who makes the best LED reverse light replacement bulbs?

[Z06Pilot]

I am looking for a substantial upgrade to the factory reverse light, preferably without adding hids. What is my best option? Vehicle is a 2012 suburban, which I believe takes a 3057 lamp, or equivalent.

 

[Optical Inferno]

Get in touch with your local Subaru dealership and they should be able to point you in the right direction if a legal replacement is available.

 

[-Virgil-]

"LED bulbs", like "HID kits", are unsafe and illegal. Rule 11 of this board prohibits advocating illegal or dangerous activity. There is no bulb that will effectively, safely, or legally upgrade your reversing lamps. If you need to see better while backing (for example because you have tinted glass), you'll need to add effective auxiliary reversing lamps such as these. The best price I've seen is at Levine's.

 

[Hamilton Felix]

Nice thing about those is the very low current drain. You could just connect a pair of them to your stock backup circuit that's made to carry a pair of 3057 lamps. It would never notice another 1.2A

Be Warned, also, of the high wattage "drop-in" halogen bulbs like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007N207G/?tag=cpf0b6-20

They are sold all over the place. They sound like a great answer and they don't cost much - until they blow fuses, cook wiring or melt your plastic fixtures. There's just a LOT more wattage and a LOT more heat there than in any 3057 or 3156 or other standard bulb. And today's factory backup lights and sockets are made of plastic.

In the past, I've added auxiliary backups that were sometimes sealed beam, sometimes incandescent and sometimes halogen. But if I added much load, I had to add a circuit to carry it. Scheinwerfermann's suggested LED backups may cost serious coin, but you're not buying or installing an extra circuit, fuseholder, relay, etc. And once it's there, unless you smash it, you can expect it to outlast the vehicle.

More and more, I'm realizing the "brute force" approach I've used for years is no longer the best answer. These low drain LED lights are the coming thing. As they become more and more affordable, they are going to make life easier.