987 Headlight Upgrade - Page 3 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Once you experience LED headlights conventional bulbs look like candle light right. My 07 Cayman I’ve owned from new and is a true keeper and I pride myself on keeping it in standard as built trim………but I’ll make an exception if I could upgrade the headlights. Has anyone felt the same and discovered some good solutions. Much appreciate any comments, cheers

I was kindly recommended these in the Cayman R thread. https://www.powerbulbs.com/product/philips-x-treme...

Julian, thanks for that, I'll order some now. I take it you saw an improvement? Was it just a straight bulb replacement?

they list some biled upgrades for other model porsche ...maybe worth an ask https://retrofitlab.com/collections/porsche-911-99...

Montcoffer said: Julian, thanks for that, I'll order some now. I take it you saw an improvement? Was it just a straight bulb replacement? I haven't tried them yet but intending to for when i next take my car in for a service. they came highly recommended by a well respected ph forum member who owns a Cayman R.

julian987R said: I was kindly recommended these in the Cayman R thread. https://www.powerbulbs.com/product/philips-x-treme... Finally fitted the bulbs at the weekend and tried them tonight, unfortunately hardly any better, worth a try for £30 but they certainly don’t do anywhere near the claims on the package.

steveo3002 said: they list some biled upgrades for other model porsche ...maybe worth an ask https://retrofitlab.com/collections/porsche-911-99... This would be an option but nothing for Caymans, I’ve emailed them just in case?

Montcoffer said: Finally fitted the bulbs at the weekend and tried them tonight, unfortunately hardly any better, worth a try for £30 but they certainly don’t do anywhere near the claims on the package. Are your headlamp lenses in good condition ? At 14 years old I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re in need of some refurbishment.

These fit, they work (so far for 20k miles driving with no error codes), and are a reasonable upgrade over the standard incandescent and are not excessively cool / blue / ricer like many LED 'upgrades' (though admittedly, just a touch too blue). https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PWW2Y65/ref... They are not absolutely stellar, most of the commentary around LED upgrades is exaggerated. I tried some 9000 lumens alternatives first that were being raved about on another forum and they turned out to be very poor, I think they got good coverage because they were 6500K and gave the requisite ultra-blue ricer look. Anyway, my advice is you want something in the 20,000 claimed lumens range (combined for both units) or brighter if we are talking obscure Chinese brands (I think the numbers are fairly fictional, but comparably fictional, if that makes sense). Ideally, you'd want 5800K or thereabouts (I believe that is what most OEM factory LED headlights are), but these aftermarket jobs tend to be a bit bluer, 'cos that's the fashion. 6000K is OK. It doesn't look naff externally, it's just a slightly warmer temp would be better for actual driving visibility. The 6500K 'bulbs' are surprisingly bad in that regard. The cold light temp really compromises visibility. You could have some really bright 6500K headlights without having great actual visibility. Anyway, there may well be better ones now, the market moves fast. But it's all a bit trial and error, so unless you've tried a given product, it's really hard to know. Philips do some 5800K units and I would expect the quality to be better. Would be interesting to try them, they are much lower rated for lumens (3,000 combined / 1,500 per unit, I think) but that is probably a more accurate brightness rating and the slightly warmer temp will mean whatever brightness is available is more effective: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-11972XUWX2-X-trem... That said, I suspect they are more conservatively specced than Chinese stuff which is presumably made without fear of any liability. But they're quite pricey to take a spin on, so haven't got round to trying them.

Montcoffer said: julian987R said: I was kindly recommended these in the Cayman R thread. https://www.powerbulbs.com/product/philips-x-treme... Finally fitted the bulbs at the weekend and tried them tonight, unfortunately hardly any better, worth a try for £30 but they certainly don’t do anywhere near the claims on the package. Oh I am sorry to hear that. I feel bad about that though was just passing on a recommendation.

