Litronic (Xenon) beam effectiveness... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Boxtaboy · 12-13-2016, 02:45 PM

Does this look right to you guys with Litronic or HID conversions? I never really thought too much about it until I visited a relative, and drove their Benz with factory xenons, and noticed their beams seem to throw much more light (more intense and wider). Just seemed so much better than the Litronics in my Boxster. I checked aim recently, and they seem to be height aimed correctly 25 feet from wall, although I didn't try to adjust the left/right throw. The original D2S xenon bulbs from 15 yrs ago are still in the headlamps. Never changed them cause they are still burning...do they get dimmer with age? Or do I need to adjust the left/right positioning as well? Was told to stay away from this adjustment as it's not easy to do?... Or am I just imagining things and the below throw looks ok?

BIGJake111 · 12-13-2016, 03:51 PM

That looks pretty normal to me, left light is always dimmer to not blind oncoming. Litronics are good lights and shine very bright and far but it is a rather focused beam, our cars are so low to the ground they are frequently blocked before they reach the horizon, hit a bump and tilt the nose up and you'll see the lights light up a tree a mile away.

To better deal with this just use the high beams.

Litronics are great and overall shine very bright. Plus.... they're pretty.

rick3000 · 12-13-2016, 04:15 PM

I do not have Litronics, so I cannot comment on that. But it is worth noting if you 986 did not come from the factory with Litronics they will not self level (unless you wired in the harness), which could account for the difference you are noticing. Also, I think some newer headlights on luxury cars move left/right based on your steering.

Boxtaboy · 12-13-2016, 04:18 PM

Nice shot! Thx, guess I'll just leave the adjustment as is then. Just thought the other car I drove had way better illumination (it was an E series Merc). Maybe cause it sits higher, but I could swear they're much brighter too. Oh well.

Boxtaboy · 12-13-2016, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rick3000

I do not have Litronics, so I cannot comment on that. But it is worth noting if you 986 did not come from the factory with Litronics they will not self level (unless you wired in the harness), which could account for the difference you are noticing. Also, I think some newer headlights on luxury cars move left/right based on your steering.

Thanks, mine don't self level as I got mine shortly after I bought my car from a friend who had the same car as me and let me swap out my halogens for his Litronics prior to him trading in for another. I never bothered to install the electronics, and instead just aimed the beams as required. Does self level also raise the beam higher whenever the car dips on hilly roads?

rick3000 · 12-13-2016, 04:34 PM

^ Your friend was extremely nice, I would love to get a free set of Litronics.

My understanding is that the self leveling does two things. The low beam will tilt up into the high beam when the high beam is activated, and the car will compensate up or down when accelerating or decelerating. I think the retrofit wiring will add the high beam tilt, I am not sure it it adds the compensation.

Boxtaboy · 12-13-2016, 05:00 PM

Got it. Ok, thanks. Then I guess that it could help a little if I install the electronics. And yeah, it was very nice of him.

particlewave · 12-13-2016, 06:19 PM

Unfortunately, Litronics are old. Permanent cutoff that blocks half the beam, halogen high beams, diffusing lenses (fuzzy output, not sharp) and old bulbs with discolored/blued reflectors from more than a decade of HID heat.

I did a side by side comparison with aftermarket HIDs, Litronics and Mazda CX-5 HIDs and the results were not good for the Lits...only slightly better than new halogens.

I also installed a set of Fred's projectors into a set of Lits and the results were stunning in both aesthetics and functionality (looks amazing, superior light output over the Lits, and the self leveling feature).

Boxtaboy · 12-14-2016, 02:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by particlewave

Unfortunately, Litronics are old. Permanent cutoff that blocks half the beam, halogen high beams, diffusing lenses (fuzzy output, not sharp) and old bulbs with discolored/blued reflectors from more than a decade of HID heat.

I did a side by side comparison with aftermarket HIDs, Litronics and Mazda CX-5 HIDs and the results were not good for the Lits...only slightly better than new halogens.

I also installed a set of Fred's projectors into a set of Lits and the results were stunning in both aesthetics and functionality (looks amazing, superior light output over the Lits, and the self leveling feature).

I think you're right. The light output is fuzzy and not fully focused and sharp like the newer HID setups which are amazingly bright. Our previous SUV was an 05 Infiniti FX35, which comes standard with Xenons, and even those were just like my Litronics. Not sharp and bright like the newer ones. Oh well.

Boxtaboy · 12-14-2016, 03:48 AM

And hey, while I'm on the subject of xenon lighting, why is it that with premium Japanese cars, they give you xenon lighting standard (eg. our 05 FX came standard with it) while Porsches, Audi (until just recently), BMWs, etc. come with halogens, and then you have to pay out the wazoo for a lighting package to get the xenons?! We replaced the FX with a 12 ML350, and it came with yep....halogens.

Deserion · 12-14-2016, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boxtaboy

And hey, while I'm on the subject of xenon lighting, why is it that with premium Japanese cars, they give you xenon lighting standard (eg. our 05 FX came standard with it) while Porsches, Audi (until just recently), BMWs, etc. come with halogens, and then you have to pay out the wazoo for a lighting package to get the xenons?! We replaced the FX with a 12 ML350, and it came with yep....halogens.

Because Ze Germans like to $50 and $100 you for options.

Hell, my '07 Volkswagen GTI had standard bi-xenons. They made them optional on the next generation though. For the past few years I've thought Porsche had standard no-xenon and went up from there though I'm probably wrong.

Smallblock454 · 12-14-2016, 04:43 AM

Hello,

if you're Litronics are not self adjusting, they don't work correctly. So hahaha - funny you wonder why your headlights are bad.

