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.

[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.

[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 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]

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]

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

[lucky_topher]

yeah, i cut a hole too... my kit came with a weatherproof grommet already installed on the wires so it fit right in... i put the ballast inside the fender area and ziptied it in 2 places so it doesn't move, but i still have enough slack to pull the light out and disconnect the wires

[stateofidleness]

gentlemen, can you help me diagnose my lack of light problem...
i just installed this kit, got everything hooked up correctly, went to test it, and i can't seem to get my low beam light to come on at all...

after rereading the instructions a few times i saw it mentioned replacing the stock fuse to a 20A fuse... do i need to do this? can i get these at radio shack or autozone?

is there something else i can look at to test why they aren't coming on?

no matter how i twist the headlight knob, i get nothing... when i turn them to 'on', all i see is that "standy" light in the middle of the housing, but no lows...

HELP!

EDIT: ok after some googling, i found it might be a "polarity" issue, so i went out and rotated the connector to the ballast, tried her out and ...!

HID!!!.. but now my new problem is that they only come on with the high beams selected.. they are off while the low beams are selected... what is the deal?

[bigb]

Originally Posted by stateofidleness

gentlemen, can you help me diagnose my lack of light problem...
i just installed this kit, got everything hooked up correctly, went to test it, and i can't seem to get my low beam light to come on at all...

after rereading the instructions a few times i saw it mentioned replacing the stock fuse to a 20A fuse... do i need to do this? can i get these at radio shack or autozone?

is there something else i can look at to test why they aren't coming on?

no matter how i twist the headlight knob, i get nothing... when i turn them to 'on', all i see is that "standy" light in the middle of the housing, but no lows...

HELP!

EDIT: ok after some googling, i found it might be a "polarity" issue, so i went out and rotated the connector to the ballast, tried her out and ...!

HID!!!.. but now my new problem is that they only come on with the high beams selected.. they are off while the low beams are selected... what is the deal?

Are you sure you did not change your hi-beam instead of your low-beam? Note that on the 986, the low-beam is the bulb on the top, and the hi-beam is the one below. Can be confusing.

If that isn't the problem, then I wonder if you inadvertently switched the wiring between hi and low beams?

[stateofidleness]

yep that's exactly what i did!
will be swapping them momentarily.

before i do it though, im still a little leary on the fuse situation.
should i pick up 2 20A fuses first before running the HIDs as low beams?

I don't want to run into any trouble and be stranded without lights..
Just trying to be preventative

Thanks!

EDIT: made the swap!
no issues WHATSOEVER! i assume had the the directions been accurate, this would be a 30 minute job and WELL worth it!!!!
car looks a lot "classier" and the light is just stunning! looks beautiful!

[boxster_s_boy_34]

I've been wanting to do the same to my car but I've been a little reluctant because I don't want to devalue the resale on my car by adding an option that wasn't there from the factory. Is this silly to be afraid of or am I using sense? I hella want litronic head lights, but that is the issue hanging over my head. Please afford me some good input.

[stateofidleness]

well considering it would take less than 10 minutes to put it back to stock with no irreversible modifications having been done, i'd say you're being silly

[bigb]

Originally Posted by boxster_s_boy_34

I've been wanting to do the same to my car but I've been a little reluctant because I don't want to devalue the resale on my car by adding an option that wasn't there from the factory. Is this silly to be afraid of or am I using sense? I hella want litronic head lights, but that is the issue hanging over my head. Please afford me some good input.

Jeff, this is completely reversible (you'll just need to keep/buy H7 bulbs if you decide to go back). The only question would be whether you drill the headlight covers or not. Certain sellers have pre-drilled covers as part of the kit (slightly more expensive, of course), but that allows you to go back to the original one. Another option is to get the newer kits with the smaller ballasts, and try to fit everything into the headlight housing itself (in other words, no drilling).

Bottomline, if you decide to sell your car at any point and want to go back to stock, it will be a simple, cheap and quick fix.

Good luck.

[klyeo]

For the aftermarket HID Install. Which cable is the positive and which is the negative ?

There is one yellow and brown.