Headlight decisions...?

Hi Everyone, I'm in the market for a 996, and am wondering how noticeable the difference is between the regular incandescent lights or the "Litronics" lights, or the 2002 and newer 996.2 HID lights. And, if I do find a 996.1 I like with incandescents, how hard / expensive would it be to retrofit OEM, or aftermarket, HID lights? How much are aftermarket HID lights? How's their quality? Also... I am in Florida, so we have long hours of sunlight here, and most roads are very well lit (ie, I won't be driving on the mountain roads of New England in the pitch dark...). Thanks everyone!

It's Litronic/Xenon/HID vs Halogen for any MY. Get the HIDs if you can and plan to drive it at night. They make a massive difference. As far as upgrading after the fact, going OEM will be $$$$ as just the housings (new) are over $2k each. There are threads out there about going from Halogen to HID (both OEM and aftermarket). Dig them up and see what is involved.

MK I cars have Litronic headlights as an option - HID low beams and halogen high beams. MK II cars have Bi-Xenon headlights as an option - HID low beams and high beams with supplemental halogen high beams. It's a desirable option in either series. The MK I halogens utilize a reflector assembly rather than a projector assembly like the Litronics. Aftermarket conversion of the reflector assembly is possible, but not ideal.

Thanks guys... is there a noticeable difference in the illumination (performance) of the Mk I HID vs the Mk II HID? Or are they both pretty good?

There is no drastic difference between the litronic model years. They're all better than standard 12v bulbs.

Get the Litronics. Yes they are that much better. Plenty of headlight units available from salvage cars.

So does that mean I can get an H4 headlight car, and then easily find a salvaged set of Litronics to upgrade? Or just get a Litronics car to start with?

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Just get a Litronics car to begin with as the wiring is slightly different and also you have auto leveling feature as to not blind oncoming drivers. Other alternative if you don't care about auto-leveling and are handy is the HID retrofit as seen here: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...and-986-a.html

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Where in Florida? I'm in Pensacola and I have the Bi Xenons that Alpine was referencing in the link he posted. If you're close, come by and check them out.

Not worth the hassles The standard bulbs you can buy in any auto parts store Makes it easy if on a road trip

Used MKII Litronics are VERY expensive, new ones are STUPID expensive. I went the route of Halogens when I bought my project car because of price.

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?for...ns-please.html

I just posted the above link....checked to make sure it worked....I did some research and called theretrofitsource.com they were very helpful...they're in Atlanta and one of their top rated installers is in cumming. I chatted with him about an hour and he walked me through all the terminology, processes and differences in the factory projectors and aftermarket...he had A LOT of pics from various installs he performed....I picked the BiXenon projectors, nightbreaker bulbs, upgraded ballast, HID for the driving lights(normal ballast for that one)..so they will match when the headlights and driving lights are on...but I left the factory high beams stock....you'll barely be able to see them over the HIDs...and if they're undesirable, i'll take it back and he will unplug the factory high beams....total for driver's and passenger side is $1200...takes 5hrs

I actually prefer the way the Litronics in a MK1 car look, the shiny oval headlight washer on the MK2 cars is odd IMO. Both are great for night driving. I haven't thought once in mine, man I wish my lows or highs are brighter. Oddly enough in my Cayenne S with bi-xenon's I wished where brighter once in a while; but the CTT I didn't, I just assume it was something with the self leveling in the CS. The best HID car I have owned was a 02' Audi S4; they where 100% stock and just lit up everything (I live about an hour west of Detroit, so the far suburbs, still lots of country and no street lights with 55 mph speeds all over) With that said, I will not buy a car (as a daily) without HID anymore.

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Pics of the $1200 mod por favor.

Next week...

