Headlights

I have just taken delivery of my 'new' car - a 2001 Carerra 2 Tip. Having previously owned a Boxster with Litronic headalmps I suppose that I am a bit spoilt - but the light from the headlights is far worse than I expected. What, if anything, can I do except use the foglamps at night to improve the situation? Are there better bulbs which can be inserted? Any advice would be gratefully received.

Congratulations! Is your avatar going to change, then? Any pictures available yet? Sorry, can't help with the question, though - mine came from the factory with Litronics. I hear there is a conversion kit available, though. Or you could reinforce the Porsche driver image and just put the full beams on [ ]

I believe that is a £30 fine for having foglights on. You will have to wear your baseball cap either back to front or set at a 'jaunty angle. Also the exhaust will need a 5" pipe (at least one although I have seen a picture of a Citroen Saxo with nine on). Upgraded stereo to drown out the noise of the pathetic little engine, in fact get the engine swapped for a four pot 1200 cc unit. Then you need to adopt an aggressive look so people think you know how to drive and the manoeuvre you have just completed wasn't sheer stupidity and incompetence. Try hids4u (I think, do a search on google for hids). The pilots are the ones to go for 6000 K. Cheers,

Julian Here is a link to the website. http://www.hids4u.co.uk/ Cheers,

Congratulations Julian! I upgraded my headlights with the items from http://www.hids4u.co.uk/ and they are fantastic! I would point out however that the instructions are totally pathetic, so I installed them with instructions from another member. (involves drilling the headlight units). If you want to see the lights in action I'll be at Eynsham on Saturday (will you be coming on the convoy from the Ace cafe at 7 or 9?) or you can email me and I can come over and give you a hand installing them if you like.

Hi Julian, My sentiments exactly - headlight leave a little to be desired. Main beam OK but dipped are poor. I looked at doing the upgrade and all the reports were positive. In the end I went to Design 911 and upgraded my yellow lights for the clear with Litronic installed. The lenses are a actually different as well. Big difference in visibility so well worth investing in. On a slightly different note. I was told my my local Porsche dealer that its actually a legal requirement to have headlamp cleaning and automatic self levelling lights. They told me I would actually fail an MOT with them. Upgrading to the clear Xenon lights through Design 911 I also noticed that they dont come with the electric headlamp motors, apparently I need to remove them from my old lights and install them on to these. Few weeks later it passed the MOT with them! (I think they outsourced it!) All the best, Rob

That is indeed true of Xenons, but I haven't heard of one person actually failing their MOT due to this.

According to an MOT tester mate of mine, as long as the beam pattern is OK and the lights are clean, they can't fail a car for the type of bulbs fitted. The legal side of having washers and automatic leveling appears to only apply to new vehicles...it seems to be a grey area on the retro-fitting side of things. My Golf GTI passes it's MOT with an aftermarket HID kit fitted...and has dome for years.

Julian, if you mind not my asking, what made you trade in the Box? Family increase?More room for the lawbooks? JohnC 993turbo

Why not try just upgrading the bulbs to Xenon Gas bulbs - I did this and you certainly get a much 'whiter' light over conventional Halogen bulbs - not in the same league as HID's obviously but a worthwhile upgrade for £30 or so (or whatever they were). I used the same wattage as the originals - 55/60w if I recall.

Hi Richard - sounds like a good and more economical option - where do you source the Xenon Gas Bulbs - any recommendations - I was considering the same for mine.

I just got mine from Halfrauds - There was a buy one get one free offer at the time ! 'Halfords Super Brilliance' - Xenon Gas -50% More light.... Type H7 - 12v 55w (MY1999 911 C4) Gold Box

Great thanks; just found this too for anyone who's interested: http://www.powerbulbs.co.uk/default.asp?prodtype.asp?PT_ID=92&strPageHistory=cat

Hi Richard, Sorry to bring up an old topic, but, my manual states Type H7 (55W) for Dipped beam, and Type H9 (65W) for Main beam - can you tell me if you replaced both? Info is from my Drivers Manual - P196 'Bulb Chart' - however the site http://www.powerbulbs.co.uk doesnt seem to list H9 - confused... Thanks!

