DIY "Super" taillight (concepting stage)

[MMACH 5]

I'm pretty sure I have my front-lighting situation squared away, but I'd like to upgrade my taillights. Currently, I'm running three Viewpoint Flashpoint "High Intensity" (their description), blinkies all wired to a DIY external battery pack. I keep two of them on steady and the middle one flashing.
This is my current setup:

I've given serious consideration to replacing the middle one with a PB Superflash. But with what I've already spent on my headlight(s), my wife is balking at another $25.

I've got a fair amount of unused parts, batteries & wiring sitting around my workshop.

I have a 3.6~8.4V, 5-Mode, 3W Circuit Board that I'm not using since I retired the headlight it was in. I'm guessing if I canabalize one of my blinkies and run this driver through it, the LED is going to just burn up, right?

I'm planning to use either 2x 18650 (in parallel) or 2x AA (series) rechargeable batteries. I'll still be using the two outside blinkies on steady and need a runtime of at least two hours, (my commute is 1:45, each way but I don't mind switching out batteries before the trip home).

What red LEDs are out there that can withstand the juice from this driver? I will be using an aluminum heat sink in this also.

Thanks.

 

[znomit]

What red LEDs are out there that can withstand the juice from this driver?

The red crees from DX are good value. I think they're rated to 700mA.

 

[Baulz]

The red crees from DX are good value. I think they're rated to 700mA.

But the Vf is much lower on the red crees so I thought it would take a specific driver. Will any work as long as the output current is in a safe range?

 

[shinkansen]

I'm doing a tail light using 2x 190 lumen red lux3s flashing at a 5% duty cycle driven by LM3405s, with 1A each. The luxeon 3 red LED can take up to 1.4A, and even higher pulsed current. The thing is almost too bright, it looks like a road flare. If your driver is current mode control, the voltage it outputs will depend on design current of the driver.

 

[znomit]

But the Vf is much lower on the red crees so I thought it would take a specific driver. Will any work as long as the output current is in a safe range?

You driver input is 3.6-8.4V meaning it needs to step down the voltage to drive a white LED(typically 3.3V), it should handle the red voltage ok (around 2.5V I think).