Video Review & Installation

It's Joe from AmericanTrucks. In this video, we're going over the Axial 210 lumen backup light LED conversion kit for 921-style bulbs, fitting on '14 to '18 Silverados. Now, this is gonna be a great option for you if you're looking to convert your standard halogen bulb over to an LED for a brighter and whiter light while in reverse. So, what do we have going on with this pair of bulbs here? Well, long story short, it's gonna basically take your 921-style bulb, standard halogen stuff and convert it over to an LED, and that's gonna bring some small benefits to the style of light that your truck is gonna be producing while it's in reverse. All said and done, these bad boys are gonna produce about 210 lumens worth of light. Now, that is gonna be great if you have smoked taillights, you're looking to cut through that smoke a little bit with a bright white light, these are gonna be a great option. Maybe you also upgraded to LED taillights recently, and they reused that factory 921 halogen-style bulb and something like this can really tie the look together. If you're doing LED taillights, you might as well get rid of that old halogen stuff, and this can be the thing that basically puts it over the top and gives you the full package in the rear of your truck. So, all said and done, these bulbs are gonna produce 210 lumens. Now, if you have smoked taillights, that could be great to help cut through that smoke. Also, if you just did LED taillights, a lot of the times, they reuse that standard halogen reverse light bulb and this could be the final touch to basically tie the LED look together.So, what's going on with these bulbs specifically? Well, each one is gonna have 36 bright white LEDs on it. Definitely, gonna be right in the middle ground in terms of color, temperature, really a clear white light, which I think is perfect. A lot of the times these things go a little bit far towards the blue side, and to me, that just doesn't look right, and these fall right in the middle. I think the color temperature on these is spot on. These have a plastic base at the bottom, and they have some aluminum at the top, which is basically gonna serve as a heat sink. Now, one thing with LEDs is they really don't produce a lot of heat in general, which is why their life span is so much longer than the halogen bulbs. Basically, with that standard halogen bulb, you have to heat it up and that process causes small imperfections to form and that really cuts into the lifespan. That's why LEDs last so much longer.So, on top of these looking better, being brighter, nice white light, instead of that standard halogen sort of worn out yellow light, these are gonna last a lot longer than those other bulbs. Now, I recently shot a video on the same taillight bulbs from Axial, but the 410 version of them, so 410 lumens versus these 210 lumens, you'd expect the 410 version to be twice as bright, but as far as brightness goes, I really couldn't see any big difference between the two. One big difference I did see is color temperature. These are gonna be that bright white that I personally really like, the 410 version is gonna be a little bit more towards the blue side, and if you're into that, that's definitely gonna be the choice that you're gonna wanna make. It's just basically two different color temperatures, weighing your options, one or the other. Now, another thing to consider is that 410 version is gonna be a little bit more expensive. That one, not these, gonna come in right around 90 bucks, but this pair right here gonna cost you about 40 bucks. So, you're saving a little bit, you're getting a nice bright white light, and personally, these would be my pick. Now, also Axial packs these with a three-year limited warranty.So, let's get to the good stuff. Let me show you how to get these bulbs installed into your taillight housings. Really easy. Installs don't get any easier than something like this. Easy, 1 out of 3 wrenches on our difficulty meter, should take it most 20 minutes. So, let me show you what tools you will need and how it's done. The only tool you really need for this install is gonna be the T15 Torx bit. I like mine on a socket so I can spin it with the electric ratchet. So, in order to change the bulb, we gotta get the taillight housing off of the truck. That bad boy is held in with two T15 screws on this sort of inside lip here, you have to drop the tailgate to get to it. But as you guys probably could have guessed, T15 on the ratchet, we're gonna unscrew those and pull the housing away. Now, at this point go ahead and grab the reverse light. Now, you can grab the bulb and put in the new one. After that, give it a test, put the housing back on, and re-secure the two T15s. So, now we have one side completely wrapped up, now's the perfect time to highlight exactly what kind of differences LED bulb is gonna be making for your truck.Now, first things first, let's talk about color temperature. Not only is this gonna be a brighter, whiter light, but in my personal opinion, it actually makes the red brake lights look a little bit deeper than over on the factory side, they look a little bit washed out. I think some of that yellow light kind of bleeds into the red areas. So, not only are you getting that brightness and color temperature improvement, but I think they make the brake lights look deeper red overall as well, which is always a huge plus. Now, diving into the two bulbs themselves, they really have one similarity, and that is gonna be the 921-style connector. The halogen bulb is gonna be just that, a halogen bulb. Again, all we're doing here is swapping over to an LED, instead of glass, you get plastic and aluminum, and you get 36 LEDs, and that is what's gonna be making your light rather than that heated up filament in the halogen bulb. And you get all of the benefits of an LED by going with something like that. So, without any further ado, we're gonna go ahead and drop the tailgate. We'll do the same thing on the other side, and we'll call this one a wrap.So, again, breaking out the T15. Just put a shoulder into it to hold it still. We come in here, take reverse light bulb out, replace it with the LED, and put it all back together. Well, guys, that is gonna do it for my review and install of the Axial 210 lumen backup light LED conversion kit for 921-style bulbs, fitting all '14 to '18 Silverado 1500s. As always, guys, thank you so much for watching. Make sure you keep it right here at AmericanTrucks for all things Silverado.