LED illumination of car wheels. Do-it-yourself wheel lighting is a fashion accessory. Preparing to install wheel lights

Illumination of car rims is an effective element of external car tuning, which has become increasingly popular in recent years. Car enthusiasts install various lighting options, which make the car stand out in city traffic at night. About installation methods and how to do everything correctly later in the article.

1 Illumination of car rims - a simple but bright tuning element

Making your car's rims glow both while driving and while parked is much easier than it seems at first glance. This requires high-quality lighting tuning parts and some skills in their installation. Installation can be done with your own hands with minimal costs for parts and labor. The backlighting of the disks will go well with the backlighting of the door handles, which can be very useful at night or in thick fog.

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Today, car enthusiasts use several ways to illuminate the rims of their car. The simplest and most accessible options include the following:

• illumination of disks using neon lamps (as an addition to the main illumination of the underbody of the car);
• use of universal wireless kits such as RGB, Equalizer, etc.;
• installation and connection of LED strip (the most inexpensive method).

It must be said that neon lighting has ceased to be popular in recent years due to the labor-intensive installation process. In addition, in practice, neon lamps installed in car suspensions require more careful maintenance, in contrast to well-insulated and sealed LED strips. Wireless kits are no less effective, but really high-quality options cost a lot of money, which means this option is not suitable for everyone.

Before installing any type of lighting, you should clarify the type of suspension on the car, check the condition of the wheel rims, and provide for the possibility of connecting contacts to the interior so that the exits and entrances can be carefully sealed and insulated.

And, of course, you should understand that the “cooler” the rims on the car are, the more impressive the lighting will look. It is possible to install neon or LED lighting on stamped factory wheels, but the result may be something like the opposite effect, since all existing defects will be emphasized.

2 Selecting lighting elements and installing the backlight yourself

The most effective and cost-effective option for illuminating car rims is installing LED strips. The color, power and type of LED strip should be selected based on the characteristics and color of the car. It is recommended to maintain a balance between bright and soft colors. The combination of colors with similar spectral characteristics looks most advantageous, for example, white and silver, black and blue, etc.

Illuminated with neon strip Do-it-yourself installation of car disc lighting using LED strips is carried out directly on the car’s brake discs. To do this you need:

• jack up the car and remove the wheel;
• determine the type and features of the brake disc;

For a standard MacPherson strut suspension, which most passenger cars with disc brakes are equipped with, it is most convenient to mount the LED strip on the brake disc protective housing. Thus, the tape is attached to the edge of the casing on an adhesive base and secured with plastic clamps. To do this, using a drill, you need to make uniform holes in the casing in increments of 4–7 centimeters.

If the brake disc protective casing is not provided by the design (for example, on some VAZ models), you should make it yourself from a small metal profile or aluminum mounting tape. The length of the homemade rim should be such that there is a gap between it and the brake disc. Drill a hole in the top of the brake disc holder for a screw with a nut, and attach the new casing into it.

A more complex option would be to initially manufacture the outer rim and spacers and attach the tape to it. With this method, the light will come from the center of the disc and will be more saturated due to reflection from the elements of the brake disc. To make the structure and spacers, you need to take the exact dimensions of the disc and caliper. The resulting structure is fixed to the protective casing and extends to the outer part of the brake disc, along which the LED strip is fixed. This method is used much less frequently and is suitable for regions with good roads, since spacers change the wheel offset, which affects the characteristics of the suspension.

If there are disc brakes on the rear axle, then the tape is installed in a similar way on the protective casing. In the case of drum brakes, you need to make a housing yourself using a metal strip that is drilled and screwed onto the drum. When using spacers, the work scheme is the same as with the front axle, only the frame is attached in front of the drum.

3 Connecting LED lighting and using universal modules

A wire should be attached to the entry point of the LED strip, and the entry point should be carefully insulated. You can also use special protective tubes, which are purchased along with the tapes. The wiring from each wheel must be brought into the cabin in the most convenient way. It all depends on the brand of the car, namely on the contact diagram and the load on the on-board network. It is best to insulate them and secure them to the brake lines with plastic clamps.

Installation of disk illumination Before starting connection work, remove the negative terminal from the battery. Next, you need to decide on how to activate the backlight. The most common and convenient option is activation when the headlights are turned on. To do this, the contacts from the tape, after wiring into the cabin, are connected to the contacts for turning on the side lights or low beam headlights; when connecting, the polarity is strictly observed.

