HID Upgrade Info?

[Bud]

I just got my 05 Boxster and would like HID's, Litronics are too expensive so does anyone have experience retrofitting a kit to the standard headlight? I believe it's an H7 for the lowbeam and H9 for the highbeam? Do people just do the low and leave the high alone like the factory litronics? (I think that's how factory is?) I've found some info on the 986, but am not sure if the 987 headlamp is the same. Any info would be great.

Cheers,

Bud

btw, this forum is a great resource

[fragdude]

I added a cheap aftermarket HID system to my car. On the 986 both low and high beams are H7, so it would be the same to do theirs. It was pretty easy for me to do, the only real "problem" was where to put the ballast. I ended up just securing them next to the headlight assemblies thinking that that would be the best place to keep them away from water without drilling into the body (didn't really want to spend time with that).

If you want I can post pictures for a step by step of what I did.

I got mine from here:
http://www.hellahid.com/
(I know they aren't actually Hella) I got the standard $220 kit.

[E Kaplan]

Fragdude:
Did your conversion really make a difference?

Eric K

[ekam]

Don't. Do. It.

Aftermarket kits are cheap and the halogen headlight housings are not designed to take HID bulbs. Installing those kits will cause excessive glare to the oncoming traffic not to mention you will get ticketed from police.

How do I know? Been there done that.

[lucky_topher]

Originally Posted by ekam

Don't. Do. It.

Aftermarket kits are cheap and the halogen headlight housings are not designed to take HID bulbs. Installing those kits will cause excessive glare to the oncoming traffic not to mention you will get ticketed from police.

How do I know? Been there done that.

i've been there and done that too... and love mine

i bought a slim-ballast 35w kit for $95 new with lifetime warranty, 5000K.

It's great, visibility is greater, i've been driving in front of the car and it doesn't blind.... the lights HAVE a cutoff and aren't a typical 100% reflector lens....

i HIGHLY recommend it... looks great, brighter lighting.

[Bud]

OK, I finished the install and it looks great. I stuffed everything inside the housing, I'm a bit concerned that things might get too hot in there and melt something, otherwise I think it's all good. The kit came with 25 amp fuses though and I thought current draw would be less not more, any info here would be nice. Actually I can't even locate the headlight fuse? so I ran it for 5 min, even with hibeam nothing popped. Thanks for the input guys.

Cheers,


Bud

[fragdude]

Originally Posted by E Kaplan

Fragdude:
Did your conversion really make a difference?

Eric K

I feel like it did make a difference, but not necessarily in the way that people would think it would. Obviously because of the way the head lamps are designed they wont use the extra power from the xenons as well as projector lamps would (why didn't porsche just put projectors on it???). What it did was make all the "hot" and "cold" spots more evident and the parts of the street that were lit up with light were that much easier to see than with using Halogens. As for the glare, there is a bit more but I have yet to be pulled over (I did some slight adjusting of the vertical level for the drivers side headlamp to better fit me). And lots of "ricers" put pretty bright bulbs in the cars around here anyhow.

The reason why I did this is because I often drive on unlit highways at night. If it wasn't for that I couldn't give a crap, but after using xenons for the past 4+ years I just felt unsafe on those roads. Its not a huge boost in the amount of light given out, but when I am on those highways I am happy I did it.

And if I do get pulled over I would gladly take the lights out, but I doubt I will. Lots of people around here drive with their highs on (hugely dangerous), but if they are cracking down on it and making it safer for everyone, I'll go with the flow.

That being said, if you have the money you should def. go with litronics. They are made for the HIDs and look better on the car (lack of amber).

[Bud]

Thanks for the input, I do have the projector beam on top (for low beam) and the high beam below it. I think it's a bit different then the 986 setup. I imagine the projector makes the beam pattern, not the light source? Anyhoo I'm going to give it a go w/ 6000K bulbs unless some says something will blow up! If anyone has done a 987 just chime in with any advice,

Cheers,

Bud

[fragdude]

I checked the '07 manual and your car has H7 low beams, so hopefully you bought the right one!

The projector "part" of the head lamp does direct the beam pattern, so if you put a xenon bulb in there I think is should look like a regular xenon head light. One thing I would check out is bulb clearance though. The xenon bulb is a bit longer than the H7 halogen.

And you will most likely have to drill through the rear cover of the headlamp assembly. And it might be smart if you start looking for possible places to mount your ballasts (want them to be dry).

If you want pics of my install and I will gladly take some.

[Cloudsurfer]

Originally Posted by Bud

Thanks for the input, I do have the projector beam on top (for low beam) and the high beam below it. I think it's a bit different then the 986 setup. I imagine the projector makes the beam pattern, not the light source? Anyhoo I'm going to give it a go w/ 6000K bulbs unless some says something will blow up! If anyone has done a 987 just chime in with any advice,

Cheers,

Bud

Since you already have projector lows, you can do an aftermarket kit, but really try to search around and find a high quality kit, vs the $20 special you'll find on eBay.

Either way, they're still not going to match Litronics.