I fitted an Xenon dipped beam headlight kit in my 987.2 Cayman. Easy to fit, super bright. They are currently in my garage after selling the car. My 981 Cayman has Xenons already fitted, so if you want to spend £40 + postage, they can be yours!

julian987R said: Oh I am sorry to hear that. I feel bad about that though was just passing on a recommendation. Julian no apology necessary I was grateful for your advice, thanks again

F6C said: These fit, they work (so far for 20k miles driving with no error codes), and are a reasonable upgrade over the standard incandescent and are not excessively cool / blue / ricer like many LED 'upgrades' (though admittedly, just a touch too blue). https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PWW2Y65/ref... They are not absolutely stellar, most of the commentary around LED upgrades is exaggerated. I tried some 9000 lumens alternatives first that were being raved about on another forum and they turned out to be very poor, I think they got good coverage because they were 6500K and gave the requisite ultra-blue ricer look. Anyway, my advice is you want something in the 20,000 claimed lumens range (combined for both units) or brighter if we are talking obscure Chinese brands (I think the numbers are fairly fictional, but comparably fictional, if that makes sense). Ideally, you'd want 5800K or thereabouts (I believe that is what most OEM factory LED headlights are), but these aftermarket jobs tend to be a bit bluer, 'cos that's the fashion. 6000K is OK. It doesn't look naff externally, it's just a slightly warmer temp would be better for actual driving visibility. The 6500K 'bulbs' are surprisingly bad in that regard. The cold light temp really compromises visibility. You could have some really bright 6500K headlights without having great actual visibility. Anyway, there may well be better ones now, the market moves fast. But it's all a bit trial and error, so unless you've tried a given product, it's really hard to know. Philips do some 5800K units and I would expect the quality to be better. Would be interesting to try them, they are much lower rated for lumens (3,000 combined / 1,500 per unit, I think) but that is probably a more accurate brightness rating and the slightly warmer temp will mean whatever brightness is available is more effective: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-11972XUWX2-X-trem... That said, I suspect they are more conservatively specced than Chinese stuff which is presumably made without fear of any liability. But they're quite pricey to take a spin on, so haven't got round to trying them. Thanks for the comprehensive reply, on the face of it this looks promising, my concern would be the aftermarket blue light. I’ve had the car from new 987 gen 1, 2.7, and pride myself on keeping it standard looking as it left the factory.

andygo said: I fitted an Xenon dipped beam headlight kit in my 987.2 Cayman. Easy to fit, super bright. They are currently in my garage after selling the car. My 981 Cayman has Xenons already fitted, so if you want to spend £40 + postage, they can be yours! I’m interested yes, just one question is the light blue? Also not sure how we share contact details?

I've emailed you through the forum which will show my email address.

The market is an absolute mess for aftermarket LED bulbs. I've done a tonne of reading and video review watching on this. A lot of the differences are actually around the cooling cores on the rear of the bulbs - active (fan) versus passive (headsink only). The best source of information for LED bulbs is a website called Headlight Revolution, which have a number of very comprehensive videos and articles where they test, at length, dozens of brands. The real risk with LED bulbs is overheating and subsequent damage to your headlight, wiring harness(es) and surrounding parts. That is what is keeping me back from switching. My 981 has the bulbs Julian kindly mentioned earlier, and they made a notable difference but they are still way off our Lexus, and frankly crap for this day and age. Take a look, but I'd advise spending more for quality than trying to save a few pennies (not insinuating that was your goal). I hope that helps. Link below to site. Headlight Revloution Website Link

Hi all, Responding to this post has inspired me to take a gamble. After driving last night and having this thread weighing on my mind I decided I just needed to try something. I've gone for the Philips Ultinon Pro9000 LED H7 bulbs for the dipped beam for now. They seem to have resolved all the issues of large adapters etc of the older models, plus they are from a reputable company, however priced as such. For just shy of £120 they will be arriving tomorrow morning. Link to Philips Bulb I'll of course report back and let this thread know if they're any good.

Yes, sorry, those newer Philips LEDs were the ones I should have linked. Will probably try them myself, but do pop back and let us know how you get on! I think the light quality will be good, but the may be a little conservative re power...

