COB #LED vs SMD LED driving lights

Turns out that I’m back at it again. I finally finished upgrading all of my exterior incandescent and halogen bulbs to LED, so where can I upgrade from there? Well, all the bulbs that I put in, with the exception of the headlights, were SMD (surface mounted device) type LED bulbs. There’s a new LED bulb type now coming out for certain automotive applications called a COB (circuit on board). These new COB bulbs are better in every way than a typical SMD LED. They have higher lumens output per watt, run cooler, last longer, and more. I’ll do a full blog post about the differences between the two LED styles another time. And so, here I am, upgrading some more…

I apologize for the lackluster comparison photo. I was anxious to switch these bulbs, and was not well enough prepared. I started this after the sun went down, I wasn’t dressed for the -10°C weather, and I wound up with a soaked rear from sitting and laying on the ground. The photos definitely do not do the COB bulbs enough justice. However, they looked much better in person than the SMD. They take up seven watts compared to the outgoing bulbs ten watts, while almost doubling the lumens output at 2,000 to 1,200. A combination of badly aimed housings and rushed photography make them look almost equal.

I have already ordered a couple more sets of COB LED bulbs, but certain areas will be retaining the SMD lighting for now. This is for a few various reasons. For my taillights, I just prefer the look of the SMD bulbs through my transparent lens. For my parking lights, they don’t yet make COB switchbacks. Lastly, for my reverse lights I want width and distance in a very small package, and COB lights don’t yet have projectors built in. As COB technology is more commonly used, it’s applications will of course grow.