Amberectomy Question

[RandallNeighbour]

It appears that my standard 1997 headlights have amber tint on the outside of the lamp housing and it cannot be removed without damaging the headlamp assembly.

I read here that other Boxster owners removed the headlamps and took a soldering iron to the amber piece inside the unit to shrink it and remove it, but I don't see this on my car.

Any thoughts on this? Am I litronic-bound to do a proper amberectomy? (I'm wanting to do it, but I have to get other things done to the car first... thought I'd try to modify what I have today to save money right now).

[Adam]

Don't sweat it. Be proud of your Amber I say!

[Porschekid]

You would have to buy newer clear lights first to get rid of the amber. They only have some amber on the inside. Another way would be to spray the amber with some tinting spray to make them black.

[Perfectlap]

Yeah Clear Halogens (not Litronic) are expensive new almost as much as Litronics. I paid $1100 with shipping and clear corners for my Litronics from Brandwine, wiring them up (so that the high beams are correctly pointed) is probably another $200. I haven't seen any retailers sell the clear Halogens for lesst than $900. Might as well go Litronic.
You can find a set of clear Halogens used for about $500-$700. I have a set that I will posting on Ebay soon. I did the amberectomy, added clear corners and added stonguard protection. I would have kept them and sold the Litronics seperately from the car but this was an expensive week with the Recaro seats and Carrera wheels.

P.S.
something I contemplated, (if you really hate the amber look). Buy the clear corners $50 and take the headlights to a window tinting place. Maybe they can tint over the amber with chrome tinting film. The turn signal should still shine through. Maybe tint the corner as well to have a more uniform look.

[PeterJoyce]

You always used to say you loved your amber headlights, so you over them now? I would get litronics on Eaby, for like $900. Not only will you be upgrading the looks but you will have xenon's.

[RandallNeighbour]

Peter, I always said I like my amber TAIL LIGHTS. The side markers and headlamps are a completely different story. They make the car look old to me, while the rear tail lights are not nearly as "aging" to me personally.

You've got a good memory though—I'll give you that! I didn't expect anyone to remember my previous posts about my pleasure with my old 1997 red and orange tail lamps.

[Perfectlap]

used Litronics...hmmmm.
Personally I would stick with a brand new set from a well known seller. I had an $800 bad experience with Ebay and Paypal, and let me tell you once you bought it, as far as Ebay is concerned you are effectively on your own.

[RandallNeighbour]

That's a good warning, perfectlap! Pay a couple hundred more from Brandywine or whomever and get something you paid for and be able to return it if it's not right!

[Perfectlap]

even then its a toss up. On PPBB a guy wrote about how he ordered a Turbo style bumper for his Boxster and got the run around from Brandywine when a Fiberglass part arrived instead of polyurethane one. It may not have been a smooth transaction but at least the buyer has some recourse in dealing with a dealer vs. "some guy".

p.s.

I don't want to sound like a buzzkill, but if you live in an urban area as I do, Litronics are not that big of an improvement over the Halogens. Even on the highways which are always very well lit around here in NY/NJ I don't see a vast improvement.
Rural/Suburban Boxser owners might have a different experience.

In retrospect I would have made this a bottom of the list upgrade, well below performance tires/wheels/radar and my all time favourite thing I have ever spent an aftermarket penny on: Recaro GT3 seats.

GT3 Seats x 5
Tires x 4
Radar x 3
Wheels x 3
Satt. Radio
aero kit: not installed yet
Litronics (not much bang for the buck)
rear speakers (I only useful when top is up, so during winter it gets x 2 )
clear tail lights + 1/2 (only because no one noticed)

[PeterJoyce]

I like the headlights but...I think you should swap out those side markers ASAP. I like the contrast of the front. You could offset the cost of litronics by selling the present headlights.