Good afternoon all, Philips LED (Ultinon Pro9000) bulbs came in this morning and I installed them just a short while ago. First time uploading photos here but hope they come across okay. If you can’t see them DM me and I’ll happily mail over. The difference is huge, the colour is now a much more OEM LED white, crucially not blue, with the light intensity consistently high across the whole beam pattern, where the halogens (even though I had updated bulbs) were weak at the sides. There appears to be no light spill above the beam horizon. I will update the post this evening once I’ve tried at night, but thought you’d appreciate some side by sides. Left hand side of photo (offside on car) is LED and the right side (near side of car) is the Halogen. Installation was easy as pie, no cumbersome adapters and these are actively cooled by a small fan. [url]

Further two picture showing close up of headlights. You’ll see the LED bulb is much whiter and brighter.

Time to machine polish the headlights I think

Unfortunately none of these LED bulbs are legal for use on the road, even the Phillips one (says so on the packaging). You won't be insured if you cause an accident. From the amazon reviews: "Had high hopes for these lights as initially I was well happy and impressed with them (on my PASSAT B7 2014) until... today’s FAILED MOT. Yes they are BRIGHT and look well build but they are not fully compliant/legal as the projected beam is way too dispersed (major fault on MOT), would be nice to have them marked “not road legal” 🙄 I’m disappointed as had to take them out/put the regular H7 bulbs for MOT retest which passed with flying colours..." Source - I am a headlight expert and design engineer, I've contributed on many threads on this topic. Your legal options, as I explained for example on the recent TVR thread, are whatever is available as an OE part, or buying complete sealed ECE approved units (for example 90mm round LED ones) and making your own mountings - which can't be shined through another lens (the cover). Think Alfa 4C style exposed lamps.

Largechris said: Unfortunately none of these LED bulbs are legal for use on the road, even the Phillips one (says so on the packaging). You won't be insured if you cause an accident. From the amazon reviews: "Had high hopes for these lights as initially I was well happy and impressed with them (on my PASSAT B7 2014) until... today’s FAILED MOT. Yes they are BRIGHT and look well build but they are not fully compliant/legal as the projected beam is way too dispersed (major fault on MOT), would be nice to have them marked “not road legal” ?? I’m disappointed as had to take them out/put the regular H7 bulbs for MOT retest which passed with flying colours..." Source - I am a headlight expert and design engineer, I've contributed on many threads on this topic. Your legal options, as I explained for example on the recent TVR thread, are whatever is available as an OE part, or buying complete sealed ECE approved units (for example 90mm round LED ones) and making your own mountings - which can't be shined through another lens (the cover). Think Alfa 4C style exposed lamps. It depends on the headlight type, in the projector type headlights they can be totally fine with the correct pattern and pass MOT, as I have experienced myself - beam pattern with LED was pretty much identical to the OEM incandescents with a nice, crisp cutoff. If the pattern is correct, they'll pass MOT. No MOT station is going to start pulling light units apart to check bulb type if the pattern is fine and indeed no MOT station is in a position know with every car what type of light source is OEM. As for insurance, it's not as simple as that. All kinds of things theoretically can nullify your cover, but the ombudsman doesn't look favourably upon insurers attempting to sidestep liabilities on minor technicalities irrelevant to the accident. I grant that it's not really a dispute that you would want to get into with an insurance company with far greater resources than the average motorist. But it's also true that, in a scenario where the headlights were working properly or irrelevant to the accident (for instance in the day), you'd be very (very!) unlucky for anyone to actually identify you had non factory light sources fitted. Only in the most serious accident would anyone even begin to check that kind of thing. As these things go, I would argue the legality is a fairly niche concern provided you're getting a good beam pattern. If the headlights are leaking light everywhere and a nuisance to other road users, then that is absolutely no good. But that absolutely isn't always the case. LEDs can work well in some headlights designed for incandescent bulbs. Indeed, by providing better visibility to the driver they can be a safety benefit.