The standard on-board network in a car has a voltage of 12 Volts. However, during operation and under different loads, the real indicator can be equal to either 13 or 14 Volts. In order not to have to solder the contacts, when connecting the diode strip, it is recommended to use a pulse voltage stabilizer, which is needed to prevent unexpected short circuits and unpleasant consequences. All contact inputs from the body to the passenger compartment should be carefully insulated, and the wires should be placed in corrugation.

One of the most spectacular trends will help you stand out from the gray mass of road users - illumination of car wheels!

High technologies, first of all, never bypass the automotive industry and are willingly introduced into all car parts. Light is one of the main components of every car - first of all, it is interior lighting. But no one forbids you to also install lighting on other parts of the car.

Nothing will make your “steel horse” stand out as brightly and beautifully as well-chosen lighting for various parts of its body and interior. You can “light up” anything your soul and your pocket desire. The trunk, engine compartment, side skirts, radiator grilles, interior parts, exhaust pipes, air intakes, and even wheels will sparkle with any color of the light spectrum in the skillful hands of a car enthusiast! The main thing is that the color of the car is in harmony with the colors of the lighting. Eg, The illumination of the car wheels looks very good with chrome wheels.

What type of backlight is better?

In most cases, neon lamps were previously used to illuminate various parts of the car. But as you know, technology does not stand still and more economical, durable and reliable LED lighting devices have entered the market to replace the power-hungry and less reliable neon lamps. The advantage of diodes over is obvious.

LED lighting is safer than neon tubes. Neon lamps are very fragile, explosive and can cause a car fire. Neon lights also contain mercury, which is extremely dangerous to human health. The service life of a neon lamp is several times shorter than that of LEDs. After about five years, neon inexorably begins to fade and lose its appeal.

Neon is much more expensive to maintain than diodes. If the neon fails, it is extremely difficult to replace it. It will be necessary to change the entire tube and changing it yourself is not recommended (contains mercury and is extremely fragile), it is better to contact specialized tuning stations. Replacing a failed diode is several times cheaper, easier and faster.

The gluttony of neon, in general, leaves much to be desired. The tubes literally “drink” electricity. Diodes have left neon far behind in this regard - they require nine to fifteen volts of voltage to operate. LEDs easily withstand environmental influences and are more resistant to temperature changes. The brightness of the diodes can be adjusted independently; neon will not allow us such liberties.

But there are nuances that cannot be ignored. For example, an open neon tube spreads light evenly along its entire length, providing a wide beam angle. Diodes have a narrower angle of light propagation, and the light of most LED lamps is focused into a point. Therefore, the illumination of car wheels will look better when using LED lighting sources. Neon is more suitable for illuminating the underbody of a car.

Let there be light

If you are wondering how to make the wheels illuminated, then our instructions will answer it for you. Let's do this job using LEDs, as they are best suited for this purpose. We will not describe installation on all four wheels. Let's look at the whole process using one wheel as an example, and the rest are performed in a similar way:

• To begin, we will need several LED strips, four current stabilizers, corrugated tubes, wires, sealant, glue and wire.
• Then we lift one side of the car and. If desired, the car can be placed on safety stands, since working with a car mounted on a jack is extremely dangerous due to poor stability.
• After removing the wheel, you must thoroughly wash the brake disc casing with gasoline and dry thoroughly.
• After everything has dried, you need to measure the length of the LED strip. This is quite easy to do - just wrap the tape around the casing and cut off the excess. Remember that the tape should only be cut in places specially marked for this purpose. Every three diodes there is a white mark, cut along it (if you cut it in the wrong place, you will simply ruin the tape, since it will no longer work).
• We coat the finished diode strip with glue on the side that will be adjacent to the casing.
• Carefully glue the tape to the casing and let the glue set. After the glue has dried sufficiently, we additionally attach the tape with wire to the brake disc casing.
• The tape is fastened quite tightly. Carefully seal the cut end of the tape using sealant. This is necessary so that moisture does not get into the silicone tape with lamps and ruin all our beauty.
• Wires (plus and minus) are released from the untouched end of our ribbon. We solder the wires to them that will connect to the stabilizer.
• We carefully insulate the soldered wires and place them in a corrugated tube, after which we bring them into the cabin.
• Next, the wires are connected to the stabilizer and lead from it to the headlight wires. If you connect it not to the headlights, but directly to it, then you will have to install an additional switch in the cabin for our lighting. In our case, the illumination of the car wheels will work only when the headlights are on.

