Primer on changing Cayman light bulbs

I'm planning to write an article on various aspects of changing/replacing the lights on the Cayman , but I figured I'd start a thread first to get some input and information that others may have discovered. OK, here's what I know: Foglights - Replacing the foglamp bulbs is easier than what's described in the manual. The manual gives the impression that removing the foglight spears takes a huge amount of effort. In reality, it doesn't - the spears come off with just a little push up at the points specified in the manual. - The foglights require 55W H11 bulbs, not 35W H8 bulbs as specified in the manual! Don't even bother trying H8s - they won't fit in the sockets. - Tested/recommended YELLOW bulbs: PIAA Plasma Yellow, Hoen Endurance - Tested/recommended WHITE/HID MATCH bulbs: PIAA XTreme White, Hoen HID Match Overhead Map/Reading Lights - The manual does not give instructions on how to remove the housing or change the bulbs for these lights! - With some experimentation, I was able to remove the housing - it's actually pretty easy. Insert the blade of a BLUNT and WIDE screwdriver into the groove between the housing and the softer ceiling liner material and wedge out the entire housing. You must start at the FRONT of the housing and not the back! The rear part of the housing contains two clips that secure it to the ceiling and won't come out easily if pulled out first. - Once the housing is out, it will dangle by some wires connected to a PCB. The two bulbs appear to be W5W bulbs. I'm still trying to figure out how to remove the PCB to get to the bulbs to change them out. Rear compartment lights - These are the lights that are located above the small storage spaces behind the seats. Easy to wedge out with a blunt screwdriver. - These take W5W bulbs. Curb lights - These are the lights that are located at the bottom rear of each door. Also take W5W bulbs, and are easy to change out. Rear turn signals - It's not difficult to follow the instructions in the manual to get to the rear turn signal bulbs to change them out, but BE WARNED - there's a whole mess of wires connected to the bulb panel, and sometimes this bundle of wires are fixed to the frame with a cloth band - so you must cut the band in order to lift the panel out from the housing. Be extremely careful not to nick any wires. General bulb information - W5W size bulbs can be swapped out with the following: 2825, 194, 168. I have personally verified this by changing out various W5W bulbs in my CS with PIAA 168 bulbs. - The P21W rear turn signal bulbs can be swapped out with 7507A bulbs. - I personally have used PIAA Plasma Ion Yellows, XTreme White, and GTX HID match bulbs with no problems. The Plasma Ions are my current foglamp bulbs and works well for true improved visibility in foggy conditions (I live near the ocean, and we usually have foggy mornings). The GTX bulbs are white with a pinkish hue while the XTreme Whites are a very slight bluish cast. The GTXs are currently being used as curb lights and the XTWs are in the rear compartments. So far this is most, if not all, of the information I have gathered. If anyone else has additional information please post here and I will write an article summarizing everything if/when I find the time.

write the article! it would make a very nice addtion to the growing collection and easier for folks to find. good info.

Interpol, thanks for the info. I just recieved my order from Hoen: H11 55W Xenonmatch fogs W5W Chromium city light (side markers) Xenonmatch plate bulbs Will do the install next week at the start of my vacation. The overhead / reading lights seem pretty bright already but you must have found a brighter source. Chucko

Oh yes, thanks for reminding me chucko: the manual states the sidemarkers take W3W bulbs, but W5Ws appear to work just fine. I have found the PIAA W5W lamps to be slightly brighter (and significantly whiter) than the OEM bulbs that came with the car. Also, the rear trunk lid and front trunk each take a 38mm festoon dome lamp (6411), but apparently 39mm lamps work fine.

Got any pictures of your car at night with the lights on? I'd like to see the difference in appearance and quality with the new bulbs.

That's on my to-do list, and one of the things I have to do before writing the article.

Go for the article! Everyone may not want to change exhaust systems, but everyone will change light bulbs sooner or later. Look forward to it. Marty

How do you get to that rear brake light that is on the hatch? I've got some dust in mine and can't figure how to take it apart.

As chuko mentioned, he's going to replace his liscence plate bulb, which is a c5w barrel type bulb that I have found very difficult to find anywhere else but hoen. I hope once you have it put in chucko, that you do a before and after pic; I want to see if it gets significantly brighter or very white like the bulb on the new lexus cars. I am considering it for myself. I'm looking forward to the lighting article, I plan to change at least my driving lights and fog lamps; but for the fogs I can't decide whether to go for the endurance yellow or the HID match . - Suneet

Where can you find the PIAA Plasma Ion Yellows? Ah...question answered bymyself....... http://www.piaa.com/

tiptoe you might save a lot of money going with Hoen's endurance yellow fogs. http://www.hoen-usa.com/weather.htm There's been a lot of reviews for Hoen on this site. - Suneet

Suneet, Interesting enough, that is what I did. Not because of the price, but because of the PIAA's website. I did not like having to hunt around for the Plasma Yellow bulbs...it took me too long (like 20 seconds.....) to find them At Hoen, its all pretty straight forward, so I am going to go with them based on the reviews, price, ease of use, and the umlauts....lol.

Humm...plate lights incorrect on the Hoen site Back in April I ordered Fog Lights, Side Marker lights and License Plate bulbs for the Cayman. When the arrived, I eagerly installed the Hoen Endurance on my fogs and the Höen chromium side markers as soon as they arrived. The switch out was easy and I even installed clear side markers within an hour. However, I did not install the License Plate Bulbs from Hoen at that time. For some reason, this slipped to the back burner until tonight. The HPN-0145 W5W's do not fit the Cayman. See attached photo. The bulb needed for our license plate lights are a "barrell" or "fuse" type light. Anyone else have this experience?

Interpol, Definitely you've got to do this article. This is an award winning article in the making. Everyone will use it. We all need the corrections you've pointed out and everyone wants to know about the varieties available. I'm looking forward to you article and comparison photos. Thanks!

Thanks for the vote of support. I'm currently in the middle of preparing for a board exam in July, but hopefully after that time I'll get off my butt and get an article up.

Hi Interpol. Why not U post picture of the interior of your CS after changing all the bulb.