Largechris said: Unfortunately none of these LED bulbs are legal for use on the road, even the Phillips one (says so on the packaging). You won't be insured if you cause an accident. From the amazon reviews: "Had high hopes for these lights as initially I was well happy and impressed with them (on my PASSAT B7 2014) until... today’s FAILED MOT. Yes they are BRIGHT and look well build but they are not fully compliant/legal as the projected beam is way too dispersed (major fault on MOT), would be nice to have them marked “not road legal” ?? I’m disappointed as had to take them out/put the regular H7 bulbs for MOT retest which passed with flying colours..." Source - I am a headlight expert and design engineer, I've contributed on many threads on this topic. Your legal options, as I explained for example on the recent TVR thread, are whatever is available as an OE part, or buying complete sealed ECE approved units (for example 90mm round LED ones) and making your own mountings - which can't be shined through another lens (the cover). Think Alfa 4C style exposed lamps. Hi, I can't argue that you're not correct on the MoT side, I do feel a little too black and white on the insurance side, but regardless, I knew this before buying. They are project beam housing, the beam pattern is the same as halogen and thus won't dazzle oncoming traffic. They take 10 mins to switch over, so will likely to do before each MoT, it's not any real inconvenience from the safety benefit that having decent headlight brings to me. Each to their own as to what risk one wants to take in life, I am certainly a law abiding citizen, however my conscience is very much clear here, much like it is when I'm out for a drive and might slightly exceed the speed limit on a dry well sighted low traffic NSL road.

If the headlights are working correctly re pattern, you won't need to change them for the MOT. On what basis would they fail the car? The tester's hunch that they are a certain type of light source (MOT fees are not sufficient to allow time pull the headlight unit and inspect) and a guess that the car wasn't specified from the factory (no tester is going to know exactly what cars had what factory lighting options and likewise no tester is going to spend time researching that for every car) with whatever 'bulb' this hunch concludes you have fitted to the car? Personally, I can't see how they fail the car unless there's a problem with the beam pattern. And in my experience, that's how it works in practice.

F6C said: If the headlights are working correctly re pattern, you won't need to change them for the MOT. On what basis would they fail the car? The tester's hunch that they are a certain type of light source (MOT fees are not sufficient to allow time pull the headlight unit and inspect) and a guess that the car wasn't specified from the factory (no tester is going to know exactly what cars had what factory lighting options and likewise no tester is going to spend time researching that for every car) with whatever 'bulb' this hunch concludes you have fitted to the car? Personally, I can't see how they fail the car unless there's a problem with the beam pattern. And in my experience, that's how it works in practice. To be fair F6C I am confident you are right however mine gets MOT'd at Porsche Tonbridge, and as they work with them day in day out I think there's a chance their eye might be a bit more keen than the average MoT tester. To avoid a FAIL on the MoT history I will likely just change them for convenience, but I'll be telling myself it's pointless the whole time. Just took it out to go to the shops. A massive improvement.

I know what you mean. You could get it tested elsewhere, but then it's the hassle of that versus the hassle of bulb swapping. I think in practice, even if the tester 'knew' that the bulb type was likely not OEM and legal, they'd still have to remove the lamp unit and open it up to check, which I do not believe they would do due to cost constraints and if the beam pattern is correct. In which case, they'd have no basis to fail without pulling the units to inspect. I'm going to give the Philips a go. Will be interesting to see how the fare versus cheapo but high power Chinese units. To be fair, the Novsight units have lasted getting on for 20k miles of mixed driving - and I always drive with my headlights on, even in the day, on the basis that I believe it helps other roads to be aware of your presence. So, that's quite a bit of uptime with no (known) issues.

andygo said: I've emailed you through the forum which will show my email address. Andy, Xeon lights arrived yesterday and now fitted, massive improvement, it will transform how safe the car will feel at night. Photo has Xeon on the right, thanks for your advice, merry Christmas, Colin

