molan Posted March 8, 2020 Report Share Posted March 8, 2020 First night drive last night and I noticed the dipped beam was fairly poor compared to my old ‘09 BMW and way worse than my wife’s Golf. I can understand the difference with the Golf as it’s a fairly new car and a ‘top of the range’ R model but there’s only about 2.5 - years in age between the 987 and my 330i. The lack of distance illumination definitely slowed me down on a 50mph twisty A road (I wasn’t speeding). Are there relatively cost effective ways to upgrade the lighting? This is going to be my everyday driver so I don’t mind spending a bit on it but don’t really want to drop a grand on lights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red rocket Posted March 8, 2020 Report Share Posted March 8, 2020 Well known problem. Headlights are simply rubbish. Lots of threads if you search and plenty have changed the bulbs to improve matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted March 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2020 Thanks - I’d hesitated to say they were rubbish but they really are! I’ll do some searching on best options to replace the bulbs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menoporsche Posted March 8, 2020 Report Share Posted March 8, 2020 Polish your lenses. Reflector or projector lens inside? Bright bulbs like nightbreaker are a bit better, but die after 1-2 years. Perennial debate over the legality of HID kits such as HIDS4U. Some kits make the CANBUS system do strange things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveEFI Posted March 9, 2020 Report Share Posted March 9, 2020 In the UK, the simplest worthwhile upgrade is to fit Philips X-tremeUltinon Gen 2 LEDs. They cost about £120, and from the likes of HIDs4U, come with resistors to fool the CANbus system. No problems here at MOT time. The very brightest conversion you can get is 55W HID, but fitting those is a bit more involved due to the external power supply needed, although this will fit inside the headlight unit. But there are questions about the legality of those, as regs state they must be self levelling and have headlight washers. Both the HID and LEDs give a perfectly decent beam pattern with the projector optics fitted to the 987 dips. Tungsten halogen lamps (OEM) age and lose output. Just replacing them with good quality new will given an improvement. In theory, LEDS should maintain the original output over a longer life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted March 9, 2020 Report Share Posted March 9, 2020 LEDs are 'off road use only' as retro fit bulbs i.e. not highway legal even if they are rather good! The commonly accepted best 'legal' H7 bulb is Osram Nightbreaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninesomething Posted March 10, 2020 Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 Hhhmmm. I have the ebay LEDs and they are pretty darned good. Never got very long out of the nightbreakers and similar which are better than stock but not massively. The LEDs are not exactly illegal they just haven't become legal yet. Actually there are so many LED equipped new cars these days that no- one sees the LED bulbs as unusual like they might have a while ago. Besides - can you see the dibble pulling you over and demanding to see what bulbs you have? If you were driving a tricked out hot hatch and you gave them a load of backsass maybe..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apollo000 Posted March 10, 2020 Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 7 minutes ago, JonSta said: Hhhmmm. I have the ebay LEDs and they are pretty darned good. Which ones did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninesomething Posted March 10, 2020 Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Novsight-H7-Fanless-LED-Headlight-Bulbs-Conversion-Kit-Xenon-White-50W-10000LM/153612666745?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 These didn't go into the Porsche they went into my Citroen which I use far more at night. Zero problems. The only difference is they flash once when I use the remote which I'm pretty sure the stock bulbs didn't. I will put another set into the boxster when I get round to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rav Posted March 10, 2020 Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 i was kindly sent the ballast and bulbs (25W Xenons) by MNeil last month. I am struggling to get these to fit a non xenon car without replacing the headlights all together. I am happy to send these to you if they are any good. Be aware though, that you need to have Xenon headlights already and probably already have 25w bulbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted March 10, 2020 Report Share Posted March 10, 2020 4 hours ago, JonSta said: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Novsight-H7-Fanless-LED-Headlight-Bulbs-Conversion-Kit-Xenon-White-50W-10000LM/153612666745?