Hi - yes I just did the dipped headlights - For the number of times I use full beam I didn't think it was worth it but of course you can replace both if you want to. Both bulbs are H7 - the user manual is wrong. I've checked this in the workshop manual and both high and low bulbs are listed as 999.631.133.90 (or H7 ) I hope this helps, Cheers, Richard.

Excellent many thanks Richard; a little job for me at the weekend to replace them me thinks! Thanks again, Justin

These guys are worth a try too:- http://www.hid.uk.com/

I threw a couple of these into mine (in the dark at 8:00pm the other night when a damned bulb went on my way home - arrrrrgh!) and to my utter surprise they really are a little brighter than the old ones. not sure about the 50% claim but it's certainly a noticeable difference and for only £20 the pair!

Osram Silverstar are about the best 'xenon gas' bulb for sensible money. PIAA extreme whites are slightly better but £75 a set. I installed the xenon aftermarket kit on my old 986 and it made a huge difference, these kits are now half what i paid for mine, currently around the £170 mark a set. I then removed it and refitted to my current 987S, where the headlights were better to start with, but still a worthwhile improvement.

Hi just fitted the H7's but can confirm that the 'main beam' bulb is actually an H9 - Richard; I assume yours is a pre-facelift (~2001) car - if anyone has a post facelift just be aware you'd need H9's for main beam (if you want to change them), H7's for dipped beam. I also can definitely tell the difference, well worth the £25 ! Cheers

..ah - yes you are correct, mine's a '99. Thanks for the clarification - I wonder why they changed it to a not so popular H9 size ? All the best ... Richard.

Changed to Osram Silver Star last night and they do make a difference, much whiter light that picks up signs and lines better. Anyway, just to confirm... the dip is a H7, the main is a H9. The side lamps are NOT 5W5 standard lamps however which is a pain as Powerbulbs sent a pair of Philips Blue free of charge with the H7's I ordered. The side lamps are the same type I had in my Audi S4, offset baynoet type that I don't think you can replace for blue/led types. P.

They are a 5W halogen bulb - and they are quite expensive at about £5 or £6 each [ ] On the earlier cars this is used with the Litronic lights only, and the "standard" lights have the more normal 5w tungsten sidelight bulbs.

Just ordered a set of Philips bulbs to replace whatever rubbish is currently in the headlight unit. Changing the bulbs over sounds a real pia though. Any tips or DO NOT do's before I embark on this mission?

Don't worry - it's really easy - just follow the manual [ ]

Mate, I just went to halfords and bought xenon gas 4 for mine , same bulbs as was quoted before on this thread. Me and a halfords guy fitted them but it was a PITA. Anyway it's done now and they do look a lot brighter I just tried in my underground garage . Make sure you do all 4 bulbs, dipped and main beam. You buy one get one free so with fitting it was 47.99. Jamie

Just for information, the FRONT SIDE LIGHT bulbs are available in Philips Ultra Blue from www.powerbulbs.co.uk The lamp is a H6W... not cheap at £15 a pair ! P.

Nice but after the agro of getting those lights back in I dont wanna take them out for a long time .

hmmm...! I found it a doddle in the dark with a maglite in me gob for light. Only fiddly bit was making sure the lock back in place, but not a problem. What year is your car... wonder if there are different mechanisms through the years ? P.

2000 model 996. One went in no trouble but the other was a pain, there must be a technique to it.

It is described in the owner's manual. [ ] You should have a small box spanner in the tool kit.

Cheers for that Richard, socket was missing out off tool kit when i bought car.

It's a 5mm socket. I have used a deep 6-point socket, but the one in the tool kit is ideal for the job. If you want to buy one, the part number is 999.571.076.02 and they are £8.16 +VAT.

Thanks again will buy one.

Actually doesnt matter I just realised theres 2 types of light oops.

If your headlights are adjustable does that by default make them xenons?