Montcoffer said: Andy, Xeon lights arrived yesterday and now fitted, massive improvement, it will transform how safe the car will feel at night. Photo has Xeon on the right, thanks for your advice, merry Christmas, Colin Hi Colin and Andy. Glad you’ve got a setup you’re happy with… do you have a link or any info on the kit you have? I’ve seen this https://www.ledperf.co.uk/porsche-boxster-987-xeno... (as well as others) but would be good to get a recommendation. I’ve seen some 35W and 55W options… if anyone has any info or pics of their installs it’s be appreciated. Sorry for the thread hijack

MitchW12 said: Montcoffer said: Andy, Xeon lights arrived yesterday and now fitted, massive improvement, it will transform how safe the car will feel at night. Photo has Xeon on the right, thanks for your advice, merry Christmas, Colin Hi Colin and Andy. Glad you’ve got a setup you’re happy with… do you have a link or any info on the kit you have? I’ve seen this https://www.ledperf.co.uk/porsche-boxster-987-xeno... (as well as others) but would be good to get a recommendation. I’ve seen some 35W and 55W options… if anyone has any info or pics of their installs it’s be appreciated. Sorry for the thread hijack they look good huh. So they convert halogen to xenon, but did you see they do a halogen to LED kit too. Would that be even better? https://www.ledperf.co.uk/high-power-led-conversio...

F6C said: These fit, they work (so far for 20k miles driving with no error codes), and are a reasonable upgrade over the standard incandescent and are not excessively cool / blue / ricer like many LED 'upgrades' (though admittedly, just a touch too blue). https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PWW2Y65/ref... Ordered these earlier this week and fitted just now to my 987 Spyder. They look great, no errors, no flickering. Ring Xenon 5000 on left for comparison. As you can see, not 5000 and nothing like Xenon Thanks for the tip! Edited by Lox on Friday 11th February 16:56

So glad I’ve found this thread, and it’s recent! Picked up my 987 Boxster S on Saturday. Headlights need a buff which is fine, but the halogens have to go!! I’ve just ordered these same LED’s, fingers crossed they look as good!

Largechris said: Unfortunately none of these LED bulbs are legal for use on the road, even the Phillips one (says so on the packaging). You won't be insured if you cause an accident. From the amazon reviews: "Had high hopes for these lights as initially I was well happy and impressed with them (on my PASSAT B7 2014) until... today’s FAILED MOT. Yes they are BRIGHT and look well build but they are not fully compliant/legal as the projected beam is way too dispersed (major fault on MOT), would be nice to have them marked “not road legal” ?? I’m disappointed as had to take them out/put the regular H7 bulbs for MOT retest which passed with flying colours..." Source - I am a headlight expert and design engineer, I've contributed on many threads on this topic. Your legal options, as I explained for example on the recent TVR thread, are whatever is available as an OE part, or buying complete sealed ECE approved units (for example 90mm round LED ones) and making your own mountings - which can't be shined through another lens (the cover). Think Alfa 4C style exposed lamps. Couple of comments... If you are an headlight expert, why didn’t you know they were illegal? Or did you know, but still fitted them. If they are far better, but the beam is too dispersed to pass an MOT, could it be that the scattered beam will dazzle oncoming drivers? Perhaps this is the very issue with their legality? It’s all very well being able to see better yourself, but what about the blinded other road users? I have halogens in my 981, LEDs in our BMW. The halogens are perfectly adequate but I’d consider a legal upgrade, not one I have to sneakily swap out for an MOT. That in itself must be breaking the law.

