When it comes to lighting up your existing vehicle. Most people still rely on upgrading their existing lighting setups. Such as replacing halogen headlight bulbs with HIDs and LEDs. Or going a step further to replace the fog lights as well. With more high-performance lights.
These solutions are good enough for most on-road applications. Where the only purpose of the lights is to illuminate the road. But what if you want to do more with lights. What if you wanted to create a custom lighting setup just for your vehicle?
One that is not just focused on illuminating the area around you, but your vehicle itself. We saw this kind of lighting trend first rear its head in the early 2000s. When the fast and furious franchise, as well as certain racing video games, helped popularize this trend.
Soon, people were seen lighting up all parts of their vehicles. From placing LEDs in wheel wells, to under the hood, and even under the vehicle itself. Some even went the extra mile and added such LED lights inside their vehicles too.
In most cases, these lights were used as a plug-and-play solution. With only a handful of operating modes. That can be set once and left running. This has changed with time though. As, over the years, lighting setups have become a lot more sophisticated.
These days, even basic lighting strips come with their own remote controls. That lets you adjust the light color, intensity, and even the lighting pattern. To create distinct lighting setups that can be changed on the fly.
Along with the technology, the perception of such lighting has also changed over the years. Back then, these lights were considered tacky and over-the-top and only used by the street tuner crowds. But today, they can be found in the most expensive vehicles around. Built-in straight from the factory and tuned to match specific themes of the car UI.
Unfortunately, this acceptance has also created a weird new level of car feature hierarchy. With these lights going from an overlooked feature that costs no extra money. To being counted as a luxury one, reserved only for top models.
Thankfully, just because the companies have decided that these lights should suddenly come with a premium cost. That doesn’t mean you have to pay for them. You can still create your own custom rig for remote-controlled lighting.
In fact, brands like OSRAM offers lots of options for such applications. From light bulbs to LED strips, and everything in between. In this article, we will take a look at a few such products and how they can help you light up your car in interesting colors and patterns.
One of the most common types of remote-controlled LED lights comes in the form of lighting strips. OSRAM features the same under the title LEDambient TUNING LIGHTS. These strips feature a large number of individual LEDs that can be tuned to display 16 different light colors and brightness levels.
Each LED can be changed individually, with the option to switch between five different operating modes. You get a remote along with each kit, which can be used to make said changes from inside the safety of your vehicles.
You can extend the reach of these strips by using special Extension Kits that can be combined with the Base kit. They can all be joined together and powered through the basic 12-volt car adapter. You can even wire them directly to the vehicle’s circuit board. To avoid using up the 12-volt adapter, just in case your car only has one.
Thanks to the self-adhesive tape that comes attached to the strips, you can easily set them in any pattern your wish to emulate. This offers an unprecedented level of flexibility when it comes to lighting the exterior or interior of your vehicle. Each strip comes with a 2-year guarantee so that you get the most out of your money spent.
In addition to just lighting up your car, these remote-controlled lights can even be synchronized with your audio setup. To create a live lighting experience that matches the soundtrack you are listening to. To accomplish this, you will need to get the LEDambient PULSE CONNECT from OSRAM.
This type of remote-controlled LED is quite larger than a LED strip. Instead, it comes in the shape of a small disk that features a chrome finish. In addition to the simple wiring setup for electricity, these small bulbs also feature Bluetooth connectivity. This allows them to be connected to the OSRAM LEDambient CONNECT app. Which allows you to control the color, mode, and pulse of the light, and sync it with the beat of your music.
You can connect any number of lights in this way, and sync them individually for the best effect possible. Once again, you can place these lights on both the exterior and interior of the car. With components that are guaranteed to last up to 2 years of regular use.
The third and most unique lighting solution we would like to feature in this article is the LEDambient HYBRID CONNECT. This is a special type of lighting rig that combines the benefits of a traditional headlight with color-changing LEDs.
The main section of this light features a high-performance halogen bulb that delivers a straight beam of light like any other headlight bulb. It is surrounded by a number of color-changing LEDs, which can be individually controlled to display various colors and patterns.
This makes for a unique lighting pattern that can emulate different shades of the rainbow. You can it all with the OSRAM LEDambient CONNECT app. Which is designed to let you control color, mode, and multiple compatible products with one device.
Just by replacing your existing headlight bulbs with these special ones. Will go a long way in creating the unique lighting look you desire. Just make sure you are willing to accept the fact that some of these products may just void the warranty of your vehicle.