HID Upgrade Info? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

E Kaplan · 07-31-2008, 01:07 AM

Fragdude:
Did your conversion really make a difference?

Eric K

ekam · 07-31-2008, 04:10 AM

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 · 07-31-2008, 07:43 PM

Quote:

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 · 07-31-2008, 10:31 PM

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 · 07-31-2008, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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

HIDs draw less except for when they turn on/ignite. I know mine can draw up to 16 amps (I had stock 15 amp fuses and put 20s in). On the 986 the low beam fuses are the last two on row A (all the way to the right). High beams run off different fuses so they shouldn't blow, if fuses do blow, they would do so when you turn them on. So I guess for now you don't have to change them if you don't want to...

I had a larger ballast that I couldn't fit into the housing, so I don't really know about how hot it gets in the housing itself..

Bud · 08-01-2008, 10:54 AM

So you cut a hole I assume and put the ballast where exactly, I have no idea where to put it; and the wiring so that it wouldn't interfer with the removal, replacement of the headlight housing. Did you cut into the metal inner fender? Just want to know because I was told that the wiring in the housing with the ballast may melt! I'ld hate to bring the kit back but cooking wires isn't an option.

Cheers,

Bud

fragdude · 08-01-2008, 11:07 AM

yeah, i cut a hole in the headlight housing cover (something like 26mm for me, but i had to cut another small nub out so i could fit a connector through). I placed the ballast right beside the headlight housing (to the right of it on the drivers side, to the left of it on the passenger side). I think this is not the best place to put it, but I don't want to drill a fairly large hole in the body and so far no water has gotten to it. I used molding tape, I was hesitant to drill mounting holes here too. I didn't know how permanent it would be there and I didn't want another place for water to get in.

Wiring it so it doesn't get in the way with headlamp removal just means leaving enough slack so that you can remove the head lamp assembly enough to disconnect the ballast wires. Another reason why I just placed the ballasts right next to the assembly

fragdude · 07-31-2008, 07:27 AM

Quote:

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 · 07-31-2008, 02:41 PM

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 · 07-31-2008, 04:32 PM

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 · 06-15-2010, 06:56 AM

Quote:

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.

coolbreeze551 · 08-22-2011, 12:09 PM

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead but instead of starting a new one I was hoping someone could tell me the location of the fuse for the HID lights. I have a pair of after market Bosch H7's and the passenger side is out. It's not the bulb because I checked so if it's not the fuse chances are it's the ballast but I am not sure which is number in the fuse panel the lights are under. Any help would be appreciated thanks.

**Fixed**