987 Amberectomy
 

So one might look at the title of this thread and go, "Uh...doesn't the 987 already have clear lights?" One would be correct, there's not much amber on a 987.

You could just do the OEM clear corners for about thirty bucks and call it a day.

But, since no one in the aftermarket is giving me anything FUN to mess with on the car, I must resort to fulfilling my car modding desire in safe, arguably ricey ways. Time to get rid of the amber BULBS, like a sixteen year old would with his Honda (although nowadays, colored LED bulb replacements are all the rage I'm told).

I'm sure none of this is news to anyone, but there are silver bulbs you can get out there that will still light up amber.

The replacement bulbs are from Stealth Auto. I picked them up from Group 5 Motorsports in San Diego, but you can buy them online as well.

http://www.loamy.com/shared/stealthbulbs.jpg

Silvervision is another type out there, but from what I hear they are only available in Europe and the bulbs may be keyed for European receptacles, meaning they might not fit in the US sockets without slight modification.

Here's the taillight array. Can you spot the difference? :)
http://www.loamy.com/shared/amberectomy02.jpg

Taillight before and after:
http://www.loamy.com/shared/amberectomy01.jpg

Side marker before and after:
http://www.loamy.com/shared/amberectomy03.jpg

I didn't do the front turn signal yet, as it's a bit more than a five minute job since you have to remove the headlamp assembly to change the bulbs. Another night. Actually, I might not bother since the front turn signals are fairly recessed and not all that noticeable.

Now, the one concern I have with this mod is that yes, the lights aren't as bright as they used to be. Have a look:

http://www.loamy.com/shared/amberectomy04.jpg

Here's a small, highly-compressed video I took of the rears blinking. Driver side is the original bulb, obviously.

They're plenty visible at night, but I'll have to see how they look during the day. I'll take pictures and post them as soon as I do.

Ah, boredom...

thanks for the write-up and pix -- nice read! -- and it's looking great :cheers:

One thing I really like about the 987 is the fact that it's just an amber bulb in the headlamp to swap out and not an amber piece of plastic like my new litronics to forcibly remove. I'll have to take a soldering iron to them to remove the amber and possibly damage my new headlamps.

That's what's keeping me from doing it.

I will replace my amber lamps in the side markers and rear tail lamps as you have though... they're fast and easy. Thanks for this info

Turn signals are PY21W and the side markers are W3W in the 987. I do believe that these bulbs are exactly the same as the 986's so you'd be fine in doing that. :)

By the way, if anyone's ever looking for bulb information, this site is a fantastic resource:

http://www.donsbulbs.com/cgi-bin/r/t.pl

That's how I found out that the Euro W3W is the same as a US 194 and the PY21W equates to a 7507.

well worth it...

When I see amber I think of taking home that new bicycle from the bike shop and how excited I am to get out the screw driver to remove the mandatory bike reflectors and kick stand.

Your Fondriest didn't come with a kickstand did it? ;)

RIDE

Eslai,

Thanks for all the great info. You're a damn fine photographer as well. How about some pics of the whole car now that you've de-ambered :cheers:

Thanks, although I don't know if I agree with you about the photography. :) I'll post pictures of the car in the day this weekend--it's a bit dirty right now...

I found out tonight that I was quite wrong about the headlights--they're way easy to take out and you don't need to unscrew the back cover to change the turn signal. I'm quite impressed with how modular everything is so far in the car!

Turn the special tool 180 degrees and out pops the light!
http://www.loamy.com/shared/HeadlightRemoval01.jpg

Arr, where's me eyepatch?
http://www.loamy.com/shared/HeadlightRemoval02.jpg

Here's the before/after of the fronts:
http://www.loamy.com/shared/amberectomy05.jpg

Here's a picture of the illumination difference. A bit exaggerated, watch the video for a little more realism.
http://www.loamy.com/shared/amberectomy06.jpg

Not really all that necessary in the front, like I said, but since it really was a five minute job in the front, I figured I'd give it a whirl.