Porsche Headlight Retrofit [from CAD, prototyping to finish)

[Nine8Six]

I say srew it, finding the oem rubber from a dismantler of buy damaged headlight from a member is what needs to be done. Long term "fix" wise anyway

[nieuwhzn]

The crazy thing of course is that Porsche is not selling this seal separately from the rest of the assembly.
All these seals are turning into mush after a couple of years, so getting them from a dismantler or so just postpones the inevitable.
Fred, Charles, thanks for the suggestions. I think I have actually some of the Frost-King stuff lying around. I used it for its intended purpose, i.e. sealing doors and windows, but I was never very impressed with the quality. I'll get some of the high density foam.

[rfuerst911sc]

It is disturbing that Porsche does not have this headlight seal as a separate replaceable item. But as it turns out I know someone that makes aftermarket rubber seals ! He currently makes many Porsche seals for the older air cooled cars. I sent him an email asking if he would be interested in looking into making these and he said he is. But to do that he needs at the very least a small sample but preferably one complete seal. Does anyone have one they can give up for the R&D effort ? For my recently departed Porsche I had almost every seal he sells and they all fit and were of equal or better quality than OEM. I have no idea if this will come to fruition or not but it's worth a shot. I have nothing to gain from this just trying to help myself and the community. If anyone has a seal they can donate please send me a PM and we'll go from there. Should I post this anywhere else on this forum ?

[CraigM]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

It is disturbing that Porsche does not have this headlight seal as a separate replaceable item. But as it turns out I know someone that makes aftermarket rubber seals ! He currently makes many Porsche seals for the older air cooled cars. I sent him an email asking if he would be interested in looking into making these and he said he is. But to do that he needs at the very least a small sample but preferably one complete seal. Does anyone have one they can give up for the R&D effort ? For my recently departed Porsche I had almost every seal he sells and they all fit and were of equal or better quality than OEM. I have no idea if this will come to fruition or not but it's worth a shot. I have nothing to gain from this just trying to help myself and the community. If anyone has a seal they can donate please send me a PM and we'll go from there. Should I post this anywhere else on this forum ?

Any progress on this? I don't think mine will survive being pulled and put back on.

[CHRISP357]

I want to go order a set of projectors but here are my questions:
What is the difference in the three models?
What is meant by beam distribution? (Rh or lh)
What bulb type do I need?
Thanks!

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by CHRISP357

I want to go order a set of projectors but here are my questions:
What is the difference in the three models?
What is meant by beam distribution? (Rh or lh)
What bulb type do I need?
Thanks!

Yea Amagala is right, they are all identical function & performance wise. All the same sizes also i.e 90mm. Just design variations really.

Turismo Series: our classic and possibly the best looking of all. Copied from the Carrera GT so not much can go wrong with this design. If you aren't sure which model to pick, my recommendation is go with the Turismo.

Vivo Series: modern and tactical looking. Gives a very modern flare to the front-end of the car. They are compact and about 50grams lighter than the others. The Vivo were designed with 'compact' in mind so they can be also installed in other type of vehicles (BMW, Audi, VW, Corvette, Lotus, etc).

Luminoso Series: if you are after the true supercar headlight look these are for you. Pics don't give them justice but seen in real life those Luminoso are a blast to look at. Being the biggest kit all (perspective-wise) they also fill up the headlight quite nicely (my favorite, of course lol). The bezel is extremely hard to machine hence the slight price difference :/ Sorry about that guys

HID XENON Choice: The 4,3k is by "far" the best lamp and what most automakers installs in their headlights. Those 4,3k are the one that cuts through fog, rain and snow the best. The 6k are the best looking one (the one I use) but not as performing as the 4.3k for sure. 6k are perfect for a city car. If you live up in the foggy mountains and deal with weather then my advice is to go with the 4,3k. Then you have the strong purples and yellows but you won't get those from me sorry. They are highly illegal, useless, and just won't pass most country's annual inspection.

