This is a bit "lite" to be considered a tech post but it works so, what the hell. My trucks and Edsel have small, dim brakelights. They both use the 1157 dual element bulbs. I didn't want to use the halogen light bulbs, they draw a lot of power and can get up over 300 degrees, which makes me nervous in a 50 year old socket with 50 year old wiring. I also don't want LED bulbs, since you need to use a special flasher and while bright, the light is too directional and looks dim in a regular bezel I replaced the 1157 bulbs with 2357 bulbs. What a difference! On cruise, they seem only barely whiter but when on the brake, they are a lot brighter and make a huge difference. The best part is that for a 2-pack of Sylvania 2357LL (long life) bulbs is about $3-$4 and available everywhere. Model------Watts------Amps------CP 2357 ------8.26-28.54.....0.59-2.23....3-40 1157 ------8.26-26.88.....0.59-2.10.....3-32 H1157 -----15-50.......... 1.07-3.90......25-107 <!-- / message -->
I painted the inside of my tail light housings white. It makes a huge difference in brightness. Thanks for the tip...........I'll add the 2357's too!
FWIW if your tail light housings are dingy inside, you can line them with the stainless or aluminum furnace tape, it really helps. I read about that somewhere (one of my mags I think, Hot Rod, Rod & Custom?, dunno). Thought I would p*** that on.
we made the switch on our parking enforcement vehicles at work for safety. here's what i learned: watch the spacing between the plastic lens and bulb when stepping to 2357s. they do put off more heat than an 1157 and have the potential to damage (warp) lenses. you're right though...its a night and day difference.
Cool post. Gonna buy some on the way home. By the way, I used a bright silver spray paint on the inside of my housing which made a big improvement. Eastwood offers up a super bright version I believe, but I was fortunate enough to be able to use OEM paint that our company has supplied for years for these housings (We don't do it anymore unfortunately because everyone is using chromed housings.)
There was a similar post on this recently. Someone posted that when they painted the inside of the housing they added gl*** beads for more reflective light.
I use the h1157(i tried all the rest first) on my 49 ford tail lights (gl***, so not worried about heat) with blue dots they were the only ones that were bright enought for the brake / turn signals during daylight hours
I did a test for myself on a 41 Ford Tudor with stock taillight lenses. Painted one taillight white inside, the other one spraycan chrome. No comparison. The white one was waay brighter. tried tinfoil too. White was best. I'll have to find the 2357's to try. The car I have now has plastic lenses, though, so I'm worried about the added heat. Ralph
The nice thing with these is they are the stock candlepower on cruise and only brighter when on the brake or turnsignal flash, which is normally only momentary. You're going from 32 to 40 candlepower which is 25% more, but still not all that much. The 107 CP Halogens are what you'd need to worry about melting stuff.
I just stuck a set in mine about an hour ago and started with one side only. As reflected against my freshly painted white garage door, the red reflection through the lens looked very similiar to each other (running lights or brake lights either one). With the lens removed on both sides, there is not doubt that the 2357 is a brighter bulb on the brake light side. I would say standing behind the car that it will be noticeable this summer. I have Lee lens so they may not reflect the light onto the door quite as much as the stock lens do, but I bet they will look a little better this summer. The bulbs I found were exactly the same size as the 1157 (no closer to the plastic lens). I cannot imagine the minor wattage difference making that much of a heat problem. And, yes, I would be curious too if these are comparable at all to the "Brite" bulbs. Thanks for the tip.
I changed mine after reading this thread. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=187627 Lots of comparison pictures.
didn't change the bulbs, still running the 1157 but thanks to this thread i did experiment with painting the housing white. here you can see the Driver's side has the reflectors painted Engine Paint White, while the P***enger is not. I think it is brighter don't you? sorry for the crooked blurry pic, it was dark outside. Yaril
Great post. I have '31 taillights on my roadster and have the dim problem. Painted the insides white and that help a little. I'll give the 2357 a try.
I did a little homework and the 3496 is supposed to be a brighter yet bulb however after testing all three (1157, 2357LL and 3496) it is obvious that the 2357LL provides the brightest light of the three under braking (The running lights of all three are equal output.) Also, I have 55 Chev housings that I have added a Lee one piece lens to. I converted the back up light from a single contact to a dual contact socket and wired it into the same wiring as the dual contact (running/brake) light above. Now I actually have 2 bulbs in each housing, both used as running lights and brake lights. Customizers have been making that conversion for years, but it REALLY looks and works nice with dual 2357 bulbs in each housing compared to the single socket with a single 1157.
I thought so, but when I buy them I usually get them in a blister pack (in pairs) and they say Halogen right on the package.
Thanks for the tip but for some reason it didn't work for me. My local NAPA dealer sold me a pair of 2057's which they said cross-referenced with the 2357's. I put them in my '37 Ford tailight housings and they were noticably brighter than the 1157's they replaced but then my turn signals didn't work. So I put the 1157's back in and the signals worked. What's up?
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