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 These didn't go into the Porsche they went into my Citroen which I use far more at night. Zero problems. The only difference is they flash once when I use the remote which I'm pretty sure the stock bulbs didn't. I will put another set into the boxster when I get round to it. I'm running a pair of these in the Box. Decent light output, but bear in mind they run hot due to the passive heatsinks, so longevity might not be any better then Nightbreakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveEFI Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 Philips claim 1500 lm at 5800Kfrom their 25 watt Ultinon. The Chinese one linked to above claims 5000 lm at 6500K, also from 25 watt, and manages it without a cooling fan. Love to know if both are true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninesomething Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 First nightbreakers I had one died within months in a car that wasn't used hardly at all at night. And it went big time - glass cloudy and element virtually gone. The LEDs are much brighter with a much whiter light so at roughly the same price they would be my choice. I haven't actually put my hand near the headlight to check if there's a significant amount of heat. Next time I go any distance at night I'll try it. They've been in about 2 months now so we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveEFI Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 There's going to be less heat from a 25W LED than 55W tungsten. But what matters is the heat local to the LEDs themselves. Hence the cooling fan on the Ultinon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tynesider Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 23 hours ago, PaulQ said: I'm running a pair of these in the Box. Decent light output, but bear in mind they run hot due to the passive heatsinks, so longevity might not be any better then Nightbreakers. I see you have a 2.5 mine is 1998 2.5, my question is are the leds you put in just a straight swap for the old bulbs without any issues?? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 3 minutes ago, Tynesider said: I see you have a 2.5 mine is 1998 2.5, my question is are the leds you put in just a straight swap for the old bulbs without any issues?? Thanks Yeah, plug & play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tynesider Posted March 11, 2020 Report Share Posted March 11, 2020 Thanks I might buy some then, don't use it much at night to be honest but a trip round the lake district in the dark last September I was relying on the wifes bat sonar to see where we were going😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveEFI Posted March 12, 2020 Report Share Posted March 12, 2020 14 hours ago, Tynesider said: I see you have a 2.5 mine is 1998 2.5, my question is are the leds you put in just a straight swap for the old bulbs without any issues?? Thanks Make sure they come with additional plug in resistors, to fool the CANbus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted March 12, 2020 Report Share Posted March 12, 2020 17 minutes ago, DaveEFI said: Make sure they come with additional plug in resistors, to fool the CANbus. No canbus on a 2.5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveEFI Posted March 12, 2020 Report Share Posted March 12, 2020 4 hours ago, PaulQ said: No canbus on a 2.5 Has it bulb failure warning? Most will be upset by changing from tungsten to LED, unless a compensating resistor is fitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted March 12, 2020 Report Share Posted March 12, 2020 18 minutes ago, DaveEFI said: Has it bulb failure warning? Most will be upset by changing from tungsten to LED, unless a compensating resistor is fitted. Nope. As I said they are plug and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveEFI Posted March 13, 2020 Report Share Posted March 13, 2020 19 hours ago, PaulQ said: Nope. As I said they are plug and play. Thinking back to my last car with simple bulb failure warning, I don't think it covered the headlights, as it will be obvious if one isn't working. Perhaps it is 987 onwards where you need the correct loading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menoporsche Posted March 13, 2020 Report Share Posted March 13, 2020 On 3/11/2020 at 7:05 PM, Tynesider said: Thanks I might buy some then, don't use it much at night to be honest but a trip round the lake district in the dark last September I was relying on the wifes bat sonar to see where we were going😎 That's pretty cool actually. You drive faster in the dark, the shrieks get higher pitched and therefore reflect obstacles back to you faster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted March 14, 2020 Report Share Posted March 14, 2020 22 hours ago, DaveEFI said: Thinking back to my last car with simple bulb failure warning, I don't think it covered the headlights, as it will be obvious if one isn't working. From the number of 'cyclops' there are on the road, a failed bulb isn't always obvious to some. As more car get bulb waring features it does tend to be older cars. The earliest systems (had one on my 1990 Carlton 3000GSi 24v) tended to be brake light bulbs only as they are the ones that one person can't check. The warning light stayed on until the brakes were used only going out if both bulbs illuminated. Everything else I had has covered all statutory bulbs and later all bulbs, but then again they've all been VW derivatives so same systems I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveEFI Posted March 14, 2020 Report Share Posted March 14, 2020 Here's a pic of the bulb failure circuit from the fist car I had with one - 1970s. No need to cover the ones you'd know have failed while driving like headlights and indicators. Of course plenty will ignore a warning light too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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