Which LED license plate lights?
 

I saw a car on the road the other day with LED license plate lights. Huge improvement...if you have this mod which lights did you get? Lots of options on Amazon. I used to be worried about attention from police but I think was overblown.

[IMG]http://www.****************************************************.com/mm5/graphics/00000002/porsche%20rear%20led%20license%20plate%20light.jpg[/IMG]

I personally keep mine stock. Although it looks nice, it also attracts a lot of attention from police. With an extremely low car, on black rims and silver paint, it attracts a lot of attention.

I have the ones from suncoast and they are pretty good. I am sure you can get them from other places online as they are no different.

I have led plate light on all my cars and never had a problem with police.

Sun coast for me too.

i took the bulb number out of my owners manual and bought a led set off eBay for $1 they work amazing :)

I'm curious what other people here use for their Boxster too, as I'm interested. Have them on my daily driver Audi, and wife's ML350 came standard with them. I put aftermarket ones on my Audi, and they are so bright, they light up the road behind me. Lol. I don't care cause I just want people who text and drive to see me!

http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/a...pshgq2iotd.jpg

http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/a...psbfk3vdew.jpg

I just installed...
 

...a set from Suncoast Porsche on my 2004.

Took them out for a test drive last night and they are fantastic.

:cheers:

I bought a set I think is the same as the ones from Suncoast but they are $23 delivered free shipping for the set instead of the $35 plus shipping that Suncoast charges. Whatever you do, I don't suggest the LED Festoon type bulbs as there's not enough room in the housing for the heat sink to do its job and the clear plastic cover ends up browning up. Get the entire led housing that they sell on EBay. Just search for LED License plate lamp Porsche 911 / 993 996 Boxster. They update the look of the car, and are easy to install...

Top is old incandescent bulb, and bottom are the new LEDs...
http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps51fltowd.jpg

LED bulbs from a distance...
http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/a...psxf1sfjwx.jpg

Any eBay LED will do. If you're paying more than $1.50 per bulb, you're a sucker! :D

I've seen on another board someone who used an LED festoon from eBay that basically burned up his housings. He ended up buying the full housings like the one I have installed from eBay, and all is good now. Glad you have been only paying a buck for those festoon type bulbs that pop in, but I don't want to risk them burning up the plastic.

$3 for 10 of these. They don't even get warm, so no heatsink or yellowing. ;)
Don't let places like Suncoast rip you off!

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/a...ED2C33ABD9.jpg

Man...I should make some of these up. I could make a killing @ 50x markup!

I got some from eBay which were a complete housing. Been on a year or so and work great.

How long have they lasted? I have the same type of full housing LEDs in my Audi, and I've had em for over 6 months without them blowing out. If yours have lasted for a while, without you having to throw a new set in every 3 months, maybe I'll give yours a try next time.

Found the eBay link 2x Bright Led License Number Plate Light PORSCHE Boxster 986 1996-2004 96-04

Pics here http://www.boxa.net/forum/index.php?/topic/59044-edcs-550-anniversary/&page=12

Been on the car 15 months

Suncoast plug...
 

....They fit perfectly, they work perfectly, they tested them for us so I trust they are "the good ones", Suncoast is part of the Porsche world, so I like supporting them instead of some faceless eBay outlet, if they go bad, Suncoast is easy to deal with for returns, and they had a free shipping sale, so I didn't pay for shipping.

It's amazing to me that folks will spend the money to buy a Porsche, and then try to save five bucks on some widget.

Anyway, the Suncoast bulbs fit, work, and got here in two days.

:cheers:

Yeah, those are the type I got. They are as little as $14 bucks on the US eBay sites. They last long. I can't complain. 1 dollar is fine too if they last as long. I'm too lazy to replace them all the time.

OK, let me backtrack a little bit here and say that (for those of you that don't know) I'm an electronics engineer and know what I'm looking for. If you don't know what you're looking for, you're better off paying a premium for something that's well supported.