Do-it-yourself wheel lighting requires a lot of care and precision on your part. The main components of the backlight are very fragile and can easily fail if handled incorrectly. Do not forget that when connecting LED strips it is very important to observe the polarity (plus and minus), since if you connect the poles incorrectly, the diodes will not work.

If you lower your financial priorities, you can purchase a ready-made kit. Ready-made car wheel lighting has many unique features. For example, sound sensors that respond to musical compositions. As a result, “light music” is produced on wheels. If the lighting kit is multi-colored, then the wheels will play with different colors of the light spectrum. The kits, as a rule, always contain detailed instructions for installing and operating a specific device.

Keep up with auto fashion and let your “steel friend” be the most beautiful, bright and memorable!

A modern car becomes not only a means of transportation, but also a means of individualizing the car owner. Many car enthusiasts complement their “iron horse” with many different devices, which in some cases improve the functionality of the car, and in others make it more beautiful, such as. In this article we will tell you what kind of backlighting car rims are and show you how to make it.

A new type of tuning - wheel illumination

Experienced tuning specialists are able to install lighting on many different parts of the car. These can be all possible handles and other decorative parts of the car. The underbody of the car is also not ignored: the world has long known about neon car lighting, which is installed under the thresholds and creates a beautiful glow under the car.

An equally popular decoration is the illumination of car rims. As with any other electrical items, the correct selection of parts and their high-quality installation are important here. This is the only way to improve the external aesthetics of the car.

Before applying this type of tuning to your car, you need to make sure of the “natural” beauty of your wheels. This means that they should not have cuts, chips, signs of corrosion or dents. Such unpleasant areas of the disk will be clearly emphasized by lighting devices, which means that instead of improving the appearance, the opposite effect will be obtained.

There are the following ways to create disk backlighting:

How to select and install wheel rim lights with your own hands?

The selection of LEDs must be done in accordance with the color of the car. Many designers believe that a beautiful glow can be achieved by using two colors of light. Good shades are created by blue and silver, blue and black, yellow and green.

Attention! While color selection is a creative choice, it is strongly discouraged to use colors that are commonly used in government vehicle flashing lights. For example, it is not recommended to use red in combination with blue or white, or red in a mixture with orange. Firstly, this can mislead other road users, and secondly, it can cause quite serious problems with the traffic police.

So, you can install the rim lights on the front wheels on the wheel hub. To do this, the LED strip is glued to its circumference along the fixed part of the element. Why did we choose this particular site? This is due to the fact that connecting the rotating parts of a car to the network is quite a difficult task, and why should we complicate this process?

Another mounting location is the protective casing. To do this, select the highest quality double-sided tape in advance and attach it to the edge of the casing. A mount for the lamp socket is installed on the tape and, if necessary, reinforced with a clamp, holes for which must be drilled in advance.

All wires must run in one rod and in no case should they touch rotating or hot parts, especially. Be careful and calculate the installation location in advance.

Particular attention should be paid to double-sided tape. The fact is that when washing a car using water pressure devices, they can easily tear off the tape and then all your work will be in vain. If you often wash your car at specialized car washes, then install the backlight on more reliable mounts.

This backlight is connected to a battery. A fuse must be installed in one of the gaps. Under no circumstances should you connect such things directly! An accidental short circuit can lead to a fire, for which you will be solely to blame. Be sure to extend one of the wires into the car interior and install a switch in the section. It is not recommended to connect such lighting to low or high beam headlights. This is due to the fact that its use separately from headlights can only be complicated.

This is how the rim lights are installed on a car. It is worth noting that these are not all installation methods. We have listed only the most basic ones, which are widely used by a large number of car enthusiasts and have earned only positive reviews. If you come up with some new method, you have the right to use it.

Not a single motorist can dispute the fact that his car is not just a vehicle, but a real business card. That is why car owners try so hard to make their four-wheeled friend clean, well-groomed, and beautiful, in order to emphasize the characteristics of their character. Many, with all their love for the iron horse, still do not dare to undertake bold and challenging experiments, but there are also those who are not afraid and are truly bright. One of the most interesting and original tuning options would be to illuminate the rims yourself. Such modernization will allow the car to stand out from the flow of traffic and attract attention to it.