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Damn...sorry to hear that. Did they at least buy you dinner first? Sorry that I missed your PM. Really, really sorry...ouch.

you may have missed the PM...but answered my original question....y'all don't have lights for an '03 coupe yet...if you can give me an ETA, then I can cancel the install

the pics won't do any good...i'm using the stock headlight assembly....everything will look the same...just the projector will be a lot clearer

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So everything will look the same but the projector will look clearer? Were you not satisfied with the OEM projectors? Are you hoping for brighter output? Just trying to understand what exactly you're hoping to achieve for $1200.

if you hold the 2 projectors side by side...the factory one looks opaque/translucent/milky....the aftermarket ones are crystal clear....the output will be like any other HID lights(Porsche BMW MB)...maybe a little brighter and a touch blue-er (as opposed to warmer yellow) because the bulb has a higher kelvin rating....the light spread is remarkable and the illumination is superb, compared to the factory halogen...ALSO the quality of the projector makes more difference than you think...he has numerous pics of folks who kept the same bulb, (HID or halogen) and the difference is startling

Porsche OEM xenons use a diffusing lens. Why? I have no idea. It kind of defeats the purpose of having a bright, sharp and clean HID beam. Diffused lens = fuzzy cutoff, fuzzy shadows and objects in field of view do not have sharply defined edges. Still better than halogen, but why? http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/9...-pictures.html

does anyone know if the HID mentioned here are available for the 993?

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Ah, now I know what you were trying to achieve. Some members here actually had good luck in sanding and polishing their OEM lenses to make it more clear. I didn't really believe there could be a light output difference at first but you can actually gain light output by either polishing the OEM lense or get quality aftermarket ones. Even aftermarket lenses are always in constant development as well. What started out with aftermarket projectors at around 9000 lux at 8ft, has improved to 12k lux, then 15k lux. I'm fairly sure the best consumer grade is topped out at 15k lux or there about currently.

Pretty sure manufacturers started putting diffusing(fresnel) lenses on their projectors is that the governing bodies were getting complaints form other drivers about the sharp cutoffs of the new HID lights. It appeared as though people were flickering the high beams and it became very distracting to other drivers on the road. The authorities were forced by legislation to change the clear lenses to diffused to lessen this effect. Some prefer the softer diffused cutoff line as opposed the sharp one a clear lens brings. On really hilly roads, at high speeds, a sharp cutoff can be a scary thing! Matt and his crew at the retrofitsource really know thier stuff. No one I know has opened up as many OE light assemblies as tyhese guys. If there's anything you need to know about HID's (lictronic is just a brand name of HID's) these are the giys to contact!

Interestingly, my 997 HID headlights have a very sharp cutoff and they seem to output much more light than my 996 HID headlights. They appear to utilize more of a clear lens to me.

The diffusing lens was abandoned after several years (not a fresnel, johnny; a fresnel is flat with the ridges being a cross section of the lens). To my knowledge, there is no legislation in any state requiring a diffusing lens. If there is, than most car manufacturers are breaking that law since no modern cars that I've seen with OEM HIDs are using diffusing lenses. Last I heard, "Matt and his crew" at theretrofitsource have retrofitted exactly 0 sets of these headlights and want over $1000 to give it a go. If someone wants to try, be my guest. I absolutely promise that when the job is done, the headlights will arrive broken. This is because these headlights have a few key points in them that are very delicate and if they are not known to the shipper, the added weight of the HID projector will cause damage inside the headlight that must then be shipped back to a retrofitter for repair.

Well you may be right about the reflector style OE Porsche headlights. I've never opened a set up before and typically the reflector holding points are not made to hold the added weight of a projector....but it can be done. I'm assuming everyone using these kits https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...and-986-a.html are utilizing the reflector pivot points with no failures to date according to the seller. I thought clear lens projectors had been banned by the NHTSA so I stand corrected. In any case, to me, a sharp cutoff is beautiful and I think I'm going to open my current headlight up to change the diffused lens to a clear one. Something like this a retro I did on my wife's Sentra...

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I dunno, mine seem to be lacking??? I know that bulbs will degrade over time so maybe a bulb change to start.

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i've noticed factory HIDs, from my own experience and from others, have lasted quite a long time - years without issue or that isolated occurrence typically repaired/covered under warranty. reading from other posts within rennlist, i see more aftermarket HID bulb replacement due to premature longevity or some fluke experience where it doesn't work after a short time. anyone else have similar thoughts/experiences or do i stand alone?