

 

Thanks!

 

-SmoothSteve

[GP1138]

No! A while back I read someone tried this, and it apparently blew a fuse or overloaded something. I'll search and tell you what I come up with.

[GnatGoSplat]

The only difference between 3057 and 3157 is the latter has a slightly brighter parking lamp filament.

 

As far as LEDs are concerned, 3157 and 3057's are identical.

I paid some big bucks for Power Tower LEDs... good light spread, but not nearly as bright as a real bulb.

[GP1138]

Hmm. I searched and couldn't come up with anything. I could've sworn someone said that they picked up the 3157 and it caused major problems, but maybe it was a different bulb.

 

Shawn probably is more accurate here.

[Schudini]

What application did you have in mind? I was disappointed with the ones I bought even though they had a much higher MCD rating than average. You probably won't want to use them in a fixture with a diffusing lens.

[Brian P]

No, if you have the "mechanical" type flasher unit, it acts differently due to much less current being used with the LED bulbs. You can get the "digital" flasher and not have any issues.

 

I didn't realize the 3157's have a brighter parking lamp filament. I may have to try them out since even with new 3057's, my taillights could stand to be brighter. Also I believe the 3157's have tabs to squeeze together when you remove the bulb, but should still be compatible.

[SmoothSteve3]

Hmmmm, well thanks for your opinions thus far.....

 

I was gonna try putting an LED bulb in the front parking light of my 90' Lumina just to see how it looked. Then I was going to try putting an LED bulb in my taillight housing to see how it looked. If I was impressed, then I figured that I would invest in a full set of LED bulb.

 

The bulbs I was thinking about getting have 19 LED's that face the front, and 6 that are radially mounted at a 90 degree angle to the front facing ones. Supposedly, this is supposed to shoot a little more light into the reflective mirrors of the housing......

 

-SmoothSteve

[GnatGoSplat]

I didn't realize the 3157's have a brighter parking lamp filament. I may have to try them out since even with new 3057's, my taillights could stand to be brighter. Also I believe the 3157's have tabs to squeeze together when you remove the bulb, but should still be compatible.

 

3357 and 3457's have brighter parking filaments AND brighter brake filaments.

 

(Low/High MSCP or mean spherical candlepower)

3057 = 2/32

3157 = 3/32

3357 = 3/40

3457 = 3/40

 

They all have the same base, S-8 Plastic Wedge.

 

The bulbs I was thinking about getting have 19 LED's that face the front, and 6 that are radially mounted at a 90 degree angle to the front facing ones. Supposedly, this is supposed to shoot a little more light into the reflective mirrors of the housing......

 

I don't really think 6 side-firing LEDs is enough. The ones I bought have 15 super high brightness side firing LEDs and although it fills the light assembly almost as evenly as a regular bulb, it's still not bright enough (only about half as bright). It only has 3 LEDs facing front, but those are plenty bright enough. It's the light coming from the sides that makes the light look uniform rather than 2 small bright circles.

[Brian P]

Shawn mind if I ask where you found that listed info? I have tried a few different bulbs for my 3rd brake light. Today I tried 3456's and they are friggin bright, but I want to be sure they're not so bright that I melt the lamp assembly! I also tried 3156's which were brighter still than stock (3155) but I'm just curious about actual rating differences.

 

Also I tried 3457's on the top bulb of the taillight housing. Makes it real nice! I didn't put them on the bottom yet just so I don't wild everything out like the wiring but so far so good.

[GnatGoSplat]

I saved the PDF from GE so I couldn't remember where on their site it was, but I finally found it!

http://www.gelighting.com/na/business_lighting/education_resources/literature_library/catalogs/mini_sealed_beam_catalog/

 

I think "Introduction 1-22" is the one with all the specs on those bulbs.

The xx56's are the same as xx57's, just without the low filament. Kind of strange that even on applications where only the high filament is used, GM still calls for a dual filament bulb. I guess they buy them in bulk and it's cheaper that way.

 

I'm still kind of excited about LEDs. I have a "Power Tower" (http://members.aol.com/tmimfg/) which has 15 side-firing LEDs and only 3 front firing LEDs. Although it's only half as bright as a regular bulb, the coverage is impressive. It really fills out a lamp assembly as well as a real bulb. The only way to tell it's an LED is because it's not quite as bright and it has that cool instant on, instant off effect. That same design using 5 side-firing and 1 front-firing Luxeon III 190 lumen LEDs would probably be perfect! Now to only get ahold of some...

[Brian P]

cool thanks. I just tried out these bulbs for the reverse lamps, it's basically a H3 bulb mated to a 3156 base. Gotta wait till nighttime to see what it's good for.

[GnatGoSplat]

Let us know how those work out. I've seen those and thought about buying them before.

[kadeas]

FYI- don't use the APC leds for your tail lights! they won't work right! I tried, they blew fuses, and didn't light all the led's. I got my ones I use from Auto Zone and they work great! I think they have 12 led's each, and with 3 per tail light, it's bright enough.