I've replaced all bulbs and the D2S in my stock OEM Litronics lately. And yes, that makes a difference. I did use good quality bulbs from Osram. But nothing fancy.

Don't compare modern LED OEM headlamp systems like 2017 Audis and Mercedes have with a 15 year old Porsche Litronic. The new ones are better. But i don't like them, because they tend to glare me when other cars have them and i drive at night.

Regards, Markus

Boxtaboy · 12-14-2016, 04:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

Hello,

if you're Litronics are not self adjusting, they don't work correctly. So hahaha - funny you wonder why your headlights are bad.

I've replaced all bulbs and the D2S in my stock OEM Litronics lately. And yes, that makes a difference. I did use good quality bulbs from Osram. But nothing fancy.

Don't compare modern LED OEM headlamp systems like 2017 Audis and Mercedes have with a 15 year old Porsche Litronic. The new ones are better. But i don't like them, because they tend to glare me when other cars have them and i drive at night.

Regards, Markus

They are working correctly. They don't have the feature of self leveling because I chose not to wire in the electronics, but they still are set to whatever beam aim I set it at, and don't move from that height, so it just doesn't dip up when I go downhill or dip down a little when I go uphill, which is the same as what the OEM xenons do in my previous FX35. Self leveling is just an additional nice feature of the OEM lights, but not absolutely necessary and I still can see a long way with the Litronics. They also don't tilt upwards a bit when I turn on the highbeams, but I don't think that is necessary either because the halogen high beams alone are just fine. The only thing is that the newer Xenons today are much brighter and more focused than what I see in the Litronics and in our 05 FX35.

Boxtaboy · 12-14-2016, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deserion

Because Ze Germans like to $50 and $100 you for options.

Hell, my '07 Volkswagen GTI had standard bi-xenons. They made them optional on the next generation though. For the past few years I've thought Porsche had standard no-xenon and went up from there though I'm probably wrong.

Yes! It's embarrassing when a $60K plus vehicle comes with those darned halogens! You see folks in the street driving in their new BMWs with those ugly halogens and then a Toyota Corolla pulls along with LED headlamps!

Smallblock454 · 12-14-2016, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boxtaboy

They are working correctly. They don't have the feature of self leveling because I chose not to wire in the electronics, but they still are set to whatever beam aim I set it at, and don't move from that height, so it just doesn't dip up when I go downhill or dip down a little when I go uphill, which is the same as what the OEM xenons do in my previous FX35. Self leveling is just an additional nice feature of the OEM lights, but not absolutely necessary and I still can see a long way with the Litronics. They also don't tilt upwards a bit when I turn on the highbeams, but I don't think that is necessary either because the halogen high beams alone are just fine. The only thing is that the newer Xenons today are much brighter and more focused than what I see in the Litronics and in our 05 FX35.

I'm sorry, but you are wrong.

1. they are self leveling - they get the signal from the sensors in the front and rear left. That way they adjust if you have luggage / weight in front and / or back. Nothing to do with up or downhill.
2. the xenon unit doesn't move up and down if you use high beam and don't have the sensors connected.

Regards, Markus

JFP in PA · 12-14-2016, 07:53 AM

Some clarification:

-Only the cars with factory equipped Lits have self leveling; retrofitting this feature to post delivery Lit installations requires making up the wiring loom, adding the controller, front, and rear sensors, and reprogramming the DME (factory lit cars are actually capable of throwing fault codes for the lights).

-Both factory and post delivery installed Lits are capable of having the Xenon lamp rotate up to fill in the high beams if you have the controller installed and correctly wired into the headlight loom.

Boxtaboy · 12-14-2016, 08:03 AM

Yes.... please see below for my responses...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

I'm sorry, but you are wrong. - no need to apologize.

1. they are self leveling - they get the signal from the sensors in the front and rear left. That way they adjust if you have luggage / weight in front and / or back. Nothing to do with up or downhill. - This being the case, do you really think that this adjustment if you have weight bears a big difference in the light throw? I saw the lights in my friends factory set up before he gave them to me, and could not see a difference. They are still worse than the newer model xenons by far. In the meantime, I have mine aimed correctly, and they are decent, but not as good as the newer xenon set ups. That was my point...that they are not as good as the ones today even though they are still xenons. Wondering if newer bulbs that are not 15 years old will do any better.
2. the xenon unit doesn't move up and down if you use high beam and don't have the sensors connected. - I know this. It will only move up with high beams if I have them connected. I don't see a need for this though, as I think the halogen high beams are fine.
Regards, Markus

particlewave · 12-14-2016, 08:07 AM

Sadly, self-leveling will not make them any brighter/sharper.

Boxtaboy · 12-14-2016, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by particlewave

Sadly, self-leveling will not make them any brighter/sharper.

Agree. I don't think self leveling would do a darned thing about making them brighter/sharper. Maybe new bulbs will help a little, but I'm doubtful there too. Thanks for the info before...I think that is spot on.

Boxtaboy · 12-14-2016, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

Some clarification:

-Only the cars with factory equipped Lits have self leveling; retrofitting this feature to post delivery Lit installations requires making up the wiring loom, adding the controller, front, and rear sensors, and reprogramming the DME (factory lit cars are actually capable of throwing fault codes for the lights).

-Both factory and post delivery installed Lits are capable of having the Xenon lamp rotate up to fill in the high beams if you have the controller installed and correctly wired into the headlight loom.

Thanks JFP. I personally didn't feel the wiring/controller retrofit was necessary since self level wasn't important to me, as well as the swivel up help from the low beam to high beam, but others I'm sure do. The lights are good, but not great. So be it. I notice that the newer LED headlights on the Acuras are darned bright too, but they seem to glare on oncoming cars.