While the GT500s have aged pretty well over the years, the one thing that hasn't is the factory lighting. With even the most base model imports coming with LED lighting and/or HID projectors these days, the standard halogen and incandescent interior and exterior lighting on our GT500 was looking a bit dated. We got down to business replacing and updating the lighting with some help from our friends at Diode Dynamics.
First up, we wanted to improve the light output of our GT500's front end without installing a gaudy set of headlights or jump up to HIDs in the stock reflector housings, which would just blind everyone on the road. Instead, we turned to our friends over at Diode Dynamics and their GT500 LED Fog Lights. We went with the highest-tier XML2 fog lights which gave our Shelby a huge boost in light output from the factory fog lights all without needing to do a complete swap of the headlight housing. 07-14 Mustang GT500 Diode Dynamics LED Fog Lights (Set of 2)
Next we hit our license plate bulbs with Diode Dynamic's LED License Plate Light. Given that we're going hog-wild with LED lighting all around our Shelby, we decided, why not? The license plate LEDs are extremely bright and have a longer lifespan than standard OEM incandescent bulbs, so they make for a pretty excellent upgrade over stock. Plus the bright white color is a perfect match to the color of the other LED's we're installing. 05-09 Mustang Diode Dynamics LED License Plate Light
While we were at the rear end of our GT500, we also decided to do something about the stock reverse bulbs. It's already hard enough trying to reverse at night with the convertible top's tiny rear window without having enough light out back to see if we're about to run into anything. To fix our reversing woes, we grabbed a set of Diode Dynamics LED Reverse Lights in their highest-powered XP50 trim. Diode's reverse lights have an enormous light output that makes seeing rearward obstacles that much easier. The LED reverse bulbs also drop right into place of the factory bulbs, making for a quick and simple installation. 07-12 Mustang GT500 Diode Dynamics LED Backup Light Set
With our GT500's exterior almost fully LED'd, we moved to the interior and replaced the boring, yellowish map lights with Diode Dynamics LED Map Light Kit in a cool white color temperature and HP3 power level. These LED map lights drop right into place of the stock lights and give the entire interior of the car a clean, bright look that makes it easier to find what you're looking for and a much more modern appearance than stock. 05-14 Mustang Diode Dynamics LED Map Light Kit
