987.1 Boxster S with Bi-xenon - Poor light output?

Hi all, Does anyone else think the light output on the 987.1 Bi-Xenon headlights is underwhelming? I’m trying to manage my expectations and not compare them to my daily driver, which has excellent OEM LED lights , but I feel like visibility at night is really poor. I recently had the lenses cleaned and cleared, but that didn’t make much of a difference. Has anyone dealt with this issue? Would swapping in new bulbs help, or is there another solution worth considering? Thanks in advance for any insights!

Remote diagnosis is tough. LED is better than xenon. Technology marches on but I wouldn't call xenon inadequate. Couple guesses. Maybe the bulbs or ballasts are bad and the arc isn't striking. Sort of like a bad florescent bulb. The other guess would be the auto aiming mechanism that compensates for loading the trunk and having the lights aimed at the sky. If the mechanism failed and has the lights are aimed at the ground the road illumination would suck. If the lights are bright to look at they're probably lighting OK. There's a way to check the aiming mechanism in the owners manual. I don't recall how off hand. If the lights are aimed right they should be just below level if shined on a wall with the car on a level surface. Other than that I'm not sure.

The leveling might be a great place to start, thank you!

Everything seems brighter these days. So 987.1 is a 2008 car or 16 years old which shouldn't be that bad, but in the USA there doesn't seem to be any standard what so ever. The trouble with no regulation or standard is that it's now a war of escalation generating a positive feedback loop. I'll get brighter lights and then the other guy will get even brighter lights etc. I'm going for cataract eval this month so I am really sensitive to bright lights. The issue is not limited to OEM lights it's the after market anything goes lighting. I'd say you've done the most you can do and I seriously doubt there's much more you do other than getting the aim tested or adjusted.

It all started with Cibie flame throwers and escalated like when Bugs bunny and Yosemite Sam kept pointing larger and larger weapons at each other. One time, headlights that were illegal in the United States showed up on a junk car that came from Europe. I immediately put said headlights in my Fiat. After all, I was the one who inspected it and back then the state was asleep on such procedures.

I had a headlight go out on my old Lexus GS which turned out to be the ballast. The difference between the headlight with the newq ballast and the 15 yr old ballast was quite startling, enough that I replaced the other one too.

i recall a discussion previously somewhere on this site about lifespan of the different light options - and that discussion mentioned that the Halogen or Xenons have a shorter lifespan and may need to be replaced anywhere between 5-10 years. I'm starting to feel that my Bi Xenons are not as bright as before and thinking replacement bulbs might be a good place to start.

The bulbs age. LEDs also age... everything in the universe ages... Yes, I have dealt with this issue. You don't realize it because the bulbs age slowly. Just like one day you wake up with extra weight and wrinkles and you say..woah, how did this happen. The same happens to light bulbs. It also depends on the car. Some cars always turn on the headlights as driving lights so they wear more. Some cars, I never drive at night and the bulbs last much longer. It is normal and expected to replace the bulbs after 10 years. I recently noticed bought a 2011 Mazda 3 from a friend who bought it new. We drove it back then and the lights were fine. She sold it to me for my teen daughter. On the way home, I noticed the lights were not very good. As I pulled up to my white garage door, I noticed the headlights had a pink/yellow hue. I ordered a pair of brand new HID bulbs and replaced them and the lights are bright white and back to full power. I didn't take a picture, but when I replaced one side and turned them on, the difference was amazing. I regret not taking a pic to show you. If your bulbs are over 5 years old and used a lot or 10 years and used less, replace the bulbs. It is your best bet.

Yes!

Are the 987.1 lights the same as 987.2 ? Because the xenons on my 987.2 are really good. Replacing the bulbs is a good idea. Even if yours haven't aged (and they probably have) there are some newer options that are a lot better than what would've come on the car. I went with the Philips White Vision Gen2 a couple years back and am quite happy with them. Read the reviews and testing: Osram and Philips both make some good bulbs. I'd avoid anything with too high a color temperature (above say 5K) and definitely avoid LED drop-ins, they are a terrible idea (not LED headlights in general, but rather putting LEDs in a headlight designed for halogen or xenon bulbs) Also don't buy from Amazon or eBay as apparently there are a lot of fakes out there.

Just a website if that helps. Headlight Experts Headlight Experts www.headlightexperts.com

I replaced my Xenon HID bulbs with Osram Nightbreaker Laser for a definite improvement. I buy from Powerbulbs (UK based).

Thank you all for your ideas and suggestions! I spent some time this weekend working on the car and swapped in some fresh OEM bulbs; I also noticed the plastic bits holding the headlight level sensor under the car were holding on by a thread. I replaced the hardware on the headlight level sensor (it's on the driver side [US car] suspension and spent some time adjusting the aim levels. It's not at the level of brightness as my daily, but I can see down dark roads much better, and it feels less sketchy to drive at night.

This wasn't a plug and play solution right? The HID headlights use the arc-discharge high-voltage/current bulb, and the ballast assembly to power it. I don't know of any Osram Nighrbreaker Laser bulb that would simply plug into that setup. A comment for the people replacing their HID "bulbs" (kinda bulbs, but an arc-bulb) - one thing that dims the output from these "burners" is an oxide buildup right around the arc area on the outside of the quartz envelope. You are always warned never to touch the bulbs - but this is a case where touching them can help. If you remove the ring of oxide you'll find the light that disappeared on you (at least most of it - some loss is due to dirty optical elements).. to do so, I've used a dull penknife blade to scrape (carefully, don't scratch the quartz) off most of the ring, and then used a fine paint polish (abrasive, but softer than quartz so no damage to the envelope is done) to remove what was left. All followed by a very careful wash and final cleaning using alcohol (to remove any finger oils - which can etch the envelope when it gets hot.) Brightness ensued. Doing this is possibly a stopgap sort of thing since eventually the rare-gas in the envelope turns or leaks and the bulbs usually go purple and then pink and then out.

They're plug and play. The 987.2 , at least, uses standard D2S xenon bulbs. The Osram Night Breaker Laser are just Osram's branding of their high-end Xenon bulbs: they drop right in. e.g.: OSRAM Americas | OSRAM SYLVANIA Homepage OSRAM Americas Corporate Homepage www.osram.com

That makes sense... I generally refer to that lighting source as HID - to differentiate it from standard halogen bulbs pretending to be HID...