I had a hard time finding the 2357 for some reason also. It took 4 auto stores to find a set and then the ones I found were 2357LL (long life). I was concerned that perhaps the long life bulbs would not burn as bright, but they are better than a standard 1157. I also did some reading on line and it seems it might be possible that some chinese companies are making one bulb (which technically fits 1157, 2357, 3496 and many others actually) and using that one bulb to fill all of the orders for different bulbs (by just stamping different numbers on the bulbs (surprise, surprise). There is a lot of info via google, particularly from the bike guys trying to get as much light as they can in a small plastic housing/lens ***embly. ****s that you have to wonder if you are actually getting what you think you are, but we had better get used to it if we keep shipping jobs overseas...
I talked to a guy that sells t/light lenses & he said that the blue-dots magnify the retain the heat & increase the likelyhood that you'll be melting lenses. The dots are typically gl*** & metal, which can take more heat than the plastic lens can. He sold a couple of sets of lenses to a guy that kept frying them before he figured out the problem.
NO, gloss white is brighter.......been proven here as well as other places.......Digger Dave did a test to show everyone a couple years back......look, you will find it.
Damn Chinese junk! they stamp UL labs on everything also, there going to end up burying us. lieing *******s.!!!! My problem with Ron Francis Brite bulbs at night with 39 housings is the turn signal is not much brighter than the running light. so it is not easily to distinguish . If the 2357 bulbs are the same cp as 11157 on running light that would be great . Ago
Ron Francis sells a brighter bulb that doesn't seem to get hot enough to melt plastic-at least I have had no issues with the sequential Pontiac taillights on my A coupe. They're probably 50% more though than what's described here.
Come on now, our oriental friends wouldn't counterfit auto light bulbs, or dog food, or medicine, or anything would they? Who would have ever thought we would reach a day where we would be looking for Mexican made light bulbs as an INCREASE in quality.
I switched to H1157's in the 1935/36 gl*** lens tailights on my Model A and they make a huuuge difference. The key to halogen bulbs is to never touch the gl*** with your fingers and to wipe them off with alcohol after you get them in the socket to remove any trace of oil.
Out getting some 1157 bulbs for my motorcycle and was curious as to the difference in 1157 and 2357 bulbs was. Googled it and the second search result was the Hamb! Ah, the wornderful info available here in the hamb!
On my 29 that had very dim bulbs, I took the lenses off and used spray adhesive on the back of tin foil and lined the insides with it as nice as I could. Made a huge differenece.
14 years old?! I borrowed this from another website (call it "research") Power consumption is the same on low ( 8.26W 0.59A) but a bit more on high. 26.88W 2.10A vs 28.54W 2.23A. I think the minimal extra heat will be ok in the fixtures I'll put them in. Life expectancy on low is the same but much reduced on high (1200 vs 400 hrs). There's a significant increase in light output: 402 lumens vs 503 which would be a 25% gain."
@5window, I wondered if anyone notice the dates! If I'm reading the information I found correctly, the increase in lumens will be lost when used in a 6v system vs. 12v. I'm not going to say that I'm entrepting it correctly, at all!
GM went to 2057s in the 90,s. They were brighter. Some early Chevrolets have a reflector in the taillights housing. Most restorers leave them out. Make a difference in the brightness..
A big help in brightness is to paint everything, except the socket, that is behind the red lens a gloss white. I use a half pint of Rustoleum with a half inch brush.
If you're upgrading to halogen bulbs, or even just replacing an existing halogen bulb, make sure the gl*** globe is nearly surgically clean. Dirt and oils from your fingers left on the bulb can shorten their life. It affects the way the additional heat from halogen bulbs is dissipated from the lamp. A little alcohol on a clean paper towel is all it takes.
They make a "chrome" spray paint (it's just a really fine flake silver, but it is pretty reflective) that works wonders on old taillight housings for making your lights show better. You can get it at the big box hardware stores, it'll have a chrome cap. Please excuse the picture of the RC truck (restoring old RC stuff is a hobby). I use this paint on original chrome wheels when it's too hard to find good replacements, but it gives you an idea of what it looks like. You can see your face in it, albeit a bit milky.
You can search threads here. White paint out reflects silver or chrome, etc. paint. Just a suggestion.
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