If you want to be different from others, then go for it! By the way, installing the backlight of a car’s rims is a simple matter and quite feasible. Carrying out this kind of event is financially accessible and will not require you to have any special knowledge in the field of electricity. The result will exceed all expectations and will make the car noticeable not only in parking lots, but also while driving.

How to provide backlighting to your disks yourself?

The backlighting of rims on a car looks most impressive when the streets have already said goodbye to the last rays of the sun and have plunged into darkness. A bright addition to the light on the wheels can be illumination of the bottom. Such a harmonious duet will create the illusion of flight: it will seem to pedestrians that your car is not moving, but is literally flying along the highway.

Some of the simplest and most affordable ways to install backlighting on car tires are:

1. Attaching LEDs to brake discs or drums.
2. Use of special luminous phosphor paints.

Installing LEDs as backlight

In order to install and connect LED rim lighting, it is best to purchase one that includes everything you need for tuning your car. In this set you will find: an LED strip, the terminals necessary to connect it to the car wiring, rims and clamps for attaching the strip. The easiest way to install the backlight is on disc brakes. Such an event is possible without contacting car services or involving specialists - all the work can be done by hand.

The principle of attaching the LED strip will depend on whether the brake disc has a special protective casing. We invite you to familiarize yourself with both methods of how to make your own disc backlight, depending on whether there is a casing or not. So:

1. In the first case, if the protective casing is present on the brake disc, we will need to drill holes in it every 5 centimeters. The tape needs to be glued along the edge of the casing, securing it with plastic clamps threaded through the holes we made.
2. If the casing is missing, then this complicates our task somewhat, and therefore we will have to act differently. First, we have to make a rim that will protect our LEDs. This can be done using a simple thick and fairly strong wire or metal tape. The tape should be secured to the pendant and bent to form a circle. After this, we advise you to secure the tape with clamps. All activities must be carried out extremely carefully and carefully so as not to disturb the wheel alignment and not to change the characteristics of your car.

If you do not risk modifying your car with a homemade rim, you can easily order an additional plastic casing based on the parameters of your car. This element must perfectly match the parameters of the brake disc. This way, you will create light spokes on the wheels that will appear as the wheels rotate.

It is also possible to create lighting in the central part of the disk. To do this, it is enough to fix the LED strip not at the edges of the casings, but right in its center - where it attaches to the hub. If you do everything correctly, the design will look like a small spider. It is better to secure such a system with bolts into homemade holes prepared for this. Check the fastenings for strength; if they do not support your structure while moving, start the procedure from the very beginning.

An alternative option for creating glowing disks

Another original and, importantly, practical and convenient car wheel is the use of phosphor. For those who have never encountered such a thing as phosphor, we will make a small remark. Externally, the phosphor looks like an ordinary white substance; all internal surfaces of fluorescent lamps are coated with this substance. Such paints perfectly absorb ultraviolet radiation, which is subsequently converted into light visible to us. This feature of the paints has allowed them to find wide application in the field of car tuning.

By using this wireless rim illumination, you will save yourself from fussing with connecting the diode strip to the electrical part of the car. In addition, you will get full-fledged glowing wheels that will not need the battery power of your four-wheeled friend. True, this tuning option will cost more, but the effect of phosphor tuning is worth it. In addition, if the technology is followed and the correct choice of top varnish, such a light can serve faithfully for several years.

For those who want to make the wheels multi-colored, fluorescent additives will come to the rescue, which will need to be mixed with paint. You should be prepared for the fillers to fade in the sun in the first 2-3 years. Of course, even after burnout, the light effect will remain, the backlight will simply return to the standard one - white.

Lately, you can often see glowing car wheels on the roads. This type of tuning has become popular. This article will talk about light tuning options, what types of wheel lighting there are and how to install it yourself.

Neon or LED lighting

Previously, car owners tuned their “iron horses” with neon lamps. Due to the fact that technology is rapidly developing, LEDs have become competition for neon. They are more reliable, economical and have a long service life. The advantage of diodes is their resistance to any external influence. The same cannot be said about neon tubes. They are fragile, explosive, and can cause a vehicle fire.

Neon also contains mercury, which is extremely harmful to human health. Neon tubes are expensive to maintain.

It is worth noting their excessive power consumption, while LEDs require 9 to 12V. In addition, if the neon tube breaks, it will need to be completely replaced, which should be done by lighting professionals. Replacing diodes is not a hassle, unlike neon. Another advantage of LEDs is the ability to adjust the brightness and color of the glow, if they are equipped with a special controller. Neon does not have this option.

