Headlight armor - cheap way to de-amber?? - 986 Forum

23109VC · 02-09-2010, 11:15 AM

has anyone seen this in person or tried it?

http://www.headlightarmor.com/porsche-lighting-kits.aspx?page=4

I had tried something similar by using some vinyl window material I had - my stuff was meant to vinyl window signs that can be printed on...the stuff I used was white/silvery in color and from a distance, once cutout and applied to the headlights, looked pretty good, but up close you could tell it was homemade and didn't fit perfectly - so I took them off. it didn't look good enough to leave on...

i don't want to totally tint my headlights or make them dark..but this product looks like it might e just barely enough tint to cover up the orange, but not make it look all dark... in teh photos it looks nice.

anyone have experience wtih the product? for the price - it beats buying newer halogens or litronics! if the sole goal is to de-amber....I rarely drive my car at night - so getting true litronics would not be high on my list in light of the cost... i'm simply looking for a cost effective way to de-amber my front lights..

jmatta · 02-09-2010, 12:40 PM

I suppose if you have the early lights that cannot be deambered, this may be an alternative; as stated, cheaper than buying headlamps. I don't drive the Box at night that often, but found a pair of 996 headlamps that I easily deambered since the orange didn't appeal to me.

mikefocke · 02-09-2010, 12:45 PM

Will they pass safety inspection?

I don't like the amber, but I'm not willing to buy at the price necessary to still be safe.

This is not for me.

DamageINC123 · 02-09-2010, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 23109VC

has anyone seen this in person or tried it?

http://www.headlightarmor.com/porsche-lighting-kits.aspx?page=4

I had tried something similar by using some vinyl window material I had - my stuff was meant to vinyl window signs that can be printed on...the stuff I used was white/silvery in color and from a distance, once cutout and applied to the headlights, looked pretty good, but up close you could tell it was homemade and didn't fit perfectly - so I took them off. it didn't look good enough to leave on...

i don't want to totally tint my headlights or make them dark..but this product looks like it might e just barely enough tint to cover up the orange, but not make it look all dark... in teh photos it looks nice.

anyone have experience wtih the product? for the price - it beats buying newer halogens or litronics! if the sole goal is to de-amber....I rarely drive my car at night - so getting true litronics would not be high on my list in light of the cost... i'm simply looking for a cost effective way to de-amber my front lights..

23109VC,

I will let you know in about a week, I just ordered a set. For the price how can you go wrong. This is last part of the car I have thats not been deambered!!

Lil bastard · 02-09-2010, 03:36 PM

It surprises me that these kits are still available.

That's because they allow too much heat to buildup in the headlamp housing causing the lens to yellow, and at least in one case, to melt.

You should not use anything to cover the lenses on these cars.

Cheers!

23109VC · 02-09-2010, 03:57 PM

i don't see how it will cause the lights to turn yellow..it's not inside the housing...it's not a change to the OEM bulbs..this is just a tint type material affixed to the outside of the headlights... there are variosu companies that sell all sorts of headlight tint... like clearbra, xpel, laminx, etc...

these are just small / specially cut to fit JUST The fugly orange crap at the bottom of the older cars headlights.

if money were no object i'd have litronics. hell, if money were NO object, I"d have a new boxster S...but I have an older 2.7L..it's a toy...i drive it on Fridays and some weekends. mostly with the top down, hardly at night.

i hate the orange on my headlights. but cant' justify $1000 for litronics. I could likely find a set of newer halogens for $500, but even that is too much for how minor a change it is...i mean if a headlight were to be broken out and I had to repalce it, i'd opt to replace with the newer ones...

but for pure cosemetic reasons - these $25 overlays look pretty good.

i'm goign to order some. i'll let you all know how they look.

DamageINC123 · 02-09-2010, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 23109VC

i don't see how it will cause the lights to turn yellow..it's not inside the housing...it's not a change to the OEM bulbs..this is just a tint type material affixed to the outside of the headlights... there are variosu companies that sell all sorts of headlight tint... like clearbra, xpel, laminx, etc...

these are just small / specially cut to fit JUST The fugly orange crap at the bottom of the older cars headlights.

if money were no object i'd have litronics. hell, if money were NO object, I"d have a new boxster S...but I have an older 2.7L..it's a toy...i drive it on Fridays and some weekends. mostly with the top down, hardly at night.

i hate the orange on my headlights. but cant' justify $1000 for litronics. I could likely find a set of newer halogens for $500, but even that is too much for how minor a change it is...i mean if a headlight were to be broken out and I had to repalce it, i'd opt to replace with the newer ones...

but for pure cosemetic reasons - these $25 overlays look pretty good.

i'm goign to order some. i'll let you all know how they look.

