½cwt Posted February 8, 2020 Report Share Posted February 8, 2020 On the basis of my rallying experience of you can never have too much light on the road at night *, so I was wondering if anyone have tried LED main beams in their 986? I have Litronics which have H7 mains, as well as the small kick up that you get from the xenons on main beam, and it is OK, but more would be nice so I was thinking H7 LEDs bulbs but rated to same power (55W) or H7 bulbs so as not to risk wiring overheating. Only about a £20 punt from what I can tell on eBay. Have also been considering refreshing the D2S bulbs in the Litronics to get them back to full spec. Any experience or thoughts out there? * One exception was on Tour of Mull - one year the highways authority had fitted new passing place road side signs on one stage and they were blinding reflecting back 6 100W H1 spotlight bulbs. The next year the organisers put bags over them..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GmanB Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 The worst part of the 986 and 996 is the head lamp unit and possibly the alarm ECU where water can drain. The Xenons are terrible and old projectors that a pretty naff. The older halogen units are even worse, like a candle in a jam jar. My friend purchased some bi Xenon conversion kits from Holland, logistically it's taking a while for him to complete it. It involves splitting the head lamp seal, drilling and all sorts, but It's nearing completion though and I do intend posting about it soon. With regards to LED bulbs, I don't know what is out on the market, I'm afraid. LED projection is different from Xenon and it doesn't really seem to have an after market scene. I expect getting fresh bulbs would do wonders for you. I replaced Xenon bulbs on my Saab a few years ago and it made a massive difference. I'd imagine yours are possibly original bulbs? Additionally, if it's a daily, a decent clean and wax on the lenses should be a massive improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GmanB Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 Apologies, pretty drunk when typing that. Hope it makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike597 Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 I use Philips ultinon leds on my daily (not the boxster) and having tried a load of £20 Chinese cheapies I can say the Philips are worth the extra money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted February 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 7 hours ago, GmanB said: Apologies, pretty drunk when typing that. Hope it makes sense. Mostly makes sense. I don't want to get into rewiring and splitting units so with fresh xenon bulbs for the Litronics and 'better' H7 bulb for the main. The lamps had a rubdown and polish last year and get polished along with the body work each time so are as clear as they are likely to get. 19 minutes ago, mike597 said: I use Philips ultinon leds on my daily (not the boxster) and having tried a load of £20 Chinese cheapies I can say the Philips are worth the extra money. About £85 for a pair so 4 times the price. I have noted though that most of these LED are noted as 'for off road use' so are not legit if checked. Looks like I'll carry on with Osram Nightbreakers in the mains and refresh the D2S xenon bulbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John2000 Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 I don't have a clue about bulbs but I guess the guy that owned my car before me tried to improve the brightness by putting too powerful a bulb in and one of my inner lenses is yellow so I have bought a replacement pair of headlights from a member on here and intend to change them when the weather gets better together with a fresh set of standard bulbs as per the manual. I don't drive at night much so it's not too important for me. However on the way home from the ferry late one night last November I was diverted off the motorway near Winchester on to country roads a cold and very foggy night and I found the forward fog lights great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menoporsche Posted February 9, 2020 Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 Don’t forget to T cut your lenses if you haven’t already. Also helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naim22 Posted February 10, 2020 Report Share Posted February 10, 2020 Can litronics be swapped into a non litronic car? Without levelling & washers? My 335 has xenon headlamps and they are in a different ballpark to the halogens in the boxster, the boxster has osram bulbs which helped a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninesomething Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 I put the ebay £20 leds in the dipped beam of my citroen estate. They are extremely bright. I drove from the midlands to southern Spain with about 8 hours of night driving. I really didn't need to put main beam on. Despite not having beam deflectors on I wasn't flashed at all by oncoming traffic. I've tried lots of uprated bulbs but they're nothing like as bright and don't usually last very long. I'll prob put the LEDs in the Boxster too. No signs of overheating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menoporsche Posted February 19, 2020 Report Share Posted February 19, 2020 I've put HIDS4U xenons into my Toyota projectors, much nicer light but could do with some fettling, I used the dash headlight lowering switch for the moment and don't expect to put a caravan on any time soon. They seem to confuse the auto light on/off though, sometimes I have to switch them off manually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Days Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 I watched a YT clip on LED bulbs. (I was bored). The guy seemed to think that the key part was getting a replacement bulb to replicate the exact positioning and size of the LED part with where the filament sits so that the light 'focus' remains the same. There was also a fair bit of chat on the piece about other stuff that I can't remember, cooing fans, quality of connections etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Happy Days said: I watched a YT clip on LED bulbs. (I was bored). The guy seemed to think that the key part was getting a replacement bulb to replicate the exact positioning and size of the LED part with where the filament sits so that the light 'focus' remains the same. Yes, I have wrote this on here a few times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted February 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 3 hours ago, Happy Days said: I watched a YT clip on LED bulbs. (I was bored). The guy seemed to think that the key part was getting a replacement bulb to replicate the exact positioning and size of the LED part with where the filament sits so that the light 'focus' remains the same. There was also a fair bit of chat on the piece about other stuff that I can't remember, cooing fans, quality of connections etc. Doesn't matter where you focus is, if it isn't an E marked homologated bulb it is, in theory at least, an MOT failure if noted.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edc Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 13 minutes ago, ½cwt said: Doesn't matter where you focus is, if it isn't an E marked homologated bulb it is, in theory at least, an MOT failure if noted.... Not that they have had any reason to but I've never heard of a tester removing the covers or taking out a bulb to check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 3 hours ago, ½cwt said: Doesn't matter where you focus is It does if you want a decent light output that won't dazzle other drivers and will pass an mot. None of them are legal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 13 hours ago, edc said: Not that they have had any reason to but I've never heard of a tester removing the covers or taking out a bulb to check. 10 hours ago, PaulQ said: It does if you want a decent light output that won't dazzle other drivers and will pass an mot. None of them are legal. So a balance of legality vs. what you can get away with. Legality might also affect your insurance status? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edc Posted February 21, 2020 Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 Risk Vs reward. How illegal is it and what is the penalty? I have home made parts on my car. They don't have TUV German approval or E markings. My plates which are very visible technically are illegal and don't comply to the MOT regs. No postcode of maker etc but otherwise size and space of letters perfect. Same for the lights. If they test ok and on the surface look fine you give them no cause to go digging. You also get advisories for undertrays so don't see anybody removing or dismantling a headlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatbloke Posted February 21, 2020 Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 I put H7 LED 's in my Skoda VRS and it just went through 2 MOT's (3 weeks between them, failed on mirror indicator) and the headlights passed both times. After I fitted them, I checked the beam pattern and adjusted the heights to be the same as the previous halogens. Beam pattern and heights are the same. I have another set I am going to try in the Boxster when the weathers a bit better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red rocket Posted February 21, 2020 Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 1 hour ago, Fatbloke said: After I fitted them, I checked the beam pattern and adjusted the heights to be the same as the previous halogens. Beam pattern and heights are the same. How do you adjust and check them? Put new bulbs in my VRS recently and am concerned they may not be correctly adjusted - manual says dealer has to adjust which sounds potentially expensive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatbloke Posted February 24, 2020 Report Share Posted February 24, 2020 There are white adjustment allen screws on top of the light housings. One of them adjusts the lights up and down. Face the car against a wall or garage door to line them up. I put one led in first to check it was the same beam pattern as the halogen and set it to the same height as the other halogen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninesomething Posted February 27, 2020 Report Share Posted February 27, 2020 That's how I checked mine. I'm not an MOT tester but they looked OK to me. Like I say - I don't get flashed - here or abroad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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