LED Reverse Lights vs. HID Reverse Lights? Help me decide!

Hey guys! Help me decide if I should change my reverse lights to LED or HID! I've got 3% window tint all the way around on my truck (except for the windshield) and it's EXTREMELY difficult to see while backing up at night. I'm looking for the brightest reverse lights possible

Here are my options:

800 lumen (projector lens type single cree led) $45 - sold by csjumper2003

700 lumen (5 CREE LEDs) $50 - sold by csjumper2003

15 watt HID Xenon White 6000K $65 - Ebay

Occasionally I will throw my truck in Reverse, pull the E-brake, and turn the truck off. This way I can use my reverse lights to help me see while I'm behind the truck at night (for tail-gating, hooking up to a trailer, etc). Due to this I want to make sure the 15w HID won't kill my battery or produce too much heat if left on for an extended period of time. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure the Sylvania Long Life 921 incandescent bulbs I currently have are 17.5 watts. The 15w HID shouldn't cause the plastic housing to melt.

Feel free to post any opinions on this topic or pics of your setup for a brighter reverse light!

 

HID will take too long to warm up to be good for reverse lights. Plus they're not meant to be turned on and off quickly. It's bad for them to even flash your brights when using them in your headlights.

You're better off with LED's for flood anyways.

LEDs use less wattage as well. Much less.


Here's what I have in the stock location right now:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-T10-LED-...d=100011&prg=8934&rk=0&rkt=10&sd=291027959686

 

PcBuilder14, thanks for the info! Those pics are great and the LEDs you used look freakin' bright! I'm amazed that for $10 you can get a CREE LED.

I've read on other forums that the 15watt HIDs for reverse actually warm up within a couple seconds. I need as much light as possible so I'm willing to wait a few seconds if that means I can see better. I realize just switching from Park into Drive will flip them on and off quickly as I pass through reverse, which is bad for the HIDs. However, I read somewhere that one guy put a delay so that the reverse lights wouldn't come on when he was simply going from Park to Drive.

Great looking truck by the way!

 

Other: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/209578-886-backup-light-mod.html
But not the 886 fog lights... 50w lamps are too much.
Instead, 35w halogen lamps from Home Depot.

 

^ I did some foglight ones from AAP that were $5.99 a bulb and I think 38w. Plenty bright

 

I have CS Jumpers 800 lumen LED reverse lights . Although they are much much more expensive than other LED competitiors , Ive had them in for almost a year now and only 1 bulb failed so far .They are just as bright as PCbuilders posted in the picture above , they stay cool and hardly draw any power .

 

Those are sweet, just ordered a pair.

 

Any issues with excessive heat? I would like to be able to leave these lights on for an extended period of time w/o having to worry about it melting the plastic housing...