1997 Boxter Headlights - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

The headlights on my 1997 Boxter are working but the reflector inside is cracked and yellowing. From what I understand this is a common issue. I have watched you tube videos in regards to taking apart the assembly but I am not interested in doing that. So I have 2 options going forward. Replace the existing with OEM and have same look or replace existing with LED DRL type lights which gives the car a more modern look. I am assuming price will be about the same. Does anyone have any experience with these types of lights and what manufacturer should I purchase from. I saw a company called Xtreme Motorcars and some stuff on ebay as well. Any pics would be helpful too.

Personally, I like to keep my 98" as close to stock as possible, so I would stick with the same and not try to update. There's just something very nice (IMHO) to see an "original vintage" Boxster........but that's me. (I also am not sure if it's as simple as just dropping in a set of LED's. Changes to the power to the lights might need to be changed......could be more involved that you think.)

How much do you want to spend. Either option isn't going to be "cheap"

I second the motion of keep it stock. I like the big round headlights, it gives it that retro vibe and it's one of the things that attracted me to the car in the first place. I hear a lot of people rag on the amber lenses but I never go that, I think they look fine just the way they are.

You've got the typical halogen burn cars with DRLs generally get...mine included. If you can source a replacement halogen, it's the cheaper of your two proposed options. I've heard there are some sourced in Eastern Europe somewhere...someone can chime in. I would watch ebay for litronics..they come up, but can be very pricey. The other option is to open them up like I plan to, and update to bi-xenons. The Retrofit Source is very good from posts I've read, in fact I've got my kit assembled to purchase in my shopping cart. Probably not for the unskilled, but doable if you research. Lots of youtube vids on the process...search TTGator, he recently posted a DIY video. Many have done this with great results. Parts so far I have in my cart (the cheapest option, IMO)...under $400 total CAN$. I would avoid the XtremeMotors lights...lots of poor ratings about quality, and the LEDs apparently fail regularly. There are some guys on here with them, however I've seen many posts where folks are warning against wasting your money on them. Paging Particlewave in 3...2...1... Just my 2 cents FWIW. Good luck!

Could you be more specific what is the DRL LED replacement? EDIT: OK, I think I know what you are talking about. Is it this assembly? You see, my “complaint” or maybe more of a concern is lack of information about the light distribution of the low and high beams, and the light intensity for turn signals. I came across a few aftermarket assemblies that had very poor light distribution from the low beams making it almost impossible to drive. Then, the reflector for turn signal was poorly designed (or poorly mimicked the OEM) and it seemed dim. Well, way dimmer than the OEM had. If I had someone to shoot a few pictures of OEM light pattern vs DRL LED and the face on comparison/side by side of the turn signal, I could say what I think. But the problem is the camera – as in automatic mode the white balance, shutter, and exposure will adjust themselves. Add WDR and any pictures are pointless. Not all projectors are good. There are many that will have lots of foreground light and very little or poorly defined hot spot. Let me put it into perspective and explain the terms. Foreground it the light right in the front of the car. Yes, you want it to be there, but not so much. Too much foreground will blind you. It may seem weird… so imagine, you are standing in a dark room looking through a window. It is dark outside. Any light outside will be visible. Now, turn a lamp next to the window, inside the room. The same light you saw just a moment ago cannot be spotted anymore. Move the lamp in the front of the window (outside) – just in case it still did not convince you. The result will be same. It is like driving with fog lights all the time. You feel you see more and actually you miss items which are far away, but they could have been seen if you had less light right in front of your eyes. Now, the hot spot. Take a camera, digital camera. Park any car that has projector headlight an light up the low beam in the front of a white wall at night. Move the camera to take a picture of the light pattern on the wall. Start lowering the aperture and limit exposure as much as you can, till the moment you will start loosing light around and the tiny bright spot will emerge. It should be about in the centre of the headlight. This is the hot spot. Very important fact about is that it seems small here, but at 100 yards it will be very large blob that actually is very crucial to see far away. I hope it makes more sense now. I had done a few headlight conversions. Many hours of testing and learning. There is still a long way to go. But I can tell you a few things. Avoid putting HID retrofit into any headlight housing, unless it is a projector style. This one can handle the extra light, but requires good comparison tests as described above – first halogen OEM setup and then HID retrofit. Any PnP LED is worthless. Just take my word – they do not work. If you do not believe – perform tests as I described above. Never every go above 6000 K for any “white” light. I would say – stick to 4300 K (+/- 200 K) as it will provide way better visibility than “cool blue” lights. Simply put – blue light is not good for human. It is distracting and tiring. You operate much better with yellow than blue. Light brightness has nothing to do with light intensity. You may have 2700 K (yellow) light at 3500 lm and 6000 K (quite blue) at 2000 lm – while 6000 K will seem much brighter, guess what – the 2700 K will light up far better and you can actually see way more. Sorry for long post… but I wanted to lay it out for you. One last thing. If you do not drive at night at all and the turn signal is intense enough – got for cool LED assembly. Match it with 718 style rears and the car will transform drastically.

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These https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5uAy3hwdc0Y&t=4s

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I was looking at it the other day. Is there a US based retailer?

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I wish there was but not one I could find. They also sell just the centering bracket plate, which is the key to being able to use the panamera shrouds, for around $50 if I remember correctly.

Has anyone painted the inside a flat black? Will pretty much any high temp paint work?

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Those look good. Looks like a good summer weekend project.

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That looks great but like I said in my original post I am not too interested in taking the assembly apart like I have seen in many vids on you tube. Maybe I should just replace with OEM and change bulb to LED. I don’t drive the car at night too often.

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I used regular paint, no issues.

I forgot about those guys, thanks JBauer! Another great video. Search the forum, there's lots of examples of these upgrades that have been done.

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Awesome! That looks great! Mind sharing exactly what you ordered?

The ones I'm looking at The Retrofit Source (USA) are Morimoto H1 Bi-xenons...basic kit is $165 US + LED halos @ $75 or $80 plus adapter rings, shrouds and wiring package to plug into the halogen connectors. LED halos will be behind the shrouds surrounding the main beam like JBauer's and wired to the DRLs. I like the look of it painted black too...it really updates the front end.

OSRAM just released LED night breakers...TÜV certified as a H7 replacement. Never thought that would happen! BUT there is a but...they have to get the cert for each single car model...only a handfull are certified yet, but there will be more on the list soon. https://www.osram.de/ecat/NIGHT%20BREAKER%20H7-LED-LED%20Lampen%20f%C3%BCr%20Abblendlicht-Autobeleuchtung-Fahrzeugbeleuchtung/de/de/GPS01_3401765/ZMP_4062000/

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Weird.... the filament seems to be in the right spot, but visible angle is not. Lumen is close to halogen, so actually you gain maybe a longer life, assuming enough cooling, and higher color temp (6000 K). Other than that - not much. I am afraid it may mess up the light distribution, though. Not so good with German, but most of the LED are rated "off road" use only.

I know me, I would try them, as long as they are legal. (Boxster is not on the approved list yet, so still for off road use only for most cars) Compared to H7: twice as bright, 5 times the life span, half the glare...cough cough...probably 2-3x more expensive, lol But they are ONLY a H7 replacement, so we got to wait for a legal xenon replacement...lol

Well, my kit is on it's way! $297 US, shipping included. I'm pretty excited for the project - I might go the same way as JBauer with the black inside, we shall see. Now to decide if I "hotbox" the lights, or use the oven when my wife is at work lol.