I'm not sure, they are the original lights with yellow indicators etc. looking at your car I'm assuming you had or still have the same headlights. I've been told to be carefully as the booster replacements are non adjustable. The main point though is that I couldn't find the part number I listed anywhere.

What I was meaning is I'm not sure normal headlights are autoadjusting, or do you mean adjustment via the dial in the car?

That isnt a good number. The Boxster ones will fit, you would need to swap the motor from your adjustable 996 versions and fit them on the Boxster ones

The early 996's like David's and Chris's had halogen lights with a manually adjustable levelling system (dial by the light switch). The Litronic option had automatic levelling. The motors for the two levelling systems are incompatible. Porsche also did a retrofit Litronic package without a levelling system, although there was a 'control' box in the kit which connected to the light unit. Matthew is correct that you can fit Boxster lights to a 996 and maintan the manual levelling system on a halogen light by transferring the motors, but as I said, the levelling system for Litronics is different.

Many thanks, I didn't explain that my lights have a manual levelling dial as Richard so rightly points out. So, if I understand this correctly I can purchase a set of boxster headlights and simply swap the motor over. I am assuming the clear headlights will be post 2001!!! Is this a simple job to do? Some of you will know that I am not averse to DIY as you get a real sense of a job well done when problems are resolved especially if you have achieved this yourself. Not forgetting the pennies saved! Ps sorry for the confusion but still learning

The answer to all your questions is yes! Go for it!

My 996 C2 in Zenith Blue looks the same age as yours (1998) and mine has the clear light cluster (on the car when I bought it 3yrs ago).I have also fitted the blue headlight bulbs and people ask me if I have fitted a xenon kit. I must admit it looks quite good - especially now I've resprayed the front end of stone chips and fitted the chrome mesh on the grills John

Excellent. I think there are more of us with early cars zenith blue than I first thought. Up to 105 k now. What are you up to?

89k so far but I've only had it 3 years It's just a weekend "toy" I was going to sell this year for a 997 but after having the front end repsrayed of all stone chips and wheels refurbished I don't want to get rid of it now. I also fitted rear parking sensors but couldn't find the right colour Had them coloured when I did the front end and looks the business from all angles now Also have s/s exhaust manifolds and silencers, along with twin tailpipes

Just to add a view from having done this myself, changing the levelling motors out of the old amber lights and into the new clear Boxster lights can be quite tricky to do without damaging the inside of the lights. The motors have a plastic arm that push into a plastic claw/ball joint type connector on the back of the reflector. Getting the end of the arm out of this joint and back into the new one takes some careful work, as there is no easy access to it inside the headlight. It's certainly do-able, but from my experience (although maybe I did it wrong!) quite difficult. Greg

Zenith blue for me too [ ] When you have got hold of the clear lights, consider the amberectomy too. Looks great with the orange filters removed and the standard clear bulbs replaced with silver coated orange bulbs.

If you have Xenon (Lintronic lights) you need: 12V 6W H6W Don't buy them from a Porsche dealer though they will charge you over 11 pounds for one. Try here and buy at least 2: http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/H6W-R434-12V-6W-Halogen-Replacement-Bulb.html?bulb_search=car

HI Terry Odds on it’s the headlight switch, which is a known issue and not hard to replace see link below. https://www.porscheclubgb.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=583771 good luck

Cheers Andy. Ive been trying to get to the bulbs. I have removed the headlight unit and then then back section that exposes the back of the bulbs. I can get to the big one that is I think the foglight but the one underneath that I think is the main beam is impossible. I just want to check they are ok. Any tips for getting that out without breaking something? Thanks

Andy you are correct its the switch. Thanks for the direction. [s2]

Why!? The problem is usually yellowing of the plastic lens. Which just needs sanding down then polishing.

Simple answer NO, not I. I've watched it being done on YouTube etc, but most of the problems can be resolved as per Gordon above, various kits on the market to sort things, do you have an issue on the inside of the headlight? good luck

Yes. It seems to be inside. I’ve already done the outside but wasn’t very successful. Having looked on the net l may not have been aggressive enough with the ”grits” so l’ve purchased some DA wet & d pads and will have another go. Thanks for the responses