New LED headlight designs - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

oldskool73 · 10-26-2018, 06:00 AM

Just spotted a bunch of new headlights from Taiwan on ebay. Look like an iteration on the aftermarket LED design that's been around for a while now. I quite like the new design. So who's going to be the guinea pig and try them out first?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/372481689650

https://www.ebay.com/itm/302934282695

tommy583 · 10-26-2018, 06:21 AM

I nominate Particlewave to be the first

redciv1 · 10-26-2018, 06:58 AM

I also noticed these, but my question is, why are they $1k? Is it solely because they fit a Porsche. I actually like this new design and would not mind putting a set on, black looks nice, but not for $1K.

Starter986 · 10-26-2018, 08:09 AM

I like them. I would consider them. $1000? Hmmm. That, and the 9% Cali tax. That's the deal killer for me.

There's a forum member who has a lot of experience with the aftermarket headlights (forget his name), and would be interested in his assessment.

particlewave · 10-26-2018, 08:15 AM

These are obviously made by the same group that makes the other "LED headlights". They never made any improvements or addressed the problems on the old design over several years and iterations, so I would assume these are just as bad.

They look awful, too.

$250 seems like a more appropriate price.

redciv1 · 10-26-2018, 08:21 AM

I get the LED light phase we are going through now, however LEDs just don't seem reliable enough. I can't tell you how many semi trucks I see with LEDs missing or blinking. If they replaced the LEDs on this setup with something else I think they would be more reliable.

maytag · 10-26-2018, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redciv1

I get the LED light phase we are going through now, however LEDs just don't seem reliable enough. I can't tell you how many semi trucks I see with LEDs missing or blinking. If they replaced the LEDs on this setup with something else I think they would be more reliable.

It's all about quality.
In my day job, I'm (among other things) a lighting specialist. LED's aren't a "phase we're going through", any more than fluorescent was. But it's about quality.

Most people don't understand that LED's generate a TON of heat. How you manage that heat is crucial to reliability.

Don't buy cheap LED. buy GOOD LED. you'll thank yourself later.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

redciv1 · 10-26-2018, 09:16 AM

interesting

MWS · 10-26-2018, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maytag

Most people don't understand that LED's generate a TON of heat. How you manage that heat is crucial to reliability.

Just to clarify (before this spins off into a tangent, lol), we are taking about source of heat. If we were to compare an incandescent to a LED, the incandescent produces a ton of IR heat (you can feel the warmth of the light) while an LED produces heat from electrical resistance and is disapated via heat sinks. Think of a processor in a computer... the chip produces no light (obviously) but churns out a ton of heat due to the resistance in the processor; same (or same-ish) thing with LEDs.

The reason people think LEDs don't produce heat (I suppose) is they think of household lighting (and incandescent vs LED bulbs)...the reason the LED doesn't seem hot is that it's consuming a lot less power. If it consumed the same as the incandescent, you could fry an egg on it.

Sorry for the interruption....lol.

maytag · 10-26-2018, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MWS

Just to clarify (before this spins off into a tangent, lol), we are taking about source of heat. If we were to compare an incandescent to a LED, the incandescent produces a ton of IR heat (you can feel the warmth of the light) while an LED produces heat from electrical resistance and is disapated via heat sinks. Think of a processor in a computer... the chip produces no light (obviously) but churns out a ton of heat due to the resistance in the processor; same (or same-ish) thing with LEDs.

The reason people think LEDs don't produce heat (I suppose) is they think of household lighting (and incandescent vs LED bulbs)...the reason the LED doesn't seem hot is that it's consuming a lot less power. If it consumed the same as the incandescent, you could fry an egg on it.

Sorry for the interruption....lol.

Perfectly explained. Much better than I would have attempted using voice to text from my phone.! :-) haha!

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

maytag · 10-26-2018, 11:29 AM

so now that I'm here in front of a real keyboard, and a full-size screen, I discover how adept I am at distracting from an original topic by chasing squirrels. haha.

Sorry for that.

To bring us back full-circle: If I understand correctly, the problem with the headlights that look just like these and are sold on Ebay doesn't have to do with the LED's themselves, but rather with the construction of the housing, right? I think I read that they leak, yellow prematurely, are prone to warping in the heat, etc?

These sure look awfully similar to those.

particlewave · 10-26-2018, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maytag

so now that I'm here in front of a real keyboard, and a full-size screen, I discover how adept I am at distracting from an original topic by chasing squirrels. haha.

Sorry for that.

To bring us back full-circle: If I understand correctly, the problem with the headlights that look just like these and are sold on Ebay doesn't have to do with the LED's themselves, but rather with the construction of the housing, right? I think I read that they leak, yellow prematurely, are prone to warping in the heat, etc?

These sure look awfully similar to those.

Evything you said, and they use low quality 5mm LEDs that burn out prematurely (partly due to the quality, partly due to the fact that they are on load resistors instead of a dedicated and regulated power supply).

jaykay · 10-26-2018, 01:08 PM

Perhaps we can convince these folks to whip us up a 986 kit:

Flat6illumination

PaulE · 10-26-2018, 03:23 PM

I am hoping that NIne8Six's friends are still going to move ahead with the production version of his kit.

Geof3 · 10-26-2018, 04:05 PM

Those are a big no-go for sure. As PW said MAYBE for 250.00, but even then... ugh.

MWS · 10-26-2018, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geof3

Those are a big no-go for sure. As PW said MAYBE for 250.00, but even then... ugh.

I assume you meant 250 yuan....

BRAN · 10-27-2018, 02:37 AM

...without DOT/E/TÜV cert...completely out of the question for me. I am still confident, that FRED's "announcement" will happen. And hopefully in a different design.
I would like to see more retro design with bigger shapes and bezels around them, Kind of like these quick'n'dirty mock ups:

Turn signals could be integrated in either the fog lights housing or ever better...illuminated main light bezels.

10/10ths · 10-27-2018, 03:56 AM

.....but I love the look of the all clear, HID factory headlights from ‘03-‘04.

gonzzo · 10-27-2018, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BRAN

...without DOT/E/TÜV cert...completely out of the question for me. I am still confident, that FRED's "announcement" will happen. And hopefully in a different design.
I would like to see more retro design with bigger shapes and bezels around them, Kind of like these quick'n'dirty mock ups:

Turn signals could be integrated in either the fog lights housing or ever better...illuminated main light bezels.

If this "announcement" does happen, where would it be announced?....