Amber Bulb Question

I recently ordered Phillips Silvervision bulbs for my rear turn signals (those are the ones that look silver but blink amber). The only problem is, they look very yellow, rather than amber. I sent them back to the seller, who said they'd do a side-by-side test to see if they're all like that. I don't think they are all yellow, as I had a set in there until recently, when I moved them to the front after I did the amberdectomy (that's when you remove the amber reflectors from the front turn signals on 1999-2001 911's so you can't see any amber under the clear turn signal lens). Any ideas on this one?

Why not th OEM bulb?

With the OEM bulb, you can see the amber through the lens. With the Silvervision bulb, the clear lens looks entirely clear. You have to be a real detail nut to notice these things.

I have a bulb from prostreetlighting.com that works very good for me. They are called Zenon Chromes. I also bought some Phillips that were blue and I didnt like them at all.

Why not LEDs? They look clear until they're on. But you would have to add a resistor in parallel to drawn enough current so the blinker relay still works.

I am running these. They look good but they are definitely not as bright as stock. There are a couple of choices on ebay right now. ebay

When these bulbs that look silver but flash amber came out a few years ago someone posted this picture.

I use LED's for my side markers. For the turns, they won't utilize the reflectors properly. (LED Bulbs generally have all the LED's arrayed straight back, some have a ring or two arrayed radially, and that helps somewhat). But they appear brighter and IMHO look better. On my motorcycle, the only incandescent bulb on the bike is the headlight. Like Will said, you have to add resistors. Some of the LED bulb mfg's sell load resistors for this. You should try them out to see how they look. Will, do you have LED's in your car? Can you post a picture?

I think these deserve a roll of the eyes.

Yea you are right this mod addiction gets out of control. If you have stock yellow turn signal lens', you will not appreciate wanting silver bulbs. The yellow bulbs are blazingly visable thru the european clear turn signal lens even when not activated. It is also a regional point of view, When I lived in Flint MI, I had one three porsches in town, and there was no reason to try and make my cab look any different. Now I live in California, where they sell more porsches than any where else in the world. It creates a subtle desire to try and personalize your vehicle. On my way to work every morning, I pass a dozen 911's, an Aston Martin and a Ferarri every day. So feel free to roll your eyes, for $30 it is a suble way to make the Silver Anniversary look more silver.

I lightly spray pain with glossy metalic pain from pepboys ( try to get the one that can withstand high temp., but since these are blinker, it does not matter anyways.) no yellow reflection at all. Just remember not to coat the bulbs too thick. have fun!

Thanks, guy. Damant, I had first tried spraying the bulbs as you said, with some chrome paint I had in the basement. I guess I sprayed too thick, because you could hard notice when the bulb was blinking.

If you are going to paint the builbs, wouldnt it be better if you only painted the half of the bulb that faces the exterior lens, leaving the side that is facing the interior reflective mirror to remain yellow so that it would be visable only when lit?

Oggie, How did you perform the amberdectomy? Ciao, Johannes E.

If you send me a private message with your e-mail, I can send you instructions. It basically involves removing your headlights, then going in through the signal bulb socket with a soldering iron to poke holes in the amber reflector, which allows you to break apart the amber reflector, which you then yank out in pieces with needle nose pliers through the hole. It's not the easiest thing to do, and involves some risk to your headlights. It took me about 1 hour each (but then, I did this at 11pm one night). I got the instructions from Porsche Pete's Boxster Board, where much has been said on this topic.

I coined the words amberectomy 2 years ago after the cupholderectomy from 4 years ago. I looked in a dictionary to see if ectomy was even a word. Now it is reinvented on ppbb, from a 996 owner on this board. http://www.babblers.org/forums/showt...upholderectomy http://www.renntech.org/forums/index...st=0&#entry534 Should have registered the name. Could be driving my CGT with the license fees.

Tool Pants, you are THE MAN!

Tool Pants, Thanks! Ciao, Johannes E.