Litronics for 986

[N4SIR]

Hi guys. This is my first post on this website and hope its not going to be the last one. I am just wondering where about can I order original Litronics headlamps for Boxster 986 and how much is the installation for it in the UK?

[Richard Hamilton]

Hi guys. This is my first post on this website and hope its not going to be the last one. I am just wondering where about can I order original Litronics headlamps for Boxster 986 and how much is the installation for it in the UK?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

With the clocks about to change, and the evenings getting dark so early, I have been thinking about doing this myself. In my research, I spoke to Tech9 who retrofit a kit which is about 950GBP plus fitting to give 'close to original' litronics with level sensors, etc. I am going to go for a kit from www.hid-online.com which is 335GBP and do it myself. A cheaper option was www.hids4u.co.uk at £225, but I hate using companies that don't put their address on the web site, and they didn't pick up the phone on the three occasions I called them.

[mikefocke]

Sounds like you aren't going with the full Litronics kit from Porsche but an aftermarket kit that replaces just the bulbs and doesn't give the leveling, light dispersion and look of the P-car parts. There have been reports of lens burnout from these kits. I'd ask around a lot before I'd go that route.

[Richard Hamilton]

Thanks Mike - yes, they are aftermarket. I'm not too concerned about the look of the lights, just the quality (and quantity) of light. I realise that they won't be as good as the Porsche Litronic kit, but they must be significantly better than halogens. I've heard lots of good things about these kits (hid-online.com) from 993 owners on UK forums, and can't recall any comments about lens burnout. Can you point me in the direction of burnout issues, as I can't find any here?

[Okbye2]

I also did an hid conversion. No lens burn out yet. Ive had them on for about 5 months or more. good luck

[ptam28]

I think the lens melting comes from the folks who use those higher wattage white bulbs (80w+). The aftermarket HID ballast and bulb kits are actually lower wattage (35w vs 55w) than halogen bulbs.

That being said, the stock halogen lenses are not designed for the HID light, as stated earlier, the light dispersion and cutoff aren't going to be ideal. You'll have a lot of stray light, there are some kits that have the bulbs focal length adjusted, so that will help minimize it. So although you will increase the quantity of the light, the quality of the light you'll get won't be significally better.

[Richard Hamilton]

That being said, the stock halogen lenses are not designed for the HID light, as stated earlier, the light dispersion and cutoff aren't going to be ideal. You'll have a lot of stray light, there are some kits that have the bulbs focal length adjusted, so that will help minimize it. So although you will increase the quantity of the light, the quality of the light you'll get won't be significally better.

I think I have found that out. The light I am getting covers a wider area close to the car, but the distance vision isn't much better than standard. The 'cut-off' isn't as sharp as it used to be, either. The HID bulbs are 55mm long (base to tip), and the standard H7 halogen bulbs are 42mm. I think it might be that the HID bulbs are too far forward of the focal point of the lens, and are causing the beam to be out of focus. Has anyone else had this expreience?

[ptam28]

There are some kits out there that have the bulb adjusted so that the focal length is the same as the stock halogen bulb. You don't get nearly as much stray light. The distance was about the same as the stock halogen, but it was much brighter though. I had used one of those kits when I had a Toyota Supra and it worked out pretty good.

[Gundo]

They should outlaw those aftermarket HID kits. I'm pretty sure they are in California.

These aftermarket HID kits are pretty common in the U.S. now and they are a true menace. Several times I've been driving down a 2 lane road at night when some idiot with the HID replacement lights comes zooming at me, blinding everything in his path. The non-OEM HID bulbs create so much stray light, they are blinding. These kits can be found in any number of SUVs, which are also quite blinding.

This is a good link about these annoying "upgrades"

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Shoppers/B...S185.A6011.html

In the end, please think carefully about this mod.

[ptam28]

That was exactly my thoughts too, so I went with the real litronics kit. When all is said and done, the cost of these aftermarket kits vs. the real litronics kits with the proper optics, etc. isn't that much more considering how much better you can see at night with it.