Date: Sat, 27 Jan 1996
On bikes that use a 1157 tail/brake combination bulb, a simple
and inexpensive upgrade in the brake light illumination is
readily available.
A 2357 tail/brake combination bulb, available at any auto parts
store, will produce the same brightness for the tail light (3
lumens), but will produce 25% greater brightness for the brake
light (40 lumens vs. 32 lumens).
The volts required to power the 2357 bulb are the same as the
1157, but there is a slight increase in the amps required (2.1
for the 1157, 2.2 for the 2357). The resulting increase in
watts used is only 1.28 watts, or a 4.76% increase over the
standard 1157 bulb.
The only draw back to using the 2357 bulb is the rated hours of
service for the brake light element is much less (400 hours for
the 2357 brake light element vs. 1,200 hours for the 1157 brake
light element). The tail light element in both the 1157 and the
2357 are rated at 5,000 hours. Assuming one rides 4 hours per
day, 365 days per year and uses his/her brake 25% of the time,
if the brighter 2357 bulb is replaced annually, there should be
little chance of in-service failure.
Cost for a 2357 bulb is about 97 cents.
In an effort to provide too much info on brighter tail/brake
lights, the 1157 (standard), the H1157 (halogen) and the
2357(newer version of standard), I have the following info:
| Tail/brake lights: A comparison | |||
| Specification | 1157 | H1157 | 2357 |
| Volts(high) " (low) Watts(high) " (low) Amps (high) " (low) Base Candlepower(high) " (low) Lumens(high) " (low) Average life(high) " (low) | 12.8 14.0 26.8 14.0 2.1 1.0 S8 32 3 402 38 1,200 5,000 | 12.8 14.0 49.9 unknown 3.9 unknown S8 107 25 1,350 38 400 400 | 12.8 14.0 28.1 14.0 2.2 1.0 S8 40 3 unknown 320 400 5,000 |
The H1157 (halogen) is manufactured by Candlepower, Rockville,
Maryland (301) 340-0224.
(800) 323-4488.
The biggest concern is the increase in amps and watts (heat)
when switching to a halogen bulb. The H1157 brake light element
produces 86% greater watts (heat) than the standard 1157 brake
light element, the 2357 brake light element only produces 4.8%
more watts (heat). [What this means is that if you're not
careful, you could easily melt your taillight by using
the halogen bulb.]
Note: "Heat" is measured in "watts", hence, they are the same.
The other concern with using the H1157 or the 2357 is the
shorter service life. The H1157 is rated to last only 400 hours
on low (tail) and high (brake) elements. This is drastically down
from the standard 1157 and less than the 2357 low (tail)
element. Depending on your riding, this problem can be avoided
by scheduled replacement.
Hope this info helps for safer riding.