Angel eyes: Nothing to debate here, white angel eyes color is the classic, safest. Legal also. I haven't heard of anyone who've either failed annual inspection or been pulled over. Other colors are equally nice but mostly meant for show car purposes (illegal). The amber ones are so nice and soft nobody is going to bother you with these. Careful with RED angel eyes tho lol

Asymmetrical beam distribution: You need the RHT. The projector's low beam cutoff line for use in RHT countries projects most of the light forward-rightward; those for LHT countries (UK, SE Asia & AU) projects the light most of their light forward-leftward, thus illuminating driver's own side of the road and limiting glare to oncoming traffic.

Hope this helps you a tad deciding what you need. Get in touch is you have any questions or simply post here (I'll try not to miss it this time, apologies btw)

[CHRISP357]

Excellent! Ok, next questions. My car only comes out in perfect weather. What bulb would be best for higher speeds in dark twisty canyons at night where deer/antelope are a threat?
Also, I assume the price is for each projector, not a pair. Does the order contain everything I need to install? Any shopping around for other electrical items?
Sorry to keep bugging you.

[swaff]

Originally Posted by CraigM

Any progress on this? I don't think mine will survive being pulled and put back on.

I have a pair of headlights where the little rubber seal that goes around the whole outer edge of the outside lens was really gummy and messed up. I found that you can use marine/automotive rubber strip like this to do a DIY gasket or O-ring cord. The marine stripping like below is a little easier DIY as you just stick it on, but o-ring cord will look a little more factory, you'll just need to get some rubber cement and glue it on. I hope this helps some of you with the gummy outer rings.

O-ring (this .210" works well) - JEGS Performance Products 21603, JEGS Nitrile O-Ring Cord | JEGS Performance Products

Marine/Automotive rubber strip -
MD Building Products 19/32 in. x 10 ft. EPDM Cellular Rubber Auto and Marine Weatherstrip-01033 - The Home Depot

Swaff

[swaff]

Originally Posted by CraigM

Any progress on this? I don't think mine will survive being pulled and put back on.

For the rubber seal that goes all the way around the headlight, I found 2 options that work pretty nice. This is for headlights with a gummy seal (seemed to be kind of permanently melted).

You can do a more factory look by ordering some o-ring cord and rubber cementing it around the edge. Amazon.com: JEGS Performance Products 21603 Nitrile O-Ring Cord: Automotive

Another option that works is to get marine/automotive rubber strip and stick that around the edges. You can cut it where it needs to be thinner. This is an easier DIY because you just stick it on. Just be sure to clean the surface very well before sticking it on so it will last you a long time. Depending on how you stick it on there, this can look pretty factory once the headlights are installed into their bays. MD Building Products 19/32 in. x 10 ft. EPDM Cellular Rubber Auto and Marine Weatherstrip-01033 - The Home Depot

I hope this helps some of you with the old and gummed-up seals!

Swaff

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by swaff

For the rubber seal that goes all the way around the headlight, I found 2 options that work pretty nice. This is for headlights with a gummy seal (seemed to be kind of permanently melted).

You can do a more factory look by ordering some o-ring cord and rubber cementing it around the edge. Amazon.com: JEGS Performance Products 21603 Nitrile O-Ring Cord: Automotive

Another option that works is to get marine/automotive rubber strip and stick that around the edges. You can cut it where it needs to be thinner. This is an easier DIY because you just stick it on. Just be sure to clean the surface very well before sticking it on so it will last you a long time. Depending on how you stick it on there, this can look pretty factory once the headlights are installed into their bays. MD Building Products 19/32 in. x 10 ft. EPDM Cellular Rubber Auto and Marine Weatherstrip-01033 - The Home Depot

I hope this helps some of you with the old and gummed-up seals!

Swaff

I've actually went this road for a mate's car here and surprisingly it came out pretty good. Not the same item as yours but very similar. His were completely destroyed (had no choice). Seen his car about a month ago and the strips that we've fitted still looked as-day-one... that's more than a year after installation. Good tip indeed Swaff

[CraigM]

Originally Posted by swaff

For the rubber seal that goes all the way around the headlight, I found 2 options that work pretty nice. This is for headlights with a gummy seal (seemed to be kind of permanently melted).

Swaff

Sweet! Thanks- I'm glad there's a viable option if mine don't make it. I pulled them to sand the amber off, and man, they are barely hanging in there.