DJMC said: Largechris said: Unfortunately none of these LED bulbs are legal for use on the road, even the Phillips one (says so on the packaging). You won't be insured if you cause an accident. From the amazon reviews: "Had high hopes for these lights as initially I was well happy and impressed with them (on my PASSAT B7 2014) until... today’s FAILED MOT. Yes they are BRIGHT and look well build but they are not fully compliant/legal as the projected beam is way too dispersed (major fault on MOT), would be nice to have them marked “not road legal” ?? I’m disappointed as had to take them out/put the regular H7 bulbs for MOT retest which passed with flying colours..." Source - I am a headlight expert and design engineer, I've contributed on many threads on this topic. Your legal options, as I explained for example on the recent TVR thread, are whatever is available as an OE part, or buying complete sealed ECE approved units (for example 90mm round LED ones) and making your own mountings - which can't be shined through another lens (the cover). Think Alfa 4C style exposed lamps. Couple of comments... If you are an headlight expert, why didn’t you know they were illegal? Or did you know, but still fitted them. If they are far better, but the beam is too dispersed to pass an MOT, could it be that the scattered beam will dazzle oncoming drivers? Perhaps this is the very issue with their legality? It’s all very well being able to see better yourself, but what about the blinded other road users? I have halogens in my 981, LEDs in our BMW. The halogens are perfectly adequate but I’d consider a legal upgrade, not one I have to sneakily swap out for an MOT. That in itself must be breaking the law. I commented as a vehicle lighting expert, I never said I fitted any LED upgrades, I would never do that for the legal reasons I stated. Yes to the scattered beam dazzling other drivers being a possibility. People do tend to react to my lighting expertise posts by thinking I'm full of hyperbole. But to give you an example, back when I started in vehicle lighting engineering in '98, as a producer of halogen and metalised coated reflectors for mass produced cars, we used the most stringent quality checks and rejected any reflectors that had a single scratch or defect on them. Not because they might have been rejected by the customer, but because of the consequences of a stray beam on other road users.

Apologies, I missed the quotation marks. Out of interest Chris, I seem to recall something about yellow being best for headlight colour, is that true? If so, why are most LEDs quite white? With domestic LED bulbs I can choose the colour from warm yellow to cold white. Is it a fashion thing?

I’m not sure about it being the best colour. I know that driving with yellow glasses can help driving at night. All I know is, these LED’s are fantastic!!

Great, aren't they!

Just done these for a friend. Machine polish, headlight protection film and H7 LED. Very easy to fit and a easy DIY.

wd888 said: [Just done these for a friend. Machine polish, headlight protection film and H7 LED. Very easy to fit and a easy DIY. Looking good! What polish pads / paper and compound did you use for that? Also, which headlight prorector?

When I did mine I used an AutoGlym kit. It has all the pads, compound, using your own cordless drill. I was well impressed and can highly recommend it.

Montcoffer said: When I did mine I used an AutoGlym kit. It has all the pads, compound, using your own cordless drill. I was well impressed and can highly recommend it. I have the Holts equivalent of this kit. I was looking at removing the light units from the vehicle and undergoing the process inside my flat. Would you recommend this route or does it create a bit of a mess/dust?

I’d definitely remove the headlights to avoid any potential damage to surrounding paintwork, it’s really easy to remove once you understand the technique. The whole process doesn’t generate much dust so carrying it out indoors will be fine. You’ll need a water spay bottle to use at certain steps, this keeps the dust to a minimum.

Montcoffer said: I’d definitely remove the headlights to avoid any potential damage to surrounding paintwork, it’s really easy to remove once you understand the technique. The whole process doesn’t generate much dust so carrying it out indoors will be fine. You’ll need a water spay bottle to use at certain steps, this keeps the dust to a minimum. Thanks! I’m familiar (and impressed by) the unit removal process. Will be nice to do it in the warm!

RiccardoG said: Looking good! What polish pads / paper and compound did you use for that? Also, which headlight prorector? Thank you. Really pleased with the results. Nice and fresh mid life update. Headlight restoration with a Heavy cut compound and microfiber pads ,( meguirs/ lake country ) and finishing polish with foam for a little clarity and gloss. XPEL smoke headlight protection film. This is very important as a UV barrier and physical impact protection. Without the film they would go cloudy very quickly. Edited by wd888 on Tuesday 7th March 00:27

Thanks everyone for the feedback (and apologies slight thread derail)!

To summarise, the kit from https://www.ledperf.co.uk/high-power-led-conversio... is the preferred option? This won't cause the car to fail MOT?

318touring said: To summarise, the kit from https://www.ledperf.co.uk/high-power-led-conversio... is the preferred option? This won't cause the car to fail MOT? It’s still a fail. That isn’t a conversion, just a bulb swap.