A lot of the bulbs on eBay use underrated resistors (resistance and wattage) in an attempt to make their bulbs superbright. This causes heat and premature failure issues. Your LEDs should never get hot unless they are used in a high-power application like a super bright flashlight or headlights. I can buy the cheap ones because I always check them out and, if needed, swap in a better resistor.

Suncoast for you guys in the U.S. gives you some confidence in which to buy and you are happy to pay a premium for that. Good for you. I just found some even cheaper ones on eBay for my AMG and shock horror I think I will save some money and be a cheap skate and put them on my car too ;)

I hate to break it to you, but these are $5-10k cars and the bulbs that bigger vendors like Suncoast sells are the exact same bulbs on eBay from Asia.

It doesn't matter what emblem is on the hood. :)

It's true. Suncoast isn't manufacturing these...they're all made in China. I just don't want the festoon type throw in bulb cause I read they burn out fast and can brown the clear lense, and I'm not an electrical engineer, so I have no idea of how to make them better by throwing in a better resistor. :)

I've had some actually start smoking within 5 seconds due to crap resistors, so yeah...if Suncoast will replace them and any damage they cause, that's probably the best route for most.

Unfortunately, I can't post a link to good quality, low cost bulbs because you can't guarantee that you'll get the same thing from the same seller from one day to the next. I always check them all. :(
If you decide to go the eBay route, the best thing to do would be to power them up on the workbench and monitor them for 5-10 minutes to make sure they don't let the precious smoke out.

Particlewave...
 

.....I didn't mean to get in an argument, my point was that there is more to buying a part than just the part itself. Service after the sale, support for the community of enthusiasts you are apart of, keeping a valued resource in business, and supporting an American business with fellow citizens who are employees, are all reasons why I like to support a company like Suncoast or Pelican and am willing to pay a small premium above some faceless, anonymous, Chinese eBay page.

Are the exact same bulbs on eBay for half price? Sure. But in the long run, I believe supporting those I have described above is the right thing to do, and actually is to my selfish benefit, because it will keep these wonderful parts outlets in business for my future needs.

Again, with the sale they had, it didn't end up costing that much more and I knew I was getting the right part.

Thanks for your time.

I'm done.

:)

No argument, pal! :)

I just don't get the "Porsche" thing since the Mazda cost me 3x as much. :cheers:

oh...
 

.....that.


My point there was just that I don't understand folks who will spend big bucks for a complicated piece of machinery, and then go cheap on maintenance items.

For example, folks who buy a Corvette or Mustang or Viper and then complain that the rear tires go bald in 15,000 miles and cost $300.

And then buy a Wal-Mart no name tire instead of the Michelins they need to save a few bucks.

That type of thing.

:cheers:

Agree 100%. These are great cars but not worth crap in the market right now.
Gotta also has 10/10th if he uses Porsche tires :).

VW/Porsche are not in the light bulb (or tire) business. LED bulbs (interior and side markers) are mods that I talked myself into after seeing what they looked like on my boys cars.

I too have purchased ebay/Amazon bulbs for our various cars and have been very satisfied with them on all of the cars.

On the Boxster, replacing the interior and trunk lights with LED made it so I could actually see things in the car.

10/10ths,

That is quite fascinating, I've owned two Corvettes & a Mustang and never complained about my tires wearing out prematurely.

None of the members of my local Corvette club complained about tires wearing out early. The C5, C6 & C7 owners complain about the loud and rough riding run-flats.

I also don't know any Corvette owners that buy their tires from Walmart.

I do distinctly remember reading about an Acura NSX owner that was going to file a law suit against Acura because his rear tires did not last more than 10,000 miles.

I write this because I don't appreciate people throwing out stereotypes. Are you the least bit aware of what people think and say about Porsche owners? What some say is not very nice (I would categorize it as rude at best).

While what you wrote may be factually correct for those who do not buy brand new Corvettes or Mustangs, it probably also applies to some who purchase second hand Boxsters.

Lets all agree to not perpetuate bad stereotypes, especially those of Porsche owners.

MNC-I

I never understood why people pay a premium when the company is just buying the same crap from china ..... I always use eBay for bulbs and such.

but thats ok I bet you still take the car to the dealership for every oil change too ;)