18 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCH996 headlights upgrade help?
Leading reported evidence
Recommend fred's bi-xenon kit
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Leading evidence: 'Recommend fred's bi-xenon kit' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Recommend fred's bi-xenon kit' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
I would highly recommend sticking with 4,300K color temperature for your HID bulbs.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
18 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T165820Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
Hi all,
I LOVE my white/blk 2003 C4S with Techart wheels, tail, PSS9, IBD plenum, etc....BUT the only thing I really want are brighter headlights, esp after having Xenon in most of my other cars.
Can anyone make suggest practical upgrades?
I don't mind spending some $, but I don't really want to spend $2k either as the it's mainly driven during the daytime.
Thx in advance everyone.
Patrick
check out this thread on the 986 forum
It is a really cool HID /projector upgrade. There is also a guy that will do the retrofit to your headlights
Total cost is around $650 (I think)
http://986forum.com/forums/diy-proje...ight-retrofit-
[-cad-prototyping-finish.html
Thx...I'm reading all these threads and I'm still confused as to which ones work and which ones are easy to install.
If ANYONE has a vendor in SF area who can do this for $650, I'd arrange to go there asap
PL
Basically, Fred (Nine8tSix) designed, builds and sells the HID projector conversion and Charles (particlewave) will do the retrofit
Fred is in China (an expat Canadian) and Charles is in Kansas City
I believe they both have posted here in the 996 forum as well as the Boxster forum on RL
You would order the lights from Fred and send your headlights to Charles who would do the mod and ship them back to you
There are tons of posts from very happy people that have had it done
I have the upgraded bi xenons and couldn't be happier. Charles did the retrofit for me and did an excellent job. However, the process was only for MKI headlights. Maybe by now they have yours available.
You can get enhanced light output by getting better optics OR for minimal cash outlay/low effort, getting a good HID retrofit.
Typical HID bulbs produce ~3200 Lumens for 35w version and around 5000 lumens for 55w version. Just as a reference, your incandescent bulbs are probably producing around 1300 lumens.
Also no need to worry about glare as your factory lights are already projector style with similiar shrouded scatter shield.
I would agree that a conversion to HID bulbs would probably work pretty well in your existing projectors. The downside would be that you wouldn't have headlight washers or the auto-leveling system that comes with factory HIDs, so you may have lots of people flashing their lights at you thinking your high beams are on. I would highly recommend sticking with 4,300K color temperature for your HID bulbs. Lots of people like 5,000K or 6,000K for the whiter/bluer light, but the usable light on the road is actually lower with higher color temperatures. 4,300K is just right for maximum visibility.
Personally, I'd stay away from higher wattage halogen replacement bulbs. Higher wattage bulbs run much hotter and your risk melting the wiring harness, melting the mounting bracket or burning the inside of the headlight lens.
I highly recommend Fred's bi-xenon kit. Charles did the conversion for me. Both of these guys will make sure that you are satisfied with the result. Excellent customer service. You will have to ship your lights to Charles in Missouri. Below is a pic of my 996 with Fred's Luminoso kit.
Fred's stuff look very nice but since the OP already has projectors in the headlight all you need to do is take it to a shop where they can add a ballast and switch to xenon bulbs. I think that would be the cheapest way. I had xenon put my brothers mini cooper for $175 total with parts and labor.
If you know how to change a bulb and take off some connectors, you can do it yourself for ~$30 and about 1/2 hour of your time.
Btw not all factory HID is self leveling. More of a Euro thing as there are several non Euro cars that don't self level.
Interesting. I thought the US Department of Transportation regulations for HIDs required both self-leveling and headlight washers to avoid "dazzling" oncoming traffic. Maybe that changed...
I retrofitted my projector headlights with the components from the Retrofitsource (no affiliation). Very good quality and Much improved light output (got the 35 W version). It took me ca. 2 hours, some minor dremeling included. Still going strong after a year. Total cost was approx. 190$ (with the upgraded xenon light bulbs).