The above analysis determines the obvious advantage of LEDs over neon tubes. These diodes are ideal for car wheels.

LED lighting options

The simplest light tuning is illumination on the wheel nipple. These caps have an LED. The design consists of a steel case in which the batteries are located, as well as a thread for screwing an LED onto it under the plastic. These caps are waterproof and resistant to constant vibration and shock. When the wheels rotate, the contacts located in the cap close, causing them to start blinking. At speed, the LEDs light up continuously, giving the impression that a luminous ring has been placed on the wheel. There are LED caps on sale that shine in different or the same color.

Another option for tuning car wheels is to install an LED strip, which is powered from a standard 12V network.

Installing an RGB strip will allow the driver to choose the color of the wheels himself using a special remote control. Thanks to the silicone shell, the tape has good moisture protection and durability.

Nipple doid is one of the most affordable and common options for wheel illumination.

The most expensive type of car wheel lighting is called video projection. It is implemented thanks to a special ready-made structure mounted on the wheel, which contains a microcontroller board. It can be flashed via a USB port, and it is powered by 4 batteries. The line on which the LEDs are located directly lights up. While driving, a certain, specified pattern appears on the wheels using a computer. This type of backlight has a number of inconveniences: the battery runs out quickly, high-quality image display is ensured at a speed of at least 30 km/h, protection from moisture and dismantling is insufficient.

How much can I buy wheel lights for?

Many car enthusiasts are interested in wheel illumination, is it possible to buy it or do you need to do it yourself? In fact, it is sold in auto tuning stores and has a wide variety of options. The cost of lighting depends on the type and installation chosen. The cheapest option is single-color wheel nipple caps. Installing the caps will cost no more than 500 rubles. You can install them yourself, spending no more than 5 minutes.

Illuminating the wheels with LED strip will cost a little more. A meter of tape costs from 60 rubles/meter. Installing the tape is quite troublesome and expensive. Especially when it comes to RGB type tape. Its price can reach 1500 rubles.

LED projection onto car wheels, as mentioned above, is the most expensive option. The cost of installation on one wheel can cost up to 6,000 rubles.

In this video you will find detailed instructions on how to make wheel lights with your own hands:

What are the possible fines and other consequences?

Many car enthusiasts are afraid of fines for installing wheel lights and ask themselves the question, “Is wheel lights allowed by law?” The legality of this type of tuning remains in question.

To date, the installation of such additional lighting equipment is not listed in GOST 8769-75, which contains information about external lighting devices, their quantity and color.

• A fine may be issued for violation of clause 3. 1 Traffic Regulations of the Russian Federation 2017, on the list of faults for which the operation of the vehicle is prohibited.
• There is also a provision stating that if the external lighting devices of the car do not correspond to the design provided by the manufacturer, then its operation is contrary to the current traffic regulations. Consequently, the driver can get off with a warning from the inspector or receive a fine of 500 rubles.

Therefore, the wheel lights should be turned on in places where there are no traffic police posts.

We make the lighting ourselves

Installing LED caps is a simple task, which cannot be said about LED strip. The installation process is quite complicated. In addition to the tape itself, you must have a flat aluminum profile, a perforated profile for the arches, plastic harnesses, wires and tools. Actions to be taken:

• From the selected profiles, a structure is assembled that will resemble a wheel. Three aluminum strips act as spokes. Perforated arched profile - rim.
• The structure is located behind the brake disc;
• Power wires are soldered to the place where the LED strip will be located, and the contact points are insulated with hot-melt adhesive;
• An LED strip is attached to the outer part of the rim, which is secured with ties;
• The wires are hidden in a special plastic case and attached to levers that are located on the bottom of the car.

To connect the LED strip to the battery, you need a separate switch in the car interior or a designated place for an RGB strip controller.

In addition, it would not be superfluous to install a 12V stabilizer, which will act as a fuse for the LED strip and guarantee long-term operation of the car wheel illumination.

Bottom line

Self-installation of wheel lights requires a responsible approach, patience and accuracy. Structural elements are fragile. If installed incorrectly, the backlight may fail immediately after the vehicle starts moving. That is why it is necessary to secure the tape tightly to ensure its long-term operation. Illuminating the wheels can highlight the individual style of the car and make it stand out from the night traffic.