It does not cover the intire light. Just the bottom orange. If a thin piece of vinyl holds in that much heat I know what kind of coat Im looking for next winter!! lol If they do turn yellow over time I am sure its nothing a little Meguiars and a buffer wont remove. Besides mine is a third car and does not get driven that much. Hell its a 97 with 30,000 miles.

jmatta · 02-10-2010, 07:06 AM

I agree...it only covers the amber turn signal portion which is not lit during headlight operation; therefore, no trapping of heat. I've also seen many higher end autos with the clear "headlamp protection material" and not one of them has had a problem that I could see.

DamageINC123 · 02-12-2010, 01:39 PM

My headlight armor came today but I was not here to sign for it. I will pick it up tomorrow and update you guys on the quality.

jmatta · 02-12-2010, 02:27 PM

Must be high end stuff if you had to sign for it!

blue2000s · 02-13-2010, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil bastard

It surprises me that these kits are still available.

That's because they allow too much heat to buildup in the headlamp housing causing the lens to yellow, and at least in one case, to melt.

You should not use anything to cover the lenses on these cars.

Cheers!

Adding a sheet of plastic to the outside of the entire headlight will absolutely increase the temperature of the lense. But by how much? Is it enought to accelerate yellowing? The lense itself is plastic so I suspect we're not talking about much of an increase. What's your experience?

In the case of a cover over the parking lights only, the temperature rise will be minimal and localized to the orange part of the light.

DamageINC123 · 02-16-2010, 09:20 AM

Its definitely cheaper and it does cover the amber but I am not 100% sold. Let me know what you guys think.

Pirrex · 02-16-2010, 10:07 AM

Looks way better than amber to me. In fact, i ordered a sheet of Lamin-X film to do it on mine too. I didn't even receive them before i bought litronics instead.

Got the complete pair of litronics for $220 with everything i needed for a retro-fit, try to beat that!

aparmex · 02-16-2010, 10:30 AM

WELL, IT DEFINITELY LOOK A LOT BETTER THAN THE AMBER, BUT, THERE IS ALWAYS A BUT, NOTHING BEATS THE CLEAR LOOK OF A NEW CLEAR ONES, I RECENTLY UPGRADED THE ONES ON MY CAR AND THOSE CLEAR LIGHTS MAKE LOOK THE CAR LIKE 5 OR 6 YEARS YOUNGER !!!

YOU CAN NOT GO WRONG WITH THAT, CONSIDER IT, SAVE SOME $$$, PUT AN EYE ON E-BAY FOR A USED ONES, OR BETTER BUY THEM NEW FROM THE U.K. LIKE I DID, I BOUGHT THEM ALL FRONT, REAR AND SIDE LIGHT FROM FORESTFINE.COM, I RECOMMEND THIS SELLER A LOT, VERY NICE DEAL AND FAST !!!

IT IS WORTH ALL THE INVESTMENT !!

DamageINC123 · 02-16-2010, 10:50 AM

I have already swapped out the rear and sides as you can see below. This a third car for me so its not driven that much. If i decide to hang on to longer than expeected I may dump some money in the litronics. I aree, the lits look better.

23109VC · 02-23-2010, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DamageINC123

Its definitely cheaper and it does cover the amber but I am not 100% sold. Let me know what you guys think.

I'm not sold on that either.... from their ad on the website it looked like the tint was more silvery/white in color - so that once you put the tint on - it would blend in better with the silvery OEM color of the headlight.... that stuff is just dark tint..so it covers up the orange, but it still stands out..

the best look is litronics or 03+ halogens..where the whole lens is clear. I would think that if someone made a tint / overlay / coutout that was sized/shaped just like what you bought - BUT not in black..do it in silver/white so that it blends in with the lights - you'd get 90% of the "clear" look w/out really being clear.

the setup I had on my car was a white film that i put on. it held up well for a few months, but wasn't actual tint..so it peeled off...but while it was on..from 5'+ away it looked GREAT. if it had been a better quality film, and teh right color - it would be worth doing and for us guys with older cars who don't want to drpo big money on litronics - it would be a good solution.

i'll see if I can find colored tint. the key is finding the right color...then any tint shop can install/cut to fit perfectly.